The Last Voyage of the Lusitania

Originally published in 1956, this book has been perhaps superseded as the definitive account of the sinking, but it remains THE classic book on the Lusitania. It has a you-are-there immediacy that just cannot be matched. What Walter Lord's A Night to Remember did for the Titanic, this book does for the Lusitania.

Both Britain and Germany played games with each other in WWI. Britain blocked merchant vessels from going to Germany. Germany sent its U-Boats to sink British merchantmen. Britain placed munitions on passenger liners coming from Canada and the US. However what is truly gall was the U-20 captain who torpedoed the Lusitania. He watched the devastation from his periscope and related to his crewman that they weren't very prepared to leave the ship. The result was mass murder by this captain. 1198 last their lives, including 124 Americans. The US should have declared war right after this happened. Fortunately this captain met his end before the end of the war. This is a nice read about a true tragedy of WWI. Although I don't rate it as high as Lord's books about the Titanic, this is an interesting read.

The Lusitania, well known as it is, never received the attention and glory bestowed on Titanic. This is partly because the former was not an 'unsinkable' ship on its maiden voyage. It also sank in a mere eighteen minutes, too quickly for passengers or others later to spend much time pondering how they would react. But the Lusitania was involved in a great war, and so its importance is in many ways greater than Titanic's. Hoehling tells the story of the sinking with special attention paid to the plight of passengers. His book also focuses more on the American side of the story. The First World War, international politics, and German strategy are largely ignored here. These things are covered in many other books however. Lucy fans may well wish to read Hoehling's book alongside other leading publications about the 'other Titanic'.

I have two words that describe this book and should basically sum up everything that needs to be said. Bloody Wicked.

When I read the " Last voyage of the Lusitania" . I was struck with the feeling that the book gives you, this book makes you feel that you are really there. Witnessing the diaster in person. The authors who researched this diaster did a very good job, they also have a very good writing style. I would like to say to all readers that this book will keep your mind occupied and you will witness the minute by minute account of the diaster of the Lusitania