Customer Reviews

Picture History of the SS United States (Dover Maritime)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Too much of this book is on the history of the United States Line and other ships. A few rare photos but the rest can be seen free on the web. Best book on the Big U is called SS UNITED STATES ISBN: 1-56311-824-6 It is like $35 or so. Pass this one and spend the extra $15-$20. On the plus side the book is informative and there are a few pictures never seen anywhere. My picture collection at the SS UNITED STATES Yahoo! Group is better and free ! Look in the pictures section and seek the James Varela collection.

I completely agree with James Varela. The title is a complete misrepresentation. If they titled it "Picture History of the SS United States & about 20 other U.S. ships" it would have been fine, and I would not have bought the book. There's really not a lot here on the SS United States, and it was maddening to keep reading and reading about other ships before I finally reached the small section in the back on it. Imagine if the "Picture History of the Normandie" had a history of every other ship in the French Line and, at the back, a few pages & photos of the Normandie. That's pretty much what you're getting here.

This book contains a great collection of finely-reproduced black and white photographs and historical summaries of American passenger liners dating back to the Leviathan. Over half of the 100-plus pages are devoted entirely to the SS United States and include many magnificent photos of the ship under construction and in service during the 1950's and 60's. The photos and stories of the other ships definitely enhance the interest and value of this book, providing context and some insight into the development of American liners and the lineage of the SS United States herself, the greatest of them all. For a minimal price, this is definitely a must-have book for the library of anyone interested in maritime history, ships or marine photography. It also makes a nice photo companion to other works on this subject, such as Frank Braynard's "The Big Ship: The Story of the SS United States."

This book is a pictorial history of US flagged passenger liners in addition to the SS United States. Unfortunately it lacks color pictures but still presents a vivid image of an age passed by. This is a good jumping off point for further study in this industry and how it was lost to us. Due to shortsightedness of many all of the fittings and furnishings of the SS United States were sold in an auction so they can never be fully reassembled. Beautiful yet sad.

Good from the image point of view but light on technical and development information.No information at all on engine specs or routines at sea, even more anecdotal or personal histories would have enlightened this lightweight history.
Likewise more internal shots aboard the ship while at sea rather than posed publicity photos.
Background of the US Lines and their ships was interesting but may have taken space away from the "Star of the Show".

OVER HALF OF THE BOOK REPORTS THE HISTORY OF THE USLINE AND PREVIOUS SHIPS. CONSEQUENTLY, THE SS UNITED STATES' IMAGES ARE TOO FEW IN NUMBER

This book is worth the money, but if you are wanting the "History of the SS United States," you are going to be somewhat disappointed. A great deal of this book is devoted to other ships, some that belonged to United States Lines and some to affilitated lines. It has good sized, sharp pictures and a good deal of information- particularly about how United States lines put themselves out of business.

As a fan and collector of ocean liner books, I was certainly looking forward to Bill Miller's latest: Picture History of the SS United States. I really enjoy books dedicated to a single ship were the author takes the time to dive into more details than many more general books can provide.

I was however surprised and disappointed to find that the first 52 pages, nearly half the book, are dedicated to U.S. flagged ships other than the SS United States. This is unfortunate since many of these ships are fairly obscure and fall considerably outside of the story of the "Big U".

Quality wise, the book is about what I expected: That is good quality photography with many new (and some more common) photographs and a brief but competent text. Photo quality is generally excellent, and much clearer than Mr. Millers recent Picture History of American Passenger Ships which was somewhat of a disappointment in this regard.

Overall the book is a worthwhile addition to an ocean liner book collection. I do feel however that Mr. Miller's earlier "SS United States: The Story of America's Greatest Ocean Liner", which has been out of print for some time, covers the same ground but is superior in nearly every way.