The Other Side of the Night: The Carpathia, the Californian and the Night the Titanic was Lost

By Daniel Allen Butler

After every disaster, someone has something to hide . . .

A few minutes before midnight on April 14, 1912, the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage to New York, struck an iceberg. Less than three hours later she lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While the world has remained fascinated by the tragedy, the most amazing drama of those fateful hours was not played out aboard the doomed liner. It took place on the decks of two other ships, one fifty-eight miles distant from the sinking Titanic, the other barely ten miles away. The masters of the steamships Carpathia and Californian, Captain Arthur Rostron and Captain Stanley Lord, were informed within minutes of each other that their vessels had picked up the distress signals of a sinking ship. Their actions in the hours and days that followed would become the stuff of legend, as one would choose to take his ship into dangerous waters to answer the call for help, while the other would decide that the hazard to himself and his command was too great to risk responding.

After years of research, Daniel Allen Butler now tells this incredible story, moving from ship to ship on the icy waters of the North Atlantic—in real-time—to recount how hundreds of people could have been rescued, but in the end only a few outside of the meager lifeboats were saved. He then looks alike at the U.S. Senate Investigation in Washington, and ultimately the British Board of Trade Inquiry in London, where the actions of each captain are probed, questioned, and judged, until the truth of what actually happened aboard the Titanic, the Carpathia and the Californian is revealed.

Daniel Allen Butler, a maritime and military historian, is the bestselling author of “Unsinkable”: The Full Story of RMS Titanic, Distant Victory: The Battle of Jutland and the Allied Triumph in the First World War, and The First Jihad: The Battle for Khartoum and the Dawn of Militant Islam. He is an internationally recognized authority on maritime subjects and a popular guest-speaker for several cruise lines. Butler lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Casemate
• Release date: May 26, 2009
• ISBN: 9781935149705

Daniel Allen Butler

Daniel Allen Butler, a maritime and military historian, is the bestselling author of “Unsinkable”: The Full Story of RMS Titanic, Distant Victory: The Battle of Jutland and the Allied Triumph in the First World War, and The First Jihad: The Battle for Khartoum and the Dawn of Militant Islam. He is an internationally recognized authority on maritime subjects. Butler lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Daniel Allen Butler was educated at Hope College, Grand Valley State University, and the University of Erlangen.

Reviews for The Other Side of the Night

[sallylou61 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There are many books written about the Titanic. In this excellent book, Daniel Allen Butler pays particular attention to the Carpathia and the Californian and the roles they played when the Titanic sank. The Carpathia, with Arthur Rostron as captain, was approximately 58 miles from the Titanic and rushed to her aid; the Californian, with Stanley Lord as captain, was much much closer and could even see the distress signals of the Titanic but did nothing. Mr. Butler describes the actions and inaction taken by the captains and crew of all three ships and discusses such topics as why the Titanic sank (including the mistakes made by its captain, Edward J. Smith), whether all the passengers and crew could have been saved if the Californian had promptly come to the aid of the Titanic, the numbers of passengers of various classes and crew who were rescued and who perished and why. There was a world of difference between the captains of the Carpathia and Californian. Captain Rostron of the Carpathia made careful preparations for the rescue, and had his ship run faster than it was made to run to get to the Titanic. The atmosphere aboard his ship both when it was rushing to the Titanic’s aid and after it had rescued passengers and crew of the Titanic is described, as is the actual rescue.Captain Lord did nothing until the following morning after the Carpathia had done the rescuing. Captain Lord’s behavior was constantly unprofessional including his attempts to cover-up his failure to heed the Titanic’s distress signals, the incomplete log of his ship for that time period, etc. Mr. Butler tries to determine why Captain Lord acted as he did.Mr. Butler also covers both the American and British investigations into the disaster. In the epilogue of the book, Mr. Butler tells what happened to the major crew members of all three ships; some of the crew of the Titanic survived.The book contains some appendices, a bibliography, and index. However, although there were quotations in the text, there are no footnotes or endnotes.

[oregonobsessionz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On the still cold night of April 14, 1912, the luxurious White Star liner Titanic, on its maiden voyage, scraped past an iceberg on the north Atlantic. As in all disasters, the situation progressed from incident to disaster because of decisions made long before, and actions taken or not taken as events unfolded. The tragedy aboard the Titanic has spawned dozens of books, movies, and songs. In The Other Side of the Night, Daniel Allen Butler explores aspects of the story not covered by Walter Lord and others. Butler reviewed the investigation reports from the U.S. Senate and the British Board of Trade, along with other primary sources, in an attempt to understand why the Carpathia responded from 50 miles away, while the Californian, stopped within sight of the sinking ship, did not. This exploration leads the author to some very dark conclusions.