THE QM2 STORY BY CHRIS FRAME AND RACHELLE CROSS: MY REVIEW AND THOUGHTS

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There are quite a few books covering the Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2. So which one or ones to choose if you looking for one?


For me, I look out for people with real passion versus just an academic interest in Cunard and their ships, and Chris Frame and Rachelle Cross are just this.


Chris has run a popular website about Cunard and their ships for many years, and this is in fact how I first came across him. I was researching my first trip on a Cunard ship (Queen Elizabeth 2) in 2004 and found his insight, information and passion one of the best and clearest I could find. The link to his site is at the end of this posting.


He has written a few books with Rachelle, and this is one of his more recent ones published first in 2010 by The History Press as part of their "The Story" series covering various travel icons. These small hard cover books are around 120 pages, compact in size and in the case of "The QM2 Story" packed full of photographs (many taken by the authors themselves) and then this is a very entertaining and readable history of Cunard, stories about the amazing ship itself. At the end there is a date by date history of the ship, and then facts and figures about the fabulous ship.


Chris and Rachelle are very passionate about Cunard and the ship, and this shows through in the book. This passion and knowledge has also led to Chris being invited to talk on Cunard ships, and so you also know that the company sees the authors as experts. 


I found this book fun, entertaining and very informative. I loved it and recommend it, especially if you are looking for a fairly inexpensive way to find out and get your fix and brief on the ship before you travel on her.


I have put links to amazon.co.uk and amazon.com, but the books are also widly available through other online booksellers.


To visit Chris Frame's Cunard site: http://www.chriscunard.com/index.php




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Book review: The Fleet 1840-2004: Cunard's Flagships and Floating Palaces from the Earliest Days of Steam to "Queen Mary 2": Elspeth Wills

I bought this book on the QE2 during the December 2004 crossing.

This is really comprehensive and well laid out little book. It is nicely put together, very visual with just enough text and key facts for each ship to give you a good feel for the history and how the trends developed over time.

It is split into 7 sections and covers 60 ships that starts with “The Atlantic Steamers 1840-1869”, into “Emigrant Ships to Luxury Liners 1870-1899” through “The Elegant Edwardians 1900-1914” and onwards. The last 2 being “Built for the Sun 1946-1996” and finally “New Queens for a New Millennium 1997-2004”.

There is a nice mix of photographs of and on the ships, along with adverts for the ships, anecdotes and quotes.

It is perfect for someone that has passion for cruising and ships, and Cunard in particular but does not the desire to read a large volume of facts, figures and history.

Highly recommended!

QE2: A Photographic Journey: Chris Frame & Rachelle Cross

This new addition to the many books written about Cunard's iconic and symbolic ship the Queen Elizabeth 2 is from 2 passionate fans of the ship.

The book has over 200 pictures that seem to largely be from their own collections that were taken on the many trips that they have taken on the ship, and there is very limited text and some short but interesting sections by William Miller and QE2 Captain Ian McNaught.

The thing that I liked about this book is that is does what it says!

I like the fact that it covers basically every public room and each of the accommodations in neat sections. with photographs showing what the ship looks like. I would love to have had this book before I did my first (and only!) crossing on the ship back in 2004. It is a simple idea for a book and one that will be of benefit to past and new fans of the ship. It may also prove to be an interesting record of what the ship looked like before it gets converted into its new use in Dubai. And if rumours are true, then changes to the ship may be drastic and dramatic to convert it into the new use.

The book covers: Accommodation, Restaurants, Bars & Lounges, Public Areas, Crew Areas and then some topics covering the external aspects of the ship. Every section has a photo or series of photos and as they are personal photographs they have a sense of real to them, versus glossy professional stylised photos. They show some of the warts of the ship!

There is some text with each section which is crisp and short, and later in the book some fun facts and things which do not work quite as well as there are many well told sea jokes/ anecdotes but are not a big distraction.

I enjoyed this book and was glad I have added it to my collection of Cunard books. I have a lot of Cunard brochures from over the years and when I sell them on eBay it seems the main reason want them is for the photos of the ship interiors - this book now solves that. Annoyingly!

If you want to buy the book or find out more you can buy it through the links below

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