"Dead Wake" by Erik Larson: an in-depth look at an in-depth book

Title of the Book: "Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania  
Author: Erik Larson  
Number of Pages: 448
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Review:
On 7 May 1915, German submarine U-20 torpedoed and sunk the Lusitania, a British ocean liner carrying 1,962 passengers. 1,198 passengers and crew members died, including 128 American citizens. This immense and tragic loss of American lives would eventually push president Woodrow Wilson to the breaking point and caused the U.S. to declare war on Germany two years later. Dead Wake, by Erik Larson, chronicles the lives of passengers, naval warfare efforts, and other events surrounding that fateful day, and weaves them together into an engaging and detailed narrative of one of the great naval tragedies of the 20th century.

In late April 1915, numerous civilian and naval powers were at work, occupied with the ongoing war in Europe and the increased threat of unrestricted submarine warfare. Numerous Europe-bound passengers where rushing around the U.S., attempting to continue their lives and their work despite the growing threats facing ocean travel. A renowned architect, a rare book dealer, and many more prepare to board the ship for the trip to England. The crew prepares for another voyage aboard one of the largest and most advanced ships in the world. A steward prepares for his last journey, a detective prepares to keep watch for spies, and a captain prepares for another fast, flawless trip. British, and German naval commanders prepare for a high-stakes journey and prepare their ships and crews. German command has released U20 and its captain into the Irish sea, and Kplt. Walther Schwieger is eager for a kill, after several weeks of disappointing weather and small targets. The British Admiralty and room 40, the British intelligence center, intercept German plans and plan an escort for the Lusitania. Despite all the preparation and the people and value this ship holds, as it passes Kinsale on the morning of the 7th, it is struck by two torpedoes launched by U-20, and sinks within 20 minutes, taking with it 1,198 passengers and crew. No ships come to aid the Lusitania, and fewer than 800 survivors make it to Kinsale.

Dead Wake is a unique and wonderful historical fiction book. Erik Larson is a renowned writer of highly-regarded historical fiction texts, and his background and work in journalism give him the unique qualities of doing very in-depth research and writing in a very lifelike way. Dead Wake reads as a piece for a magazine or paper, a history book, and a literary masterpiece at the same time. He uses personal accounts, military documents, and more to pack the text with real details and quotes from events in the book. One defining feature of this book, in particular, is its attempt to present the events as unbiased, and its exploration of both the British perspective and the perspective of the German military. Not only does it explain the standpoint of the German government, but it explores the faults and thought processes that lead to submarine warfare and the Lusitania as a target for Kplt. Schweiger. However, it spares none from its intense analysis and delves into the faults and failings of the British Admiralty and the Cunard line. Not only does it explore the events, but it seems to analyze them, and uses different perspectives to create conflicting viewpoints that continues the make the text engaging and suspenseful.

Larson is a very skilled writer. He presents the book in an advanced and complex way, but it is still easy to follow and engage with. His skills in research and working with historical information are front and center in this text, but beneath that he weaves a story, full of emotion, anguish, stress, competition, and hard-headed attitude. He explains and explores the characters; who they are, where they came from, and factors affecting their decisions and actions throughout the text. He skillfully presents them as real people, and he creates a number of emotions as he delves into the actual sinking and aftermath of the disaster. His coverage is almost newspaper-like, as he uses dates and names to convey a sense of factuality surrounding the actions of nations during the war. He writes non-fiction as it is, and it is reminiscent of a history book, in that it tells the events how they happen as they happen. However, he weaves them together with his fantastic exploration of people and emotions, and it transitions to magazine-like writing, where it covers both the hard facts and emotional nuances of the events surrounding the disaster. This makes the book engaging, as the reading style flows between historical accuracy and descriptive empathy. It creates suspense and wonder and makes this book an intellectual joy to read.

I would recommend this text to someone who enjoys suspenseful stories, someone with a passion for history, and someone who enjoys adventure books. Larson weaves them all together, and the result is spectacular. It has enough World War 1 history to satisfy the history buff, enough suspense to keep you engaged and turning pages, and an adventure-like feel that gives it excitement and an exploratory tone. While I was left wanting more clarity and detail surrounding the events leading up to the tragedy and the aftermath, I was overall satisfied with the amount of coverage this text provides. For the right person, this gtext is an incredible and pensive look at one of the greatest navasl tragedies of the 20th century.