Conspiracies at Sea: Titanic and Lusitania

by J. Kent Layton

Great disasters always attract conspiracy theories and this is just as true of disasters at sea as it is of those on land or in the air. The sinkings of the Titanic and the Lusitania, two of the great maritime disasters of the twentieth century, have attracted more than their share of these theories. Was the sinking of the Titanic a plot by J. P. Morgan to remove opponents to his plan to create a US Federal Reserve Bank? Was the construction of the ship substandard? Was the ship that hit the iceberg that night even the Titanic at all? Might it not have been her sister Olympic instead? And was the Lusitania deliberately allowed to sail into harm’s way to provoke the US into joining the First World War? Was her name obscured so the U-boat captain did not know what ship he was firing on? And how much ammunition was she carrying aboard?

In this book, maritime historian and ocean liner expert J. Kent Layton examines these and more conspiracy theories and helps lay them to rest.

449 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 20, 2016

Reviews

[Krisztian Ihasz-Bathori]

Overview
The sinking of the Titanic and the Lusitania has been left people wondering on the hows, whys and simply because of the loss of life. Such shocking events - no matter how well documented and researched - ought to conjure alternative explanations trying desperately to rationalize the events and often these take shape in the form of conspiracy theories. This book sets a very high goal: debunking and laying rest these theories about the unfortunate ships once and for all.

Content
30% of this book deals with the Titanic disaster, significant part of the Titanic portion is about the switch theory. I think the author went through all the theories and debunked them with hard evidence well. It is no wonder, that they decided to dedicate only a third of this book to the Titanic, because the ship’s history is very well documented and the wreck itself is very well explored/researched. Still there are many unanswered questions of course; however if you are looking for a book explaining in great detail the sequence of the disaster probably you will need more reading, as this section is kind of assuming you already know a lot.

2/3 of the book is dealing with the sinking of the Lusitania, this portion of the book felt more explored and worked. I think it was a necessary move to explain the sequence of events, layout the hard evidence and distinguish between what is known and what is only assumed. Because the ship sank in a war time, we ought to question the sources we are working from and have to be extra careful before making statements. The wreck itself is far less explored as for a long time it was overseen by the British Government which is just gasoline on fire for conspiracies. The author calls out thr mispresentation of an another book from the 70s (which I have read actually prior to this) and overall I believe after finishing this book you will know everything about the Lusitania and her sinking what you should know.

The author also included an appendix of original photographs from both ships, with light explanations how they relate to the content of the book.

About the writing style
Sometimes this book can become technical and even if you are quite familiar with the maritime industry, can come across as heavy. In the same time, there are sections which are quite simple or simplified, so you will have no issues following along.

I need to say I was very impressed by the research which was put into this book, referencing sources, following a strict logical / forensic approach the author took while also referencing contemporary research and other disasters.

Final thoughts
I would recommend to read this book to those, who are interested in ships and have been wondering about the tragic sinking of the Titanic and Lusitania - because at some point if you research them you will hear about these non-sense conspiracy theories.

[Anthony Wendel]

This book is filled with a lot of great points and presents a fascinating look into the conspiracies surrounding these two great ships. The only real nitpick is how the evidence is presented. While it is on point, the section regarding the Lusitania utilizes large amounts of forensic data to disprove the conspiracies surrounding the event. This was a very difficult section to get through at times. Still a highly recommended book for individuals who enjoy debunking conspiracy theories.

[Matthew Eyre]

This bloke clearly knows his early 20th century ocean liners inside out. He is also very capable of puncturing holes in the conspiracy theorists favourite fantasies. Like arguing that the Lucitania was carrying vast quantities of material vital to the war effort while simultaneously asserting that "They" at One and the Same time also offered ultra cheap tickets to greedy Americans to ensure that when it sank the USA would come into the war to avenge their compatriots. On the Titanic, amongst other devasting put Down s he notes that is O suggest that you thousands of Harlaand and Wolf shipyard workers solemnly changed every single identity marker from 401 to 400, and never told a a soul. Err, have you ever tried to keep a secret within any unit, however small, and been successful (vide Twin Towers being an In side job). So a whole phalanx of gobby Irish riviters and/ or gobby New Yawk construction workers never told a soul? Yeah, right....