Titanic at Two A.M.: An Illustrated Narrative with Survivor Accounts
by Paul J. Quinn
Book Description
At 2:00 a.m. the great Titanic lay wounded in the middle of the ocean with two lifeboats remaining. In twenty minutes there would be nothing left between the 1,600 people on board and the icy waters of the Atlantic. The brand new liner - the largest and most luxurious in the world - would sink. Titanic at Two A.M. describes the suspenseful minutes leading to the final dramatic plunge of the ship with fifteen color illustrations and numerous black and white photographs. Survivor accounts throughout the book will put you up front and close to the final events of a tragedy which has become a legend.
Titanic At Two A.M. Hurry, there isn't much time. |
Review Excerpts
From Library Journal, April 15, 1997:
Quinn is a member of the Titanic Historical Society and writes and paints for its publication, the Titanic Commutator. Following Robert Ballard's discovery of the wreck in 1985 there have been numerous books retelling the epic story of the "unsinkable ship" on its maiden voyage with an insufficient number of lifeboats for passengers and crew. Quinn uses structural details gleaned from the accounts of Ballard and many survivors to reconstruct a vivid description of the final 20 minutes of the vessel's life. He has an excellent knowledge of the layout of the ship and has contributed several paintings showing the progress of the sinking. Of course, Quinn had to surmise various scenarios, including his dramatic descriptions of the rising water, the sounds of water flooding the various public rooms, and even which escape routes were likely taken by the third-class passengers. A beautiful addition to the literature of the Titanic and a good purchase for public libraries.
From Maine Sunday Telegram, March 30, 1997:
Books, films and submersible camera views of the wreck have helped keep the saga alive. Paul J. Quinn - artist, author and member of the Titanic Historical Society - adds a handsome volume to the study. The subtitle, "Final Events Surrounding the Doomed Liner - An Illustrated Narrative with Survivor Accounts," fairly describes the contents. Quinn has selected excellent historical photographs of the vessel and its sister ship, the Olympic, as well as his own line drawings and color paintings of Titanic's last moments. Quinn gives the reader a solid background of the building, the collision and the 2 hours and 40 minutes it took to sink, but his real interest is what occurred in the last 20 minutes. This is a difficult trick to bring off while maintaining a level of dramatic tension. Quinn manages this stylishly. His research is sound and impressive, and he wisely employs sidebars to provide information on officer biographies, the U.S. Senate hearing, the times the last lifeboats departed and a commentary on Archibald Gracie, who produced a survivor's account. Quinn's 15 color illustrations of the ship's last moments, which show interior and exterior portions, appear accurate enough to delight the best model-makers. They convey an eerie tranquility that matches written accounts. Titanic at Two AM is a fitting memorial that will grace coffee table and researcher's bookshelf alike.
From The Penn Stater, April 1999:
The wake from the Titanic is finally dying down. James Cameron's 200 million movie is out on videocassette. Leonardo DiCaprio is looking for a new job. And all the Titanic scholars are off of the Today Show and back in the libraries trying to uncover more controversies, dispel more myths, about the unsinkable ship that kissed an iceberg. One of those scholars is Paul Quinn. His latest book, Titanic at Two AM, covers his most recent research - the final twenty minutes of the ship's sinking. The story picks up at 2:00 AM, two hours after the ship hit the iceberg. By then, most of the lifeboats had been launched, and some 1600 people were left on board. From there, the book chronicles the ship's plunge minute by minute, each chapter detailing five minutes' worth of sinking. Each detail is put in the context of survivor testimony, historical document, and logistical information that describes how the Titanic was built. The author also adds historical photos and his own illustrations. Quinn writes the story of those fateful 20 minutes as one full of drama. It's not the kind of drama that Cameron's movie used to hook audiences - mushy stuff about rich girls falling in love with grubby boys. Quinn explores nearly century-old debates about whether a second ship called the Californian saw Titanic's emergency flares and ignored them, whether Titanic's steel was too brittle, and whether the ship's third-class passengers were given the opportunity to escape. Titanic at Two AM is dramatic, historical, informative, and best of all, focused.
About the Author
Paul Quinn is an artist and writer who brings a lifetime of interest and research to his work on the Titanic. He finds a special joy in making the ship come alive through his paints. Paul is a member of the Titanic Historical Society and his work appears in their quarterly journal, The Titanic Commutator. Paul is also the author of "Dusk to Dawn: Survivor Accounts of the Last Night on the Titanic." More of his work can be seen in McGraw Hill's "The Exceptional Child," and Fantail's "South of the Sahara"
Reader Reviews
A Great Titanic Book, June 30, 2000
Reviewer: Susan (Newberg, Oregon USA)
As I have read over 135 books on Titanic, this one is very high on my list of great Titanic books. Paul Quinn brings an immediacy to the disaster. If you have ever wanted to know what it was like in the last 20 minutes of the great ships life, this book is a 'must read'. Paul also does the great ship justice as far as his illustrations go. Check this one out!
Great Illustrations, Good Story, March 12, 2000
Reviewer: A reader
This is a really interesting book. There are paintings in it that I never saw before that show all kinds of intersting scenes from that night. It is mainly about the time period between 2:00 and 2:20 a.m. when the ship was going down.
I was really drawn into the paintings of people rushing up the boat deck during the ship's final demise.
This book is definitely a thumbs up!
A very fine and detailed account of the sinking., March 8, 1999
Reviewer: freeman1lb@aol.com (Long Beach, California)
The book discusses and shows by way of drawings and using actual first person accounts how it must have been like to be aboard the great ship as she went down, compartment by compartment. In addition, the book also discusses the issue of the ship off in the horizon, and whether the steel in the Titanic was too brittle. Also, the book discusses Bruce Ismay and Callapsible Boat C. The book was very well written and keeps the reader's interest,following the progress of the water through the halls,staterooms, the grand staircase, and how the rising water may have appeared to those desperate people aboard. This is a book for all those interested in the final moments of the real Titanic. Those who read this book will find that it answers questions left opened in other books on the subject.
Titanic at Two A.M.: An Illustrated Narrative with Survivor Accounts
is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk
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