Queen Mary [Hardcover]

James Steele (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 1995

This text tells the story of the "Queen Mary", once the world's largest and fastest ocean liner. Put into service in 1936, she soon captured the imagination of the public on both sides of the Atlantic, and came to represent the spirit of an era that was characterized by elegance and style. With her speed and stateliness, the new liner provided a tangible symbol of the end of the Depression, making her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York a source of great national pride. Her Art Deco interiors were renowned for their craftsmanship and attention to detail, with everything from carpets to doorknobs specially designed by the best artists and craftsmen of the period. Contemporary with New York's finest Deco hotels and office blocks, such as the Chrysler Building, the "Queen Mary" provides a floating example of the streamlined style. During World War II, the luxury liner went on to perform service as a troop carrier, where her quickness allowed her to elude the U-boat captains intent on collecting the bounty that Hitler offered for her destruction, and earned the ship the title of "the Grey Ghost". Weighing over 81,000 tons and spanning over 1000 feet in length, the "Queen Mary"'s might and power remained equally impressive in times of war and peace.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A "biography" of one of the legendary grande dames of transatlantic liner service should be no less a book than this beautiful, large-format one, and the ship's colorful story is rightfully told as much through the treasure of arresting illustrations (primarily photographs and poster reproductions) as through the authoritative text. For 31 years (1936^-67), the Queen Mary graced the waves between Southampton and New York. We witness the vessel's glorious career from "its" (it being difficult not to refer to the QM as the politically incorrect "her" ) design and construction, to what life was like on board while on the high seas, to its wartime service as a troop transport, to its eventual mothballing as a hotel and meeting space in Long Beach, California, where the Queen Mary rides tethered to this day. A celebration--a feast of a book--impossible for ship fanciers and travel lovers not to appreciate. Brad Hooper

Review

"'Wonderfully detailed. Scrupulous research.' (New York Times) Winner in the Related Arts category, American Institute of Architects International Book Awards, 1997. 'Anyone who has ever wondered if architecture floats will be convinced by this beautiful, fact-filled book about the last and grandest architecture ever to sail the bounding main. With Steele's intense research, we feel like we're there.' (AIA Jury)" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press; 1ST edition (May 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714828912
• ISBN-13: 978-0714828916
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 10.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,230,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Ship, Beautiful Book, February 21, 2001

By 

Nagato (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queen Mary (Hardcover)

I literally couldn't put this book down after starting it -- Steele has written a fascinating retrospective on this great ship. The book's format is high quality and heavy on photographs, making for a very attractive book. But Steele also does a good job of exploring the ship's history, particularly the design and engineering perspectives. I agree with another reviewer that Steele could have (and probably should have) gone into greater detail on the Queen's post-retirement history as a tourist attraction, and should have addressed the structural and design modifications resulting from that transformation. But this shortcoming detracts very little from an otherwise enjoyable volume on the history of a famous and beloved ship.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Queen Mary: 1936-1967, April 2, 2000

By 

Alan L Seals - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queen Mary (Hardcover)

This book is sets the standard for other books to follow in its detailed description, in text as well as photos, of the history of the Queen Mary from the years of 1936-1967, when it was retired in Long Beach, CA.

The only shortcoming of this book is that it tells little of the history of the ship after its arrival in Long Beach in 1967. Perhaps the author considers the ship to be a shell of its former self. Indeed the Queen Mary has had an exiting "life" as a tourist attraction since its last voyage in 1967.

Still, this book is a must for any fan of the Queen Mary. It is beautifully bound and the photos are priceless.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superlative book about the ship's construction and art., July 31, 2002

By 

M. Tyler (Altadena, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Queen Mary (Hardcover)

This book will captivate you. It bears reiterating how superb the photographs, art, and text are in this book. This is WAY more than a coffee table book, and it does its subject justice.

Regarding the hardback vs. the paperback versions of this book, having gone through each version personally, my advice is to spring the extra few dollars for the hardback edition, for three reasons: 1.) While the paperback is nice as far as paperback editions go, it's a bit incompatible with the quality of the book's contents, 2.) There is a large (and quite beautiful) 4 page cross section foldout of the ship bound into the book which is awkward to view fully open in the paperback version without damaging the book's spine, and 3.) Because the book is so large and heavy, I'd be concerned about the durability of the paperback version; the paper used is of quite a heavy weight, and the book's spine has a lot to support.