Dead men tell no tales. Dead ships, however, do. Over seventy years after the great ocean liner sank, marine geologist Robert Ballard discovered the wreck of the Titanic 12,500 feet beneath the surface of the icy North Atlantic. Now Ballard presents the world with an opportunity to live the story of the famous ship through his amazing last great images, before Titanic's remains are gone forever. This is a story told in rusted, twisted metal and debris, but it is also a human story told in a porcelain doll's face, an empty shoe, and an abandoned derby hat. Titanic: The Last Great Images maps the wreck of the ship from a variety of perspectives to give a completely new picture of the triumph and tragedy that was Titanic. This illustrated volume—and a National Geographic special—weave the strands of the ocean liner's story together in renderings done by the ship's original designers, charts of the debris field, and period illustrations. Robert Ballard provides the clearest, most accurate view of the ship we have ever seen. In crisply detailed underwater photography, disintegrating ruins and shattered pieces reveal pride of workmanship, a rigidly defined class system, and indelible images of terror and courage. This book shows what makes the Titanic worthy of the world's undying fascination.

海洋地質学者ロバート・バラードによる本書は、科学的記録を超えた「沈黙する巨船」との文学的な対話です。錆びゆく鉄塊の中に置き去りの靴や人形を見出す著者の視線は、かつての繁栄と階級社会、そして極限下の勇気という人間ドラマを鮮やかに復元してみせます。 ナショナル ジオグラフィックの映像版が動的なスケールで迫る一方、本書は静止画と向き合う「瞑想」の時間を与えます。映像の臨場感を土台にしつつ、紙面ならではの緻密な図解と考察が読者の想像力を刺激する。両メディアが重なることで、この悲劇は単なる歴史から魂を揺さぶる永遠の叙事詩へと昇華されるのです。