Bill Miller looks back nostalgically at the P&O and Orient Line vessels of the 1950s and 1960s.

The 1950s was a fascinating decade for the great liners. After the global devastation of two decades of war and Depression, shipyards were creating one new liner after another, it seemed, to rebuild and renew passenger ship services all over the world. There were the likes of the Kungsholm and Oslofjord from Scandinavia, the French Flandre and a succession of new liners from P&O-Orient, the Italian Line, Messageries Maritimes and many more. The new hopeful era of the 1950s was highlighted by such brilliant, headline-making ships as the speedy United States, breaking records on an unprecedented scale, the engines-aft Southern Cross and the mastless Orsova. Showcased beautifully by the stunning images and nostalgic outlook of prolific maritime historian William H. Miller, this book shines a well-earned spotlight on some of the world's most popular passenger liners.

The ships on the Australia run were still popular after passenger shipping had ceased on the Atlantic. Miller and Noble tell the story of the last Pacific liners.

For 100 years, between 1850 and 1950, the cargo liner grew to dominate the world’s trade routes, providing regular services that merchants, shippers and importers could rely on; they carried much of the world’s higher value manufactured goods and raw materials and their services spread to most corners of the world. They were the tool of the world’s first phase of globalization. This new book, evocatively illustrated with a magnificent collection of more than 300 photographs, begins with the establishment of routes around Europe and across the North Atlantic in the 1850s. Not until the Liverpool ship owner and engineer, Alfred Holt, developed high-pressure compound engines were coal-powered vessels able to steam further afield, to the Far East and Australia. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cemented the dominance of the cargo liner and only with the appearance of the first container ship in the 1950s was that dominance finally overthrown. With its informative introductory texts and abundant photographs, this book will appeal to ship enthusiasts around the world and to all those who mourn the passing of the golden age of the steamship.

"A look at the story of cruising, this book documents a whole range of onboard experiences from the interwar heyday of liner transport right through to the present age of the ship as 'floating city'. With the aid of rare archive material as well as new photography, the authors examine all aspects of international cruising - with its many national variations - both elegant and restrained, kitsch and excessive." "Cruise shows how onboard culture has evolved over the decades to suit the changing needs of the cruise lines and their passengers. It is a study of interior and exterior design, of onboard entertainment, food and changes in the dining experience, of corporate identity, ephemera and graphics. Packed with illustrations, Cruise celebrates over a century of passenger seafaring and will appeal to anyone who has travelled the high seas, or who yearns to do so."--BOOK JACKET.