On 1 May 1915, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool. The passengers - including a record number of children and infants - were anxious. Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, its submarines had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania's captain, William Thomas Turner, had faith in the gentlemanly terms of warfare that had, for a century, kept civilian ships safe from attack. He also knew that his ...
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On 1 May 1915, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool. The passengers - including a record number of children and infants - were anxious. Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, its submarines had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania's captain, William Thomas Turner, had faith in the gentlemanly terms of warfare that had, for a century, kept civilian ships safe from attack. He also knew that his ship - the fastest then in service - could outrun any threat. But Germany was intent on changing the rules, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit were tracking Schwieger's U-boat ...but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way towards Liverpool, forces both grand and achingly small - hubris, a chance fog, a closely-guarded secret and more - converged to produce one of the great disasters of 20th century history. It is a story that many of us think we know but don't, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted. Full of glamour, mystery, and real-life suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, including the US President Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster that helped place America on the road to war.
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I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Is best book I have read on subject!!
Marco C
Jun 5, 2020
Amazing Book
I highly recommend this book, Erik Larson is a great writer, brings to life the tragedy that the sinking the Lusitania was, I'm a true fanatic of any of Erik's books, I've read three of his books and I intend to read all of them!!
Robert S
Jan 4, 2016
Best of the bunch!
If you read only one book on this subject, this should be the one. Mr. Larson weaves a compelling and unique story around the events surrounding the sinking of the Lusitania from all perspectives. Well documented and crafted. Enough detail to inform, enough skillful narrative to be engrossing and hard to put down. Rewarding and a pleasure to read. A powerful chronicle not likely to be surpassed!
Worth G
Dec 23, 2015
Thorough and easy to read
Erik Larson has tried to bring in as much background information as possible, so the sinking of the Lusitania (a British ship loaded with American passengers) can be understood in context instead of being seen as an isolated, outrageous, and unprovoked act of war. For example, it had never occurred to me that the British were so good at tracking the locations of the U-boats, or that so many other ships were being sunk right around this time (including some American ships). Beyond that, the British had no strong motivation to protect American lives because they correctly foresaw that an incident like the Lusitania sinking would bring America into the war on their side.
This book is easy to read, clear, and very enjoyable.
Linda A
Sep 25, 2015
Lots of technical information, but good read
Everything you have ever wanted to know about the Lusitania-- and then some. Very well written, but slow at times because of all of the detailed information about the ship and the U-boat that sank her. Would be enthralling to a naval engineer, but foreign to the common person. Also explores the political, social and economic climate of the time to explain some of the unusual circumstances. No great suspense novel, but very interesting and informative.
