Large ships have always evoked awe & nostalgia among shiplovers, & none more so than the giant liners of the nineteenth & twentieth centuries. They sailed the oceans with a wide range of passengers long before any other mode of long-distance transport was available to the ordinary man. Their sheer size & opulence were genuinely admired & frequently amazed at around the world, & the romance & tragedy surrounding them has ensured an enduring place in the hearts & minds of those who served or travelled on them as well as those who have only ever seen their like in literature or on film. Here, for the first time, the history of these vessels is recounted with full exploration into their design, construction & development, along with a social history of those who worked & travelled on them. The well-known perennial favourites such as ' Mauretania', ' Olympic', & ' Titanic', ' Bremen', ' Europa' & the ' Cunard Queens' will be looked at in a fresh new light in the context of emerging & changing lifestyles. The book also offers detailed information on some of the lesser known but significant ships such as 'l' Atlantique', ' Empress of Britain', & ' Cap Arcona'. The story is brought full circle with a discussion of the liner's increasing influence on cruise ship design & what is foreseen as the ultimate triumph of the ocean liner, the new Cunard ' Queen Mary II' project to initiate a new liner era for the twenty-first century. With both original & contemporary illustrations in both colour & black-&-white, this will be an essential work for liner enthusiasts & maritime historians alike. The illustrations alone are a goldmine of period pieces, industrial splendour & style.