DEAD WAKE, the beautifully detailed history of the events leading up to and after the sinking of the Lusitania, is written in Larson’s style of presenting well-known facts and events in the manner of a well plotted mystery. Using both famous and obscure persons, Larson fleshes out the event that ultimately leads to the United States entering World War II. He contrasts the tension generated by the ship speeding to disaster with the courtship of the widowed and lonely President Wilson and the discord between Winston Churchill and Jacky Fisher in the British Admiralty. The action moves between the Lusitania, the U-20, President Wilson, and the Admiralty.
Book groups will find the history intriguing and lead to a good discussion of the merits of attacking “innocent” targets during war. Participants will also enjoy a discussion of the courtship between the President and Edith Galt, a “distracted” President during a time of international tension, the safety measures taken on board ship, and the actions (or inaction) of various passengers and ship crew.
A map of the entire area traversed by the U-20 and the Lusitania would be helpful in following the routes. I was frustrated by failing to find points mentioned (and important) noted on the end paper map. A listing of the persons encountered in the book with a brief description would be helpful in identifying the many passengers on the Lusitania when they are re-encountered in widely separated parts of the book. For real history buffs, the end notes are generous and detailed.
5 of 5 stars

The reader will learn that a dead wake is the wake a torpedo leaves behind as it speeds toward its target. On May 1, 1915, a torpedo fired from a German U-boat captained by Walther Schwieger, found its target, a passenger ship, the Lusitania. Innocent citizens were condemned to death for nothing more than crossing the ocean on an ocean liner. It was an act of barbarism that was inconceivable for most civilized nations, but not, apparently, for Germany. During WWI and WWII, acts of brutality never before imagined were crimes that were committed by the Germans.
In the book, Erik Larson follows the lives of some of the victims and some of the survivors of this tragedy. Through their conversations and their letters, a lost art today, the events of the voyage and that fateful day are revealed in great detail. Larson provides a detailed description of the luggage and backgrounds of several of the passengers, and it is through their correspondence that this story took its shape. Their reasons for travel, perhaps their faith in the humanity of all leaders, perhaps their artlessness influenced their decision to travel the dangerous waters during wartime. To be fair, not all the passengers knew that Germany had declared the ocean a war zone.
The description of the actual strike on the ship and its sinking is gripping. Larson skillfully describes the actual torpedo hit and its aftermath. He creates visual images of the victims as they made every effort to survive, some paralyzed with fear, some energized into brave actions they never thought themselves capable. The reader will feel as if they, too, are forced to jump into the sea to save themselves or perhaps to die. The ship was sinking fast, actually, it sunk in about 18 minutes, barely enough time to assemble on deck, put on a life vest or launch lifeboats from an injured ship. From letters written during the voyage and letters written afterwards, a diary-like description has been collected, assembled and presented for the fateful journey encompassing less than two weeks at sea.
The explanation for why the event took place is comprehensive. Exhaustive research must have gone into this project. After all is said and done, could the sinking of this massive, magnificent floating estate have been avoided? Was it simply a capricious coordination of events that caused the tragedy? If the weather had been different, the communication between nations had been more open, if the cables to the boat about U-boat locations had been clearer and more organized, if an escort had been provided or a different route had been chosen, if Churchill had not demanded that the war room remain so secret, and President Wilson had not been preoccupied with Edith Gault, would they have been more engaged and provided Captain Turner, on the Lusitania, with the tools to have made a different decision that would have serendipitously avoided the attack? One will never know but Larson sheds a greater light on these questions in his book, and the reader can decide the answers for themselves.
After this horrific incident with so many dead, the authorities tried to blame the Captain for the ship’s demise. It was traveling in a field of war, unprotected, with mixed messages coming over the wireless about the location of the U-boats which were Germany’s super weapon on the sea, and it is difficult to think he was at fault. What decision would any of us have made with the faulty information to which he was privy. His journey was ill-fated once Germany declared all vessels on the water fair game. Perhaps Cunard LIne, in the interest of safety, should have canceled all crossings. Germany attacked anything that moved upon the sea to prevent supplies from reaching their enemy. Churchill said, civilized countries boarded the ships and confiscated the contraband, they did not sink them. Germany’s behavior was far from civilized.
After reading the book, I felt that gross incompetence was responsible for the sinking of the ship and also the great number of victims. Lifeboats could not be deployed, there were no practice drills, those supposed to help release and man the lifeboats were killed in the attack, fear of additional torpedo attacks prevented a speedy rescue, and the location of the U-boats was never communicated to the Captain properly. Most of the victims never had a chance.
I found the reader’s voice on the audio to be a bit too emotive when presenting facts. His tone and presentation was more appropriate when he described the disaster.

As with Devil in the White City, it took a while for me to become engrossed in Larson\\\'s latest foray into history. But once I did I was completely immersed. Yes, there is a lot of dry detail about types of ships and subs, but you are holding your breath as Schwieger catches sight of the Lusitania in the periscope. Souls lost come to life again and you grieve with them and for them-one hundred years gone. Woodrow Wilson, just a comical black and white figure on old newsreels, is president again and his distraction with Edith and failure to act until two years into the war makes you want to scream. Do skim the notes for additional shorts, including a poem by William Watson, \\\"To America Concerning England\\\" in which he asks,
...The tiger from his den
Springs at thy mother\\\'s throat, and canst thou now
Watch with a stranger\\\'s gaze?

Kind of slow and bogged down in details to start, but very informative on several levels. If you are not interested in history of WW I, and specifically the Lusitania it may be a difficult read.

It was interested learning about Woodrow Wilson and the u-boat pilot. As there wasn\\\'t that much info on the passengers, I never felt really connected to any of them or their fate, even though it was terribly tragic.

Dead Wake is a non-fiction story of the sinking of the Lusitania. I had a somewhat hard time getting into a full-blown reading mode with this book, possibly because I already knew the outcome. However, I did learn much about how submarines operated during WWI and their strengths and weaknesses. I enjoyed being introduced to many of the passengers on the Lusitania and wondering if they would survive. It was interesting to hear most of the story from the viewpoint and diary of the German u-boat commander, his thoughts and rationale behind his actions. I was relieved (if that is even the proper word to use) to find that he was haunted by his actions for the rest of his life. I think sometimes the aftermath of war can be just as cruel, or more, than the destructive act itself. My heart hurt for the attempted blame they tried to put on Captain Turner of the Lusitania but even more it hurt to know that they consciously didn't send a larger, faster ship to their rescue so as not to give up the knowledge that they were decoding German messages. It is hard to justify the actions of many involved in this disaster. It is hard to find justification for sinking a passenger ship full of innocent men, women and children. But in reality is there true justification in war? I feel there is no "just" war -- there is just War. All in all it was an interesting read but how can you feel good when you know that more than half of the passengers will perish? My only disappointment was that the author didn't mention the older woman who was rescued still floating in a deck chair. She simply washed off the deck and continued floating. The story of her plight always brings a smile to my face -- something this book did not. In the stories defense, sometimes we have to hear and be knowledgable of the bad side of things to appreciate the good and to serve as a reminder of what humans are capable of both in crimes against humanity and the courage and survival traits some possess.

Great read. A little slow at the beginning but stick with it. Learned alot. Very interesting period of time and informative about some of the passengers.

THE GROUP REALLY LIKED THE BOOK ALTHOUGH MANY OF THE READERS LIKED IT BETTER AS THEY READ ON. THEY WERE ESPECIALLY ENTHUSIASTIC TO DISCUSS THE LACK OF INVOLVEMENT OF THE BRISTISH GOVERNMENT AND THE TRIAL OF THE CAPTAIN AND THE NEED TO BLAME HIM. LARSON DOES A GOOD JOB OF PULLING EVERYTHING TOGETHER AND CREATING A PLATFORM FOR DISCUSSION.

Erik Larson has once again captured readers by shining light on history that we thought we knew, but didn't really understand at all.

An appealing way to learn important history!

Very informative about the Lusitania and the German submarines. Also the descriptions about the passengers and their thoughts and fears as they traveled the ocean kept interest. Our book group rated the book a 3.5 out of 5, 5 being high.

I read everything Erik Larson ; writes and I am never disappointed. No one can write historical Non fiction like Larson. He does the work to research, research, research and then tell a story in a book you can't put down. Even though you know generally what is going to happen, Larson deiveres one fascinating nugget after another. Enjoy!!!

Our book club really likes Erik Larson. This was his 3rd book that we've read and he puts a lot of work and research into his books. The book was liked by everyone.

Too much detail. I have enjoyed some of Eric Larson's other books much more.

I found this book was very interesting and brought about an interest in submarines and the devastation that they could impart.
The history of Britain and the US in the war and the history of Churchill and Wilson was enlightening.

Best book I've read in years!!!

Great Book

Well-researched account of tragic event. Learned a lot about World War I and how this event fit into the outcome. Very well written; often very moving.

Non fiction that reads like fiction!! Fascinating historial account.

I learned quite a bit regarding the political gain/loss which occurred by the sinking of the Lusitania

I really enjoyed this book, learning lots of little know facts about WWI & Woodrow Wilson & of course the Lusitania.

A captivating, informative and interesting read. Larson never fails to weaves history and personal accounts to tell a suspenseful story. While Devil in the White City remains my favorite Larson book, Dead Wake does not trail far behind.

A good book, but not as good as some of Larson's others, such as Devil in the White City and In the Garden of the Beasts. His description of the passengers was superficial and did not pull me in with sympathy for them. I was fascinated with the parts about Schweigert and Uboat 20. Also with the failures on the part of the British Government and a young Churchill. Also, the picture of Wilson was informative and explained his failure of leadership.

I was only a few pages into this book before I realized how ignorant I was of such an historic event. It filled in the many, many gaps in my knowledge, and gave added perspective to my understanding of this time period, and the people who lived at the time.

Very informative!

Story: The RMS Lusitania was one of the top luxury liners of the day, filled with the bright and beautiful (and a bunch of 2nd & 3rd class passengers too.) Millionaires, actors, writers, debutantes and spies all crowded aboard this ship. Besides the passengers, the ship was carrying beautiful paintings by Van Gogh and other masters, editions signed by Dickens and Thackeray, gold bullion, and lots of ammunition. So when it went down, the news traveled fast, and eventually resulted in the United States entering World War I.

Review: I knew a little bit about the Lusitania, but I’d never heard the whole story. I’ve read other books by this author, so when I found this one on audio at the library, I couldn’t wait to check it out.

More here: https://speedyreadercom.wordpress.com/2017/05/20/review-dead-wake/