RMS Majestic: The 'Magic Stick' Paperback – October 1, 2006

Mark Chirnside has a knack of finding new info and turning it into a learning experience for the ship buff. In this volume, we get a great over-view of the Majestic, which was an important ship for the WSL.The pictures are excellent, the text is filled with important events in the ship's career. The only thing I could suggest is finding more people who sailed on it to add to the text. One could have hoped that the publisher would have allowed for a lengthier volume. Other than that, it certainly sets the bar in terms of research.

Mark Chirnside's third book is again a great one. It is full of details on the big White Star Liner "Majestic" - all well researched. It's a pleasure to read and look at it !Well done!

Unwrapping this book I felt a stab of disappointment. Frankly, its more of a booklet. The content, however, made a Mark Chirnside fan of me. His writing style is scholarly yet brisk and unpretentious. Its fair to say he writes for an informed readership --at any rate some terminology is over my head. He packs this volume with Majestic's historical context, design innovations, career history, anecdotes, performance tables and technical data. He particularly celebrates her 1920s success, and succinctly explains how depression era market forces and the White Star-Cunard merger shortened her lifespan. The book is a trove of images, including Majestic's mind-blowing interiors. The inclusion of all this is possible by miniaturization; small print, tiny captions and footnotes, frustratingly small pictures. I was excited to find complete deck plans from bridge to tank top plus a longitudinal section. Lamentably, the entire set is printed on a half-page allowing 4 7/8 inches from bow stem to ensign staff, partly illegible even with a magnifying glass! With space at such a premium, I find many of the exterior B&W and color views duplicative, while I wish in vain for images of underwater hull, machinery and passenger life aboard. Majestic and Mark Chirnside together merit a much-expanded treatment with a more judicious photo editor. In the meantime I can continue learning my ocean liner lexicon.

This book is a treasure-trove of facts, figures and pictures, and as a maritime author and researcher, I'm very picky about what books I'll recommend.Mark Chirnside has written a number of books on the liners during the past decade; each one has been a gem in its own right. His latest work is on the "Aquitania," and is a must-have for any liner buff. For this book, on an often-forgotten ocean liner, Chirnside delved deeply into original archival material in order to produce facts and figures never before printed on the great liner. He is able to provide new insight on her remarkable and distinguished career.The photographic selection is unique and excellent, with many photos and illustrations being reproduced in color. The quality of the publication is excellent, and should be on the shelf of any maritime enthusiast.

Another wonderful book from Mark, this time as he brings Majestic from the Golden Age of Travel, back to life. A pleasure to read, nice illustrations - overall just a great book! I look forward to more titles from Mark.

Another great book by Mark Chirnside. It is well researched with unpublished info and photographs. It is a must for anyone interested in large passenger ships.

Informative.

Per chi ama la grande epopea dei transatlantici come me, Mark Chirnside è una garanzia, come ogni sua pubblicazione, libro curatissimo fin nei minimi dettagli, questo sul Majestic in particolare è una ripubblicazione ulteriormente ampliata e aggiornata. Bella anche la nuova veste grafica!

Just got this book for my birthday and my initial impression is extremely positive. The presentation is beautiful. Gorgeous colour section in the middle and the photographs are not crammed in at all. The person who said that only leaves one or two-star reviews for everyone they review. This book has a feel of quality and although I’ve not had a chance to read the text yet, it sort of goes without saying that anything written by an esteemed author like Mark Chirnside will be second to none. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone superior to him.Thank you