Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1245373 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 106 pages

Customer Reviews

Quick Read, Interesting Photographs
I bought this recently in the gift shop of the "Queen Mary" in Long Beach, California. It was an impulse buy, as I needed something to read on the flight home from Long Beach. When I flipped through it I noticed some interesting photographs taken of the "Queen Mary" throughout her life, and bought the book mostly due to the historical value of the photos.

The text deals with ghosts and supernatural events on the "Queen Mary", of which I am skeptical. Nothing in the book made a convert of me, nor did I see any ghosts in my most recent three day stay onboard the "Queen Mary". The most intriguing parts of the book concern John Pedder, a young member of the crew crushed to death in watertight door number 13. Perhaps because his story was so compelling I found it the most interesting, and certainly he does seem to be one of the most popular ghosts sighted.

I'm not sorry that I bought the book, but be advised it is a very small volume, and will not take very long to read. The format gives the background of the ship and ghost stories and then lists numerous sightings from a variety of people. The stories range from the easily explained to more otherworldly, but page after page of them makes for tedious reading. There are quite a few grammatical errors that should have been caught in proofreading, and an 11 page long list of "Recommended Reading" which pads the length of the book enormously. There are also "Tips For Releasing a Troublesome Spirit," which is definitely only for the most devout of paranormal believers.

I think the authors and people interviewed are sincere, although I remain skeptical and certainly have never had an encounter in my multiple times on the ship. For what they set out to do I think they covered the material they wanted to cover, and in that regard if you have an interest in the subject this would be a very suitable book. Some of the photos I had not seen before, and for that reason alone I am glad I bought the book. I did appreciate that the authors charted the occurrences on a set of deck plans, which was a nice touch. Overall, though, the book is somewhat monotonous, and is quite small for the price, with much padding to bulk up the book to 106 pages. I recommend the book to paranormal enthusiasts with a keen interest in the "Queen Mary", or to lovers of classic ocean liners for whom it contains some good photographs of the stately ship.