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In Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson describes the last journey of a British passenger ship called the Lusitania. It was owned by Cunard Steamship Company and first sailed in 1907. It quickly set records for fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing, stealing away Germany’s coveted Blue Riband.

In 1915, Germany and Britain are at war. In the past year, German submarines have been sinking British ships. They’ve also started attacking neutral merchant ships that carry civilians. President Woodrow Wilson is trying to stay out of the conflict because he wants to avoid a war with Germany and its allies.

The Lusitania’s captain, William Turner, is experienced and was the fastest to complete a round-trip journey between New York and London. On May 1st of 1915, Germany published an advertisement warning that any ship—even merchant ships—are vulnerable to German attack. Many people interpreted this as a specific threat towards American passengers boarding the Lusitania because they believed it couldn’t be attacked by submarines. However, many passengers were unconcerned because they believed that the ship was impervious to submarine attacks.

At the same time that the Lusitania was setting sail for Liverpool, Germany’s U-20 submarine was also on its way to Liverpool. The British Admiralty intercepted and decoded German naval communications. As a result of this information, they were aware of the U-20’s journey around Ireland towards Britain but didn’t do anything about it. They didn’t send out any battleships to protect or escort the Lusitania as it sailed through those waters either.

As the Lusitania heads towards Liverpool, Captain Turner receives vague warnings about submarines from British Admiralty. He is not sure what to do and orders a maneuver called four-point bearing in order to determine his exact location. U-20 follows the Lusitania during this maneuver and fires a torpedo at it, sinking it.

The Lusitania’s crew and passengers are unprepared for the attack, as they struggle to escape. The ship tilts severely after the torpedo hits it, making it difficult to access lifeboats. Many die accidentally while attempting to board a boat, or from drowning in icy waters. Rescue ships arrive three hours later but many people have already died by then.

After the Lusitania incident, people are angry at Germany for sinking the ship and killing innocent passengers. However, they still don’t want to enter World War I. Instead, President Wilson issues a statement that condemns German submarine warfare but does not cause America to enter the war yet. Eventually, America enters the war in April 1917 and joins Britain and France against Germany.

Chapter 1: “Lusitania: The Old Sailorman”

Erik Larson begins Dead Wake by discussing the history of the Lusitania. This ship was made in Britain to compete with Germany’s record-breaking passenger liners. It was financed by the British government, which required it to be able to engage in warfare if needed. However, when outfitting this ship for war proved infeasible, it became a passenger liner that had a battleship hull and other military equipment on board but couldn’t actually participate in any combat.

When the Lusitania launched in 1907, it set records as the fastest ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. However, it was difficult to maintain because of its size and required immense amounts of coal.

Captain William Thomas Turner is in charge of the Lusitania, a British ocean liner. He has an impeccable reputation for sailing and he’s known as a stickler for details. Turner has been successful at navigating past dangerous conditions on numerous occasions, such as storms and massive waves. In addition to his many previous trips across the Atlantic Ocean, Captain Turner set the record for fastest round-trip between London and New York with a travel time of fourteen days. The former captain Daniel Dow stepped down from his role because he disagreed with Cunard Steamship Company’s practice of running passenger ships through war zones that were often stocked with ammunitions for Britain’s navy despite knowing about these dangers beforehand.