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Rating: 
Summary: Popular Misconceptions Become Myths and Soothe Us
Review: I have always wondered why the Titanic tragedy has had such a profound grip on our minds and our imaginations. This fascinating book looks at the myths that have grown up around the Titanic, and interprets why these myths appeal to us. I found it to be a very profound insight into psychological benefits potentially provided the many misconceptions that stall our progress every day. To understand why we look at the myth rather than the opportunity is to learn how to be a stallbuster who can go on to achieve great things. Howells found six parallels between the Titanic myths and those located in preliterate myths of various peoples. First, realistic detail is used to establish credibility for the fantastic parts of the story. Second, myths create an idealized version of the world that people would like to aspire to. Third, myths express truths about the societies (rather than the events) that create and believe the myths. Fourth, myths are an attempt to meet society's needs by expressing ideas that would be helpful if followed. Fifth, myths express the entire culture rather than just the thinking of a single author. Sixth, myths are a way of creating meaning out of an event that seems overwhelming otherwise. Howell explores in depth the later writings about many of the mythical events of the Titanic. In these he finds many expressions of English Edwardian ideals of masculinity and social class. Further, parts of the myth express a desire to draw a lesson from the experience -- that of hubris (excessive pride) causing a fall. The parallels to Paradise Lost and the myth of Prometheus are immediately invoked. The book is very well organized and clearly written. The introduction is a good overview of the book. The first chapter provides an accurate summary of what really happened on the Titanic. The second chapter explores the significance of myths and the Titanic. Chapters three through seven look at particular myths (Women and Children First! -- but some men escaped the disaster as well; Be British -- holding up the nation as an example to all; We Shall Die Like Gentlemen -- a reference to class even though a high percent of the upper class people survived; 'Nearer My God, to Thee' being played by the band -- a conflict between spiritual and secular values; and The Unsinkable Ship -- which should have been applied to Olympic, Titanic's predecessor). The conclusion makes a interesting parallel between the words used by President Reagan after the Challenger shuttle disaster and the little reported words of a duchess in unveiling a statue of the Titanic's captain in 1914. This comparison shows the fundamental needs that myth serves in a very profound way. This book would be a good one to share with someone else (or even for a book club) and then to discuss in terms of how myths help and hurt us. Then you could discuss places where contemporary myths should be challenged. This will be a great stallbusting adventure for you! Donald Mitchell Coauthor of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The 2,000 Percent Solution (donmitch@fastforward400.com)
Rating:
Summary: Popular Misconceptions Become Myths and Soothe Us
Review: I have always wondered why the Titanic tragedy has had such a profound grip on our minds and our imaginations. This fascinating book looks at the myths that have grown up around the Titanic, and interprets why these myths appeal to us. I found it to be a very profound insight into psychological benefits potentially provided the many misconceptions that stall our progress every day. To understand why we look at the myth rather than the opportunity is to learn how to be a stallbuster who can go on to achieve great things. Howells found six parallels between the Titanic myths and those located in preliterate myths of various peoples. First, realistic detail is used to establish credibility for the fantastic parts of the story. Second, myths create an idealized version of the world that people would like to aspire to. Third, myths express truths about the societies (rather than the events) that create and believe the myths. Fourth, myths are an attempt to meet society's needs by expressing ideas that would be helpful if followed. Fifth, myths express the entire culture rather than just the thinking of a single author. Sixth, myths are a way of creating meaning out of an event that seems overwhelming otherwise. Howell explores in depth the later writings about many of the mythical events of the Titanic. In these he finds many expressions of English Edwardian ideals of masculinity and social class. Further, parts of the myth express a desire to draw a lesson from the experience -- that of hubris (excessive pride) causing a fall. The parallels to Paradise Lost and the myth of Prometheus are immediately invoked. The book is very well organized and clearly written. The introduction is a good overview of the book. The first chapter provides an accurate summary of what really happened on the Titanic. The second chapter explores the significance of myths and the Titanic. Chapters three through seven look at particular myths (Women and Children First! -- but some men escaped the disaster as well; Be British -- holding up the nation as an example to all; We Shall Die Like Gentlemen -- a reference to class even though a high percent of the upper class people survived; 'Nearer My God, to Thee' being played by the band -- a conflict between spiritual and secular values; and The Unsinkable Ship -- which should have been applied to Olympic, Titanic's predecessor). The conclusion makes a interesting parallel between the words used by President Reagan after the Challenger shuttle disaster and the little reported words of a duchess in unveiling a statue of the Titanic's captain in 1914. This comparison shows the fundamental needs that myth serves in a very profound way. This book would be a good one to share with someone else (or even for a book club) and then to discuss in terms of how myths help and hurt us. Then you could discuss places where contemporary myths should be challenged. This will be a great stallbusting adventure for you! Donald Mitchell Coauthor of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The 2,000 Percent Solution (donmitch@fastforward400.com)
Rating: 
Summary: Psychobabble
Review: Mr. Howells exams enduring myths which developed during the two years following the 1912 sinking of the Titanic. He follows "the metodological tradition of authroities such as John Grierson and Clifoord Geertz, supported by thinkers such as Hegel an Kant" in taking a case study approach to the unsinkable nature of the ship, the concept of women and children first, of being british and dying as gentelemen. For the student of the Titanic disaster, the book does not reveal any new facts, simply it seesk to assign psychoanaytical concepts.
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