Collision with History
The Search for John F. Kennedy's PT 109
(National Geographic Society, 2002)

It’s about 2 a.m., August 2, 1943. Lt. John F. Kennedy squints into the fog and black while at the wheel of PT 109, idling in the Blackett Strait off Gizo in the Solomon Islands. His orders are to attack the “Tokyo Express” resupplying Japanese installations.... He and his young crew are ready, but handicapped by darkness and fog.... Suddenly, only 300 yards away, a black shape looms...traveling without lights and at high speed. Only seconds before impact...the ship is identified as a Japanese destroyer, the Amagiri. The much larger craft slices through the hull of PT 109, cutting the 80-foot wooden-hulled boat in two. Several of the crew are injured, one critically. The crew takes refuge on the larger section that remains afloat until dawn. Then all are into the water, and Lt. Kennedy begins the series of epic swims that will save his crew and earn him a place in history.

Forty years after his death and 60 years after his first collision with history in the South Pacific, John F. Kennedy and his story still inspire readers. In Collision with History, JFK’s heroic efforts to save the 11-man crew of PT 109 are brought to vivid life, interwoven with a comprehensive history of PT boats and the World War II campaign in the Solomon Islands. Combining renowned explorer Robert Ballard’s account of his search for the wreckage of PT 109 with survivor accounts and Kennedy family members’ personal recollections, this companion volume to the major National Geographic television event is a moving introduction to the young war hero who would later become president.

Adventures in Ocean Exploration
From the Discovery of the Titanic to the Search for Noah's Flood
(National Geographic Society, 2001)

For decades, Robert Ballard has pursued a dual career as a marine scientist and a pioneering discoverer, locating scores of wrecks all over the world, including the Titanic and the battleship Bismarck. In this lavishly illustrated chronicle, he uses his most exciting dives as starting points for an odyssey through time, tracing the evolution of ships and navigation from the first reed boats to the nuclear submarines of today.

Ballard tells of plunging 12,000 feet to the floor of the Atlantic and finding new life in the superheated water around active volcanoes on the Pacific Seabed. Readers join a team of technicians on the bridge of a research ship as they “fly” a state-of-the-art, unmanned submersible over the Titanic’s ghostly hull.

But this book does much more than chronicle Ballard’s unique experiences-- it provides an illuminating history of humankind’s relationship with the ocean. Along with the giants of modern undersea exploration -- Cousteau, Beebe, Piccard -- he introduces the storied seamen of the past, form the ancient Phoenicians to such greats as Magellan, Columbus, and Cook.

Capturing the irresistible lure of the sea in lively text and 200 vivid illustrations, this is a fascinating book that combines stirring history with the excitement of discovery that Robert Ballard knows so well.

Return to Midway
The quest to find the Yorktown and the other lost ships from the pivotal battle of the Pacific War
(Madison Press Books, 1999)

It has been called ''the greatest naval battle since Trafalgar.'' On June 4, 1942, near a tiny island 1,500 miles from Hawaii, the course of the Pacific War changed dramatically. Before the battle of  Midway the forces of Imperial Japan seemed unstoppable. After Midway the Japanese would never again take the offensive. 

Fifty-six years later, famed underwater explorer Robert Ballard embarked on a search for the lost ships that had sunk in that historic battle. Accompanying him were a group of Japanese and American veterans who had once faced each other as enemies. Their memories of the epic conflict act as an affecting counterpoint to the story of the high-tech hunt for this great sunken battlefield.

Dr. Ballard's search area was enormous and his targets-the Yorktown and four Japanese carriers-lay over three miles down, far deeper than the titanic or the Bismarck. Equipment failures and time constraints kept working against him, and it often seemed that he might return with nothing. But finally, on May 19, 1998, Robert Ballard and his team located the remains of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown. 

Astonishing underwater photographs of the Yorktown by David Doubilet and Ken Marschall's haunting paintings of the nearly intact carrier are among the visual highlights of this richly illustrated book. In addition, archival and modern images and paintings by leading aviation and maritime illustrators complement this gripping account of one of history's great air-and-sea encounters and the mission to document the lost ships that today bear witness to it. 

Ghost Liners
(Little, Brown & Company, 1998)

Depicts five famous ships that have been lost at sea in modern times, the Empress of Ireland, the Lusitania, the Andrea Doria, the Brittanic, and the Titanic.

Finding the Titanic
(Scholastic Inc. 1993)

The great ship Titanic sank in April 1912, and for almost seventy-five years lay unfound on the ocean floor. Scientist Robert Ballard dreamt of finding the lost ship, and this is the thrilling account of how he made this dream come true. Interspersed in the narrative is the story of the sinking itself, as told through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl, one of the fortunate survivors. The you-are-there narrative, photos, and drawings add to the excitement, and help readers to understand the magnitude of this great tragedy.

Lost Liners
(Hyperion, 1997)

A comprehensive look at the beginnings, high point, and eventual decline of Atlantic express liners.

Exploring the Titanic
(Scholastic Inc. 1993)

This book describes the luxury liner which sank in 1912 and the discovery and exploration of its underwater wreckage. Chronology. Annotated bibliography. "Grades four to eight." (SLJ)

The Discovery of the Titanic
(Warner Books, 1995)

The complete and exclusive account of Ballard's exploration, from his pioneering early work to the dramatic discovery of the Titanic itself.