Passenger ships: books - history and shipping lines (2/3)

Great Passenger Ships 1950-1960

The 1950s was a fascinating decade for the great liners. After the global devastation of two decades of war and Depression, shipyards were creating one new liner after another, it seemed, to rebuild and renew passenger ship services all over the world. There were the likes of the Kungsholm and Oslofjord from Scandinavia, the French Flandre and a succession of new liners from P&O-Orient, the Italian Line, Messageries Maritimes and many more.

The new hopeful era of the 1950s was highlighted by such brilliant, headline-making ships as the speedy United States, breaking records on an unprecedented scale, the engines-aft Southern Cross and the mastless Orsova. Showcased beautifully by the stunning images and nostalgic outlook of prolific maritime historian William H. Miller, this book shines a well-earned spotlight on some of the world's most popular passenger liners.

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Great Mediterranean Passenger Ships

It is hard to think of the passenger liners from the golden era of Mediterranean cruising without also conjuring the nostalgic, dream-like vision of azure-blue waters, bright sunshine and swimming pools with clusters of umbrellas and sunbathing passengers.

The great age of Mediterranean passenger liners began in the 1920s when the Italians built their first big ships, such as the Augustus, Saturnia and Conte Grande. In the 1930s, things got really interesting with the creation of the superliners Rex and Conte di Savoia.
In the 1950s and '60s, as Italy built a huge post-war fleet, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Israel commissioned their biggest ships yet.

William Miller has written ninety books on passenger ships and is an acknowledged world expert in his field.
Full of colour and the first-hand memories of passengers and crew, this endearing reflection on the majestic world of Mediterranean travel cannot be missed. Quick, the whistles are sounding!

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Great Passenger Ships 1930-1940

The 1930s was perhaps the most glamorous and exciting decade for the great liners, highlighted by ferocious international shipbuilding rivalry: Germany's Bremen and Europa, Italy's Rex and Conte Di Savoia, France's Normandie and Britain's Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.

Passengers travelled on some of the most popular liners of all time, such as L'Atlantique, Empress of Britain, Empress of Japan, Queen of Bermuda, President Coolidge, Strathnaver and Strathaird, Orion, Capetown Castle, Oranje, Mauretania, Andes, and many more.

As this book recounts, despite the worldwide Depression and a great shift in trading patterns, it was a wonderful decade for shipbuilding and the era of art deco on the high seas - the age of 'floating Ginger Rogers'.

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Great Passenger Ships: 1920-1930

Celebrating the majestic passenger liners of the twenties, "Great Passenger Ships 1920-1930" looks at well-loved ships, such as Majestic, Olympic, Berengaria, Viceroy of India and Rawalpindi, alongside lesser known but still fascinating vessels.

The 1920s have become a fabled era for ocean liners, a period of growth and opulence as companies began recovery after the First World War. As the decade went on plans were drawn for great superliners, until the Wall Street Crash changed the world. During the 1920s, the German Imperator became Berengaria for Cunard, Columbus became Homeric for White Star and Bismarck was renamed Majestic for White Star, becoming the line's most popular ship.

Cunard, White Star and P&O had great success while the likes of Orient Line, Union Steamship Company, Union Castle and Furness- Bermuda Line all added their own ships to the mix during these golden days of ocean travel.

Featuring unpublished photographs in a stunning colour section, "Great Passenger Ships 1920-1930" showcases the zenith of ocean travel in the 1920s.
This series follows ships serving all over the world rather than just famed Atlantic liners, with personal anecdotes of the ships and their voyages from passengers and crew alike.

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