Book excerpt: A magnificent tribute to the illustrious and ill-fated steamship. Normandiewas unquestionably the most beautiful ocean liner ever built. The world's largest at the time, she also became the world's fastest. Her art deco interiors were unrivaled: capacious, elegant, and chic, decorated by teams of France's most talented artists. YetNormandiewas plagued with frustrations-never attracting more passengers than the competition and tragically ending her days in flames at New York's Pier 88. Celebrated maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham confesses to a hypnotic fascination withNormandie. In this comprehensive volume, enriched by over 200 photographs and illustrations, he documents every aspect of the vessel's decorative antecedents, design, construction, and service. Always articulate, entertaining, and devastatingly well informed, Maxtone-Graham has created the definitiveNormandiepanegyric, a comprehensive and, at times, heartbreaking account of this fabled liner. 30 color and 175 black-and-white illustrations.