Sinkable

Obsession, the Deep Sea, and the Shipwreck of the Titanic

By: Daniel Stone

Narrated by: Daniel Stone

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

From the national bestselling author of The Food Explorer, a fascinating and rollicking plunge into the story of the world’s most famous shipwreck, the RMS Titanic

On a frigid April night in 1912, the world’s largest—and soon most famous—ocean liner struck an iceberg and slipped beneath the waves. She had scarcely disappeared before her new journey began, a seemingly limitless odyssey through the world’s fixation with her every tragic detail. Plans to find and raise the Titanic began almost immediately. Yet seven decades passed before it was found. Why? And of some three million shipwrecks that litter the ocean floor, why is the world still so fascinated with this one?

In Sinkable, Daniel Stone spins a fascinating tale of history, science, and obsession, uncovering the untold story of the Titanic not as a ship but as a shipwreck. He explores generations of eccentrics, like American Charles Smith, whose 1914 recovery plan using a synchronized armada of ships bearing electromagnets was complex, convincing, and utterly impossible; Jack Grimm, a Texas oil magnate who fruitlessly dropped a fortune to find the wreck after failing to find Noah’s Ark; and the British Doug Woolley, a former pantyhose factory worker who has claimed, since the 1960s, to be the true owner of the Titanic wreckage.

Along the way, Sinkable takes listeners through the two miles of ocean water in which the Titanic sank, showing how the ship broke apart and why, and delves into the odd history of our understanding of such depths. Author Daniel Stone studies the landscape of the seabed, which in the Titanic’s day was thought to be as smooth and featureless as a bathtub. He interviews scientists to understand the decades of rust and decomposition that are slowly but surely consuming the ship. (She’s expected to disappear entirely within a few decades!) He even journeys over the Atlantic, during a global pandemic, to track down the elusive Doug Woolley. And Stone turns inward, looking at his own dark obsession with both the Titanic and shipwrecks in general, and why he spends hours watching ships sink on YouTube.

Brimming with humor, curiosity and wit, Sinkable follows in the tradition of Susan Orlean and Bill Bryson, offering up a thrilling work of personal journalism and an immensely entertaining romp through the deep sea and the nature of obsession.

©2022 Daniel Stone (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The details are exquisite, the science is insightful and the personalities of the men who seek, and even claim, shipwrecks is over-the-top entertaining. A delightful read about humanity’s fascination and obsession with the sea and sea-wrecks."—Library Journal

“From the beginning of the narrative, Stone effectively draws readers in with his own great storytelling skills. A captivating read for Titanic and maritime enthusiasts.”—Kirkus

“Stone’s mastery of his subject and his novel approach to this so-often-told tale will compel even readers who think they already know too much about the Titanic to take a plunge into this fresh narrative.”
—Booklist, starred review

20 books and this one is top 3

I completely disagree with a poor review I just read. I have listened to close to 30 Titanic, submarine, treasure hunting, WWII and ocean related titles. This book and its narration is in my top 3 most enjoyable and informative.

A unique take

What a cool take on the story of the Titanic, chock full of history and science, politics and personalities. If you love looking at a cool topic from all the angles, you will love this book. Bravo.

Loved it

Great read by an enthusiastic author. This is a fantastic and endlessly fascinating book. Loved it.

Great history on people associated with the disaster

I enjoyed hearing about Woolley and his life’s work and just getting the perspective from another person is well worth reading

an Autistic/ADHD 💧🌊 Dream

loved the wonderfully told info dumping. I couldn't turn it off. Best book I've listened to in quite a while

What a mean-spirited book

Mr. Stone must have a Titanic ax to grind. That can be the only explanation for a book that is a mean-spirited and poorly informed look at the Titanic story. How Mr. Stone could call Eva Hart an “Oprah-like” figure is baffling. And please, it’s “scuba dived,” not “scuba dove.”

Adding insult to injury, Mr. Stone’s voice is poorly suited to the material. Avoid.

Less about the Titanic and more about Douglas Woolley

The book seems more focused around telling the life story of Douglas Woolley and his interactions with the Titanic than telling the story of the Titanic or brining something new to the story.

Not worth it.

How do you make a book about the Titanic boring? Find a delusional man who has literally nothing to do with the Titanic, and who accomplished nothing in his life, and make him the focus of your book. Really regret wasting my time listening to this.