A review by rainjrop
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

4.0

Larson paints an immersive picture of the life of a ship passenger in 1915 while skillfully weaving in a history of Germany's WWI submarine warfare. Multiple threads intertwine and intersect, including British code breaking and Woodrow Wilson's personal life, and gradually built tension until I was nearly vibrating in my chair. Of course I knew the outcome, but seeing how all the pieces came together and the ignorance of the passenger as to their fate was very stressful; my compliments to the author.

I appreciated that Larson made the passengers come to life: with the help of their diaries and other contemporary sources, the passengers were given back stories and lives, making their losses all the more tragic and real.