Donald Mcphail

The Millionares Cruise: Sailing Toward Black Tuesday Donald Mcphail

Publisher Marketing: As the sleek ship sails further from San Francisco, the stock market begins to falter. Amidst frantic celebrations, sexy flappers and good times that are expected to last forever, the warnings are ignored. While more than three hundred millionaires sail from San Francisco on a luxurious two-month cruise, they are unaware that their comfortable lives are about to change. The Roaring Twenties forms the backdrop and the newest luxury liner, the SS Malolo, provides the stage in an elegant mystery where every reader knows the conclusion. Some thirty days later -- on October 29, 1929 -- it will be over in the biggest market crash in history. But it is the story that is unique. "The Millionaires Cruise" is a page-turner, filled with unscrupulous bankers, arrogant financiers, and spoiled young heirs who prefer dancing and drugs to reality. It's a world where greed and privilege are locked in conflict with ethics and integrity -- the fundamental battle between capitalism and democracy. It's also an adventure story, with ruggedly handsome South African Duff Malone working his way up in the world's largest travel company, before his challenging assignment, guiding these frustrated millionaires through turbulence and chaos. And it's a love story, with auburn-haired ship's nurse Christy Miller carrying her own secrets, while being drawn to Malone but seriously distracted by the Malolo's demanding captain, Erik Christian. "The Millionaires Cruise" is a history of the travel industry, beginning with well appointed steamships carrying wealthy travelers from Johannesburg to Cairo, and luxury trains speeding across America, leading to the earliest days of air travel and the "Flying Clippers." Through compelling characters, we are drawn to serious questions of investments, prohibition and the shaving of rules; challenged to distinguish between the materialistic forces of capitalism in constant conflict with democracy and idealism -- providing eerie parallels with modern-day investment and financial cultures. Contributor Bio:  McPhail, Donald "The Millionaires Cruise" is the first novel by 74-year-old Donald McPhail, veteran freelance writer and marketing executive in the airline and hospitality industries. Born in Santiago, Chile in 1940, he was raised in the United State and piqued his interest in travel in 1959, when he first visited his father's home country, South Africa -- a place he has visited many times since. McPhail attended Menlo College, and was an enlisted sailor for two years before qualifying for the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he lettered in football and baseball for two years before transferring to San Francisco State College, graduating in international relations and world literature. He lives in Northern California.