Bøger af J. Kent Layton

Bringing the world of Titanic and her sisters back to life as never before through the captivating original artwork of talented artists

Before Titanic, there was Lusitania... This unprecedented two-volume set will bring Lusitania's history to life as never before

Before Titanic, there was Lusitania... This unprecedented two-volume set will bring Lusitania's history to life as never before

Showcasing photographs and illustrations from a variety of collectors' archives, The Unseen Mauretania 1907 reveals the Cunard company's most luxurious ocean liner of the early twentieth century as you have never known her before.

Great disasters always attract conspiracy theories and this is just as true of disasters at sea as it is of those on land or in the air. The sinkings of the Titanic and the Lusitania, two of the great maritime disasters of the twentieth century, have attracted more than their share of these theories. Was the sinking of the Titanic a plot by J. P. Morgan to remove opponents to his plan to create a US Federal Reserve Bank? Was the construction of the ship substandard? Was the ship that hit the iceberg that night even the Titanic at all? Might it not have been her sister Olympic instead? And was the Lusitania deliberately allowed to sail into harm's way to provoke the US into joining the First World War? Was her name obscured so the U-boat captain did not know what ship he was firing on? And how much ammunition was she carrying aboard?In this book, maritime historian and ocean liner expert J. Kent Layton examines these and more conspiracy theories and helps lay them to rest.

As the twentieth century got underway, the competition between the three greatest passenger lines in the history of the North Atlantic produced three trios of wonder ships. From the Cunard Line came the Lusitania, Mauretania and Aquitania. From the White Star Line came the Olympic, the infamous Titanic, and the Britannic. From the Hamburg-Amerika Line came the Imperator, Vaterland and Bismarck, which would later find service as Cunard's Berengaria, the U.S. Line's Leviathan, and White Star's Majestic. They were, in turn, the fastest, most powerful, largest and most luxurious ocean liners that had ever sailed that ocean. Some would find great success; others would suffer disaster. Their careers would be affected by natural elements, by mismanagement, and by the brutalities of war. Their fates were also inextricably intertwined. The Edwardian Superliners tells their story.

A brief illustrated history of the great Atlantic liners from Lusitania and Titanic to Queen Mary 2.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 Atlantic. As the tides of passenger demand rose and fell through the years and the world plunged twice into global conflict, these ships had to adapt to survive. Many of these vessels - including Mauretania, Olympic, the first Queen Mary and France - had long and glorious careers; others - Titanic, Lusitania and Normandie among them - suffered tragic endings. J. Kent Layton describes the heyday of the superliners and explains what life was like for passengers, both rich and poor.