CUNARD LINE - A Fleet History (Peter Newall)

Published by Ships in Focus Publications, Preston, 2012

ISBN 978-1-901703-24-5

The latest book by Peter Newall, CUNARD LINE - A Fleet History has just been published in England by SHIPS IN FOCUS PUBLICATIONS.

This is the most complete and comprehensive work so far devoted to Cunard and its more than 300 ships, starting with the paddle steamer UNICORN from 1840, up to the present QUEEN ELIZABETH of 2010. Unlike what happens with other books devoted to Cunard, normally focused on the most famous ships of the twentieth century, Peter Newall presents us with a thorough and comprehensive work that turns out to be a history of modern transatlantic shipping because the Cunard Line, or The British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, as the company was called when it was incorporated on July 23, 1839, was one of the first shipping concerns established to operate on the North Atlantic run with steamers, and the more successful of them all as after 174 years, Cunard remains a reference in the world of passenger ships, with its fleet of Queens.

But the history of Cunard - the current name was only used from 1880 following the formation of the Cunard Steamship Company Original Co. Ltd., is much more than a history of passenger ships and navigation. Until a few decades ago Cunard was an important cargo carrier, participating as co-founder in the set up of Atlantic Container Lines, besides several other group companies like Port Line or Brocklebank, and even had reefers, tankers and bulk carriers in its fleet. Peter Newall presents a detailed history of all this fascinating world made of a diverse and glorious past up to the present cruise brand as part of the Carnival Group.

Peter Newall begins by presenting the history of the company, in a text that leads to compulsive reading, informative without frills. It goes on with the presentation of all individual vessels in the fleet, grouped according to the different periods: the transatlantic paddle steamers, the early transatlantic screw ships, Atlantic express liners, intermediate liners, the White Star Line ships transferred to Cunard White Star Ltd.,on January 1, 1934. Note also the chapters on the more recent cruise ships, starting with the CUNARD ADVENTURER in 1971, with several other chapters devoted to freight services including the old Mediterranean run, etc ...

CUNARD LINE is primarily the story of the ships that were owned or operated by Cunard for others, namely the British Government during the world wars. All ships have their main technical data and history featured and illustrated with more than 700 photographs, many previously unpublished, complementing this masterpiece Cunard encyclopedia. Most images belong to the Newall Dunn collection, but many independent shipping photographers have contributed with their best images for this book.

CUNARD LINE - A Fleet History is a truly indispensable book either for the more serious maritime history scholars or for the countless ship enthusiasts for whom the name CUNARD is synonymous with magic. LMC