Dr. George C McGavin is an Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, a Research Associate of the Department of Zoology at Oxford University and Visiting Professor of Entomology at the University of Derby. He is also a Fellow of the Linnaean Society and the Royal Geographical Society. His research has taken him from the tropical forests of Belize to the caves of Thailand and the savannas of Tanzania. George is a regular contributor to The One Show on BBC1. He was the chief scientific consultant for the BBC landmark series, Life in the Undergrowth, presented by David Attenborough. George was co-presenter of the BBC/ Discovery Channel series Expedition Borneo and award-winning series Lost Land of the Jaguar. George has written numerous books on insects and other animals and has just returned from the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea where he has been filming another 3-part series to be aired on BBC1 this autumn.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Cunard, the Official Cruise Line of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, welcomes the Boston Symphony Chamber Players and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Artistic Administrator, Anthony Fogg on the September 4, 2008 Transatlantic Crossing aboard Queen Mary 2.
Linda Hope (daughter of Bob Hope)
Linda Hope, daughter of the most-beloved entertainer of our time, will sail on the September 4 Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing to promote the first-ever Bob Hope Estate Auction. During the voyage, Linda will share an intimate look inside the life of her world-famous father.
The history of Cunard’s famed ocean liners and Bob Hope dates back many decades and includes a memorable performance that took place on the evening of September 3, 1939, in the Queen’s Salon of Queen Mary.
Julien’s Auctions (www.juliensauctions.com), the premier auction house for high-profile celebrity and entertainment auctions, will conduct the sale in October in Los Angeles.
Mr. Anthony Fogg, BSO Artistic Administrator
Anthony Fogg has been the BSO’s Artistic Administrator since 1994. A native Australian and concert pianist, Mr. Fogg was previously Head of Programming for ABC concerts, the classical musical arm of the Australian Broadcasting Company,
programming concerts for symphony orchestras in Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Adelaide, West Australia and Tasmania. He was recently made a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government for services to French music and culture.
Nigel West
Nigel West is a renowned author and military historian specializing in intelligence, counterintelligence, and security issues. He worked as a researcher for two authors: Ronal Seth, who had been parachuted into Silesia by SOE, and Richard Deacon, formerly the Foreign Editor of The Sunday Times. West later joined BBC TV's General Features department to work on the SPY! and ESCAPE series.
West's first book, co-authored with Richard Deacon in 1980 for BBC Publications, was the book of the SPY! series and was followed by many other books which have significantly contributed to the understanding of intelligence and counterintelligence history. His mentor was the famed British CI expert, Arthur Martin of MI5. West continues to write books and is the European Editor or the World Intelligence Review, published in Washington DC. He is also the European Editor of the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. In addition to teaching at the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies in Washington, DC, West is a regular lecturer on SpyCruise, as well as for Hilton Hotel Special Events and on Cunard's Caronia and QE2.
Between June 1987 and May 1997, Rupert Allason (aka pen name Nigel West) was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Torbay and made contributions to two Security Service Bills: the Official Secrets Bill and the Intelligence Services Bill.
In 1989 West was voted "The Experts' Expert" by the Observer. The Sunday Times of London said that, "His information is often so precise that many people believe he is the unofficial historian of the secret services. West's sources are undoubtedly excellent. His books are peppered with deliberate clues to potential front-page stories."
He is also the European Editor of The World Intelligence Review. In 2002\3 he was given the Association of Former Intelligence Officers’s Lifetime Literature Achievement Award.
The Boston Symphony Chamber Players
The Boston Symphony Chamber Players is one of the world’s most distinguished chamber music ensembles sponsored by a major symphony orchestra. Made up of principal players of the Boston Symphony, the Chamber Players were founded in 1964 so the BSO could share the unique qualities of the full chamber music repertoire with concertgoers. Cunard is thrilled to have members of this illustrious group onboard for special performances that will be held throughout the voyage making this Crossing a most memorable musical adventure.
Jacob Jankowski is pushing 90 and wallowing in a nursing home, abandoned by his family and surrounded by aged octogenarians who irk him with their senility. Sara Gruen’s mesmerizing new novel is a compelling story of a man who lies in bed, drifting in and out of sleep, lucidness and dreams. Surprising, poignant and funny, Water for Elephants is that rare novel with a story so engrossing; one is reluctant to put it down.
Sara Gruen lives with her husband and three children in an environmentalist community outside of Chicago. An award-winning technical writer, she made her fiction debut in 2004 with Riding Lessons, followed by Flying Changes. Water for Elephants is her third novel.
