#1 New York Times BestsellerFrom the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the LusitaniaOn May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly … The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack.
Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of 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 while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow 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 whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history.
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Eric Larsen did an excellent job capturing worldwide events and actions leading up to United States entry into WWI. While centering events around the last voyage of the Lusitania, he effectively described key elements of WWI before the US entered the fray, especially details of the war between Great Britain and Germany that ultimately led to the …
One of my favorite writers.
Erik Larson books always make it seem like you are there.
History that reads like a novel. Well written, compelling story. Highly recommended.
It is my opinion that few authors are able to write truly spectacular nonfiction. It is a challenging goal to lay down a set of (mostly) unbiased facts within an intriguing story. Harder still is the ability to form those facts as a fictional writer would in order to leave the reader feeling a personal attachment with the characters. It is …
Probably my least favorite of his books, but still worth a read.
Another great book by Erik Larson.
I thought it was too tedious in the detail.
Another well written book from Eric Larson. That says it all!
Great historical read
His best book is Devil in the White City but this is also quite good. The author’s approach is to intertwine two stories and he delivers here. Very enjoyable.
I love Erik Larson’s books.
A very good read. U
One of my favorites.
It was a wonderful book and the author draws one into the story
I always thought that the sinking of the Lusitania brought the US into WW I. Not so. It took many years following the sinking. What is fascinating are the mistakes made by both captains British and German. Well done, worth the time to read.
Very interesting historical novel about the sinking of the Lusitania.
All of his books are excellent and this is no exception. Devil in the White City is still his best.
Excellent book, very well written. Erik Larson is a great story teller. So much history.
Slow read. Gets a bit boring