Warrior Queens [Hardcover]

Daniel Allen Butler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2002

Converted from luxury liners to troopships at the outset of World War II, the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth logged over a million nautical miles and carried more than a million military personnel. Drawing from both published sources and Cunard's official archives, the archives and records of the British Admiralty and the U.S. Navy, and the firsthand recollections of soldiers, seamen, and war brides, author Daniel Allen Butler brings this unique aspect of World War II history to life by recounting the histories of the two Queens along with the stories of the soldiers and sailors who served or sailed on them.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel Allen Butler, the son of a former merchant marine seaman, is the author of Unsinkable: The Full Story of RMS Titanic (081171814X), and The Lusitania: The Life, Loss, and Legacy of an Ocean Legend (0811709892). He currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811716457
• ISBN-13: 978-0811716451
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,761,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was there, September 28, 2002

By 

George L.Lewis (Salida, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warrior Queens (Hardcover)

I liked the way Butler filled in the history of the Queen Mary and
Queen Elizabeth.He also told a very good clear picture of life
we lived aboard ship. On page 92 second phargaph tells of a March
1945 crossing . I was on that passage and well remember hearing
the depth charges explodimg.I still have my white tag and cabin
with number on D deck.To verify my memory I checked my discharge and called our coplit yes he remembered hearing the depth charges.
This tolded of the vital roll these two great ships played in
winning of the war.Many of these things where new to me and I was there.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story about two great ships, March 2, 2002

By 

W. M. Pitt "W. M. Pitt" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warrior Queens (Hardcover)

Most people will know of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth as a couple of old cruise liners -- many may have stayed at the Hotel Queen Mary in the ship's now permanent home in the waters of California. For a brief time, these ships were converted to military use in World War II to transport troops. On one occasion, the Queen Mary hit the British light cruiser HMS Curacoa, causing the ship to sink with the loss of hundreds of allied soldiers.

Daniel Butler is a great historian and storyteller and he makes the wartime history of these two ships come alive. He doesn't start with the day the decision was made to use these cruise ships for military use. He sets the stage and gives the readers an understanding of the years leading to World War II -- not only giving a political and military background, but also telling us what was happening in the shipping industry that led to the construction of these two ships.

To me the two most interesting parts of the book came when Butler tells about the most significant event of the Queen Mary's tour of duty (when the Curacoa was cut in two by her), and the most mundane (what it was like for a soldier to be transported on one of the Queens). If there is a weakness, it was here. I wish he could have had more first hand accounts from the surviving veterans who had crossed the ocean on their way to war. But of course, there are fewer and fewer such survivors still with us. Butler wrote this book just in time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warrior Queens: The Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth in World War II, July 9, 2006

By 

David Aiken - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Warrior Queens (Hardcover)

A very well written and researched book. Not only does the author tell the story of the two Queens in WWII. He also gives a nice history of trans-Atlantic shipping up to the point of the Queens construction and to the war. During the war years he tells of the Queen contribution to the war effort and also paints a good over all picture of the war so you can better understand their roll in it. This book is a great addition and read for those who have an interest in this subject.