Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania image number 0

#1 New York Times Bestseller

From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania

On 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 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.

Item Information Item Information

Format: TradePaperback
Author: Larson, Erik
ISBN: 9780307408877
Condition: Used
Dimensions: 8.00 x 1.13
Number Of Pages: 480
Publication Year: 2016

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Detailed & informative history that reads like a fast-paced novel.

Halibel T. - 1 year 5 months ago

Erik Larson continues to write engaging, page-turning histories. Known for taking obscure occurrences from the past and turning them into informative but palatable bestsellers, his new book, Dead Wake, tackles a subject more recognized than the topics of his previous endeavors, the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania. Dead Wake, like Larson's previous works, goes beyond the mere recitation of facts, pulling the narrative from thorough research of archives and personal letters. Larson examines all sides of the event, with a cast of characters that includes numerous passengers on the luxury liner, the ship's captain, the captain of the U-boat that sinks the Lusitania, and various world leaders including President Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty at the time of the ship's sinking). By pulling from personal accounts of the tragedy, Larson vividly recreates the ship's passage across the Atlantic, the liner's brief but harrowing final moments, and the fallout from the disaster. If you are looking for an informative history book that reads like a novel, look no further.
HPB Staff Review
A richly-detailed, enormously entertaining account of the Lusitania's last voyage.

Leah R. - 2 years 3 months ago

As if there was any doubt, Erik Larson's latest work solidifies his position as a master of the non-fiction genre. Dead Wake, a tale of the last crossing of the ocean liner Lusitania, is itself a hulking behemoth, exploring not only the ship's last voyage, but also Woodrow Wilson's second chance at love, the life of one of the first female architects, a British intelligence unit, the U-boat that ultimately brought down the liner, and the early days of the First World War. Larson proves yet again he is an expert at what he does by deftly weaving so many threads together - more than once I forgot this wasn't fiction! With May 1, 2015 marking the 100th anniversary of the Lusitania's last voyage, there's no better time to pick up Dead Wake. Between the action and the fascinating historical figures (many of whom were completely unknown to me prior to reading), Dead Wake had me thoroughly invested and, to be honest, I was sad to reach the end. It's clear Larson did a mind-boggling amount of research here and readers both well-versed in the Lusitania's story and those new to that particular turning point in history will be captivated by this book.
HPB Staff Review
Erik Larson Has Us on the Edge of Our Seat .....Again

Patrick V. - 7 years 4 months ago

I have read Erik Larson's previous four books and was anxiously awaiting this one. I can say it was worth the wait. Set in World War I, this story gives a new take on the Lusitania's sinking. Larson brings his characters to life with gusto. You feel every single minute from when the "Lucy" is bombed to where it's fully submerged. I cannot recommend this book enough. Now I anxiously await his sixth book.
HPB Staff Review

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Detailed & informative history that reads like a fast-paced novel.

A richly-detailed, enormously entertaining account of the Lusitania's last voyage.

Erik Larson Has Us on the Edge of Our Seat .....Again