The Last Great Race, The S.S. United States and the Blue Riband
This book tells the story of the S.S. United States, its designer William Francis Gibbs and Gibbs' successful mission to set an ocean liner speed record. The author, Lawrence Driscoll, admits the best part of penning the book was the research. His fact-finding missions took him to Newport News, Va., where the ship was built; to the Truman Library in Independence, Mo.; to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island where the United States Lines records are kept; and even to Liverpool, England. There he researched the key characters of the liner's story: its designer Gibbs, owner John Franklin and Captain Harry Manning. These were tough guys, not the sentimental type, and hard drivers, yet each one fell in love with this ship. In addition, Driscoll focuses on the rivalry between the upstart United States Lines, which was building this new superliner, and the established British Cunard Lines, which tried to scuttle the project. The ship was like a movie star itself; it became a celebrity because of its accomplishment, said Driscoll. --Finger Lakes Times, Sept. 15, 2013There is a certain romantic fascination with the drama of the great ocean liners at full power - hurling through the storm-tossed waters of the Atlantic in pursuit of the coveted Blue Riband. This book tells the tale of the SS United States and the great ship's quest for the Blue Riband. Launched in the early 1950s, the United States was the last major American ocean liner for, overhead, Lockheed Constellations and Douglas Cloudmasters were pioneering the transatlantic air routes that we now take for granted. On its maiden voyage, the United States set a new North Atlantic speed record for liners and, rather amazingly, was the first American ship to do so in nearly 100 years. Elegant from any angle, the United States was the laterst refinement in the rarified art of shipbuilding. Designer William Francis Gibbs was regarded as the best of the best and to him the United States was not just a magnificent ocean liner - it was a tangible symbol of national pride. Gibbs designed the massive ship to take full advantage of four steam turbines that developed an unheard of 240,000 horsepower. The author, a lifelong admirer of ocean liners who actually sailed aboard the United States, delves into the life and personality of Gibbs while also explaining the rivalry that existed between the storied Cunard Line and the United States Line. He also lifts a rock off the political dealings that Cunard instigated in an attempt to stop the funding of an ocean liner that they knew would outclass their best liners. --Sea Classics, December 2013