Book Review: Crossing in Time: Steam Engines, Fast Ships, and a Journey to the New World by David Macaulay

Crossing in Time: Steam Engines, Fast Ships, and a Journey to the New World
by David Macaulay (j623.824 Mac)

When I was ten years old, my family returned to the U.S. after living in Europe for three years. Our return voyage was on the SS United States, the fastest passenger liner ever – then or since – to cross the Atlantic. Over 50 years later, I still have strong memories of that experience. Little did we know that the ship would be retired just a few months later, the victim of the increasing popularity of air travel.

 

Twelve years earlier, when author David Macaulay was ten years old, his family moved from England to the U.S., making the voyage on the same ship. In Crossing in Time: Steam Engines, Fast Ships, and a Journey to the New World, Macaulay has used his family’s experience to frame the story of the United States, and of ocean liners in general. With his characteristic explanatory illustrations, he covers the development of steam engines – originally developed to pump water out of coal mines, but later adapted to transportation, first on land, and then on water. He describes the fierce international competition for speed from the mid-19th century through the first half of the 20th century. He tells the story of naval architects William and Frederic Gibbs and their decades-long dream of building the fastest ocean liner ever, and of how that dream finally came to fruition with the building of the United States.

 

Illustrations and diagrams show the building process of the ship, which at 990 feet was longer than the dry dock where she was constructed. A six-page foldout illustration shows some of the highlights of the finished liner, including two movie theaters and a swimming pool (both of which I vividly remember). Macaulay includes a few photographs, including one of the ship leaving on her maiden voyage, and the only two photos of his family taken aboard the ship.

 

While the book is written for young readers, like most of Macaulay’s books it is also a quick, enjoyable and informative read for adults. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in ships or the history of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try other books by the same author, such as Castle, Cathedral, or The Way Things Work, etc.]

[ official David Macaulay web site, currently emphasizing Crossing in Time ]

 

Recommended by Peter J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Virtual Services

 

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