{"product_id":"rms-queen-mary-the-worlds-favourite-liner-9781399053051","title":"RMS Queen Mary: The World's Favourite Liner","description":"Probably the most famous, and certainly one of the best-loved ships in the world, the Cunard transatlantic liner RMS \u003ci\u003eQueen Mary\u003c\/i\u003e has now been preserved at Long Beach, California as a floating hotel and tourist attraction for more than fifty years, comfortably longer than her 31-year career as an ocean liner. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Laid down in 1930, \u003ci\u003eQueen Mary's\u003c\/i\u003e construction was severely delayed by the Great Depression. Eventually completed in 1936, the ship was an instant success, capturing the famous Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic later that year, and regaining it in 1938. During the Second World War she served as a troop ship, carrying a total of 810,730 troops and also setting the record for the most individuals carried in a single voyage - 16,683 - which stands to this day. By the time she ceased passenger service in 1967, superseded by the airliner as the preferred mode for international travel, \u003ci\u003eQueen Mary\u003c\/i\u003e had carried nearly three million people, from royalty, politicians and film stars to emigrants and cruise passengers. After her sale to the city of Long Beach she underwent a major conversion for her new life as a visitor attraction, a role she has continued ever since. During this time, however, her story has been far from straightforward, with controversies over management, funding and even the structural integrity of the very ship itself. She now remains the only 1930s superliner left in the world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The original edition of \u003ci\u003eRMS Queen Mary, the World's Favourite Liner\u003c\/i\u003e was published in 1994. This new and expanded edition has been completely revised and brought up to date to describe the ship's last twenty-five years, and it incorporates a wealth of new photography. Lavishly produced and stunningly illustrated throughout with views of the ship under construction, at sea in her heyday and at rest in Long Beach, it will appeal to all ocean liner enthusiasts and those more general readers fascinated by the heyday of transatlantic travel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Ellery is a writer, broadcaster and documentary filmmaker with some thirty-five years' experience working on local and national newspapers, magazines, radio and television documentaries. Co-founder of the award-winning production company Viewpoint Productions, he is an acknowledged expert on the \u003ci\u003eQueen Mary\u003c\/i\u003e, having produced several films about the ship, including an award-winning documentary for BBC television, and is author of the book \u003ci\u003eRMS Queen Mary, 101 Questions and Answers about the Great Transatlantic Liner \u003c\/i\u003eas well as \u003ci\u003eQE2: The Last Great Liner\u003c\/i\u003e. A regular guest presenter on P\u0026amp;O cruises, David lives with his wife and three children near Southampton, \u003ci\u003e Queen Mary\u003c\/i\u003e's home port through most of her active career.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"US Naval Institute Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50697279308050,"sku":"9781399053051","price":53.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_46a959a6-5c32-47c8-8797-dc4a034451ab.jpg?v=1734298161","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/rms-queen-mary-the-worlds-favourite-liner-9781399053051","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}