Southampton-Maritime City: Ocean Liners to Cruise Ships

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Southampton-Maritime City: Ocean Liners to Cruise Ships

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Southampton-Maritime City: Ocean Liners to Cruise Ships

Author: Mike Roussel

Southampton-Maritime City: Ocean Liners to Cruise Ships

Up until the early 19th century many emigrants would travel on the ocean-going sailing ships, but when the steamships started transatlantic crossings in the early 1830s there was a greater interest by the shipping lines in carrying mail and passengers, including a steerage class which increased profits. Southampton-Maritime City looks at the history and development of the early ocean-going steamships, and the competition between shipping companies by the end of the 19th century to build liners that were extreme in luxury and aimed for the very wealthy.
The book traces the history of the ocean liner through the 1920s and 30s, the ‘Golden Years’ of sea travel when Hollywood film stars, jazz groups and big bands made the ocean liners of the time so famous, through WorldWar Two when many of these ocean liners were requisitioned for war service. It chronicles the post-war years when the European shipping lines transported war refugees to America and Canada and returned to Europe with tourists and business travellers, and the competition in the 1950s from the arrival
of the jet airliner which spelt disaster for transatlantic liner passenger traffic but gave some the opportunity to develop a cruise industry. More recently the book explores the arrival of the mega-cruise ship in the 1990s and the increase in the different kinds of cruises available.
Illustrated with 250 photos and illustrations, Southampton-Maritime City details the stories and anecdotes told by the crews and passengers who sailed in the 1950-60s and the experiences of the new ‘cruisers’ from the 1970s onwards. In addition, the book studies the designs and developments of the cruise ships being built today, especially the Queen Mary 2, the only purpose-built ocean liner in the world today.
Finally, the book looks at the 2010 cruising season in the Port of Southampton with the naming ceremonies of the P&O Azura and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse in April 2010 and the new Cunard Queen Elizabeth in October 2010.

Publisher

DB Publishing

ISBN

9781859838075

Price in GBP

Our price:

£16.99

About the Author

Mike Roussel has always had a deep interest in history, especially local history. As a professional musician, he found the life stories of the older musicians he worked with fascinating and an excellent opportunity to record living history. This interest developed in more depth when he
was a teacher, with visits to museums and projects with children that combined research and oral history interviews which really brought history to life.
He has always had an interest in maritime history, and after watching daily life on Southampton Water and Southampton Docks in the 1990s he decided to write The Story of Southampton Docks. Such was his interest that he continued his research to write his new book, Southampton-Maritime City: From Ocean Liners to Cruise Ships, which charts the development of the ocean liner from the 19th century to the cruise ships of today.