Bøger i Classic Liners serien

Learn the full story behind the most decoratively striking of all the great Atlantic liners, the SS NormandieA creation of the extravagant 1930s, the Normandie was the pride of the great French Line, the national flagship, and a ship well ahead of almost all other passenger ships of her time. She was the largest, longest, and fastest, but also the most decoratively stunning and had the most striking and innovative overall design. Her dining room was longer than the famed Hall of Mirrors at Versailles and her outer decks were uncluttered, superbly balanced, and streamlined. Her career was, however, highly dramatic and quite tragic in the end. She sailed commercially for just four years, and then was laid up in New York due to the start of World War II; she suffered the fate of burning at her pier, capsizing, and becoming a complete loss. In 1946, to the great sadness of her endless fans, the 11-year-old ship went to the breakers. This book, through added insight and anecdotes by experts with many superb, unpublished photos, greatly adds to the story of this finest of French liners.

The story of the Leviathan, originally called Vaterland, is a fascinating one. A remarkable ship, she is frequently not given the credit she deserves for her contributions to the U.S. Merchant Marine, and has been given short thrift by many writers who describe her only as a failure. Nothing could be farther from the truth. She was the first American superliner and set the stage for future successes with other famous passenger vessels such as the America and United States. Although of German origin, the "Levi" was popular and became a household name across the U.S. and other parts of the world. Her interiors were stunning and she was an engineering marvel. After an extensive refit by U.S. Lines in 1923 she was also the safest and arguably the best of the "Balin trio." Her adventurous career made her seem more a living thing than a hunk of steel.