The Sway of the Grand Saloon: A Social History of the North Atlantic

by John Malcolm Brinnin

American History. In January 1818, six hardy souls made the first scheduled Atlantic passenger-ship crossing, and a new industry was born. Reckless competition, horrific disasters, and human dramas... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760720819
• ISBN13: 9780760720813
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books
• Length: 599 Pages
• Weight: 2.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Voyage Through the Gilded Age

This book is a chronicle of the ships that traveled between Europe and North America, from the 1800's sailing ships, to steamships, leading up to the modern day. It includes lots of interesting vignettes from each time period, including contemporary accounts from travelers. It is interesting to see how the phenomenon of sea cruising transformed over time, in response to technology advances as well as social forces (immigration, economies, etc.) to take on the form of present-day pleasure cruising. The book is also copiously illustrated with scenes from all epochs of the era of cruising the North Atlantic. One of the saddest realizations from reading this book is to learn just how many of these ships no longer exist (lost at sea, or broken up for scrap). I enjoyed this book greatly.