One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson is the 3rd of his books I have read. I recently picked up this copy at a Salvation Army.
As World War One takes a drastic turn, a passenger ship with a full crew and roster of public passengers makes it’s dangerous return to England. Dead Wake is a facinating look at the lives and times of some of the passangers, crew and captian of this famous book in the political atmosphere serrounding the first great war.
Dead Wake was my number 15 book for the BookTube Spin Spin 1!! I was happy to have the extra push to get to this one. I was initially very excited to get to it, but when I found out it was all about world war one, I kinda hemmed and hawed about it. In the end, I reread Thunderstruck by Erik Larson, then read this book. I really liked it! It was about war, but it was a more historical take and less emotional than most of the books that focus on war. I Also rarely have read anything about WW1 so it was interesting to learn more about that. Like many of Larson’s books, this follows the duel but conjoined timelines of a German U Boat Captain and crew and the captain, crew, and passengers of the Lusitania Cruise Liner. One thing that I really enjoy about Larson’s writing is that each time line is given as much importance as the other. Neither are judged more than the other. This might annoy some readers, the subject matter being what it is, but I really enjoy the mostly impartial writing. Having little knowledge of the history, I felt bother story lines were fascinating. I really enjoy learning about the day to day life of the passengers, which is very much a different experience I’m used to. The same can be said of the two captains! I would highly recommend this book to those who already know and enjoy WW1 history, or those who are totally new to the subject.
Have you read Dead Wake?
This book is featured in my March Wrap Up.
Booktube Spin Spin 1.