New Book on HMS Terror by Matthew Betts

[catopower]

I was quite surprised yesterday when I saw that there was a new book available on the Arctic (and Antarctic) exploration ship HMS Terror of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition. What's more this is a book by Matthew Betts whose research, posted in his blog, buildingterror.blogspot.com, has been used in the development of OcCre's wooden ship model kit, in the development of the AMC miniseries The Terror, where he was also brought in as a consultant, museum displays, and more.

 

 

The book is published by the Naval Institute Press. And, though they list the publication date as January 15, 2023, I have seen a photo of a copy "in the wild". The price is listed at $49.95, but apparently if you order your copy before the end of the year, you'll qualify for holiday pricing of 50% discount and free shipping – a better deal than Amazon Prime.

 

Amazon, by the way, does carry the book, but price is $31.95 for the physical book. They also have a Kindle version for $24.99. However, you have to ignore the description of the books contents and its author, as Amazon seems to have mixed up this book by Matthew Betts with one by Ian Buxton.

 

I have no information on the book's contents, except that it's 224 pages, and includes 250 color & b/w photos, prints, and line drawings, and the publisher's description: "This book documents the history, design, modification, and fitting of HMS Terror, one of the world’s most successful polar exploration vessels. Part historical narrative and part technical design manual, this book provides, for the first time, a complete account of Terror’s unique career, as well as an assessment of her sailing abilities in polar conditions, a record of her design specifications, and a full set of accurate plans of her final 1845 configuration. It is an ideal reference for those interested in the Franklin Mystery, in polar exploration, the Royal Navy, and in ship design and modelling."

 

I'm sure much of the information can also be found in Betts' blog, buildingterror.blogspot.com, but I like supporting his efforts, so I ordered my copy today from NIP.

[Roger Pellett]

Personal experience-  The quotations promoting the book on the back of the dust jacket are called “blurbs” in the publishing industry.  Before sending the book to the printer the publisher asks the author for a list of people who will review the book and are likely to give a favorable review.  The copy “in the wild” that you saw is likely from one of these pre-publication reviews.

[Alexander Bulimov]

Just so you know this book is available here in Europe since this summer, published by Seaforth publishing. I received it in August, and can confidently say that it is rather good. Plans and technical details are indispensable when building HMS Terror by Occre (which book mentions), and allowed me to re-do side davits correctly on my model.

 

There are also few remarkable build logs here that used the book to enhance the model, like those ones:

 

 

 

[DanielD]

I was able to download a Kindle version of this book I believe in August 2022. The book is an excellent resource for any of those building or thinking of building HMS Terror.

 

While I usually would prefer a hard cover book, the Kindle has actually been a blessing, as the search option works very well if you are looking for something specific.

 

100% recommend.