Oceanic: White Star's 'Ship of the Century' Paperback – 1 Nov. 2018

An attractive and copiously illustrated ‘ landscape’ book on good gloss paper, though I would have paid for a hardback edition. There are chapters on origins and building of ‘Oceanic’, followed by the maiden voyage and then long chapters on Liverpool (1899- 1907) and Southampton (1907- 1914) service. Her loss after only a month of war is explained in detail. It was ridiculous to use such huge and vulnerable ships as armed cruisers: that should have been obvious from the start but the wreck of Oceanic served to prove the point.Illustrations show the huge disproportion in space allocated to the three classes. There were no photos of third class in the original promotion but a couple have been unearthed and the bare barrack- like space provided shows why - although in fact these were far better facilities than most ships then provided. Two criticisms here: there are no full length profile plans to show the layout inside the ship and the landscape format is largely wasted since few illustrations make use of the full page width.There is a fine 29 page colour section, largely featuring excellent contemporary post cards. The text is well written and includes quite a few anecdotes, indicating much research by Mr Chirnside: the famed Charles Lightoller, senior surviving officer of the Titanic, appears here during Oceanic’s peaceful service and also at the time of her loss.All considered, this is a fine book and I am pleased this much effort has been made to cover ship which, though very notable in her day, had a life of only 15 years and was soon eclipsed by larger and ultimately more famous liners. Many thanks to the author, and also to the History Press, for supporting this effort.

While most histories of White Star focus on the second ship of the Olympic class (which didn't even complete a single crossing) Mark Chirnside brings to life perhaps White Star's most successful ship in a detailed and beautifully illustrated account of her career. The largest liner of her day, she had a dedicated following - and it might be argued that the Olympic Class were merely a bloated version of the Oceanic. Learn about the predecessor to the Olympic class (which sadly also befell the same fate as the second ship, but under the command of the Admiralty, and with no loss of life.)

The book arrived promptly and was in excellent condition

Very good and interesting book . My great grandfather worked on the oceanic . So really enjoyed this . Thankyou.

A great book to add to your collection if you're interested in ocean liners, the story of the White Star Line, or just history in general - great choice of photos - interesting text - what more could a person want?

As it to be expected of Mark Chirnside, this book does not disappoint. Interspersed with numerous photographs, illustrations and contemporary quotes, there is a detailed account of the history of White Star Line's beautiful and graceful ship from its launch in 1899 to its sad demise in 1914.The reader learns of the creation of another high quality vessel by the world-renowned shipyard of Harland & Wolff, Belfast, later to produce its most famous liner, Titanic.I particularly enjoyed the personal accounts of both passengers and crew connected with the ship.A lovely 'coffee-table' book as well as one for the serious maritime researcher, there is very little to find fault with this publication. Perhaps, my only gripe is that the pages between 38 and 53 are not numbered, and that my fingerprints are obvious on the black paper in that section.

Very interesting shipwreck.