The 1960s witnessed a magnificent, if misguided, swansong for the ocean liner. As the decade progressed a steady succession of elaborate new "ships of state" populated the world’s sea lanes, in futile defiance of the vapor trails above them. Into this atmosphere of one-upmanship the Italian Line introduced Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raffaello, the largest, fastest and most prestigious passenger liners in the nation’s post-war merchant marine. This book explains their design origins and interior décor, relates the triumph and tragedy of their all too brief careers, and provides insight into what it was like to live, work and take passage on these vessels.Â
