Review of The Millionaires Cruise: Sailing Toward Black Tuesday

[Obinna Chima Agoms]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Millionaires Cruise: Sailing Toward Black Tuesday" by Donald McPhail.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In The Millionaires Cruise: Sailing Toward Black Tuesday by Donald McPhail, Theodore Jr., also known as Duff, was born to Coal Merchant Theodore Malone and Sarah Wilson. His father migrated to Johannesburg, South Africa, from Elgin, Scotland. Duff was born in Scotland, unlike his elder brother, Sandy. He and his mom spent two years in Scotland before they returned to South Africa. Duff was sent to Troyville School and later to Jeppe High. Duff was a good athlete and engaged in boxing, cricket, and rugby. Duff was scheduled to audition for the Springboks rugby squad, but a change of fate had him pursuing other interests. He soon started traveling the world and established himself as an excellent cruise director. This reputation landed him on the exotic Matson liner called the Malolo as he embarked on the millionaires' cruise.

The book started on a note of intrigue, with the exciting way the author first presented the lone figure of Duff on the Malolo. The author's language was simple, and the storytelling captured the times in which the book was set. One of the best parts of this book was the travel tours. Reading how the characters sojourned from one country to another and visited monumental sites, like the Great Pyramid and Great Sphinx in Giza, was exciting.

This book's exotic undertone was very reminiscent of the classic movie, Titanic. There was a luxurious ship with luxurious people traveling through countries and a sense of uncertainty about the passengers' fate. Yet again, McPhail's story was historically insightful with insights into the language and people of South Africa, a country consisting of Dutch-Afrikaners, the Zulu, and the Xhosa.

The book's characters brought a diversity that added extra excitement to the story. Each character had a unique story that set them apart from the others. The author was able to provide readers with some insightful background details for the central characters, which would help readers to appreciate the characters better. An instance was seen with the characters of Camille and Emile DuPris, passengers on the Malolo, whose attitudes made more sense because of the background the author gave about them. Duff's character was also interesting. He was enigmatic, with a sophisticated aura around him. His character was also projected as stubborn and determined yet kind and sensitive to those around him.

There was nothing I didn't like in this book. The Millionaires Cruise: Sailing Toward Black Tuesday was professionally edited, with only a few errors. I'd rate it four out of four stars and recommend it to travel enthusiasts.

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The Millionaires Cruise: Sailing Toward Black Tuesday
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[Mr Excellence]

Duff really spent life on cruise. I love the theme of this book.
Wonderful review.

[Caroline Elizabeth 1]

I loved Titanic and think I would love this book too, this sounds like a very interesting. Although I don't think there will ne any form of romance in this book as it was not mentioned in your review.

[Zeph Dim]

Any book that its theme reminds us of the classic story of the movie Titanic would be a good read. It would be interesting to discover how it all ended for the main character Theodore Jr. also known as Duff. Were his dreams and desires met? And what were the disappointments, pains and sorrows that made the story of his life complete?