He uses historical records, letters, and journal entries to tell the stories of: a) German Unterseeboot-20 and its Captain Walther Schwieger and the policies and directives under which he acted b) British Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, whose ultra-secret spy group failed to convey crucial naval intelligence that might have saved the and its passengers c) American President Woodruff Wilson's personal and political thoughts and actions d) the passengers that died and those who survived e) Lusitania's Captain William Thomas Turner. Based on extensive research, esteemed writer Erik Larson provides insights into personal and political events prior, during and after the sinking of Lusitania. DEAD WAKE: THE LAST CROSSING OF THE LUSITANIA was published in 2015 which marked the 100th anniversary of the disaster.

The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the American entry into World War I and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought.

The vessel went down 11 miles (18 km) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 and leaving 761 survivors. The ship was identified and torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 and sank in 18 minutes. The sinking of the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania occurred on Friday, during the First World War, as Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume has a small remainder dot tail outer edge and is otherwise in fine, unread condition unclipped dustjacket has light scuffing. Black boards with gilt titles, mapped endpapers. with index, bibliography and chapter notes.

Published by Crown Publishers, New York, 2015. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Larson, Erik. The only follow-up on this encounter is news of what happens to the girl after the ship goes down.Hardcover.

Dead Wake includes the story of a crew member painting the underside of a lifeboat in a colour called “crab fat” when he sees the feet of two little rich girls and their nanny approach. What he saw now shocked even him.” And he often throws in anecdotes simply because they’re colourful, not because they advance any central narrative. He has made his reputation on cliffhanger phrasings like: “Schwieger again took the periscope. Larson has little trouble stitching all this together. But the Lusitania was a ship carrying nearly 2,000 people, including Americans, at a time when the US had not entered the First World War. Walther Schwieger, commander of the submarine U-20 and a major figure in Larson’s book, had already taken a shot at a hospital ship without qualms. There had been instances of what was then called “frightfulness,” a more polite name for terrorism, preceding the Lusitania attack. Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster that helped place America on the road to war.

DEAD WAKE by Erik Larson