Crossing on Time: Steam Engines, Fast Ships, and a Journey to the New World

Prior to the 1800s, ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean relied on the wind in their sails to make their journeys. But the invention of steam power ushered in a new era of transportation that would change ocean travel forever: the steamship.Author-illustrator David Macaulay guides readers through the history that culminated in the building of the most advanced—and last—of these steamships: the SS United States. This book explores the design and construction of the ship and the life of its designer and engineer, William Francis Gibbs.