≡ Libro Dead Wake The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson 9780307408860 Books

Dead Wake The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson 9780307408860 Books

Download As PDF : Dead Wake The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson 9780307408860 Books

Dead Wake The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson 9780307408860 Books

Erik Larson is not capable of writing anything less than a gripping account of history. All of his previous books have been spellbinding accounts of storms, cities, crimes, inventions, ships and/or war. In DEAD WAKE: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Larson returns to the subjects of war and ships and stirs in a potent mixture of international politics as well as a little romance to once again seduce his readers with a contemporary view of an historical situation.

Written to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, a Cunard passenger liner sunk by a German U-Boat, Larson's account differs in several ways from other well-known books produced on the subject. Diana Preston's LUSITANIA: An Epic Tragedy, published in 2002, is one of the best-written accounts of the disaster. The difference between Preston's work and Larson's might be found in the subtitle of the Larson book which emphasizes the crossing while Preston's book is most memorable for its account of the sinking and its aftermath, particularly accounts of survival. No one can read Preston's book without feeling as if he/she is clinging to a piece of wreckage in a cold, spring sea awaiting rescue. No one can read Larson's book and not feel like the proverbial fly on the wall in the infamous Room 40 of the British Admiralty. While Preston addressed Room 40, in Larson's writing, the room takes on a role and becomes a character (albeit not a very appealing one) in its own right.

Larson skillfully gets into the mindset of Winston Churchill and how determined he was to see America enter the war. In the States, Larson goes back in time and brings President Woodrow Wilson to life through a love affair that seemed to take up more of his time than thinking about the suitability of America's neutrality. Yet Larson allows readers to see Wilson in a most human light; perhaps the love affair gave him the strength for the decisions he had to make later. While the reader feels a connection with Wilson and also with the much-maligned but ultimately blameless Captain of the Lusitania, Captain Turner, utter horror and strong dislike is brought out when we read about Captain Schwieger of U-Boat 20 and, in a strange way, perhaps even more when we examine the real-life characters and goings-on within the Admiralty's Room 40. Germany and Britain both emerge as more than a bit despicable.

The pluses of Larson's latest work are his acute examination of Room 40, his up-close look at Woodrow Wilson, and his ability to swing between the behind-the-scenes action and balance his discoveries with a conventional but absorbing look at some of the passengers on board the Lusitania all while building a true and terrifying suspense in the narrative. His profile of Charles Lauriat, Boston bookseller and collector of rare documents and drawings, is excellent. One senses that Larson was truly interested in Lauriat and might, having not been faced with producing a book to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Lusitania's sinking, have chosen Lauriat as a sole subject for a book or article.

Erik Larson can never disappoint. Whether one reads a great deal about WWI history, maritime disasters, or early 1900s international politics, there is something new to be learned in DEAD WAKE. For those who have read very little about the Lusitania, this book is an excellent starting point. As mentioned before, Diana Preston's LUSITANIA: An Epic Tragedy tells a similar story but with a slightly different approach. Both books have something to offer, but Larson's, being newer, may include some fresh revelations about the history we thought we knew.


Tags : Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania [Erik Larson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>#1 New York Times Bestseller From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania</i></b> On May 1,Erik Larson,Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania,Crown Publishers,0307408868,Lusitania (Steamship),Shipping - Government policy - Great Britain - History - 20th century,Shipping;Government policy;Great Britain;History;20th century.,World War, 1914-1918 - Naval operations, German,World War, 1914-1918;Naval operations, German.,World War, 1914-1918;Naval operations.,20th century,Britain;history;disaster;non fiction;nonfiction;non-fiction;historical;war;wwi;world war one;narrative nonfiction;lusitania;cruise;liverpool;germany;US;USA;United States;submarine;submarine warfare;u-boat;Woodrow Wilson;President Wilson;Charles Lauriat;Europe;Ireland;torpedo;maritime history;tragedy;maritime;military history;titanic;erik larson books;erik larson;pulitzer prize winners nonfiction;dead;historical nonfiction best sellers;military;naval history;world war 1;world war i;world history,First World War,GENERAL,General Adult,Government policy,Great Britain,Great BritainBritish Isles,HISTORY Military Naval,HISTORY Military World War I,HISTORY Modern 20th Century,History,History - Military War,HistoryMilitary - Naval,Lusitania (Steamship),Military,Military - Naval,Military - World War I,Naval operations, German,Non-Fiction,SHIPWRECKS,Shipping,Shipping - Government policy - Great Britain - History - 20th century,Shipping;Government policy;Great Britain;History;20th century.,Ships & Shipbuilding - History,TransportationShips & Shipbuilding - History,United States,WORLD WAR I,World War, 1914-1918,World War, 1914-1918 - Naval operations, German,World War, 1914-1918;Naval operations, German.,World War, 1914-1918;Naval operations.,history; disaster; non fiction; nonfiction; non-fiction; historical; war; wwi; world war one; narrative nonfiction; lusitania; cruise; liverpool; germany; US; USA; United States; submarine; submarine warfare; u-boat; Woodrow Wilson; President Wilson; Charles Lauriat; Europe; Ireland; torpedo; maritime history; tragedy; maritime; military history; titanic; Britain; pulitzer prize winners nonfiction; dead; historical nonfiction best sellers; military; world war 1; world war i; world history; european history; first world war,HISTORY Military Naval,HISTORY Military World War I,HISTORY Modern 20th Century,HistoryMilitary - Naval,Military - Naval,Military - World War I,Ships & Shipbuilding - History,TransportationShips & Shipbuilding - History,History - Military War,20th century,Government policy,Great Britain,Naval operations, German,Shipping,World War, 1914-1918,Shipwrecks,World War I,History,Military,First World War

Dead Wake The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson 9780307408860 Books Reviews

A very well researched accounting of the attack and sinking. Larson does a good job debunking some of the myths that had arisen over the years, many of which I had heard before as updated evidence came out. This is the first book I've read on the Lusitania in quite a while, but was aware of many of the basic facts. Larson does an excellent job in tracking the movements of both the Lusitania and U-20 from the time they left their respective ports until they met off the old head of Kinsale, to give the reader a feeling of each ship's journey. In particular, the decisions made by both Captains Turner and Schweiger that day in terms of courses and speed of each vessel that resulted in a perfect shot setup for Schweiger. Also covered are passenger stories of some aboard, wartime events that resulted in allowing passenger ships to be targeted, apparent apathy of the Wilson White House on the goings on of the war to that point and why, and aftermath of the sinking on both Captains and the war mentality. Overall, a highly informative and interesting book.
Retelling a story that has been told many times already is either foolish (what’s new?) or courageous (see what’s new!). Larson successfully manages to bring a fresh perspective to a tale that I felt I knew.

Dead Wake- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania is a surprisingly well crafted re-telling of a known event. Despite knowing the outcome - the loss of nearly 1,200 souls at the hands of a German U-boat in the spring of 1917 - Larson keeps pulling the reader along. He does so by adopting many perspectives - those of passengers on the cruise ship, crew members on the U-boat, Woodrow Wilson in the White House to name just a few - with just the right amount of telling detail to bring the reader into the moment. Reading Dead Wake is a tutorial in early twentieth century naval architecture, morality, social manners and political history.

Larson shows how the sinking of the Lusitania was, for many, a “Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back”. Taken in isolation, this was a tragedy. Indeed, the captains of the Lusitania and the U-Boat, Cunard executives, Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill and Kaiser Wilhelm made assumptions about each other’s behaviors and interests which proved to be tragically wrong. Put in the context of the beginning of World War I, the sinking altered the course of history by dragging the United States into the conflict.

In other ways, the event was a classical tipping point. One era - the world of Victorian manners and gentlemanly wars - ended and another - the era of global modern warfare and the emergence of American leadership - began. Never again would it be safe to assume a bright line between civilian (commercial) and political (military interests).

Hanging over the Lusitania disaster is a sense of avoidable inevitability. If any one of many points along the voyage - slowing down to pick up mail, changing course to get bearings, information not transmitted from British intelligence - had gone differently the Lusitania would not have had a rendezvous with its tragic destiny. It would have steamed calmly into port. However, they didn’t go the other way and history as we now know it unfolded.

We now live in a world where we try to take lessons from this eminently avoidable disaster. Technology dependence? The Lusitania was too fast and too big to be sunk. False assumptions about the enemy? The Germans miscalculated British and American reactions. Changing social mores? The British put civilians in harms way for military purposes. For that alone, Larson’s use of history to illuminate the past to help in the present is invaluable. We had our own Lusitania disaster with 9/11. What will the next one be?

As with ether books by Eirk Larson (In the Garden of the Beasts and the Devil in the White City) the reader learns not just about the event, but about the era in which the event took place. We are nearly a century beyond the values of Victorian England and adolescent America. In some ways we have made progress, in other ways we cling stubbornly to outmoded beliefs which ultimately do us great harm.

Read this to know more about the past and to be better prepared for the future.
Erik Larson is not capable of writing anything less than a gripping account of history. All of his previous books have been spellbinding accounts of storms, cities, crimes, inventions, ships and/or war. In DEAD WAKE The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Larson returns to the subjects of war and ships and stirs in a potent mixture of international politics as well as a little romance to once again seduce his readers with a contemporary view of an historical situation.

Written to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, a Cunard passenger liner sunk by a German U-Boat, Larson's account differs in several ways from other well-known books produced on the subject. Diana Preston's LUSITANIA An Epic Tragedy, published in 2002, is one of the best-written accounts of the disaster. The difference between Preston's work and Larson's might be found in the subtitle of the Larson book which emphasizes the crossing while Preston's book is most memorable for its account of the sinking and its aftermath, particularly accounts of survival. No one can read Preston's book without feeling as if he/she is clinging to a piece of wreckage in a cold, spring sea awaiting rescue. No one can read Larson's book and not feel like the proverbial fly on the wall in the infamous Room 40 of the British Admiralty. While Preston addressed Room 40, in Larson's writing, the room takes on a role and becomes a character (albeit not a very appealing one) in its own right.

Larson skillfully gets into the mindset of Winston Churchill and how determined he was to see America enter the war. In the States, Larson goes back in time and brings President Woodrow Wilson to life through a love affair that seemed to take up more of his time than thinking about the suitability of America's neutrality. Yet Larson allows readers to see Wilson in a most human light; perhaps the love affair gave him the strength for the decisions he had to make later. While the reader feels a connection with Wilson and also with the much-maligned but ultimately blameless Captain of the Lusitania, Captain Turner, utter horror and strong dislike is brought out when we read about Captain Schwieger of U-Boat 20 and, in a strange way, perhaps even more when we examine the real-life characters and goings-on within the Admiralty's Room 40. Germany and Britain both emerge as more than a bit despicable.

The pluses of Larson's latest work are his acute examination of Room 40, his up-close look at Woodrow Wilson, and his ability to swing between the behind-the-scenes action and balance his discoveries with a conventional but absorbing look at some of the passengers on board the Lusitania all while building a true and terrifying suspense in the narrative. His profile of Charles Lauriat, Boston bookseller and collector of rare documents and drawings, is excellent. One senses that Larson was truly interested in Lauriat and might, having not been faced with producing a book to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Lusitania's sinking, have chosen Lauriat as a sole subject for a book or article.

Erik Larson can never disappoint. Whether one reads a great deal about WWI history, maritime disasters, or early 1900s international politics, there is something new to be learned in DEAD WAKE. For those who have read very little about the Lusitania, this book is an excellent starting point. As mentioned before, Diana Preston's LUSITANIA An Epic Tragedy tells a similar story but with a slightly different approach. Both books have something to offer, but Larson's, being newer, may include some fresh revelations about the history we thought we knew.