Passenger Ships - France: Books - History and Shipping Lines

Great French Passenger Ships

France produced some of the finest and best-decorated passenger ships of the twentieth century. Beginning in 1912 with the four-funnel France, the nostalgic voyage continues with the great and grand transatlantic liners of the French Line, the CGT. These include the famous Île-de-France, Normandie and Liberté, as well as the lesser passenger ships of the French Line.

In addition, focus is given to Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique, Transports Maritimes and Chargeurs Réunis operating important South American routes and to Messageries Maritimes running in Africa, the East and the South Pacific.

Packed full of nostalgic reminiscence of great ship days gone by, the book explores majestic liners, mail boats to Africa and colonial steamers to Saigon. Presenting many previously unpublished images alongside insightful text and anecdotes, William H. Miller brings the reader on board France's greatest transatlantic liners.

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Ile de France and Liberte - France's Premier Post-war Liners (Classic Liners)

This beautifully illustrated history portrays two of the French fleet's most glamorous liners in their post-war heyday.

Île de France was a ship with unique style and character, restored and re-launched in 1949 after wartime service as a troopship. Liberté was built as the German Europa in 1930, but was ceded to France in 1946 and restyled in French Line luxury. The ships were famed for their service and on-board ambience, but most of all for being the 'best-fed liners on the Atlantic'.

Each ended their days on the silver screen, Île de France as a prop in The Last Voyage, for which she was partly sunk in 1958, and Liberté in the closing scenes of the classic film Sabrina before being scrapped in 1961.

William H. Miller's book in the Classic Liners series brings together an unrivalled collection of images, including previously unpublished colour photography, and truly evokes the glamour of two of the most beloved ocean liners of the era.

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France / Norway : France's Last Liner / Norway's First Mega Cruise Ship

The dean of ocean-liner historians brings to life one of the last transatlantic liners: the legendary France, later renamed Norway.

As a dedicated passenger during both the vessel's lives, John Maxtone-Graham is in a perfect position to give us this rich, profusely illustrated history of France / Norway. The French Line's dazzling ocean liner S.S. France was alone in her class until the arrival of the QE2 in 1967. She was fast, chic, lavishly manned, and offered sumptuous catering.

For a dozen years she was a star on the North Atlantic. However, in the summer of 1974, with jet airliners dominating transatlantic travel, France was withdrawn and allowed to molder for five years.
Then a miraculous reprieve: the head of Norwegian Cruise Line decided to buy France; the vessel was revamped for warm weather and rechristened Norway. One of the last North Atlantic liners became the Caribbean's first megaship.
The singularity of this incredible hull that sailed in two contrasting modes demands remembrance - she was the pioneering big ship, popularizing a scale of cruising then unknown.

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Une ligne mythique: Paquebots français et britanniques sur l'Atlantique Nord entre 1890 et 1940

This book focuses on studying three major shipping lines: the British White Star Line and Cunard Line, and the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique.
Organized around several major themes, discover how each of these companies established ties with their government, how they approached the race for size and speed, and how they faced the challenges of security in the face of the terrible tragedies that were unfolding on this dangerous ocean.

From the Titanic to the Normandy, an entire transatlantic society is outlined here, both isolated from the terrestrial world and yet its extension. Because between 1890 and 1940, these two "golden ages" of ocean liner travel separated by a world war are also a reflection of the developments and ruptures of their time.

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