Other Side of the Night

The Carpathia, the Californian and the Night the Titanic Was Lost

By: Daniel Allen Butler

Narrated by: Paul Heitsch

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

After every disaster, someone has something to hide....

A few minutes before midnight on April 14, 1912, the "unsinkable" RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage to New York, struck an iceberg. Less than three hours later she lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While the world has remained fascinated by the tragedy, the most amazing drama of those fateful hours was not played out aboard the doomed liner. It took place on the decks of two other ships, one 58 miles distant from the sinking Titanic, the other barely 10 miles away. The masters of the steamships Carpathia and Californian, Captain Arthur Rostron and Captain Stanley Lord, were informed within minutes of each other that their vessels had picked up the distress signals of a sinking ship. Their actions in the hours and days that followed would become the stuff of legend, as one would choose to take his ship into dangerous waters to answer the call for help, while the other would decide that the hazard to himself and his command was too great to risk responding.

After years of research, Daniel Allen Butler now tells this incredible story, moving from ship to ship on the icy waters of the North Atlantic - in real time - to recount how hundreds of people could have been rescued, but in the end only a few outside of the meager lifeboats were saved. He then looks alike at the U.S. Senate investigation in Washington, and ultimately the British Board of Trade inquiry in London, where the actions of each captain are probed, questioned, and judged, until the truth of what actually happened aboard the Titanic, the Carpathia and the Californian is revealed.

Daniel Allen Butler, a maritime and military historian, is the best-selling author of "Unsinkable": The Full Story of RMS Titanic, Distant Victory: The Battle of Jutland and the Allied Triumph in the First World War, and The First Jihad: The Battle for Khartoum and the Dawn of Militant Islam. He is an internationally recognized authority on maritime subjects and a popular guest-speaker for several cruise lines. Butler lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

©2009 Daniel Allen Butler (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Factually Disturbing

Very well written, gives a huge amount of history, yet is entertaining in a disturbing way. The story of two men, one a coward and one a unassuming hero. At times I marveled at the different human natures recounted in this book.
This reading is well preformed, I will listen to it again.

The hidden story

Yes, I knew the story of the Titanic; massive ‘unsinkable’ ship sinks after hitting an iceberg. I also knew that in James Cameron’s film Leonardo DiCaprio proclaimed, “I’m King of the world”! Yet the ship still sinks. But this book tells the fascinating true story of The Titanic and of two other ships; The Californian and The Carpathia, and the heroism and cowardice of their Captains in attempting to rescue Titanic survivors. It was an enlightening read, of a familiar story but with a revelation of events and details that had a giant impact on that time and on ours.

Interesting!

Would you listen to Other Side of the Night again? Why?

Yes, definitely, the information is fascinating and the level of detail is outstanding. Worth going back over for those interested in this story, particularly what happened on the other ships involved in the disaster.

The Day After

The sinking of the Titanic is a well-known story; the criminal negligence of Captain Lord of the Californian, not so much.

A few reviewers have criticized the inclusion of testimony from key figures such as Lord as being "dry" when in reality, this damning testimony is the heart of the book. At the very least, it provides a disturbing but plausible explanation for Lord's indifference to the tragedy unfolding in plain view of the Californian.

Arthur Rostron, the 42-year old captain of the Carpathia, made all the right moves as he raced through the ice fields of the North Atlantic to reach the foundering ship Titanic. Indeed, of the three men who captained the ships forever linked in this entirely preventable disaster, Rostron is the solitary hero.

_

"You must get me a better position."

"Find me some votes."

Yes, there's been over a century of public shaming of Stanley Lord. No, it's not enough. Holding him properly accountable at the time might very well have deterred some of the psychopathy rampant in international business and politics today. Shame will obviously never suffice for those who are incapable of feeling shame.

Heroes and others

This book brings a different perspective to the Titanic story and is well worth reading. Even though I knew the broad outline of what happened the night the Titanic sank, the detail about the other ships involved on that night was fascinating. Obviously Daniel Butler has scrupulously researched his material and this is complemented by his excellent writing. After a slightly slow (but essential) start as the scene is set with descriptions of the state of international shipping prior to and at the time of Titanic, the story quickly moves to describe what was at that time an almost unbelievable tragedy and loss of life. Captain Rostron of the Carpathia is a true hero and his part in the Titanic story is both moving and inspiring. This book for me is the audible equivalent of a 'page turner'. Paul Heitsch did a fine job (except the Irish port of Cobh is pronounced Cove, but never mind) - easy on the ear but capturing the drama and pathos as the events unfold.

One of the most compelling

Of all of histories dramatic events. The Loss of the Titanic remains forever fascinating. Replete with heroism, a villain or two, and an overwhelming number of what ifs. So much had to go wrong for the tragedy to unfold, but go wrong it did.

Drawbacks in this performance are some jarring mispronunciations just as there are annoying repetitions in the text that competent editing should have caught.

With the book itself I feel he spends too much time beating up on Stanley Lord's character. It is time that should have been left to refuting the revisionists who have attempted to rescue Lord, and less on detailing Lord's shortcomings. I think Lord's actions speak for themselves and do all the major protagonists his is the character that is revealed as the most flawed.



Wo

Exceptional book

Would you listen to Other Side of the Night again? Why?

This book is so well written, there's probably another "Titanic" movie here. Very interesting explanation of why so many died as a result of the cowardice of one ship's captain who failed to help.

Great book, but narrator voice is terrible

I read this book but ordered it on Audible for a long road trip. An enjoyable book and I enjoyed learning about the aftermath of the Titanic. The narrator sounded like it was an automated voice. The narrator was the only downside.

New Perspective

History buffs will enjoy hearing about the other side of such a well known tragedy.