Dead Wake: The Last Crossing Of The Lusitania, Larson - B +

                                                Between 1907 and May 1915, she completed 201 transatlantic crossings. The Lusitania sailed from NYC on May 1, 2015 with almost 2,000 passengers and crew. Underway, she used 1,000 tons of coal per day in 192 furnaces. Coal and it's storage are an important part of the Lusitania story. She and her sister ship the Mauritania, were built with funds loaned by the Admiralty.  They were capable of conversion to warships and as such, included a critical design. The coal was stored below the waterline in bunkers that ran the length of the ship. On the day she  sailed, the NY papers carried the story of a German advisory against travel through the war zone. Indeed, the German command dispatched six U-boats to the approach to the Irish Sea. Most travelers felt that there was little to worry about because the Lusitania could outrun any sub and, in any case the Royal Navy would come out and escort Cunard's big liners to safety. The passengers did not know that deep in the hold were 1250 cases of artillery shells and 170 tons of Remington rifle ammunition. On the day she approached the Irish coast on the way to Liverpool, there were three ships sunk by a submarine on her route. The Cunard chairman met with the Admiralty and requested help and assistance. None was forthcoming. On Friday May 7, 2015, U-20 unleashed a torpedo at the HMS Lusitania, then about 10 miles off of Old Head, Ireland. It struck at 2:10 PM. There was a second detonation either attributable to boilers blowing up or coal dust exploding. The ship sank in eighteen minutes. Only 764 of 1959 survived. Among the dead were 123 Americans.
                                                A century-long controversy has brewed over why the Admiralty did not assist the Lusitania when it knew U-boats were in the immediate vicinity. Incompetence, or conspiracy to draw in the Americans?  President Wilson sent what is known as the First Lusitania Note to Germany protesting the attack.  A year later Germany backed away from its aggressive sea campaign, only to fully reinstate 'unlimited submarine warfare' in early 1917.  That decision, combined with the Zimmerman Telegram, brought the US into the war in April.  Larson is as fine a storyteller as there is. Although I was skeptical about revisiting this well-worn topic, I am glad I did.