Lost Liners

by Robert D. Ballard

Riding the wave of ocean liner nostalgia, Lost Liners presents the most comprehensive and spectacular volume ever--a guided tour encompassing the beginnings, heyday, and eventual decline of the great Atlantic express liners. Ken Marschall's lavish paintings depict the ships in their shining prime as well as in their eerily poignant underwater repose.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Maritime, Historical

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 1997

About the author

Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942 in Wichita, Kansas) is a former commander in the United States Navy and an oceanographer who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology. He is most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989, and the wreck of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in 1998. Most recently he discovered the wreck of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 in 2003 and visited the Solomon Islander natives who saved its crew. Ballard is also great-grandson of American Old West lawman Bat Masterson.

from wikipedia.org

see also
http://literati.net/Ballard/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/fie...
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/pa...

Reviews

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright, it's confession time.
I'm a sunken ship junkie.
Actually, I like ships-- period.
No, I'm not talking about the glorified floating Holiday Inns of today.
But when craftsmen were craftsmen and they built epic works of art.
From plans, to frame up, to launch ... I love it all.

I've followed Robert Ballard with a somewhat religious fervor since he discovered the wreck of the Titanic (yes, I still have the newspaper clipping from that date in 1985).
I appreciate his love and passion for these liners ... as well as his deep respect for the tragedy and loss of life surrounding their untimely demise.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, and a must for anybody who is interesting in lost ships. I loved and enjoyed this book when I was young, but could never find it anywhere for purchase, finally last year I received it as a gift from my aunt. One of my most treasured books.

[Monica Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable coffee table book, with stunning photographs of the ships in their heyday as well as in their current positions on the ocean floor. There were some beautiful paintings as well.

I liked the little stories about specific passengers on these ships and the stories behind the race to cross the oceans in fewer and fewer days. We have come a long way since the early days of the passenger sailing ship! Some of the conditions in those times sound brutal indeed.

Recommended reading if you enjoy ocean going and large ships.

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Titanic might be the most famous ocean liner of all time, it was just one of many liners that both sailed the sea or met tragic fates, something which this 1997 coffee table book proves with text by Rick Archbold (though oceanographer Robert Ballard gets top-billing, even if his contributions seem limited to the wreck site portions of the book) covering the century or so of these liners in their heyday. From their earliest days to the early 1900s race for the fastest crossing to the Titanic and her sisters, all the way to the start of the jet age, their story is here from the surface to their wrecks dotting the bottom of the Atlantic. Complimented by a wealth of archival images alongside the often stunning paintings of Ken Marschall, Lost Liners is indeed a glimpse into a lost world when ocean-crossing ships were the only way to cross the Atlantic.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photos. Very well written. Did I mention the photos?

[Jbussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Half is about the Atlantic crossing by liner period, beginning at the end of the age of sail & ending in the Jet age. That history was interesting, and then of course is the story of the tragedies and... well Ballard.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people may think that a liner who has a long successful life is the one that enters to enduring pages of History. Such couldn't be falser.
If one speaks of the the Aquitania or the SS Imperator (later RMS Berengaria), only transatlantic liner buffs will know of what one is speaking. However if one speaks about the Titanic, the Lusitania, the Andrea Doria or the Queen Mary, everyone knows those ships.

Titanic is the most famous ship of all time, probably surpassing even Noah's Arc. Her way too short life and her fatal meeting with an iceberg on the night of 14th April 1912 has granted her a place in History and grasps the curiosity and fascination about her even 100 years after her demise.

The Lusitania marked a turning point in World War I, when a German U-boat decided to attack her and sink her, taking with her many American lives, which helped make the USA finally join the War.

The Andrea Doria's sinking marked the beginning of the end of the transatlantic luxury liners which were replaced by aeroplanes.

The Queen Mary didn't sink, but is the sole symbol of an Era now gone, still floating as an Hotel in the USA.

This book tells the story of the development of transatlantic steamers from the middle of the 19th century up until the sinking of the Andrea Doria in the middle of the 20th century.
Here lies the story of the great lost liners: Titanic and her sisters Olympic and Britannic; Lusitania and her sister Mauretania; The Empress of Ireland and the Andrea Doria, the French Normandie and Cunard's Queen Mary and her late sister Queen Elizabeth (destroyed by fire and sunk in the 70's after being sold as an University ship to the Japanese).
This book is a captivating reading, written by the man who discovered Titanic's wreck in 1986 and illustrated by the greatest maritime artist Ken Marschall, who's paintings often force you to check twice just to make sure it isn't a picture you're looking at.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c1997: I am not sure at the audience this book was aimed at. For the coffee table readers it has a brilliant cover picture and a strap line that piques one's interest. But, there are actually very few pictures of the ships on the ocean floor although there are a large number of what they looked like when on top of the ocean. There are also a number of illustrations that are actually paintings, which, whilst gorgeous and very well done, always seems to me to be a bit of a cheat. The blurb says that this is a valuable reference tool but I am not so sure about that. Anyway, it was an interesting book to idle away a couple of hours. Glad I didn't actually purchase it though.

[Ashwise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love shipwrecks and I loved how Ballard combined the lost liners with the age of shipping and how in the late 50s it gave way to airtravel. I loved the photos of the wrecks, though I was disappointed by how brief he recounted the sinking and the aftermath. I did like Ballard's stance on salvaging though and how these wrecks are supposed to be grave sites...did you know that the Empress of Ireland wreck has bodies still entombed and divers have taken the bones?

[Bookish Enchantment (Katherine Quirke) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful coffee table book and reference book

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book! One of my favorites.

[Lachlan Hazelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a beautifully illustrated and researched book with great undersea images. Not to be missed if you are fascinated by this area of maritime history.