Transatlantic: Samuel Cunard, Isambard Brunel, and the Great Atlantic Steamships

The New York Times

Transatlantic, Stephen Fox's lively social history, reminds you that engineering was once the stuff of romance, verging on the swashbuckling, never mind the dark Satanic mills. — Sarah Ferrell

Publishers Weekly

Freelance historian Fox chronicles the changes in transatlantic travel from 1820, when sailing ships took three weeks to cross the treacherous North Atlantic, through 1910, when huge steam-driven ocean liners made the passage in less than a week. No aspect of the remarkable transformation from wind to steam power is left unattended. Fox is as adept at explaining the engineering obstacles facing designers of efficient, safe steamships as he is at describing the charismatic personalities who drove the commercial rivalries and made the under-the-table agreements that dominated the industry. And there is ample drama in the story as steamship builders from Glasgow and London compete for prominence, ships race for the transatlantic crossing record and shipwrecks are caused by human folly and ill luck. For readers whose interest in the nuances of steam engines or paddle-wheel placement is limited, Fox also examines the human dynamics of a transatlantic crossing. His descriptions of the relationships between crew and passengers, first-class passengers and those in steerage, provide insights into the social milieu. The descriptions of life in steerage will intrigue the many Americans whose ancestors arrived after enduring the harrowing conditions, which, according to Fox, deteriorated noticeably in the 1880s, when the demographics of steerage passengers changed from western Europeans to eastern European and Jewish immigrants. Many readers will skip detailed descriptions of the interior dimensions and designs, the crossing times, and the tonnage and horsepower of a seemingly endless number of steamships. Still, Fox has fashioned a comprehensive and informative book. 32 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (July 4) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Fox (America's Invisible Gulag; UnCivil Liberties) presents a sweeping history of the great age of steamships, interspersed throughout with key events in the history of the renowned Cunard Line and the innovative engineering of Isambard Brunel's Great Western Steam Ship Company, which continue to influence this fascinating business. The vibrant story begins with the packet sailing ships in the 1600s and continues with steam-driven paddle wheelers; the Industrial Revolution's rapid advances in engineering; the onset of screw-driven liners; the design of bigger, faster, and more luxurious liners; and the never-satiated interest in getting more people more quickly across the Atlantic with the utmost attention. The experience of both passengers and crew in crossing the Atlantic is vividly re-created. On April 25, 2004, the Cunard Line will make history, with both its flagship QE 2 and its new $80 million Queen Mary 2 departing New York together for Europe, an event that will further heighten interest in this company. Fox fills in the beginnings of this business, not covered in William H. Miller's Transatlantic Liners, 1945-1980, and provides a timely update to N.R.P. Bonsor's classic, four-volume North Atlantic Seaway. Thoroughly researched, this title is essential for all steamship and maritime history collections in academic and larger public libraries.-Dale Farris, Groves, TX Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A lively, well-researched history of the race, technological and commercial, to send steam-powered vessels across the pond. Canadian entrepreneur Samuel Cunard and British engineer Isambard Brunel independently recognized how difficult achieving such a goal would be, writes Fox (Big Leagues, 1994): the technology of steam-driven engines, introduced a generation before, was certainly perfectible and adaptable to the task, but the Atlantic Ocean posed its own challenges in the form of huge storms and swift currents; "the Atlantic to America," Cunard remarked, "is the worst navigation in the world. The westerly winds prevail very much, and you have ice and fog to contend with." Still, with the sweeping successes of the railroad and the fortunes it promised, both men labored endlessly, though with different approaches, to find the investors and equipment to make the passage possible. Brunel, who suffered from seasickness and never undertook an ocean voyage until the last year of his long life, introduced brute-force designs, with alloy hulls and screws to do Archimedes proud, that seem intended to cow the sea into submission, and his huge steam vessel, the Great Western, was the first to cross the waters in 1838; Cunard, more concerned with creature comforts and elegance, settled for second place in the race, but built a great fleet of ships that were the finest of their time. One fan of Cunard's fleet was Mark Twain, who luxuriated aboard ships such as the Batavia on his world tours, but who was quick to shift loyalties when a competitor, the Inman Line, launched the still more elegant City of Chester in 1873. Though synonymous with ocean crossing, the Cunard Line fell into neglect with thedeath of Samuel and transfer of ownership to his uninterested sons. The company would make a memorable comeback, however, in the early 1900s with two magnificent ships-the Mauretania and her ill-fated sister, Lusitania. Fine reading for an ocean cruise. Agent: Robin Strauss