Great Mediterranean passenger ships - William H. Miller

The great age of Mediterranean passenger liners begins in earnest in the 1920s when the Italians built their first big ships, such as the Augustus, Saturnia and Conte Grande. Then, in the 1930s, things grew more exciting with the creation of the superliners Rex and Conte di Savoia. The book then concentrates on the 1950s and '60s as Italy built a huge post-war fleet and France, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Israel commissioned their biggest ships yet. Some were new-builds, like Israel's Shalom, France's Bretagne, Portugal's Vera Cruz and Spain's Cabo San Roque; others were converted, sometimes lavishly refitted ships with fascinating histories. Italy's former Franca 'C', a converted freighter, still lives on, having reached her 100th birthday.