About this book
Erik Larson's account of the Lusitania follows the great Cunard liner on its last crossing from New York to Liverpool in May 1915, when it was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland by a German submarine. The sinking killed more than a thousand people and became one of the defining tragedies of the First World War at sea.
Larson builds the story from several angles at once: the passengers and crew on board, the commander of the U-boat hunting in the waters ahead, the British codebreakers who were tracking German submarines, and President Woodrow Wilson in Washington. The cross-cutting structure gives the book its steady sense of approaching disaster.
What makes it stand out is Larson's eye for human detail. He brings individual travellers to life, so the sinking is felt as a loss of real people rather than a statistic, while he also raises hard questions about what was known and what might have been done. It is narrative nonfiction at its most accessible.
Who it’s for
Perfect for readers who enjoy history that reads like a novel; it is light on jargon and an easy entry point into the First World War.
Editions vary by publisher and format. Check the retailer’s listing for the edition, translation and format before you buy.