36 Best Passenger Books of All Time
We've researched and ranked the best passenger books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more
Featuring recommendations from Bethanye McKinney Blount, and 1 other experts. 1
Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.
In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.
more
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.
In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.
more
2
All Etta Spencer wanted was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person Etta ever expected—Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master’s heir who has long been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta’s past... more
3
Based on the real-life events that triggered the greatest mass extinction in modern history - the end of the passenger pigeon - Martha takes budding readers on a grand adventure through a magical world complete with mystic owls, tom-fooling mice and a little straw-haired boy who protects the last living passenger pigeon on the planet from the evil Patsy Brothers. Born with a bum leg, Martha is pushed out of her nest just minutes after her birth. It's all part of the Seven Cycles of Nature. But since the arrival of the Iron Horse, the Seven Cycles of Nature have been disrupted and the Great... more
4
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania
On May 1, 1915, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were anxious. Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone, and for months, its U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era's great transatlantic "Greyhounds" and her captain, William Thomas... more
On May 1, 1915, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were anxious. Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone, and for months, its U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era's great transatlantic "Greyhounds" and her captain, William Thomas... more
Recommended by Bethanye McKinney Blount, and 1 others. Bethanye McKinney BlountThere's so much in this one about leadership, failures and how winners write history. (Source)
5
USA Today Best-seller
Amazon Best-seller
Jammer Davis has spent most of his life investigating aircraft accidents. When a small regional jet disappears over the jungles of Colombia, it is a tragedy like dozens of others he has seen but for one terrible detail his young daughter, who was enroute to a semester abroad in South America, is listed on the passenger manifest.
A distraught Davis rushes to Bogota and bulls his way into the inquiry. When the wreckage is located, it becomes clear the crash was... more
Amazon Best-seller
Jammer Davis has spent most of his life investigating aircraft accidents. When a small regional jet disappears over the jungles of Colombia, it is a tragedy like dozens of others he has seen but for one terrible detail his young daughter, who was enroute to a semester abroad in South America, is listed on the passenger manifest.
A distraught Davis rushes to Bogota and bulls his way into the inquiry. When the wreckage is located, it becomes clear the crash was... more
6
Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions--like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl.
As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the... more
As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the... more
7
You're riding in your self-driving car when suddenly the doors lock, the route changes and you have lost all control. Then, a mysterious voice tells you, "You are going to die."
Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an undocumented immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man.
From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will... more
Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an undocumented immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man.
From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will... more
9
When the Mayflower embarked on her famous voyage to America in 1620, she was carrying 102 passengers. To most, they are simply known as "the Pilgrims." Perhaps the name of Governor William Bradford, Elder William Brewster, or Captain Myles Standish are vaguely familiar; but the vast majority of the Mayflower passengers have remained anonymous and nameless. In The Mayflower and Her Passengers, I have attempted to resurrect the unique individuality of each passenger by providing short biographies for each person or family group. Also included is a groundbreaking new biography of the Mayflower... more
10
RMS Titanic steamed into a brilliant sunset on the cold night of April 14, 1912, with 2,208 people on board. Some books have included lists of the passenger names and a few even included the crew. None of them, however, included both and none are as thorough and accurate as Titanic Names: A Complete List of the Passengers and Crew (Titanic Centennial Edition). Designed for the casual reader and the serious researcher, two lists grace its pages; one for the passengers and one for the crew. The lists include the following: name, (for women, listed by both their maiden and married names); if... more
Don't have time to read the top Passenger books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
11
This treasure trove of Duesenberg history utilizes spectacular photographs from the archives of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum combined with authoritative, in-depth captions. Together they tell the extraordinary story of America's greatest motorcar. Over 120 prime photographs, many previously unpublished, were hand-picked for high-quality reproduction in a horizontal format. The entire Duesenberg story is told from its race car beginnings to the fabulous Model J. This is a must-have book for both racing and classic car enthusiasts. less
12
'The American Railroad Passenger Car' recaptures the lost, but not-too-distant past when 98 percent of all intercity travel in the United States was by rail. It documents in extraordinary detail the ingenuity and splendor of the classic trains as well as the rattle and clatter, the dust and cinders of early rail travel. An unparalleled record of changes in taste and technology With clarity and precision, White explains the methods of construction of wood, iron, steel, and aluminum cars. He traces the evolution of wheels and brakes, dining cars and sleeping compartments. And he follows the... more
13
In 1857 when Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley and his band of rum smugglers from the Isle of Man have most of their contraband confiscated by British Customs, they are forced to put their ship up for charter. The only takers are two eccentric Englishmen who want to embark for the other side of the globe. The Reverend Geoffrey Wilson believes the Garden of Eden was on the island of Tasmania. His traveling partner, Dr. Thomas Potter, unbeknownst to Wilson, is developing a sinister thesis about the races of men.
Meanwhile, an aboriginal in Tasmania named Peevay recounts his people’s... more
Meanwhile, an aboriginal in Tasmania named Peevay recounts his people’s... more
14
NOW IN PAPERBACK!
The page-turning, heart-wrenching true story of one young woman willing to risk her safety and even her life for a chance at freedom in the largest slave escape attempt in American history.
In 1848, thirteen-year-old Emily Edmonson, five of her siblings, and seventy other enslaved people boarded the Pearl under cover of night in Washington, D.C., hoping to sail north to freedom. Within a day, the schooner was captured, and the Edmonsons were sent to New Orleans to be sold into even crueler conditions. Through Emily Edmonson’s journey... more
The page-turning, heart-wrenching true story of one young woman willing to risk her safety and even her life for a chance at freedom in the largest slave escape attempt in American history.
In 1848, thirteen-year-old Emily Edmonson, five of her siblings, and seventy other enslaved people boarded the Pearl under cover of night in Washington, D.C., hoping to sail north to freedom. Within a day, the schooner was captured, and the Edmonsons were sent to New Orleans to be sold into even crueler conditions. Through Emily Edmonson’s journey... more
15
(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook). Features all 14 tracks from The Glass Passenger, plus four tunes from the The Dear Jack EP by this CA rock quartet. Songs: American Love * Annie Use Your Telescope * Bloodshot * Caves * Crashin * Dear Jack * Diane, the Skyscraper * Drop Out The So Unknown * Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby) * Miss California * Orphans * The Resolution * Spinning * Suicide Blonde * Swim * Swim (Music Box) * There, There Katie * What Gets You Off. less
17
In the town of Placid, Wisconsin, in 1871, Georgie Burkhardt is known for two things: her uncanny aim with a rifle and her habit of speaking her mind plainly.
But when Georgie blurts out something she shouldn't, her older sister Agatha flees, running off with a pack of "pigeoners" trailing the passenger pigeon migration. And when the sheriff returns to town with an unidentifiable body—wearing Agatha's blue-green ball gown—everyone assumes the worst. Except Georgie. Refusing to believe the facts that are laid down (and coffined) before her, Georgie sets out on a journey to find her... more
But when Georgie blurts out something she shouldn't, her older sister Agatha flees, running off with a pack of "pigeoners" trailing the passenger pigeon migration. And when the sheriff returns to town with an unidentifiable body—wearing Agatha's blue-green ball gown—everyone assumes the worst. Except Georgie. Refusing to believe the facts that are laid down (and coffined) before her, Georgie sets out on a journey to find her... more
18
This is the definitive work on early passenger lists to the Delaware River. The volume contains reprints, reprints with corrections and additions, and original articles pertaining to shipping and passengers arriving during the first years of the founding less
19
Passenger Trains played an important role in the growth of traveling across America or to the nearest city—the height of its service after WWII until the start up of Amtrak. This book provides railroad hobbyists, historians, museum operators, and transportation instructors and planners with information about the types of train services and operations in various corridors, such as Chicago – Milwaukee; the overnight and daytime long distance service; transcontinental trains, and the various types of local trains on both main lines and branch lines. The book reviews the types of sleeping car,... more
20
Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage takes us behind the paneled doors of the Titanic’s elegant private suites to present compelling, memorable portraits of her most notable passengers. The intimate atmosphere onboard history’s most famous ship is recreated as never before.
The Titanic has often been called “an exquisite microcosm of the Edwardian era,” but until now, her story has not been presented as such. In Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage, historian Hugh Brewster seamlessly interweaves personal narratives of the lost liner’s most fascinating people... more
The Titanic has often been called “an exquisite microcosm of the Edwardian era,” but until now, her story has not been presented as such. In Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage, historian Hugh Brewster seamlessly interweaves personal narratives of the lost liner’s most fascinating people... more
Don't have time to read the top Passenger books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
21
A man is travelling to Africa from Europe. And yet it is also about waiting – waiting for Africa.
Volker, a German, leaves his home in Frankfurt for Windhoek. He leaves a lover, he is leaving for a long time, and he does not have a return ticket. He does not know anything about Africa, to him it is one country, not a continent, neither does he really know where he is going to; he just knows that he wants to leave Europe.
Lufthansa, the airline that carries him stops at Charles de Gaulle airport and here he waits and waits and waits. And in the airport he observes and... more
Volker, a German, leaves his home in Frankfurt for Windhoek. He leaves a lover, he is leaving for a long time, and he does not have a return ticket. He does not know anything about Africa, to him it is one country, not a continent, neither does he really know where he is going to; he just knows that he wants to leave Europe.
Lufthansa, the airline that carries him stops at Charles de Gaulle airport and here he waits and waits and waits. And in the airport he observes and... more
22
Dear Passenger is packed with three decades of amusing anecdotes and episodes that have happened on and off the airplane. A small town upbringing gives Elizabeth a unique Southern perspective on the antics of passengers and unusual happenings while traveling.
Elizabeth Calwell, a flight attendant and a writer, has produced this comedy memoir titled Dear Passenger Welcome to My Wacky World as a Flight Attendant.
She has discovered she is a magnet for bizarre incidents, on the ground as well as in mid-air. Here are some tales of the strange, the... more
Elizabeth Calwell, a flight attendant and a writer, has produced this comedy memoir titled Dear Passenger Welcome to My Wacky World as a Flight Attendant.
She has discovered she is a magnet for bizarre incidents, on the ground as well as in mid-air. Here are some tales of the strange, the... more
23
“On the Greek island of Ikaria, life is sweet . . . and very, very long. What is the locals’ secret?” from The Island of Long Life by Andrew Anthony
Few countries have received more media attention in recent years and even fewer have been represented in such vastly divergent ways. There’s a downside to all this attention: everyone seems to have something final to say about Greece. News headlines replace people’s individual stories, impressions substitute facts, characters take the place of people. In this volume of The Passenger, we chose to set those opinions aside in order... more
Few countries have received more media attention in recent years and even fewer have been represented in such vastly divergent ways. There’s a downside to all this attention: everyone seems to have something final to say about Greece. News headlines replace people’s individual stories, impressions substitute facts, characters take the place of people. In this volume of The Passenger, we chose to set those opinions aside in order... more
24
In 1948, Chicago was the gathering place of 22 railroads, seven belt and switching roads, eight industrial railroads and three electric lines. Track was everywhere as passenger trains and commuter trains crowded the approaches to the terminals near the Loop that is Chicago, undisputed railroad capital of the world. Chicago Passenger Trains & Commuter Trains captures the spirit and challenges of the post-World War II era, as streamlined passenger trains arrived and departed from Chicago’s six celebrated stations during the pinnacle years of intercity train service. Welcome aboard as we... more
25
From the dawn of civilization, man has held a fascination with the sea and over the centuries has built myriad ships and sailing craft for an equally diverse range of purposes. Ships: Visual Encyclopedia provides a fascinating at-a-glance guide to more than 1200 of the most important ships from the earliest times to the present day. From the Viking longship through the 16th century galleon to the super carriers and nuclear submarines of the 21st century, Ships: Visual Encyclopedia includes every conceivable type of ship in which man has gone to sea. As well as warships from every century,... more
26
Trains are long and loud. They rumble down railroad tracks. But what are the different types of trains? And how do these giant vehicles haul so much weight? Read this book to find out!
Learn about how different vehicles work in the How Vehicles Work series--part of the Lightning Bolt Books(TM) collection. With high-energy designs, exciting photos, and fun text, Lightning Bolt Books(TM) bring nonfiction topics to life! less
Learn about how different vehicles work in the How Vehicles Work series--part of the Lightning Bolt Books(TM) collection. With high-energy designs, exciting photos, and fun text, Lightning Bolt Books(TM) bring nonfiction topics to life! less
28
Through much of the nineteenth century, steam-powered ships provided one of the most reliable and comfortable transportation options in the United States, becoming a critical partner in railroad expansion and the heart of a thriving recreation industry. The aesthetic, structural, and commercial peak of the steamboat era occurred on the Great Lakes, where palatial ships created memories and livelihoods for millions while carrying passengers between the region’s major industrial ports of Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Toronto. By the mid-twentieth century, the industry was... more
29
The Loyalists were colonial Americans who supported the British empire and opposed independence during the long revolutionary war. When the American Revolution ended in a peace treaty that was too feeble to protect them against persecution in the newly independent United States, tens of thousands fled to a new life in exile.
In 1783 many of them sailed northward from the New York City area to the St. John River valley in the future Canadian province of New Brunswick. This volume makes available for the first time the source materials documenting this vast migration. Most records... more
In 1783 many of them sailed northward from the New York City area to the St. John River valley in the future Canadian province of New Brunswick. This volume makes available for the first time the source materials documenting this vast migration. Most records... more
30
The second volume of German Immigrants provides information on about 35,000 German immigrants from Bremen who arrived in New York from 1855 to 1862. The names are arranged alphabetically, and family members are grouped together, usually under the head of the household. In addition, data on age, place of origin, date of arrival, and the name of the ship are supplied, plus citations to the original source material. less
Don't have time to read the top Passenger books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
31
From the arrival of the first steamship to Lake Michigan in 1821 through the turbulent booms and busts of more than 130 years, passenger steamers of this bygone era provided an essential link for immigrants, excursionists, businesspeople and leisure travelers. On offer were dining, dancing, day trips and luxurious shipboard settings, but mishaps like storms, fires and shipwrecks were a persistent danger to passengers and crew alike. Through fascinating tales and splendid images, Lost Passenger Steamships of Lake Michigan presents the romantic and sometimes dangerous story of a vanished... more
32
Nearly 400 convict ships carrying 50,000 men, women and children left British waters bound for the southern colonies of America where their human cargos were sold. With remarkably few exceptions the transportation ships frequented the ports of Chesapeake less
34
"It's cancer." Two words started Cynthia Siegfried on an unfamiliar and terrifying journey as she suddenly became caregiver for her husband, Jim. When your spouse is diagnosed with cancer, you quickly realize that-even though it's not your body-it's your disease. With honesty, strength, and humor, Cynthia presents a first-hand account of the struggles and triumphs in a cancer battle-from the viewpoint of the caregiver. Follow Cynthia as she travels through unfamiliar terrain and learns that God doesn't waste our suffering. He is our faithful Driver along life's roughest roads. Cancer Journey... more
35
In 1849 Chief Justice Taney's Court delivered a 5-4 decision on the legal status of immigrants and free blacks under the federal commerce power. The closely divided decision, further emphasized by the fact there were eight opinions, played a part in the increasingly contested politics over growing immigration, and the controversies about fugitive slaves and the western expansion of slavery that resulted in the Compromise of 1850.
In the decades after the Civil War federal regulation of immigration almost entirely displaced the role of the states. Yet, over a century later, Justice... more
In the decades after the Civil War federal regulation of immigration almost entirely displaced the role of the states. Yet, over a century later, Justice... more
36
“Some Japanese stories end violently. Others never end at all, but only cut away, at the moment of extreme crisis, to a butterfly, or the wind, or the moon.”
—Brian Phillips
Visitors from the West look with amazement, and sometimes concern, at Japan’s social structures and unique, complex culture industry; the gigantic scale of its tech corporations and the resilience of its traditions; the extraordinary diversity of the subcultures that flourish in its “post-human” megacities. The country nonetheless remains an intricate and complicated jigsaw puzzle, an inexhaustible source... more
—Brian Phillips
Visitors from the West look with amazement, and sometimes concern, at Japan’s social structures and unique, complex culture industry; the gigantic scale of its tech corporations and the resilience of its traditions; the extraordinary diversity of the subcultures that flourish in its “post-human” megacities. The country nonetheless remains an intricate and complicated jigsaw puzzle, an inexhaustible source... more
Don't have time to read the top Passenger books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.