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

*Signed Bookplates!*

David Macaulay, creator of the international bestseller The Way Things Work, brings his signature curiosity and detailing to the story of the steamship in this meticulously researched and stunningly illustrated book.

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.

Award-winning author-illustrator David Macaulay guides readers through the fascinating history that culminated in the building of the most advancedand lastof these steamships, the SSUnited States. This book artfully explores the design and construction of the ship and the life of its designer and engineer, William Francis Gibbs.

Framed around the author’s own experience steaming across the Atlantic on the very same SSUnited States,Crossing on Timeis a tour de force of the art of explanation and a touching and surprising childhood story.