hacker_warrior Review of Titanic: Sinking the Myths

Titanic: Sinking the Myths (2017)

This made me sad. And not in a good way.

[3/10 · 2 January 2019]

So, I realized things were going to be kind of squirrelly when we were going to be dealing with a previously unknown/undocumented Titanic survivor. While some of the circumstances for his story could happen it all seems too convenient.

So without further ado, here's a list of some of the issues I had.

• Not sure if the telegram sent to Sand Hook about Titanic's early arrival to New York matches up with when they fixed the telegraph or were in range of Cape Race.
• They need more than one ship claiming they saw the Titanic to verify Titanic was in the northern shipping lane. Wouldn't that also mean the Californian could have been in the northern lane when it was heading to Boston?
• Everything involving the "dangers" of the coal fire. It's unlikely it would have warped the bulkhead that severely, coal fires were common back then so it wasn't something to panic about, and even if it did damage the bulkhead it would not have been the death sentence they claim it to be. Titanic was already doomed and they noticeably cut away from the naval engineer when discussing this. Kind of sketchy there.
• Muller says the iceberg might have been a growler, but many more people testified to the size, shape, and even color. Plus it doesn't line up with the shelving theory that's given for the collision.
• Ignoring the Frankfurt was not for completely jingoistic reasons like they claimed. Phillips tried to get them to do something multiple times that night, but they just didn't get the gravity of the situation. Eventually the airwaves got jammed up, so he told them to stay out.
• Everything with the character assasination of Ismay. He was actively trying to evacuate people that night, and no one can verify that he griped to Smith about Lowe or that Smith chewed Ismay out. That's pure supposition. Also, he was getting into an empty seat, no one else was nearby to take it, and it was on Murdoch's side of the ship. He had every right to it.
• Andrews was also seen helping people on deck. If he did go down below after his diagnosis it was not for an extended period of time because he knew the crew knew their jobs.
• Everthing about Muller's story just seems too good to be true, especially with him not being on any survivor lists. Many were taken on Carpathia so they could send lists of survivors to the shore. He wasn't noted in any of them?
• Towards the end it almost devolves into a conspiracy theory based around protecting the IMM. If that were the case then they did a terrible job of it since the main person pursuing the American hearing was out for blood regarding Ismay and the IMM. Not saying the companies didn't try to cover themselves, but it's a stretch to make it as big as they seemed to show it.
• I'm not sure how the Titanic surviving would have affected WWI. Aside from maybe some deals between German and British lines, it still seems kind of shaky to assume the IMM and Titanic would have altered things. And the anti-German attitude being nudged along by the British at the time really doesn't help the credibility of Muller's story.

Granted there were a few points I liked, such as the economic background of the IMM, the shelving and mirage theories, and that someone finally got Murdoch's bridge actions right (yes, you are supposed to turn the ship to the left when ordered hard to starboard: tiller commands were used, look them up). However getting through Muller's story and the parts that I had issues with were such a slog it almost wasn't worth those bits.

I'm not expecting it to be 100% accurate, but jeez...