Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Winner of History & Biography category



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

book summary
On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack.

Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history.

It is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love.

Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history.

We will start discussing this volume on May 1st.

I started this book a while back and though I found it very interesting and well written, I never found the time nor will to finish it. I just might now...

I'm curious about what other people think.

Let us know what you think Stephanie! :)

Savanes wrote: "Let us know what you think Stephanie! :)"
I picked this book up when if first came out and I'm glad it was picked as a group read.

I started and finished it over the weekend.

I enjoyed the brief sketches of the passengers and really liked the way the narrative switched between the key players, including the submarine captain.

I thought it was going to be boring after reading a short way into book. But I kept reading, and I'm glad I did! This turned into a very interesting story of the Lusitania! All the things that happened are important. IF this or that had not taken place, what would the results been?

Very slow start, but I ended up really enjoying it.

Lea wrote: "Very slow start, but I ended up really enjoying it."

I agree. It had a relaxed pace at the beginning, but I kept going.

I'm just starting it, but enjoying it a lot. I'm always strangely fascinated by tales about ships. Probably because I would never ever board one unless there was no other choice or land was always within swimming distance.

I really enjoyed this one. I thought the Larson did a good job of presenting factual information in a very human context. His way of focusing on particular people and telling their "story" made this book very readable.

I don't know .. I felt like all the details about this and that were just too much. Of course, all adds up to what ultimately happens, but that could also have included the life of the grandparents of Churchill etc and so forth. I loved the actual story ... but I didn't care at all for the details of the lives of some people that had nothing real to do with the ships. I think I would enjoy this much more as an audiobook or movie .. reading it felt like a chore in parts and very satisfying in other parts.

Stephanie wrote: "I thought this was a phenomenal book and so worthy of the GRCA!!! The detail included makes it so rich that it almost feels like you are a part of it. Great supplemental information is included in the footnotes. Heartbreaking how this could have been avoided or minimized. Passengers didn't know how to put on life jacket and many had it backward. Only 6 of 22 lifeboats launched - and some of those sending folks upside down into the ocean. Will definitely read more from this author!! "

Stephanie, I love just about everything Erik Larson has ever written. My favorite is Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History, but his most popular book is The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. Hope you get a chance to read more.

I just listened to the audio of this book. It was Scott Brick - he is a great narrator. I liked the book a lot and I think I enjoyed it more because I did audio.

Lea wrote: "I love just about everything Erik Larson has ever written. My favorite is Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History, but his most popular book is The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America."

Somehow I didn't put together that those books had the same author until I just saw this. So funny, because I knew the author for both, but just didn't make the connection. I think because it seems like Isaac's Storm was written so long ago somehow, even longer than it really has been.

I want to read The Devil in the White City. Glad that you loved it.

I read this last year and enjoyed it a lot. It was my 3rd Erik Larson book, so now I'm a fan. Will definitely read the one Lea recommends, Isaac's Storm.

Matthew wrote: "I just listened to the audio of this book. I was Scott Brick - he is a great narrator. I liked the book a lot and I think I enjoyed it more because I did audio."

Agreed, Scott Brick could read the phone book and I would listen to him. I also did the audio :-)

Ioana wrote: "Agreed, Scott Brick could read the phone book and I would listen to him

Hey, that's my line! :)

Oh, wait, I said dictionary, not phone book! ;)

Same difference...
Actually, the dictionary wouldn't be that bad...new words, new meanings, you could learn a thing or two ;)

Kristie wrote: "Somehow I didn't put together that those books had the same author until I just saw this. So funny, because I knew the author for both, but just didn't make the connection. I think because it seems like Isaac's Storm was written so long ago somehow, even longer than it really has been.

I want to read The Devil in the White City. Glad that you loved it."

That's very easy to do. His name is quite common and the subject matter for his books is so varied. He does have a signature style though, that will probably become apparent if you read several of his books. Fingers crossed that you can squeeze in The Devil in the White City and you enjoy it. :-)

Am at 40% and it is so slow.
My favorite part so far is about Wilson and Edith (the dreaded "friend zone" existed even back then).
I do feel like it is slowly starting to lead to the event so I am pushing on.

I found it to be very slow too, interedting but so slow. Let me know whether it gets better.

I finished it and it was worth the read. It picked up and became enthralling. I didn't know many of the facts and was shocked about some of them. The personal stories were so sad and touching. I gave it 4 stars.

@Vicki so maybe I have to get back to it! :)

Vicki wrote: "I finished it and it was worth the read. It picked up and became enthralling. I didn't know many of the facts and was shocked about some of them. The personal stories were so sad and touching. I ga..."

My book club read it last month. I think most people enjoyed it. I liked it enough to read another of his books, Devil in the White City.