Devils on the Deep Blue Sea

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In this terrifically entertaining history, journalist Kristoffer A. Garin chronicles the cruise-ship industry, from its rise in the early sixties, to its explosion in the seventies with the hit show The Love Boat, to the current vicious consolidation wars and brazen tax dodges. Entrepreneurial genius and bare-knuckle capitalism mate with cultural kitsch as the cruise lines dodge U.S. tax, labor, and environmental laws to make unimaginable profits while bringing the world a new form of leisure.

A colorful and compelling behind-the-scenes narrative, Devils on the Deep Blue Sea is a definitive look at the industry and its robber barons who created floating empires.

“Usually people going on cruises bring along guidebooks or other light reading. But for those who want a bit of history on the side—and yet still want to stick to a cruising theme—Devils on the Deep Blue Sea just might be the perfect choice. Author Kristoffer A. Garin, with intelligence and humor, tells the story behind the cruise-ship empires and explains how cruising emerged as a hugely successful industry. Here are the stories, often sordid but always entertaining, behind the names of the familiar cruise lines.”—June Sawyers, Chicago Tribune
 
“His book, as funny as it appalling, should by read by anyone before casting off.”—Richard B. Woodward, New York Times

“Garin’s as interested in the ships themselves as he is in the boardrooms, and he turns up disturbing stories of corrupt labor practices and cover-ups of sexual assaults of passengers by crew members. The solid reporting ensures readers will come away with a healthy respect for Garin’s work and for the very powerful industry he documents.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Not your father’s business book. Garin offers wry observations on the industry and the fantasy it offers the 10 million Americans who annually embark for a bacchanalia on the high seas. Should they weary of calypso rhythms and boozy assignations, they could pick up this book and laugh along with Garin while he explains the complex industry that languidly sails the Caribbean… An adeptly done story about a leisure class that Thorstein Veblen would not recognize.”—Gilbert Taylor, BooklistKristoffer A. Garin is a journalist who has written for the New York Daily News and the Journal News in Westchester, New York.US

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