Passenger liners at their peak
The True Transatlantic Super-Liners, by David L. Williams and Richard P. De Kerbrech
Image on landing page: A painting depicting Albert Ballin's 'Big Three': Leviathan (left), Magestic (centre) and Berengaria (right) in Southampton's Ocean Dock. 
This captivating book transports the reader to a world before the advent of affordable air travel, when passenger liners ruled the Atlantic Ocean.
Covering 13 of the largest vessels, The True Transatlantic Super-Liners is as much a celebration as it is a history, spanning the entire 20th century. Readers are treated to vivid descriptions of each of these remarkable vessels, each placed in its historical context, and nostalgia is balanced with objective academic inquiry.
Throughout the book, readers will find a treasure trove of images that serve to illustrate the design expertise and glamorous touches which marked this period of our maritime past.
Reaching out both to liner enthusiasts and those less familiar with maritime history, authors David L. Williams and Richard P. De Kerbrech provide an accessible, comprehensive account of a fondly remembered, yet increasingly distant era.
The True Transatlantic Super-Liners
By David L. Williams and Richard P. De Kerbrech
The History Press, £30
ISBN: 978 18039 95519
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Radio revelry
Barques, Sparks and Sharks, by Len WilsonSeafarers are known for their story-telling abilities, and Orkney-born Len Wilson does not disappoint in this memoir of his years as a radio officer
Mastering our harbours
Harbours and Their Masters, by Mark Ashley-MillerNovice skipper Mark Ashley-Miller recently spent five years circumnavigating the UK and Ireland as a charity challenge – interviewing and photographing the harbour masters he met along the way.
The precarious path from piracy to prosperity
The Resurrected Pirate, by Craig S ChapmanThe Resurrected Pirate is a remarkable story told in an engaging way, illustrating for the modern reader the desperately narrow passage between life and death that a seafarer in this period might have to navigate.
Carving out a career
Ships' Figureheads, by Andrew PetersThe decoration of ships with figureheads was a way to present the might of military and mercantile power for centuries. These days, the skills needed to make these sculptures are kept alive by experts such as Andrew Peters