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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Fifty Ships that Changed the Course of History by Ian Graham

Fifty Ships That Changed the Course of History: A Nautical History of the World
by Ian Graham [387.2 Gra] 

This fascinating volume caught my attention on the “new books” display here at the library, and I’m quite glad I took the time to give it a second look. For as much information as it contains, this is a fairly compact book. As the title indicates, this volume focuses on 50 specific sea-going vessels (as opposed to types or classes of ships), which had significant impacts on world history.

Beginning with Pharaoh Khufu’s Solar Barge (launched in Old Kingdom Egypt in approximately 2566 BCE) and ending with the MS Allure of the Seas (launched in Finland in 2009), each vessel gets a four-page spread. First, there is a technical chart, explaining the type of ship it was, when it was first launched, it’s length and tonnage, what is was constructed from, and its method of propulsion. The remainder of the four pages is dedicated to a somewhat detailed description of the history of the ship, and why it is historically significant. Each entry also features both black & white and color illustrations — either paintings or drawings, or photographs.

In most cases, the ships’ historical importance is due to the actions of that ship and her crew, although in a few cases, it is because of a significant passenger that the ship carried in its voyages. Examples of some of the ships in this volume include: The Santa Maria, the Mayflower, the HMS Endeavour, the HMS Beagle (carrying Charles Darwin), the Amistad, the America, the USS Monitor, the Cutty Sark, the Potemkin, the HMS Dreadnought, the RMS Lusitania, the RMS Titanic, the U-21, the Bismarck, the Yamato, the USS Missouri, Kon-Tiki, Rainbow Warrior, the USS Enterprise, and DSV Alvin…plus 30 others!

If you’re even the slightest bit interested in naval history, but don’t want to dedicate yourself to a lengthy volume about the history of a specific ship, this volume allows you to dip your toe into that rich history. I particularly appreciated the little sidebar articles scattered throughout the book, that tie the individual ships into the broader scope of history. I also appreciated that the book looks at ships from multiple cultures and regions of the world. The only disappointing thing for me was in what wasn’t there — so many other significant ships that could have been included, but the author had to limited himself to only 50! A fascinating read!

[ official Fifty Ships That Changed the Course of History web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!