Books in Brief

Titanic Adventure, by Jennifer Carter & Joel Hirschhorn (New Horizon Press. 324 pp., $26.95)

THE Titanic seems permanently afloat with all the world aboard as if on the Flying Dutchman. Skepticism is to be expected at the prospect of yet another Titanic on the bookshelves, but this is an irresistible book, as readers would expect to hear from a reviewer who wrote the Foreword to the book and whose dive to examine the Titanic in 1987 happened aboard the principal author’s watch. Jennifer Carter was in charge of the 50-man expedition that gave birth to a total of 35 dives down to the great depth (2.5 miles) where the spectral ruins lie, each dive lasting 9 hours (1.5 hours down, 6 hours exploring, 1.5 hours up). Mrs. Carter, a sometime bank clerk and full-time mother with near full-time experience as a diver and explorer, was from childhood entranced by the story of the Ttanic. She was tapped to head up the great expedition that rescued a thousand artifacts from destruction, athwart the noisy interference from then-Sen. Lowell Weicker, who sponsored legislation to impede the critical exploration because of his devotion to submerged wrecks. Mrs. Carter had befriended a survivor of the Ttanic and, in the 36 days aboard the mother vessel that hovered over the wreckage, dealt with problems grave and small including a hurricane, Telly Savalas, ethnic near-conflagrations, theft, and occasional despair. What emerged was not only the splendid collection of Titanic-ware, but the narrative of an enchanting woman with a shrewd eye for drama, excitement, archaeological lore, and low and high points in human behavior. These notes are from one beneficiary of her enthusiasm and care, but only one of many who will benefit from her adventures and from her storytelling gifts. —Wm. F. Buckley Jr.

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William F. Buckley Jr.

Titanic Adventure, by Jennifer Carter & Joel Hirschhorn (New Horizon Press. 324 pp., $26.95)

THE Titanic seems permanently afloat with all the world aboard as if on the Flying Dutchman. Skepticism is to be expected at the prospect of yet another Titanic on the bookshelves, but this is an irresistible book, as readers would expect to hear from a reviewer who wrote the Foreword to the book and whose dive to examine the Titanic in 1987 happened aboard the principal author’s watch. Jennifer Carter was in charge of the 50-man expedition that gave birth to a total of 35 dives down to the great depth (2.5 miles) where the spectral ruins lie, each dive lasting 9 hours (1.5 hours down, 6 hours exploring, 1.5 hours up). Mrs. Carter, a sometime bank clerk and full-time mother with near full-time experience as a diver and explorer, was from childhood entranced by the story of the Ttanic. She was tapped to head up the great expedition that rescued a thousand artifacts from destruction, athwart the noisy interference from then-Sen. Lowell Weicker, who sponsored legislation to impede the critical exploration because of his devotion to submerged wrecks. Mrs. Carter had befriended a survivor of the Ttanic and, in the 36 days aboard the mother vessel that hovered over the wreckage, dealt with problems grave and small including a hurricane, Telly Savalas, ethnic near-conflagrations, theft, and occasional despair. What emerged was not only the splendid collection of Titanic-ware, but the narrative of an enchanting woman with a shrewd eye for drama, excitement, archaeological lore, and low and high points in human behavior. These notes are from one beneficiary of her enthusiasm and care, but only one of many who will benefit from her adventures and from her storytelling gifts. —Wm. F. Buckley Jr.