QE2 - Carol Thatcher

Surely the most famous ship in the world, Cunard's QE2 has captured the headlines for 40 years as she plies her glamorous trade around the globe. The book takes a warts and all look at this fabulous ship. Starting with her revolutionary design and the arguments surrounding her construction and moving on to her time in service with sometimes troubled voyages undergoing engine failure, stowaways, storms, collisions and wartime derring-do. The story includes hosts of celebrities from the sixties to the present day, all of whom have fallen for the charm of this old-fashioned lady. After more than five million nautical miles and 40 years the wrinkles are beginning to show. But while people with taste and a sense of history want to take the most luxurious and leisurely voyages, she will still have a job to do. And nobody does it better than QE2.