Publishers Mark Titanic Centennial with Record Number of Books, Says Bowker
In the past 100 years, more than 650 books have been published about the tragedy -- about a third designed for children and young adults, including one that puts a young Indiana Jones at the scene. While the years before the establishment of the ISBN in the late 1960s are harder to track, examining records from the Library of Congress shows that three, peak years account for 30% of all publishing activity related to the Titanic story. In 1912, 26 books were rushed to market, capturing survivor accounts, minutes of public inquiries, and investigative reports. In subsequent years, works of fact and fiction continued to enthral readers, including Walter Lord’s classic A Night to Remember, but none topped 1912’s prolific production until 1998, when Cameron’s film sparked renewed interest. 2012 marks a new high, with market entries that span reprints of the classics -- including Loss of the S.S. Titanic by Lawrence Beesley, first published in 1912 -- to children’s fiction and even an offering from the “For Dummies” series.