Exploring The Lusitania

Explores the controversies surrounding the sinking of the cruise ship in 1915

In May 1915, the RMS Lusitania, then the world's fastest liner, departed from New York. Seven days later she was torpedoed off the Irish coast with the loss of 1,198 lives. Suspected by the Germans of carrying clandestine munitions to Britain, the great ship steamed into a fatal encounter with the German submarine U-20. One of the largest naval disasters in history, it was a factor in bringing America into the First World War. Patrick O'Sullivan presents the complete story of the Lusitania a. air, exploring the cover-ups and the theories on what caused the baffling second explosion. His meticulous research reveals the most compelling explanation to date. This is a fascinating account of one of the First World War's most reported-on atrocities.

The RMS Lusitania was the largest and fastest ocean-going liner in the world when built in 1912 - a wonder of the age. Given the dramatic circumstances of its loss its fame is second only to that of the RMS Titanic. Much has been written on the history of the ship - its tragic sinking with great loss of life as well as the mysteries and controversies surrounding the speed of its sinking; whether or not it was carrying contraband goods and its legitimacy as a target of war. This book provides a fresh approach to the story by drawing on new research, a multitude of available sources, state-of-the-art 3D multibeam imagery of the wreck and documents the 2015 commemorative events marking the centenary of the loss of this once great liner. Expertise from the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute of Ireland in collaboration with the National Monuments Service and the National Museum of Ireland is drawn upon, combined with contributions from independent researchers, divers and a variety of specialists. The book discusses the historical, archaeological and cultural significance of one of the world's most important shipwrecks and the result is a beautifully illustrated book that explores all aspects of the Lusitania story.

This highly illustrated book investigates the sinking of the Cunard liner, Lusitania. It features Ballard's unique underwater photography paired with high-quality archival material in fascinating then and now spreads.

"Describes the sinking of the Lusitania. Readers' choices reveal various historical details"--

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania “Both terrifying and enthralling.”—Entertainment Weekly “Thrilling, dramatic and powerful.”—NPR “Thoroughly engrossing.”—George R.R. Martin 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. Finalist for the Washington State Book Award • One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Miami Herald, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, LibraryReads, Indigo

Explore the Lusitania and who or what was behind its sinking.

The sinking of the Lusitania is one of the most famous naval disasters in history.

At a young age, Alfred Vanderbilt inherited a massive fortune of $40 million and control of the Vanderbilt railroading empire. With no interest in business matters, the youth squandered his wealth on horses and women on two continents. None of the Vanderbilts gave as much fuel for gossip to the curious public as Alfred. By the time the extravagant playboy boarded the Lusitania on May 7, 1915, he was the subject of numerous scandals, including the suicide of four different women. But as the ship went down, he spent the last minutes of his life rescuing women and children and forgoing his own life. How is it that this wraith, this gluttonous, opulent youth, could undergo an entire change of character in his last few moments? Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt follows Alfred’s journey from philanderer to hero in this incredible, never-before-told story of the hero of the Lusitania.