Bøger af William H. Miller

Charting 100 years of cruising the ocean waves, in rich colour photographs

Drawing on the recollections of the men and women who served on the vessels, Serving on the Big Ships: Life on the Liners presents a unique window into a bygone age. The 1950s to early 1980s was the last period in which passengers sailed simply to get somewhere, before the liners turned to cruising and airlines became the only feasible means of traveling long distances. It was a golden age of ocean travel, even though the signs of inevitable decline were in evidence all around. For those who worked on the ships, whether stewards or captains or anyone in between, looking back conjures a range of emotions and stories as diverse as the ports to which they sailed. Recorded here are memories of sailing on the North Atlantic with Cunard & Holland-America, with the Italian Line in the Mediterranean, with Royal Mail Lines to South America, with Union-Castle to Africa, and with P&O-Orient to Australia and the Far East. They are the memories of the people who manned the ships, served on them, and through their service, grew to love them.

A new colour book on British passenger ships, following on from the success of Cruise Liners in Colour and Ships of Splendour

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 This book, through added insight and anecdotes by experts with many superb, unpublished photos, greatly adds to the story of this finest of French liners.

A pictorial history of the global scene for passenger liners leading up to the onset of the jet age

Explores the story behind some of the great liners of the twentieth century.

Founded in 1873, the Holland America Line provided services carrying passengers and freight between the Netherlands and North America. When the Second World War ended, only nine of Holland America Line's twenty-five ships had survived and the company set about rebuilding. The pride of HAL's post-war fleet was SS Rotterdam, completed in 1959, which was one of the first ships on the North Atlantic equipped to offer two-class transatlantic crossings and single-class luxury cruising. However, competition from the airlines meant that in the early 1970s Holland America ended their transatlantic passenger services; in 1973 the company sold its cargo-shipping division. Now owned by the American cruise line Carnival, Holland America offers round-the-world voyages and cruises in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and Asia. In this book, renowned ocean liner historian and author William H. Miller takes a look at the Holland America Line and its post-war fleet up to 2015.

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.

There is a great parallel between the great ocean liners and the great skyscrapers-a fascinating comparison between these two categories of design, engineering and creative genius. Bill Miller here in 'Sailing and Soaring' tells the wonderful story in words and photographs of the liners and skyscrapers from 1906 to 2010.

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.

The story of the great post-war era of liner travel across continents and companies from Cunard to P & O - from luxury liners to 100-berth transport ships.

Built in 1952 for the United States Lines, the SS United States was unlike any other ocean liner. She had been designed from the outset to serve as both a transatlantic ferry and as a troop and hospital ship in time of war. Her design was a military secret and her power plant similar to that fitted to the largest of American battleships. She could do a staggering 45kt, over twelve knots faster than her nearest rival. She soon became the ship to be seen on and the illustrious passeger lists included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who favoured the ship's Duck Suite. The entry of the SS United States, the largest passenger ship built in America, marked the first time since the 1850's that an American ship had held the Blue Riband. This amazing ocean liner surpassed European speed records by a huge margin and a ship as fast is unlikely ever to be built again. William H. Miller tells the story of the SS United states from her construction at Newport Mews to the present day. Today, she lies derelict in Philadelphia but big plans are in place to restore her and turn her back into a luxurious floating hotel.

America produced some of the world's finest, most interesting, advanced and innovative passenger ships, such as the brilliant SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever to sail the seas, ingloriously left lying in limbo for 42 years.

We look at a grand age of maritime creation, ocean-going superlative, but also sad destruction in the dark days of the First War. It was, in all ways, a fascinating period.

A tribute to one of the grandest and most beloved of all twentieth-century ocean liners, in this richly illustrated book by acknowledged liner expert William Miller we salute the France/Norway

Brings together a collection of images of noted maritime historians favourite Greek liners and tells of the history of the Greek fleets that made the world of cruising so exciting over the years.