Review by Felix Bustelo

This book is the latest volume in the Dover series of soft-covered ocean liner books. It covers the history and development of the world's most famous line after Cunard, the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (CGT) or simply the French Line. As with all of the books in the Dover library, it is a photographic tribute to the beautiful ships of this line. The 113 page book contains 187 black and white photographs, covering the major ships of the CGT as well as some of the smaller French companies like Messageries Maritimes and Transports Maritimes. The extended captions to the photos provide a brief biography and technical data for each ship.

The nine chapters cover the French Line from its founding in 1855 through the early 1970's. The photos show both exterior and interior shots, with the latter adding life to these ships. The interior shots highlight the French Line's contribution to liner interiors: the grand staircase. These staircases offered ladies in evening attire to make a dramatic and grand entrance into the first class dining rooms. Most chapters cover several ships from particular eras, but entire chapters are dedicated to the 3 most important ships in the CGT's history, the Normandie, the Liberte and the France.

This book offers plenty of photos to help modelers check details when they are building a model. I plan to use it as one of my references for my Glencoe SS France. I just wish that there were other French Line ships as kits out there. But, in the meantime, this book offers a time warp back to another era when ocean liners reigned and few had the style and flair that French Line ships had.