| Title | Author | Pictures | Accuracy/Details | Rating | Summary/Comments | Score |
| Alive on the Andrea Adoria | P. D. Simpson | Few B&W, some charts | Chronology of the events and first hands accounts of the incident are interesting. | B | I found it difficult to finish the book. I understand this was a traumatic event for Simpson but the book could have been written better. I did not finish the book. | 1 |
| Battleships | P. Hore | Mostly B&W, some drawings | Good summary of technical detail on the different classes. | B | Broad covering of information so limited depth on each ship. | 3 |
| Box , The | M. Levison | None | Very good history of how the container industry has evolved. | A | Broad covering of information so limited depth on each ship. | 4 |
| Box Boats | B. Cudahy | Few B&W, some charts | As far as I can tell, the data is as good as Levison's. It was good to see some pictures of McLean | A | I read this book after The Box so it felt like a "me too" book. That may not be fair to Cudahy so make your own interpretation. | 3 |
| Breaking Ships | R. Buerk | Lots of B&W, low quality | Small book that packs a lot of information. | A | Buerk does a good job to help the reader understand how dangerous breaking ships can be and feel for the workers that do it. | 4 |
| Building the Titanic | R. Green | Lots of high quality B&W | Green has a good eye for detail and does take some time to explain interesting details. I particularly like the detail relate to the picture on pg 93. I did not see it the first time. | A | There are probably "too many" books on the Titanic - however, this is a good one! | 5 |
| Cruise - identity, design & culture | P. Quartermaine & B. Peter | Lots of Color. Good deck plan overview of the original Nordic Prince. | There are some great pictures in this book although but if feels more influenced by P&O/Princess. | B | I had high hopes for this book but I did not feel that the title delivered the content. Someone needs to do a good book on modern architectural cruise ship design. This book does not reach that expectation. | 3 |
| Cruise Ship Squeeze | R. Klein | Charts & graphs | Klein is on a rant. He is a ticked off man on a mission and his views are biased. | B | If you want to get banned from cruising, this is a great way to write! Highlight - particularly good insight into the future of cruising is provided by Klein in chapter 6 where he discusses "unbundling". The end of old school cruising is at hand. | 3 |
| Devils on the Deep Blue Sea | K. Garin | Few B&W | Very good historical overview and evolution of the cruise industry and key players. | A | Excellent book. You will see the true greed and ethics (or lack thereof) in the cruise industry. After reading, I have been completely put off by Carnival Corp. | 5 |
| Doomed Ships | W. H. Miller Jr. | Lots of B&W | Detail regarding more recent calamities and the re-birth of some ships is interesting. | B | I love Miller's books but usually find myself wanting more. | 3 |
| Doulos Story, The | E. Rhoton | None | Missed out on an opportunity to include some great photos. How can you tell the story without the photos? | B | The Logos Story was a much easier read. I had hoped that Rhoton would have spent more time tracing the history of this phenomenal ship but she focused almost exclusively on the misssion. | 2 |
| Great Ship Disasters | K. & C. Bonner | B&W and Color | Pg 101 - Anybody who really "knows" ships, can recognize that the QE2 does not look anything like the SS Sea Breeze I. | F | I lost interest after I realized the blunder on pg 101. I have not written my first book but I would expect that you should spend a lot of time checking the details before it goes to print. | 1 |
| It's Your Ship | D. M. Abrashoff | None | Interesting view on how being a Captain of a ship (where people have to take your orders) has parallels to being a civilian manager. | B | This book should not really be in my list since it is about Management Techniques but Abrashoff does share some interesting nuggets about the ship. | 3 |
| Krait, the fishing boat that went to war | L. R. Silver | Few B&W and some charts | Living in Singapore, I looked up the details on modern day charts and you can still trace the track. Incredible journey! | A | Amazing story of true bravery during WWII. Missed my chance to see the Krait in Sydney but will catch it next time for sure! | 4 |
| L'Atlantique | L. Streater | B&W, some color drawings | One of my pet peeves is getting photograph captions correct. Pg 43, top left, the picture is upside down unless this is giant bidet! Pg 63 middle, right, the L'Atlantique behind is post-disaster and you can clearly see the burn marks on the promenade. | F | The L'Atlantique is pivotal in the evolution of passenger ships. Many of the significant innovations of this design are missed or too lightly covered by Streater. | 3 |
| Liner, The - retrospective & renaissance | P. Dawson | Lots of B&W and Color, some diagrams | Good detail and understanding related to the significance of certain ships like L'Atlantique. Pg 63 comparison of Lusitania and Great Eastern is fantastic. | B | Dawson does a good job linking "true" liners together from packet ships to the QM2. | 4 |
| Liners & Cruise Ships | A. Cooke | Lots of B&W | Pg 18, one of my favorites whom I cruised with 3 times! | A | Cooke has done an amazing job putting together a who's who list of little ships that should not be forgotten. | 4 |
| Liners & Cruise Ships 2 | A. Cooke | Lots of B&W | Excellent detail on their final result. | A | Builds on the first volume and adds updates for some previously covered ships. | 4 |
| Liners & Cruise Ships 3 | A. Cooke | Lots of B&W, some color | Pg 43, love the information on the Stockholm. Never knew what happened to her till I read this. | A | Cooked keeps his momentum well into his 3rd book. Another great resource. | 4 |
| Liners, the golden age | R. Fox | Lots of big B&W | Getty images - beautiful. | A | This is a picture book with absolutely wonderful photographs. The way they would want to be remembered. | 5 |
| Logos Story, The | E. Rhoton | Few B&W | Very good first hand accounts of the disaster. | A | The story chronicles the creation of the organization and the ship and His support. | 3 |
| Luxury Liners, life on board | C. Donzel | Lots of big B&W, mixed with peripherals (menus, tickets, etc) | Capturing views of life centered around liners. | A | Well done Donzel. Heavy focus on French Line but well worth it. | 5 |
| Mediterranean Shipping Company SA | A. M. De Schipper & J. M. Janse | Lots of Color | Great chronology for one of the world's premier shipping lines. Especially like pg 45 since I have seen her many times in person. | A | I wish I had a book like this on every major shipping line! I would love to see an updated version of this every 5 to 10 years! | 4 |
| Normandie | J. Maxtone-Graham | Lots of B&W, few color, pull out deck plans (partial) | This book gives a true account of the Normandie including her weaknesses especially related to the design of the lower classes. It explains why the Queen Mary was more successful overall. | A | The Normandie is my favorite ship so this review is totally biased. Maxtone-Graham is brilliant. I love this book. | 5 |
| Ocean Titans | D. Sckulich | Few B&W | First hand views of ships and the men who crew them. | B | Sckulich gives a good overview of birth to death of a ship especially how it relates to people. I think he is trying to get the reader to see the soul of a ship through the people that live with her but it doesn't quite hit the mark. | 3 |
| Only Way to Cross, the | J. Maxtone-Graham | Few B&W | Brilliant first hand accounts and detail about being on-board a transatlantic liner. | A | Maxtone-Graham allows the reader to completely imagine what it would be like to make the traditional pilgrimage across the Atlantic. It is critical piece of work in the genre of passenger shipping. | 5 |
| Outlaw Sea, the | W. Langewiesche | None | Good accuracy as far as I can tell but more of a broad view with less detail. | B | This book helps explain the complexities of the shipping industry and how it has evolved. | 3 |
| Queen Mary 2 | P. Plisson | Lots of Color | Great photos of the new grand lady being built. | B | I love the hard/soft cover of this book. | 4 |
| RMS Empress of Britain | C. Harvey | Lots of B&W, some color drawings & partial deck plans | Would have liked to have seen more internal photos but the drawings are quite nice. | B | The Queen of the Orient. I would have liked to sail on this ship. | 3 |
| RMS Majestic - the 'magic' stick | M. Chirnside | Lots of B&W, some color drawings & deck plans | I would have liked to see more detail regarding the beginning of the Majestic's life as the Bismarck and in particular the evolution in design from her original sister the Imperator. | B | Interesting book about an almost forgotten ship who was the biggest ship in the world for 13 years. Not a small record considering the constant evolution of passenger ships. | 3 |
| Saxonia Sisters, the | C. Harvey | Lots of B&W, some color | Great pictures of the Fairsea undergoing her conversion from being the Carinthia pg 44. Pg 53, just 1 month before my first cruise on her from the same port. | A | A biased view. Loved the detail and history of the ships. | 4 |
| Shadow Voyage | P. Hachthausen | Few B&W | Honors the true sailors of the Bremen and provides an introspective view on the tensions within Germany during WWII. | A | I would recommend this book to anyone. Extremely well written and fast, like watching a movie in your mind. It is filled with espionage and intrigue. Well done! | 5 |
| Ships, the encyclopedia of | T. Gibbons | Lots of color drawings, some B&W | Broad book so detail is limited and not all historically significant ships are represented. | C | Good reference book but I usually find myself needing to do more research. | 3 |
| Sitmar Liners & the V Ships, the | M. Eliseo | Lots of B&W, some color and some diagrams | Especially liked the ship drawings and deck plans. | A | Excellent book! Again, this is a biased view. My first cruise was on the Fairsea in 1984 so Sitmar will always hold a special place in my heart. | 4 |
| Titanic, a night remembered | S. Barczewski | Few B&W | I appreciate the fact that Barczewski is providing a contrasting view to popular lore. I would need to see a lot more research before I would change my mind. | C | Provides an interesting perspective on history and essentially asks the question, "Has the Titanic disaster been re-written by Hollywood?". You be the judge, but only if you have the time. | 3 |
| Titanic, the ship that never sank? | R. Gardiner | Few B&W, some drawings | Most of the assertions are arm-chair in nature an it only takes a small amount of logic to realize their improbability. | C | Conspiracy theorists unite! According to this book, the Titanic didn't sink and pulled off an illusion that even David Copperfield couldn't imagine. I didn't finish the book. | 1 |
| Transatlantic | S. Fox | Few B&W | Excellent chronology of passenger shipping from the earliest beginnings. | A | Brilliant book! If I was teaching a university course on passenger shipping, this book would be mandatory reading. | 5 |
| When the Dancing Stopped | B. Hicks | Few B&W | Hicks covers a lot of ground in this book and you need to rely on his research. Compelling story and dots appear to be connected. | B | This is really a murder mystery and the Morro Castle just happens to be a victim. It was a good read and I found myself unable to put it down until the bad guy got what he deserved! | 4 |