Titanic or Olympic: Which Ship Sank?: The Truth Behind the Conspiracy

by Steve Hall, Bruce Beveridge, Art Braunschweiger

The Titanic is one of the most famous maritime disasters of all time, but did the Titanic really sink on the morning of 15 April 1912? Titanic's older sister, the nearly identical Olympic, was involved in a serious accident in September 1911 -- an accident that may have made her a liability to her owners the White Star Line. Since 1912 rumours of a conspiracy to switch the two sisters in an elaborate insurance scam has always loomed behind the tragic story of the Titanic. Could the White Star Line have really switched the Olympic with her near identical sister in a ruse to intentionally sink their mortally damaged flagship in April 1912, in order to cash in on the insurance policy? This book addresses some of these conspiracy theories and illustrates both the questionable anomalies and hard technical facts that will prove the switch theory to be exactly what it is -- a mere legend.

471 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2012

About the author

Steve Hall is Professor of Criminology in the Social Futures Institute. He is an internationally leading criminological researcher and theorist. His book Criminal Identities and Consumer Culture (Willan 2008, with Simon Winlow and Craig Ancrum) has been described as ‘an important landmark in criminology’ and his most recent book Theorizing Crime and Deviance (Sage 2012) has been lauded as ‘a remarkable intellectual achievement’ that ‘rocks the foundations of the discipline’.
In the 1970s Steve worked as a professional musician and general labourer, and in the 1980s he worked in the field of rehabilitation and youth offending.
After graduating from university in 1991 with first class honours in sociology, he worked as a lecturer at Teesside from 1993, a member of the team that established the country’s first single-honours criminology degree. After spells as a senior research fellow at the University of Durham and a researcher and teacher at Northumbria University, he re-joined Teesside in 2010.

Reviews

[Suellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

• 3 Stars • Most of us are familiar with the story of the sinking of the Titanic. But did you also know there was a “sister ship“ that was nearly identical to the Titanic? She was called the Olympic. And, as they do, conspiracy theorists claim that the previously damaged Olympic was swapped out for the Titanic. Why? Just follow the money and think insurance claims. It’s a convoluted story, but the authors make some plausible points on both sides of the argument. But ultimately they want you to belief that it was, in fact, the Titanic that sunk. Of course, how can those ‘sworn to secrecy’ say otherwise? 🤪 This was a very well documented and interesting assessment. 🚢

#TitanticOrOlympic #WhichShipSank? #SteveHall #Bookstagram

[Marceline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit over analytical at times but a worthy read of you ever thought the titanic switch was plausible. They examine both sides of the conspiracy and present the facts and circumstantial evidence for each and while they feel there was no switch, they leave it for you to decide for yourself.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed and informative examination of this interesting conspiracy theory. The details about the vessels and the shipbuilding and cruise line practices of the era are very interesting.

[Lea Berryreadinbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another layer to this fascinating conspiracy