Remember the Lusitania!

by Diana Preston

An account of the World War I German torpedo attack on and sinking of the passenger liner, the Lusitania, describing the experiences of some of those involved.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens

Library Binding

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Born and raised in London, Diana Preston studied Modern History at Oxford University, where she first became involved in journalism. After earning her degree, she became a freelance writer of feature and travel articles for national UK newspapers and magazines and has subsequently reviewed books for a number of publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times. She has also been a broadcaster for the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and has been featured in various television documentaries.

Eight years ago, her decision to write "popular" history led her to The Road to Culloden Moor: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the '45 Rebellion (Constable UK, 1995). It was followed by A First Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole (Houghton Mifflin, 1998), The Boxer Rebellion (Walker & Company, 2000), Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy (Walker & Company, 2002) and now, Before The Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima.

In choosing her topics, Preston looks for stories and events which are both compelling in their own right and also help readers gain a wider understanding of the past. She is fascinated by the human experience-what motivates people to think and act as they do‹and the individual stories that comprise the larger historical picture. Preston spent over two years researching Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy. She did a remarkable amount of original research for the book, and is the first author to make full use of the German archives and newly discovered papers that illuminate both the human tragedy and subsequent plots to cover up what really happened. Preston traveled to all the key locations of the tragedy, experiencing firsthand how cold the water off the Irish coast near Cobh would have been in early May when the Lusitania sank, and how eerie it was to stand inside what remains of the U-20 (now at the Strandingsmuseum in West Jutland, Denmark) where the U-boat captain watched the Lusitania through his periscope and gave the order to fire. Of the many artifacts she reviewed, it was her extensive reading of the diaries and memoirs of survivors that had the biggest impact on her. The experience of looking at photographs and touching the scraps of clothing of both survivors and those who died when the Lusitania sank provided her with chilling pictures: The heartbreaking image of a young girl whose sister's hand slipped away from her was one that kept Preston up at night.

When not writing, Preston is an avid traveler with her husband, Michael. Together, they have sojourned throughout India, Asia, Africa, and Antarctica, and have climbed Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Mount Roraima in Venezuela. Their adventures have also included gorilla-tracking in Zaire and camping their way across the Namibian desert.


Diana and Michael Preston live in London, England.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book to supplement our Classical Conversations history lesson. The survivors accounts make this an interesting read. It has sparked my interest to read more about the Lusitania.

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very readable history book that I could not put down. The author did a lot of research putting it together, including interviews with actual passengers, and included actual photographs of some of the passengers. Diagrams of the ship were also included.
This luxury liner, the Lusitania, went down 3 years after the Titanic, in the North Atlantic, a casualty of WWI, not an iceberg. It was torpedoed by a German U-boat (submarine) purposely, and against wartime agreements between countries, off the coast of Ireland. It was to have travelled from New York to Liverpool, England. The Imperial German Embassy in Washington D.C. even warned ticket-holders of possible danger, and put an advertisement in the paper, "vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or of any of her allies, (the United States),are liable to destruction in those waters and that travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk." This was published in all of the newspapers on April 22, 1915. Many chose not to sail on the luxury liner, but most didn't much of a thought to danger at all.
There were 3 classes of passengers; the wealthiest being lst class and enjoying luxury beyond compare. There were many lifeboats, and many life-jackets...one for each person.
It was 785 feet long, and weighed 30,395 gross tons. It sailed with 192 furnaces, and used just under 1,000 tons of coal a day.
There were 1,257 passengers; 785 perished including 128 Americans. There were 702 crew members; 413 perished. The United States was not even at war with Germany at this time. In April 1917, the United States entered the war with Germany.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent guide to the tragedy of the Lusitania and a glimpse of its importance in history. Well-researched and thoroughly illustrated, the author uses dramatic storytelling to cover the sinking of the luxury liner through the eyes of eyewitnesses. A few important details were missing, but there were also many facts which I haven't seen elsewhere, especially in books for young people. Fittingly tragic and completely absorbing.

[Lconnors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember The Lusitania is a true story about a ship that had sailed back in the 1900s. Some main characters are Avis Dolphin, Professor Holbourn,a whole bunch of other people.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good basic info on Lusitania. Quick read. Includes diagrams and maps along with the macro and micro of the story.
I read it as a preliminary to a more extensive book on Lusitania

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need more children's books about the Lusitania! This is a good one but I need more picture books.

[Zydny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed Diana Preston's other works, including her prior book on the Lusitania, so I read this children's book out of curiosity, wondering how she would make the transition from to younger readers. Overall, it was very good and (of course, given the author's talent at recounting history) very engaging. Indeed, it made me determine to re-read her Lusitania.

The author did not demonize the U Boat captain responsible for the torpedo attack; she showed his character as a rounded and sympathetic person. Oddly, though, we learned a great deal less about the Lusitania's captain who emerges only as a shadowy figure. The focus is narrowed to the fate of several children, their family, and their caregivers. There were no really gruesome details, but the fact of death and injury were not glossed over, and that is appropriate to the audience.

There were other details that I might like to have seen if I were a child reading this book--details about what life was like for young people at the time, something to set in place a sense of how the past was different from today--but, perhaps, that would have been to add too much to the text. This book is essentially a cut-down of the adult-size version, and it sticks to the main point which is the sinking of the Lusitania.

For older kids, this is a great read. It would require a fairly good knowledge of vocabulary or, failing that, access to a dictionary.

[Ryan Hong · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. What is the main idea? The Lusitania.
2. What is a fact? The Lusitania sank.
3. What happened after the Lusitania sank? The people got sucked down.
4. Why did the U-571 sink? Because it hit a mine.
5. What is the same between the Lusitania and British people? They were all British.
6. What do you think happened next? Germany surrenders.
7. What does titanic mean? Big
8. You can tell that Britain gave a fight back
9. What is an opinion? Germany is bad.
10. What is a lesson? Be nice.
11. What does slept fitfully mean? slept nicely
12. Can not happen? Wilson catching the u boats.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good account for children. It talks about the effect on the people on board and also tells the U-boat captains side. Does not get into any of the controversy about why it sank so quickly.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's labeled 'juvenile' and offers just the right amount of technical info along with passenger stories. Good read.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good children's book on this event.