20th century passenger ships of the P&O

For some time now, I have been studying the history of passenger-ships as part of a large project with which I am currently involved. Researching ships and shipwrecks is what I do and this was one of a number of books purchased for that reason. Each new acquisition comes to the top of the pile in no particular order and, having just finished a wretchedly appalling so-called history of P&O Cruises (which was nothing more than blatant advertising for Carnival Cruises!), I was still a little angry when I picked up this book which just happened to be next. Almost immediately, my faith was restored. Created in 1878, the Orient Line soon became the preferred shipping company for European travel to Australia and the Far East. With a reputation for comfort and quality, the company operated 31 vessels before merging with P&O in 1960. In this carefully and skilfully produced work, the history of the Orient Line is told through those ships including the hardships of two world wars. Appearing in date order, each vessel is described with all the technical data and full career narrative. The Ophir of 1891, for example, spent part of her time as the official ‘Royal Yacht’ - although it does seem almost impossible for such a relatively low-profile ship to have sufficient room for that huge and very beautiful first-class dining saloon. Elsewhere, a photograph of the Otranto signed by the entire Australian cricket team of the day adds another dimension to the life-time of a ship which had two serious collisions before settling down to complete over 30 years loyal service. My own favourite, however, will always remain the Orcades - but then I did have a model of that ship when I was a boy. Not only is this an excellent work, it is also a clear demonstration of how the history of any shipping line should be written and reproduced. The author has an engaging style of writing and the entire product is lavishly illustrated with B&W historic images. One can ask for no more!