Freighters at New York in the 1950s and 1960s

by William H. Miller

The 1954 film ‘On the Waterfront’ brought to life the New York docks of the 1950s, when it was often said that a ship, usually a freighter, arrived or departed every twenty-four minutes, around the clock. Now, the Port of New York is handling more cargo than ever before but all of it containerised. Along the Waterfront, a follow-on to Along the Hudson (which looked at passenger ships in the Port of New York), covers the vast and fascinating fleet of freighters that once called at New York, including ships and companies that did not quite make it, such as the Bull Line, Standard Fruit, Torm Lines and the Booth Steamship Company.

In this book, William H. Miller takes the reader on an evocative trip back to the days of the New York docks as they were portrayed in ‘On the Waterfront’.

Many of the ships featured in the photographs in this book are long forgotten. However, the ships’ histories and subsequent fates would have bee a useful addition.

There are some fascinating vessels and I would love to see the picture captions extended a bit to give more comprehensive details.

This is a good book and I would  recommend it to our readers.

Published by: Amberley Publications, The Hill, Merrywalks, Stroud, Glos. GL5 4EP

www.amberley-books.com

Paperback: 168mm x 246mm, 128 pp illustrated

Price: £19.99