The Golden Age of liner travel was from the early 1900s to the 1950s, a period dominated by black-and-white photography, with few colour views. William H. Miller and Anton Logvinenko show off colour views of the magnificent ships, from the Mauretania and Lusitania to the Queen Mary, as well as the A Class liners of the 1920s and the sublime Deco Mauretania (2) of 1939. Experience the glamour of liner travel as it was for the Edwardians and through the 1920s and 1930s, in colour, as never s...

The Golden Age of Liner travel was from the early 1900s to the 1950s, a period dominated by black and white photography, with little colour views. William H Miller and Anton Logvinenko show off colour views if the magnificent ships, from the Mauretania and Lusitania to the German four stackers, as well as Olympic and Titanic and the crack liners of the 1920s and 1930s, including Paris, Normandie and Queen Mary. Experience the glamour of liner travel as it was for the Edwardians and through...

A highly illustrated examination of the key ships, tactics and operations of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the War in the Pacific in World War II.The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was the third most powerful navy in the world at the start of World War II, and came to dominate the Pacific in the early months of the war. This was a remarkable turnaround for a navy that only began to modernize in 1868, although defeats inflicted on the Russians and Chinese in successiv...

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour.The sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago in 1912, and the subsequent deaths of over 1,500 passengers, sent shock waves around the world. Never before or since has a maritime disaster in a time of peace had such an impact.TITANIC: HISTORY IN AN HOUR is an entertaining and well researched account of the events leading up to the sinking of this ‘unsinkable’ ship, providing an fascinating commentary on the pressures of the W...

On 15 April 2012, 100 years will have passed since the Royal Mail Steamer Titanic hit an iceberg and foundered in the North Atlantic with the loss of 1,503 lives. Had the disaster not occurred, what is now the best-known ship in the world would have lost the title of the largest liner within just two years. She was certainly not the fastest passenger ship of the time and can be considered a technological throwback, yet Titanic captures the imagination like no other. This b...

Since the end of the nineteenth century there has been a stunning succession of transatlantic liners, from the White Star Line's Oceanic of 1899 to the Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 of 2004. These floating palaces often contained luxurious staterooms, ballrooms and lounges for the rich, and noticeably more modest and basic accommodation for poorer travellers. Their designs and powerplants were often cutting-edge as each competed to be the largest, most luxurious and fastest ship on the Atlant...

Commander Edward John Smith's career had been a remarkable example of how a man from a humble background could get far in the world. Born to a working-class family in the landlocked Staffordshire Potteries, he went to sea at the age of 17 and rose rapidly through the ranks of the merchant navy, serving first in sailing vessels and later in the new steamships of the White Star Line. By 1912, he as White Star's senior commander and regarded by many in the shipping world as t...

"Catnip to the ship’s dedicated buffs." —Publishers WeeklyIn Titanic Tragedy maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham documents the vessel’s design, construction, and departure from Southampton, her passengers’ lifeboat ordeal, their Carpathia rescue, the role of new technologies, and memorials to her crew. He describes poignantly the performance of her eight gallant bandsmen who played on deck to the very end; none survived. Added historic...

The English Channel is the busiest waterway in the world. Ferries steam back and forth, trains thunder through the tunnel. The narrow sea has been crucial to our development and prosperity. It helps define our notion of Englishness, as an island people, a nation of seafarers. It is also our nearest, dearest playground where people have sought sun, sin and bracing breezes.Tom Fort takes us on a fascinating, discursive journey from east to west, to find out what this stretch of water...

In this unparalleled investigation that deconstructs the modern hindsight that has tainted Titanic's legacy, Allen Gibson presents a comprehensive history with a refreshing argument, that Titanic represented a considerable achievement in maritime architecture.Telling the story of the 'unsinkable' ship against a backdrop of a tumultuous and rapidly emerging technological world, he exposes the people and the circumstances that contributed to the dis...

Saturnine and quick-tempered, the formidable North Sea is often overlooked – even by those living within a stone's throw of its steel-grey waters. But as playground, theatre of war and cultural crossing-point, it has shaped the world in myriad ways, forged villains and heroes, and determined the fates of nations.It's not all grim, though: the seaside holiday was born on North Sea beaches, and artists, poets and writers have been as equally inspired by glinting sun on the wave-tops ...

This is not a boring history book. Instead, it takes a sympathetic look at some very  ordinary people in a very extraordinary time.  Of interest to anyone whose forefathers left Ireland in the late 19th or early 20th century. Contains informative and graphic accounts and photographs of the lives of both rich and poor, in Belfast while the Titanic was being built.