A Man and His Ship

America's Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the S.S. United States

Steven Ujifusa

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781451645088
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Science & Technology
• Index: History

"A fascinating historical account…A snapshot of the American Dream culminating with this country's mid-century greatness" ( The Wall Street Journal ) as a man endeavors to build the finest, fastest, most beautiful ocean liner in history. The story of a great American Builder at the peak of his power, in the 1940s and 1950s, William Francis Gibbs was considered America's best naval architect. His quest to build the finest, fastest, most beautiful ocean liner of his time, the SS United States, was a topic of national fascination. When completed in 1952, the ship was hailed as a technological masterpiece at a time when "made in America" meant the best. Gibbs was an American original, on par with John Roebling of the Brooklyn Bridge and Frank Lloyd Wright of Fallingwater. Forced to drop out of Harvard following his family's sudden financial ruin, he overcame debilitating shyness and lack of formal training to become the visionary creator of some of the finest ships in history. He spent forty years dreaming of the ship that became the SS United States. William Francis Gibbs was driven, relentless, and committed to excellence. He loved his ship, the idea of it, and the realization of it, and he devoted himself to making it the epitome of luxury travel during the triumphant post-World War II era. Biographer Steven Ujifusa brilliantly describes the way Gibbs worked and how his vision transformed an industry. A Man and His Ship is a tale of ingenuity and enterprise, a truly remarkable journey on land and sea.

Index

Acheson, Dean, 276

Adams, Henry, 9

Admiralty, British, 24, 25, 52, 53, 154, 165

advertising, 122–23, 125–26, 186

African-Americans, 103, 278, 322, 330

Ahrens, Captain, 164

air conditioning, 259, 275, 296

aircraft carriers, 7n, 107, 174, 225–27, 244, 335

Air Force, U.S., 219, 235–36

airplanes, 98, 117, 121, 129, 147, 226, 351, 354, 356, 366

transatlantic flights of, 159–61, 214–15, 293, 334, 344–48

airships, 160

alcohol, 131, 265, 288, 330, 341

Prohibition and, 90, 91, 115, 119, 154

Alessandrelli, Asterio, 305–6

Alexanderson, Leroy, 349, 350, 353

aluminum, 200, 201, 269

construction dilemmas with, 237–38

in United States, 237–40, 246, 248, 249, 251, 253, 256, 271, 362

Ambrose Lightship, 7, 121, 136, 137, 297, 298, 314

America, 106, 156–58, 163, 198, 203, 278, 362, 367

christening of, 161

crew of, 274, 275–76

hull of, 200

interior decoration of, 158, 212, 234, 235, 247, 251, 254

post–World War II, 212, 213

prismatic coefficient of, 200

sale of, 349

United States’ passing of, 305, 306, 329

in World War II, 169, 180

America (proposed sister ship to United States), 336, 337

American (mythical t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Description
• About Steven Ujifusa
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Prologue: The Way It Was
• Book I: The Man and The Vision
• Book II: Building The Dream
• Epilogue
• Photographs
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• About the Author