Greece Hotels Travel - Normandie: France's Legendary Art Deco Ocean Liner
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List Price: $100.00
greece-hotels-travel.com Price: $63.00
Your Save: $ 37.00 ( 37% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 387.2432
EAN: 9780393061208
ISBN: 0393061205
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 260
Publication Date: 2007-12-10
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Studio: W. W. Norton
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Editorial Reviews:
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A magnificent tribute to the illustrious and ill-fated steamship.
Normandie was unquestionably the most beautiful ocean liner ever built. The world's largest at the time, she also became the world's fastest. Her art deco interiors were unrivaled: capacious, elegant, and chic, decorated by teams of France's most talented artists. Yet Normandie was plagued with frustrations—never attracting more passengers than the competition and tragically ending her days in flames at New York's Pier 88.
Celebrated maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham confesses to a hypnotic fascination with Normandie. In this comprehensive volume, enriched by over 200 photographs and illustrations, he documents every aspect of the vessel's decorative antecedents, design, construction, and service. Always articulate, entertaining, and devastatingly well informed, Maxtone-Graham has created the definitive Normandie panegyric, a comprehensive and, at times, heartbreaking account of this fabled liner. 30 color and 175 black-and-white illustrations.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: A pricey book with very little to show for it
Comment: I had delayed purchasing this book because of the extremely high price it carried at the bookstores (around $100) and the fact that the store copies were all sealed so you could not examine them.
Then, on a cruise aboard Queen Mary 2 (and to the person that complained about how Maxtone-Graham drops the "the" before the ship's name- this is the proper useage)I had an opportunity to look at the book.
The pictures are very good and I have not seen some of them before, but there is way too much about how the ship was decorated and the service aboard. It's almost like reading about a hotel.
There is little to nothing about her turbo-electric drive or machinery, and the author's writing style does become a bit irritating after a while.
The overall feeling that you have after reading the book is that you wanted much more from it.
Sad to say, the book is not worth even the reduced price offered by Amazon.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Impressive but Lacking
Comment: Am impressive picture of the Normandie from certain views. As a former seagoing Marine Engineer, I was disappointed to find a cursory TWO Page description of the Normandie's Turbo-Electric propulsion plant, which was, after all, much more responsible for her Blue Ribband passage than anything else. One picture of a propulsion motor, presumably from a model.
We had one of the Normandie's Lifeboats at Kings Point, the US Merchant Marine Academy, which I attended in the 1950's.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Is this apropros?
Comment: I have to agree with the review by Michael from Boston. This is a beautiful book but the prose is affected and extremely annoying. Was the author being deliberately flamboyant because of the subject? If he was then it was definately overkill. A disapointing effort from the author of "the only way to cross". I would still buy it though just for the images and the quality of the layout and of course for the picture of Normandie lying at anchor off quarantine.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good author, excellent book
Comment: John Maxtone Graham's book THE ONLY WAY TO CROSS. Foreword by Walter Lord. was the inspiration for me to start collecting anything I could on Trans-Atlantic ocean liners, particularly before mid-twentieth century. After buying it back in the early 70's I couldn't put it down. This book on the Normandie peaks my interest as "The Only Way To Cross" did only more so. Well written with many excellent photos. A must have for any ocean liner hobbyist.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An Inspiring Book
Comment: Thank you Mr. Maxtone-Graham for this eagerly anticipated tome for my collection. When you first told me of it's imminent release, during a QE2 crossing almost two years ago, I've been on pins and needles. It's been one of the highlights of my season, and I'm not at all disappointed. I received the book before lunchtime and listened to my hunger pangs as I turned each page unable to put it down.
This book is a good balance of text with photos I have never seen before. Being an artist and designer, I am impressed with the layout and design, noting especially the cover and inside composite illustration. And it's printed in Italy! The historical perspective is complete and accurate as always. It's a must have for the SS Normandie enthusiast, design student, or maritime historian.
I love chapter two with your inclusion of the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs of 1925. I had the privilege of seeing an art deco exhibit in London at the V&A, and one of the exhibits was brief film footage of a crossing on Normandie in colour. What a treat.
The fold outs of the deck plans are very interesting showing how CGT had a complete vision of the deco style that didn't end with the furniture or interior embelishments, but extended to the overall architecture of the ship. It's also interesting to see the overviews of the cabins on those decks, and as to the whereabouts of the surviving relics today.
Someone told me how he once had seen a friend off on Normandie, commenting how it was the most beautiful ship he had ever seen. The generous photos in this book give me an idea of what he experienced. Especially the large photo of the lift, which is wonderfully placed at the end. These photos are all nicely restored with nice tonal balance.
A better book couldn't be possible given the short life of this ship. I always enjoy reading your eloquent style, and, as a quintessential historian, your personal perspective is superb. Thank you again for this most inspiring addition to my collection.
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