Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania in Crazy Challenge Connection

May 29, 2016 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: concierge, war, world-war-1, library, nonfiction, audio, history, tragedy

Book on CD narrated by Scott Brick.

The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania.

As he did in Isaac’s Storm , Larson uses tidbits found in research materials from a variety of sources to flesh out a narrative tale of a great disaster. This time, the disaster is man-made, however.

Larson shifts perspective from the Lusitania, her passengers and crew, to U-20 (the German submarine that would successfully sink her), to Room 40 (the British intelligence office tha ...more

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Dec 15, 2014 Stacy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2015, e-books, five-stars, nonfiction

I love disaster stories. Even though I know what’s going to happen, I’m riveted as the events are reconstructed and all of the warnings and portents stack up one by one. Such as:

Warnings were given to avoid the war zones. However, specific warnings in regard to the Lusitania were vague, and the Lusitania was not made aware of other neutral ships in the area that had been shot down.

The Lusitania had no other ships to escort them, even though smaller ships had received escorts.

Because of a previou ...more

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May 02, 2020 Tien rated it liked it

Shelves: read-on-kobo, non-fiction, history

A book that's not particularly within my comfort zone. I liked that I've learnt a piece of history and I enjoyed all the personal stories the author has included in this book which made it all the more interesting and not at all dry. What I was really uncomfortable with was knowing something bad is about to happen; the impending sense of doom (even if it already happened IRL) made me dragged my heels in having to pick the book up to read the next chapter. I guess in a way, he's written it that w ...more

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Jan 15, 2019 Nancy Brady rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library-book, book-exchange-library-group-read

From different perspectives, the lead up to, the torpedoing itself, and the aftermath of the event that brought about shock throughout the world about the Lusitania's last crossing is the focus of Larson's book.

The author follows the career of the Captain Turner, captain of the Lusitania. He also follows some of the passengers of the ship as well as following the captain of the submarine (U-20) which fired the torpedo which sank the Lusitania. Into this mix, he also follows President Wilson incl ...more

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Feb 18, 2025 Sue rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history, wwi, 2025-mount-tbr, 2025-non-fiction

I've enjoyed every Larson book I've read & this was no exception. After reading an historical fiction book about the Lusitania, I remembered that I had this on my shelf & hadn't read it yet, so out it came & I've been learning a lot, plus enjoying his style. It races between the ship, U-20, Washington, D.C., & Room 40 in the British Admiralty which is the codebreaking site. Although the reader knows the ship will be sunk, there is still a sense of suspense & mystery as to how & why it will all h ...more

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Feb 29, 2016 Chris rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, audiobook, war, history, world-war-i

Nine out of ten stars.
While the Titanic continues to fascinate people, the sinking of the Lusitania gets far less attention. Erik Larson gives it the attention it deserves.
The basics are well known. In May 1915 a German U-boat sank the Cunard liner Lusitania, killing more than 1,100 people. It has been widely speculated that the boat was carrying munitions for the British military, and that's what caused the massive explosion that caused the boat to sink in less than 20 minutes.
Larson tells t Nine out of ten stars.
While the Titanic continues to fascinate people, the sinking of the Lusitania gets far less attention. Erik Larson gives it the attention it deserves.
The basics are well known. In May 1915 a German U-boat sank the Cunard liner Lusitania, killing more than 1,100 people. It has been widely speculated that the boat was carrying munitions for the British military, and that's what caused the massive explosion that caused the boat to sink in less than 20 minutes.
Larson tells the tale from the viewpoints of the crews of both the Lusitania and U-boat 30, as well as the Lusitania's passengers, various members of the British admiralty - including Winston Churchill - and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. He brings every single person to life with descriptions of their professional and personal lives, their likes and dislikes. Some may find the minutiae unnecessary, such as how many suits a particular passenger had and what materials they were made from, but I found them fascinating and colorful.
He also does a masterful job of building suspense as the two boats move toward their meeting place, even though we all know what is going to happen. His descriptions of the chaos aboard ship and explanations of why the presence of an ample number of lifeboats (in the wake of the Titanic tragedy) and even safety drills turned out to be almost useless are brilliant.
There are many theories about what led to the Lusitania's sinking: the German's set out to destroy the fastest cruise ship then afloat; Churchill's admiralty used the American passengers aboard the ship as bait, allowing the boat to be sunk in order to draw the U.S. into the war; it was just a really lucky shot by the Germans. There is strong evidence to suggest the British knew far more about the Uboat's movements than they let on. And it is also interesting to see into the heads of the men who were running Britain's naval war effort.
The one thing in the book that struck me as not quite necessary is the side story of Woodrow Wilson's love life. The death of his wife in 1914 had left him prostrate with grief until he met Edith Bolling Galt, whom he would eventually marry. His introduction to and growing attraction for Edith is covered thoroughly in the book, right down to large sections of their love letters to one another. While it does somewhat humanize Wilson, it has little to do with the subject at hand.
Scott Brick narrates the audio version of the book, and as always, he is marvelous. ...more

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