Ghosts of the Abyss: A Journey Into the Heart of the Titanic

by Ken Marschall, Don Lynch, James Cameron, et al.

Book Overview

In the late summer of 2001, James Cameron, the director-producer of the highest-grossing picture in Hollywood history, led a new deep-diving expedition to the wreck of the lost liner Titanic. With him was a team of underwater explorers that included the artist Ken Marschall, the historian Don Lynch, and two actors from the movie, Bill Paxton and Lewis Abernathy (who played Brock Lovett and Lewis Bodine). Their equipment included state-of-the-art digital...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306812231
• ISBN13: 9780306812231
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 2.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 10.5" x 10.4"

Customer Reviews

An Incredible Companion to the DVD

Let me preface this review by stating that I have been studing the TITANIC for over 20 years and have just about every book imaginable on the subject in my personal library. After watching the "Ghosts from the Abyss" DVD, I simply HAD to get a copy of this book. The photos are outstanding, the commentary is fresh and the way it ties into the DVD makes it even better. This is the best TITANIC book since "Titanic: An Illustrated History", which coincidentally was also written by Don Lynch and Ken Marshall. It is simply a MUST HAVE for anyone interested in this fascinating story. I would highly recommend buying this AND the DVD for the full effect! You WILL NOT be disappointed with this book. Buy it with 100% confidence!

Beautiful book, wish they'd put the movie out on video

While not a very big book at just 143 pages this is one of the nicer Titanic books I've seen. Dedicated to both those who died during the sinking and those who died September 11, 2001 (while the film project was underway)the fist chapter gives a quick but detailed history of the Titanic folowed by several chapters devoted to the crew's exploration and filming of the shipwreck and it's aftermath. I really liked the photos of the wreck as it is now, especially when compared with similar period photos, and the computer graphic reconstructions were amazing. Many of the photographs seemed very familiar, I was surprised to see so many of things that had somehow survive breaking and kind o depressed to see the signs of collapse that the wreck is now going through. I sure wish I could've seen the movie, hope it comes out on video soon and I'd like to see much more work of this type doen before it's too late.

A Sea of Secrets and Emotion

That Don Lynch and Ken Marschall have produced yet another great Titanic title is not a surprise but the beauty of this volume surpasses any book on the subject previously published and the sensitive approach the authors take is matchless. The incredible undersea photos, culled from James Cameron's 2001 expedition, are at once stunning and disturbing, revealing the unexpected, illuminating not only the life of this once proud vessel but the lives of the men, women and children who sailed on and were lost with her. Titanic has in fact never been seen in such an intimate, immediate way. The text is Don Lynch at his story-telling finest. His comparison of the 1912 sinking to the disaster of September 11, which occured while the Cameron dive was in full swing, is especially powerful. This book is likely the best that will ever be published on Titanic as she is today - alone, rusted and dead on a seabed, yet wonderfully alive, lost but fantastically found, inhabitated now only by ocean life and, yes, as one is convinced from the extraordinary images, by a great many ghosts.

An incredible achievement!

In 'Ghosts of the Abyss', Ken Marschall and Don Lynch have done what the Titanic community has invisioned for years and compiled a photographic record of views from inside the Titanic wreck. The images of the Titanic's interiors are truly amazing and lay reference to the beauty of the ship's former glory. Views of the Reception and Dining Room, as well as several first class staterooms give a truly passionate and humane view of the Titanic. Never before has the ship been reached on such a personal level. Nothing like this has ever been seen before, it is truly an incredible achievement of a book and a must have. My congragulations go out to the authors, Mr. Marschall and Mr. Lynch, with thanks to James Cameron. Well done!

A fresh look at the Titanic

Since its seabed location in 1985, the Titanic has been explored and photographed extensively, culminating in many books flooding the market. The Titanic community relishes these volumes, and yet these books offer little fresh material into the wreck whose untimely demise has fascinated millions around the work.Enter James Cameron. In 2001, he and his expedition team, along with unequalled historians Don Lynch and Ken Marschall, sought to bring the story of Titanic to the reader in a way that had not been accomplished with satisfaction. With his high-tech 'bots', Cameron and his expedition explored the deepest caverns of the Titanic, creating an awesome photo record of the ship's interiors, as well a visual update of the sad decay that is consuming the once-great ship.What the reader will discover is nothing short of awesome in this book - a combination of 'then-and-now' photos, computer-generated recreations of rooms based on the team's discoveries, and items explored and photographed that would not have been known to exist on Titanic otherwise. The talents of James Cameron, with his tenacity, Ken Marschall with his knowledge and artistic expertise, and Don Lynch, knowing the personal tales behind the death of White Star Line's legend, come together in this book that will be difficult to surpass.The only way to improve upon this offering is to add more pages of the wreck's interior.