Lusitania

by Colin Simpson

On 7 May 1915 at 2.28pm, the great Cunard liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat. 1201 men, women and children lost their lives.

Fore more than fifty years the sinking has been proclaimed as an act of naked and brutal aggression against an innocent ship carrying neutral American citizens.

But was was the Lusitania's real cargo? Was she in fact built with military purposes in mind? Was she even a pawn in a cynical political stratagem?

Colin Simpson has brought new facts to life [sic], examined fresh evidence and come to some horrifying conclusions. This book shows beyond doubt that the true facts were deliberately concealed and shockingly different.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I, Historical, War

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Colin Simpson was a special correspondent and member of the Insight Team at the London Sunday Times during the 1960’s and 1970’s. He was a war correspondent for them in the Six Day War in Israel in 1967, won awards for the Horse Meat scandal, and also specialised in antique and art forgery. He broke the Tate Bricks controversy which was recently made into documentary for the BBC and shortlisted for a Greirson Award. He was born 1931 and died on 31 October, 2017

Reviews

[dontpanic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Szeretem az ilyen történelmi könyveket, mint ez is: távolról zoomolva mutatja be az esetet, amit körbejár. Kapunk egy kis alapozást, a kor és korszellem bemutatásával, a főbb szereplők felállnak a színpadra, a díszletek közé, majd szépen, lassan eljutunk a hajó megrendeléséig, megépítéséig, a háború kibontakozásáig, míg összeérnek a szálak a 1915 május 7-i történésekben.

A szerző törekedett a történeti hűségre, levéltárakban felkutatott eredeti dokumentumok alapján írta meg a könyvet, és azt is bevallotta, amikor valamihez nem tudott hozzáférni. Őszintén szólva ezek a hiányok beszédesebbek minden találgatásnál.

Gyarló örömeim közé tartozik, hogy a pöffeszkedő, hatalmaskodó angol Admiralitás hibáinak sorolását olvashatom, nos, ebből jutott ebbe a könyvbe is. Szépen fel van vezetve, mennyire nem vették komolyan a tengeralattjárók jelentette veszélyt (a kedvencem az a javaslat volt, hogy húzzanak fekete zacskót a tengeralattjárók periszkópjára, vagy épp idomítsanak galambokat, hogy ürítsenek rájuk), illetve hogy a Churchill-Fisher ellentét mennyire megalapozta azokat a hanyag döntéseket, amiket ilyen hatalmi harcok és tisztázatlan hierarchia mellett meg szokás hozni.

Nagyon élveztem a színes jellemrajzokat és a személyessé tett beszámolókat a tragédiáról, de ez a könyv nem is egy hajó elsüllyedéséről vagy a tengeri fegyverkezésről szól, hanem mindennél inkább a politikai machinációkról. Arról, hogy milyen játszmák mennek a háttérben egy-egy nemzetközi konfliktus esetén, ahol minden főszereplő a saját érdekei szerint fonja a szálakat, abszolút tekintet nélkül az esetleges emberéletekre vagy éppen a dolog hosszú távú következményeire.

Ez volt az egészben a leghátborzongatóbb, nem is a hideg vízben fuldokló emberek története...

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a fair amount of background of the Lusitania - its construction and history prior to World War I, and how it was modified after the outbreak of the war to be an auxiliary cruiser. The author describes how ships were furtively transporting carrying arms and other essential supplies to Britain and France - with our officials in port of New York turning a blind eye. The author also gives a good account of the diplomatic maneuvering going on between Washington, the Allies and the Germans. After the Lusitania was sunk by a U-boat's torpedo, with the loss of some 1,200 lives including over 100 Americans, the primary British concern was to cover up the actual cargo it was carrying, which they effectively did. A detailed account is given of the hearings conducted in England and of the lawsuits in the United States brought by Americans who were survivors or the family of ones who perished.

[Bob H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched and provocative account of the sinking, and the implications. One torpedo, but two explosions, over 1,100 civilian dead, and a lot of mealy-mouthed explanations by the UK and the US as to the cargo and the wartime role of that ship. Well worth reading as we go toward the centennial of that war and this shocking event.

[Mike Knox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes to the fact that the Germans weren’t the only bad guys in WWI.

[Bill38silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Penguin version of this book (published in 1974) has sat on my bookshelf for over 40 years and now I have finally got around to reading it. I found it a fascinating and detailed narrative, focused on the shenanigans behind the scenes of the tragic episode that, by most accounts, brought America into World War 1 following the alleged heinous crime of the callous sinking by the German U boat of a luxury cruise ship with the loss of 1200 lives. But, Simpson presents an alternative to the official line. His tack is that the ship was carrying contraband(arms and ammunition) which was illegal and therefore all rules of engagement in war were null and void. The German actions are presented as entirely justified in the specific circumstances here.

My version of the book is lacking in any photos of the Lusitania and is spartan in terms of detail of individuals who survived the trauma or went to a watery grave. Churchill comes out badly from this account and there are many references to cover- ups, missing documents, and a sense of many people at high level doing what they thought best for their nation, if sometimes serving their personal ambitions at the same time. The book is clear in its presentation of the unreasonable scapegoating of the Captain of the Lusitania and inadequate Inquiries by the British and separately the American authorities.

Colin Simpson's absorbing piece of detective work is well researched and the narrative is engaging and tense as the story unfolds. I am now inspired to read more on the incident but cannot wait another 40 years to get stuck into the 1995 book by the underwater explorer Robert D. Ballard

[James]

Mr. Simpson did a lot of substituting his opinions and assertions as facts, but did manage to introduce some additional information that I hadn't heard before. Though he did a lot of picking and choosing what pieces he was going to share and took some liberties with the information as it was recorded. Just enough to be able to tell that he was hoping for shock value more than offering new insight about what was already a very white-washed and politically geared "investigation" and "inquest."

But I can't really say that he manufactured any evidence, he was just very partisan in how he presented it.

[Paul Gaya Ochieng Simeon Juma · Rating 2 out of 5]

World war I is largely blamed on Germany. As far as we are concerned tge Gernans caused it because of its expansion policies. Does that mean that the other side was wholy without fault? No. The only righteous Kingdom is that of heaven. The Kingdoms of earth not so much. They are full of treachery. They are driven by oil and deceit. Who sabotaged the Lusitania? Was it the Germans or the Europeans? That is the question this book aims at answering.

The German war machines were methodically destroying England. Churches, theaters, breweries, entetainment places and so on were all going up in smoke. Days and night were punctauted by thunder, destruction, and flying debris. Winston Churchill was desparate. He needed help from the Americans who insisted on remaining neutral. He was loosing his patience and was looking for a way to draw them into the battlefield. The situation kept seething. It seethed and seethed and seethed untill the bombing of the Lusitania.

[Michael Dow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am astonished that this book is still being read and believed. It is so full of wild theories and inaccuracies. Simpson attempts to prove that the Lusitania was (a) an armed merchant cruiser, which she wasn't (b) was carrying a substantial illegal cargo of High Explosive; which she wasn't; and, was deliberately lured into the path of known U-Boats by the British Admiralty; which she wasn't. He produces no evidence for any of this and has refused to answer questions posed by other authors and researchers. If you want the truth try authors like Diana Preston and David Ramsay who have researched the events thoroughly and produce details of their sources.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was mostly about the politics involved in the treatment of the Lusitania - Admiralty specs on her building and outfitting, the response of the Admiraltiy to U-boat activity in the area through which the ship would pass. There were very few pages devoted to the sinking itself. The author concluded that the ship sank because she was unstable, improperly designed, badly staffed, and carrying munitions and that the Admiralty was to blame for creating a situation in which a rapid sinking could occur and many survivors would not be rescued.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's fascinating to read a history that has no aspirations to objectivity. Simpson pursued his objective - to prove the ship was carrying arms - with a ferocity and tunnel vision that minimized the human suffering of the event. Also, it was overwhelmingly dry. He could put you to sleep while calling a horse race.

[Chris Seals · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked all the information, but I felt it difficult to read. I don't know if it was because of the English author, and words were different than American's are use to, or if it could have just been organized differently. Overall-good book though.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldnt get through it. sorry mr. simpson.