This page is designed to bring you all of the latest news and information regarding the author's books - both those already in print and those forthcoming.
It also contains information on the author's older, self-published works which are no longer in print. This, it is hoped, will help interested readers distingiush between the older volumes and the new - and thoroughly different - works.
Available now for pre-order:
On A Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of the R.M.S. Titanic
(Amberley Books - March, 2012)
by Tad Fitch, J. Kent Layton and Bill Wormstedt
Introduction by George Behe,
with cover artwork by Robert Lloyd.
One hundred years after he sinking of the Titanic, the history of that ship is commemorated in this all new and incredibly comprehensive volume. Co-authored with Tad Fitch and Bill Wormstedt, two well-known and highly respected researchers of the disaster, this book will reveal the history of the Titanic as you have never read it before. From the personal stories, to the most accurate timeline of events during the sinking of the ship yet compiled, to the common misconceptions - nothing is beyond this volume's scope. Did ship's officers shoot passengers, or did one commit suicide? Was the Titanic switched with her similar sister ship Olympic? Was Titanic's construction of a poor nature, contributing to her loss? What became of Captain Smith and Thomas Andrews? How did the ship's final five minutes play out, from a technical perspective? Was the ship trying to make New York on Tuesday night rather than Wednesday morning? All of these questions, and many more, will be answered within this volume.
This narrative will read chronologically, taking the reader from the ship's initial concept, through construction, launch, fitting out, trials, and her disastrous maiden voyage. It is backed up by the team's many years of research into the subject, and the collective knowledge of other researchers such as Sam Halpern, George Behe, Mike Poirier, Bruce Beveridge and many others has been tapped to bring you one of the most accurate and informative texts ever written on the subject. More than just a dry dissertation of facts, this volume's text will engage and engross the reader, placing you aboard the ship in way you may never have thought possible before...
This volume will also be packed with photos and illustrations, including a full-color section.
Pre-ordering information will become available shortly. Arrangements will be made with the publisher for American availability through TMB Studios well in advance of availability through all typical retailers. A Limited Signed & Numbered "Centennial Commemorative Edition" will also be made available exclusively through TMB Studios.
March 2012 Release
First Edition
Book size: 8.5" w x 12" h (A4 interior pgs)
Hardcover with dustjacket
Click here to place your pre-order to help ensure arrival before the centennial anniversary. We are making special arrangements with the publisher to have the book in stock in advance of American retailers.
Available now from retailers everywhere:
Transatlantic Liners
(Shire Library Series)
Since the end of the nineteenth century there has been a stunning succession of transatlantic liners, from White Star's Oceanic of 1899 to Cunard's Queen Mary 2 of 2004. These floating palaces contained luxurious accommodations for their wealthy travelers, and infinitely more basic accommodations for the poorer travelers. The engineering that went into building them was constantly evolving, ever on the cutting edge. These great liners competed with each other to hold the titles of "world largest," "most luxurious" and "world's fastest." Many of these vessels - including Mauretania, Olympic, the first Queen Mary and France- had long and glorious careers; others - Titanic, Lusitania, and Normandie among them - suffered tragic endings. In this book, you will see what life was like for passengers in the heyday of the superliners, and how they - and their legacy - live on today.
The Edwardian Superliners: A Trio of Trios (May 2012, Amberley Books)
One of the most anticipated releases on maritime history of the year.
During the Edwardian Era, three of the greatest steamship companies in the world - Cunard, White Star, and Hamburg-Amerika - were deadlocked in a race for supremacy on the North Atlantic. They needed to expand their fleets, and with technology making tremendous leaps and bounds at the time, these vessels would be a whole new breed of superliners. In order to achieve a balanced weekly service on the Atlantic, each company commissioned the construction of three liners, and they became the marvels of their age. Indeed their names became legendary and even now, a century and more since they were conceived, the very mention of these vessels stirs the fires of the imagination. Born into a world on the edge of precipice, their lives did not unfold as originally intended. Some found disaster, while others managed to deal with a changing world and carry thousands of passengers safely across the Atlantic during lengthy and prestigious careers. Each of these nine ships, this 'trio of trios,' is given an unprecedented in-depth review in this new book. They are seen as individuals and as part of a larger whole.
This is an unprecedented look at Cunard's Lusitania, Mauretania and Aquitania, White Star's Olympic, Titanic and Britannic, and Hamburg Amerika's Imperator (later Berengaria), Vaterland (later Leviathan) and Bismarck (later Majestic).
2012, Amberley Books
First Edition
Book size: 8.5" w x 12" h x 1.5" d (A4 interior pgs)
(Pre-release publicity cover - does not reflect final design.)
Now available and in stock:
Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography (December 2010, Amberley Books)
Today the Lusitania is remembered
mostly for her tragic sinking
on May 7, 1915, and the political
ramifications of that disaster. That
sinking, however, was merely the
startling and grim finale to an
incredibly eventful life, the death
of one legend and the beginning of
another.
Just off the presses in late December of 2010, the all-new first edition book Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography (Amberley Books, 424 pages, A4 Hardback with dustjacket) relives the entire life of
the Lusitania, from her beginnings to
her demise; it is an unprecedented
biography of the great ship and the
people who sailed on her. From the
ship’s technical design features to
the greatest events in her career,
her story is told in both words and
pictures. Hundreds of photographs
and illustrations, breathtaking new
artwork, and all-new plans of the ship
reveal the liner as never before...
This book stands as the first publication by the author released through a prestigious publishing company, rather than from self-publishers.
For those who were familiar with my similarly-titled book from 2007, (Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography of the Ship of Splendor; hardcover and softcover editions by Lulu Books), make sure to pick up this all-new 424-page volume by Amberley Books in the United Kingdom. The paper is thick and glossy, and photo reproduction quality is razor-sharp. All corrections from the 2007 book have been rolled into the text, the text itself has been expanded, and the photographic and illustrative material has been profoundly increased and improved. The book also includes all new color artwork by digital artist Tom Lear. The excellent Introduction by Mike Poirier and Jim Kalafus has been retained from the 2007 book, as has the special Survivor's Note by Barbara Anderson McDermott. This, by far the largest book ever published about the Lusitania, is not a book to be missed by any liner enthusiast. Secure your copy today...
