"The Indifferent Stranger"

[DrPL]

My own book on the Titanic and the Californian is now available for purchase. See http://www.paullee.com/book_details.php
for more information.

[Timothy Trower]

I've had the chance to take a sneak preview of this ebook, and my only regret is that I don't have enough time this week to read it.

Paul's work is, as usual, quite tremendous!

[Achmet Pamba]

Salaam, Tim.

I've had a chance to see a small part of Paul's book, too, and I'm looking forward to reading the entire work; from what I've seen, it contains a wealth of new material and will be a much-needed antidote to the so-called "mystery ship" nonsense.

Achmet

[Timothy Trower]

Salaam, Achmet,

If it hadn't been for the fact that my email server was down today, and I had to spend the last hour and a half on the 'phone with tech support, I was going to squeeze in another chapter. Instead, I played solitaire (and got a pretty high score!) and plotted my revenge on AT&T!

How is your work on Archie Butt coming along? I can't wait to see what you have found on this man.

Tim

[DrPL]

Theres a review of my book at
http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/di ... 1208361140

[Timothy Trower]

I've finally had the time required to complete a review of Paul Lee's new eBook, The Indifferent Stranger. This is a book that I strongly recommend, especially as a strong counterpoint to Senan Molony's book Titanic and the Mystery Ship.

The Indifferent Stranger
Dr. Paul Lee
Self published eBook, 2008
329 pages, illustrated, £15
http://www.paullee.com:80/book_details.php



One of the rules of etiquette is that a guest to your home does not speak of religion or politics. Likewise, at some gatherings of Titanic historians, it is best not to speak of one of the most contentious topics relating to the tragedy – that of the guilt or innocence of Captain Stanley Lord and his ship, the Leyland liner Californian.

Hundreds of thousands of words have been written about this controversy, and frankly, most books and articles are heavily slanted either pro or con, often with information excluded from or reworded from the historic narrative to support the position of whatever side the author finds himself on. Thus, it is troubling to see in one narrative how Leslie Harrison left out mention of rockets fired by the Carpathia at 3:15 a.m. and seen by the Californian at the same time since this sighting doesn’t support his point of view. Equally perturbing is the way that Leslie Reade omitted part of Fifth Officer Lowe’s testimony concerning lights on the mystery ship that seemed to indicate to Lowe that the ship was steaming away.

The basic facts – that the officers and some of the crew of the Californian saw rockets being fired to the south and that numerous passengers and crew of the Titanic saw the lights of a ship to the north are without doubt. But from this point on, there are widely divergent viewpoints of what happened and what was seen, and since 1912, writers on both sides of the question have attempted to sway the undecided to their respective view.

There is a wealth of information available in the form of testimony given to both the American and British inquires as well as letters, logbooks, wireless records, interviews and memoirs. A careful shifting of all available evidence, omitting none, is what has been needed since the first accusations were hurled at Captain Lord.

The Indifferent Stranger is a newly published eBook by Dr. Paul Lee, a frequent contributor to The Commutator. His look at this controversial subject is thorough, exhaustive and seemingly complete. Far from cherry picking evidence to support his conclusions, Dr. Lee has instead presented entire passages of testimony in order for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. This approach can make certain sections of the book drag just a bit; however, this approach ensures all relevant information is provided.

With the purchase of this eBook, the purchaser sent a PDF to open and read on his or her computer, or can instead order a copy on a CD. It can then also be loaded onto a PDA or, as I did, print out a copy onto 8 ½” x 11” paper and put into a three-ring binder.

The entire story of the Californian incident is retold in a chronological manner. Using testimony and related material drawn from the two main inquiries, the book delves into the beginnings of the controversy surrounding the indifferent stranger that was supposedly seen by both the Titanic and Californian. When it is established by the writer that in spite of Captain Lord’s protestations, his ship was indeed the mystery ship that sat at rest a short distance away, Dr. Lee is very careful to present both sides of every argument – even if the information used runs counter to the Lee’s eventual conclusions.

The author spends much time going through not only inquiry notes, but contemporary newspaper accounts, letters and reported conversations as well. Step by step, and with great detail, each puzzle piece is carefully examined, both sides of the issue looked at and discussed, and that issue objectively examined, helping the reader decide what did happen the night of April 14-15.

Sorting through the maze of conflicting stories takes patience, time and much effort. Numerous portions of the 1912 inquiries are presented in full. Although reading these excerpts can be tedious, no one can accuse Dr. Lee of leaving out items which do not fit the case he presents throughout the book. The reader is exhorted to read through all of the transcripts “…for contained within is not only verification of the extracts presented in this book, but also priceless snippets of information…”

Numerous charts and illustrations help the reader understand what was seen, and from what height above the water ship’s lights and the glare of socket signals could be seen. For instance, on pages 314-316 is a series of original illustrations showing what the lights of the Californian must have looked like to Fourth Officer Boxhall. These lights would have shifted throughout the night in the current and displayed what first looked like two masthead lights and a green light changing to what later appeared to be just a single masthead light as the Titanic sank deeper into the water. Touches such as these add great detail to the book.

Some of the conclusions in Dr. Lee’s eBook will upset people – but he has taken great care to clearly show from the actual and unedited words of the principals exactly what must have happened.

Although there are a few small formatting issues with the eBook, and while I personally dislike the use of Stanley Morrison’s Times New Roman as the type face employed throughout, it is the text of the book and the accompanying illustrations that make this book well worth the purchase. The lack of an index is not a concern since the electronic version of the book is easily searched, as the author intended.

The Indifferent Stranger is not available through bookstores but may be ordered from Paul Lee at http://www.paullee.com:80/book_details.php The book will not be the final word on this contentious subject, but barring new discoveries, it may well stand as the definitive argument for one side of the Californian question.

Tim Trower

[Edit, 3-26-10; in spite of online comments that the author has had about me, I still highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject.]

[DrPL]

Hi,
I've added some sample pages on my book's webpage, http://www.paullee.com/book_details.php

With best wishes

Paul

[Timothy Trower]

Paul,

The sample pages give a very good view of what the book actually looks like. Looking at them spurred me to pull out my copy (I printed it out and put it into a three-hole binder) and do some reading this evening. It is still an excellent book.

[DrPL]

wow, I've just been interviewed by Roy Basnett, or Liverpool's City Talk radio ( citytalk.fm ) to plug my book. A date hasn't been set yet, but it will be broadcast on his show between 2 and 6am; those of you in the US and Australia might catch it at a more hospitable time!

[DrPL]

Tomorrow morning, from 2am (UK time) apparently. Hope you like it!

[DrPL]

If you want to listen to it, heres a link:

http://www.walkerboyz.com/mp3/drpl_city ... itanic.mp3
-its a 30MB file though!

[Steve Hall]

I enjoyed listening to you talk there Paul. I downloaded the file and kept it here. I'll have another listen again next week.

Steve

[DrPL]

Glad you found it interesting, mate. Personally I hate my voice. Its too high pitched and squeaky.

And great to see another Basil Brush fan too!

Have a look at my main Titanic page: http://www.paullee.com/titanic - I'm starting to transcribe the Lord-Macquitty collection onto my website.

[Steve Hall]

You sounded fine Paul. I enjoyed it.

[Achmet Pamba]

Salaam, Paul.

I've just finished listening to your radio interview and enjoyed it very much. You did a fine job fielding the interviewer's questions about the Californian's proximity to the disaster site and its failure to respond to the Titanic's distress rockets.

It was great to finally be able to hear your voice, too. (By the way, your voice sounds much better than mine, since I have to contend with a horrible nasal twang.)

Take care, my friend, and - again - congratulations on your interview!

Sincerely,

Achmet

[DrPL]

Perhaps a place to note that my own book on the Californian affair is
due to re-released next week as a paperback. I've greatly expanded the
book, added new sketches, and some new information, while reworking
the existing material (the last four chapters, for example, have been
heavily remodelled).

There are more details on my website at
http://www.paullee.com/book_details.php including the rather good
(though I say so myself) cover artwork, which is a computer composite.

[Timothy Trower]

Paul,

This is excellent news indeed, and I hope that it opens an entirely new avenue of sales for you -- this already was a great book, and I look forward to reading the revision of the same.

[Achmet Pamba]

Salaam, Paul.

That's great news -I'm looking forward to seeing your new additions to the book.

Achmet

[Michael H. Standart]

I ordered my copy last night. The nice thing about PayPal is that it makes the process easy.

[DrPL]

I picked up the copies yesterday, after a marathon 4 hour round trip from Cambridge to London, coming back with 18 kg of books. I'm gradually completing the orders, which will take a little time, please be patient! Heres a little picture from my journey.

[DrPL]

You can now order my book from Amazon.co.uk - hope you enjoy it!

[Michael H. Standart]

>>You can now order my book from Amazon.co.uk - hope you enjoy it!<<

Excellant news! For anybody still sitting on the fence, this book is a "Must-Have" for the library of any serious student of the Titanic disaster and the related events, particularly of the Californian Incident!

[Steve Hall]

I've read this book three times.
Each read I learn more.
Great research, in-depth, easily readable, best I've read.
And, Paul is a really nice guy.

[DrPL]

"Titanic - the experience" in Orlando will be stocking my book, I am pleased to say.

[DrPL]

Just a reminder that my book is still available, if you want to beat the Christmas rush. In fact, I'm due to pick up a new batch in a few days with details of a rescue that was performed in World War 2 that has a direct comparison with what many say the Californian should have done...

More details by following the link in my signature below..

[DrPL]

"The Northern Echo" newspaper, whose list of editors include a certain W.T.Stead, has written a small piece about my book. I've scanned it in and put it on my website.

[Quisling]

The third of my Titanic books that I belatedly received for my birthday. I'm gradually getting through them!

This book is an in-depth analysis of the so-called Californian affair, bane of many discussions on many Titanic bulletin boards.
The whole story is covered, from the disaster, through the 1912 enquries, A Night To Remember and Walter Lord, the 1960s petitions to rehear the case, the MAIB re-appraisal...all the details are analysed, and much of the information is brand new. Or perhaps, "brand old" as a lot of the facts have only come about from private archives only recently released to the public. The book is now apparently in its third printing, and, according to the author, is soon to be the subject of a documentary ready in time for the centenary of the disaster. An excellent read, and hopefully one that quashes the subject once and for all.

[Geo Lorton]

Sincere congratulations Paul, I have nothing but admiration for you for writing this book and for taking the time after dealing with everything else on your plate to still painstakingly research and write this book. You deserve all the praise you get.