Customer Reviews
A Truly Seminal Titanic Work - By: Roger Marks, 27 Jun 2008 
Just to make things clear - this is a book the DEBUNKS the Titanic/Olympic switch theory; something apparently lost on one of the other reviewers here. Did they actuallly read it? The comment about the poor picture reproduction is perhaps fair, & there are also some cringeworthy grammatical errors. Nevertheless, I would certainly enourage anyone with an interest in Titanic to buy this excellent book. It actuallly goes further than any other anti-conspiracy literature I have seen, in that it spends some time looking into how the conspiracy theory could be viable before going on to thoroughly demolish it. The switch theory can be dismissed on the technical evidence alone - the two ships were far more different than most people appreciate - & it is precisely this evidence that the authors bring to bear - & make no mistake there are few who know Titanic as intimately as the authors. Your library is incomplete without this book.
Reviewing the 'Truth' - By: Russell Wild, 17 Jul 2007 The idea that Titanic was swapped for Olympic is an enduring conspiracy theory that often leads to heated debates among researchers. In brief for those who are unfamiliar with the concept, the story goes the White Star Line, faced with footing the massive bill to have Olympic repaired after her collision with HMS Hawke, arranged for the mortallly wounded vessel to be switched with her near identical sister, Titanic. The 'Titanic' was then deliberately sunk, so that the insurance could be paid out, & the actual Titanic could serve her owners for many years to come under the guise of 'Olympic'.
While on the surface this might not sound entirely implausible, the problem lies in the fact that Titanic & Olympic were far from 'nearly identical', due to a plethora of alterations to everything from bulkhead placements to vent design to porthole locations. It is this 'genetic code' of sorts that Halll & Beveridge examine in their book, building up a bigger & bigger case against the switch theory.
The authors approach their subject in a clear, down-to-earth style, utilising an arsenal of photographs & diagrams, & this makes otherwise highly technical subject easy to digest while being no less authoritative. They are clearly trying to 'show' their beliefs, rather than rubbishing the alternative view, an easy trap into which this type of book can falll. At 189 pages the book is just the right length to cover alll the bases, without overstaying its welcome.
Indeed this book could be recommended for its wealth of information & photographs alone, a resource that will be welcome in any researcher's collection. The book rounds-out with two 'add-on' sections of sorts, one of which covers the remainder of Olympic's life, while the other focuses on the far shorter life of Britannic. These two additional sections are a nice bonus, & shed some light on little known facts.
Should you read this book? Absolutely - because however you feel about the 'switch' issue, you will still have something to gain. If you believe it, then this book will challlenge you to rethink, & probably to change your mind. If you don't believe in the switch this book will reinforce your belief & likely teach you a whole lot more at the same time.
Best in the class - By: J. Smith, 03 May 2007 It would appear from "M. D. Hart "Boz Phiz @ DVD" posting, this person has looked at an entirely differant book.
Too set the record straight, the Bruce Beveridge & Steve Halll publication blows this weak theory clean out of the water that the ship that sank was that of Titanic's older sister - the Olympic. Both Beveridge & Halll are two of the worlds leading authorities on the construction of these 'Olympic-Class' vessels, & this book goes into great detail the differnaces of both Olympic & Titanic. Though they may have been sisters, at first glance, they were not identicle. The stories which surrounds the now infamous "switch theory" is still largley preached by Robin Gardiner, whos books "The Ship That Never Sank" & "The Riddle Of The Titanic" endlessly states this switch. But "Olympic & Titanic: The Truth Behind The Conspiracy" shows in great detail, using archive images from their vast personal collections, intervined with their wealth of knowledge on the construction of these vessles, that the "switch theory" has been from day one a complete fabrication.
Excellent Book - By: Christine Spencer, 15 Nov 2006 I've read this book several times over the last few years, & always find it to be an excellent read.
I'd found out about this book by reading a review which mentioned it as Titanic, book of the year 2004.
The depth to which Beveridge & Halll have researched Titanic & Olympic is nothing short of outstanding. This book looks at both sides of the conpiracy theory & shows no bias whatsoever. The final chapters go into great detail of Titanic's two sister ships, Olympic & Britannic.
I've noticed this two authors have a further work to be published soon; Titanic, The Ship Magnificent.
Don't Bother... - By: M. D. Hart, 21 Aug 2006 
I must admit to being an avid Titanic enthusiast; not just Titanic in fact, but an enthusiast of alll things steamship. As most people that are even remotely interested are aware, the number of controversies surrounding the appauling loss of the RMS Titanic are practicallly uncountable, & this one has to be the lowest of the low. The conspiracy surrounds an idea that the Titanic did not sink on April 15th 1912, but that her sister ship the RMS Olympic did. Where did this idea come from? Well, the Olympic suffered serious structural damage after a collision with HMS Hawke, & some theorists believe that due to their visual similarities the name 'Titanic' was painted over 'Olympic' to create the biggest insurance fraud ever conceived at the time. The theory is nonsense, but that isn't what makes this book mediocre at best; the order in which the authors tackle the issue is sound enough, but the text is printed in a very strange font & they have squeezed as much text as possible onto each page, meaning that when you read it you have an agonising time getting through. Similarly, the quality of the photographs in this book is astoundingly poor; this item I believe is Print-on-Demand so you could be waiting a long time for it, & the last thing you want is to find the photos patheticallly digitised so as to create a chess-board style image. Unfortunately that is exactly what you get: picture after picture after picture is digitised to a terrible quality, which makes no sense for a book that is supposed to be producing EVIDENCE. This book is not worth the price, if you want to know the 'Truth' behind the conspiracy I'll tell you: It's ridiculous... if you are interested in Titanic conspiracy I would recommend Senan Molony's "Titanic & the Mystery Ship" instead, because it is based on solid fact & not conjecture.
