First published 2008
John Chatterton and Richie Kohler stand on the deck of their research vessel, preparing for another dive to the Titanic wreck. Fresh from their celebrated discovery of a Nazi U-boat off New Jersey, the legendary diving team faces their biggest challenge yet. They want to solve the mystery that has puzzled experts for decades: why did the unsinkable ship go down so quickly? Chatterton assembles a team of engineers and maritime experts. Together they study the ship's construction, examine the wreckage on the ocean floor, and dive to the Britannic, Titanic's sister ship. The evidence they uncover reveals uncomfortable truths. The ship was not as strong as the world believed. The men who built her hid critical flaws when disaster struck. If Titanic had stayed afloat just two hours longer, over two thousand lives could have been saved. The myth would have been about rescue, not tragedy.
Genres: history, 20th-century, adventure, non-fiction
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigation, mystery
Setting: New Jersey, Britannic, Titanic
Period: 20th-century
325 pages · Hardcover · Twelve