Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

You know this story doesn't have a happy ending, but I found Erik Larson's recounting of the events leading up to and following the sinking of the SS Lusitania by a German U-boat compelling and disturbing in his latest non-fiction book Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania (#478).  It was this act which ultimately led to the United States joining the Allies in World War I, despite President Woodrow Wilson's determination to keep America neutral.

By narrating the unfolding events from many perspectives, Mr. Larson makes the convergence of factors real, filling in personal details of the passengers' lives against a larger political canvas.  It's very easy to picture yourself in place aboard the Lusitania, going through the normal shipboard routines of a transatlantic passage, and for the most part, not worrying too much about the German U-boat threat.  After all, the Cunard representatives had assured them that when they reached the British Isles, the Lusitania would have a Royal Naval escort.  The question is, why didn't it?  Mr. Larson addresses this in the final section of his book with some rather shocking facts.

One of the things I particularly liked about this book is all the additional information and anecdotes Larson includes in his footnotes.  I must admit, I am a compulsive reader of footnotes if they include anything other than straight bibliographic references.  There were a number of personal comments included here, as well, which made the book more vivid for me.  He also included information on where to go and see actual newsreel footage of the Lusitania setting off on her final journey, with passengers arriving at the terminal, and the boat being nudged out of the pier and into the Hudson River in New York City.  On YouTube, searching for SS Lusitania brings up this clip, and another featuring interiors of the ship.  Watching these clips brought home just how immense the Lusitania was, and made it easy to picture the places talked about in the book: the First Class Dining Room, a typical stateroom, passengers playing shuffleboard on deck, etc.  It made these passengers' stories personal.

All of which made the fate of the Lusitania all the more outrageous when the means to save her and all aboard her were within the hands of the British government, and the cold and calculated way the British Admiralty decided to pursue Captain Turner of the SS Lusitania afterwards to take the fall.  Or as Lord Mersey who conducted the official wreck inquiry and found Captain Turner blameless contrary to Admiralty wishes, the whole mess was "a damned dirty business".  The sinking of the Titanic gets the lions' share of the public's interest: I think the story of the SS Lusitania is even more tragic.