Ocean Liners: A New History looks at the ocean liner, a vessel which ran on a regular service between major ports, transporting passengers across an ocean. The author, Anthony Burton, looks behind the romantic vision of the ocean liners to show the reality of travelling the oceans of the world. He starts with the first scheduled transatlantic crossings in the age of sail, moves on through the development of steamers and ends in the present day, when ocean liners have given way to jet airliners
Ship design developed quickly as competing companies raced to provide the most powerful ships. But while technology came into the fundamental design, with many of the great liners when it came to décor, the interiors presented a romanticised view of the past. It is not always realised that a great liner might have almost as many crew as passengers, and this book looks at all members of the crew who kept the ships running, from the black gang in the engine room to the captain on the bridge. The end result is an all-embracing view of what it meant to travel on some of the greatest ships ever built.
114 black & white illustrations. Hardback. 184 pages.