Dead Wake, by Erik Larson

Review posted on www.bloggingforbooks.com:   If you are interested in history or a well-told true story, you will enjoy this book.    Erik Larson did a good job of making the story interesting even though I knew the basic details.  He put the story in the context of the historical period and explained why the event was more significant than I understood.   I did have difficulty keeping track of the people and kept wondering if I needed to remember them for later in the book or if this was the only time I would read about them.   In his previous books, especially Devil in the White City, the strategy of telling two concurrent and related stories worked well, but in this book I am not sure how significant Wilson’s courtship and marriage to Edith Galt was to the story of the Lusitania.   Still, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.  I received a complimentary copy of this book for this review.

People
Lusitania	U-20	Room 40 London, England	White House
Captain William Turner   Charles Lauriat Jr. – survivor - Boston bookseller Brought on board: Annotated “A Christmas Carol” Scrapbook of drawings by William Thackeray   Alta Piper – heard voices telling her not to board   Theodate Pope - survivor	Kptlt. Walther Schwieger	Cdr. Herbert Hope – charge of day-to-day management   Capt. William Hall – director of naval intelligence   Winston Churchill	President Woodrow Wilson   Helen Woodrow Bones – cousin   Edith Bolling Galt – Helen’s friend

 For discussion:
NOTE: The page numbers refer to the hardback edition of the book.


1. Larson has often used the pattern of connecting two concurrent stories in his novels.  Did the subplot of President Wilson and Edith Galt add to this novel?  Why or why not?


2. One passenger told Turner that the high number of deaths was caused by “lack of organization and discipline among the crew.” (page 297)  Do you agree?  Should they have been more prepared for an emergency?  (Keep in mind that the most experienced seamen were in the military at that time.)


3. Would you enlist to be a submarine crew member?  What qualities would this job require?


4. A woman claiming to be Schwieger’s finance said he was “shattered” by what he had done. (page 292)  However, Schwieger’s War Log gives a different account.  Who did you believe?  How could he have avoided being changed by the incident?


5. Was it right for the English government to withhold the information about German submarines in order to keep Room 40 a secret from the Germans?


6. Why did the Admiralty try to place the blame on Turner?


7. Who do you think was to blame for the disaster?

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.