Erik Larson offers a retelling of the sinking of RMS Lusitania in May 1915 with more vivid accounts that are both plot-driven and character-driven. The book jumps from scene to scene, which include the RMS Lusitania, the secret war room at the British Admiralty, and the German U-boat submarine. Larson sets the scenes by exploring personal accounts and backstories of the key players in the locations particularly Lusitania’s Captain William Thomas Turner, German U20 commander Walther Schwieger, and US President Woodrow Wilson. Through these unique vantage points, the author explores this historical tragic event revealing aspects of it that were obscured and still open to discussion. Thus raising the unanswered questions that surround the ambiguities of the Lusitania final voyage. For instance, the lack of military protection if indeed the vessel was voyaging towards potential danger and harboring artillery cargo.
Larson focuses on the confidence of the involved nations, officials, and passengers regarding the safety of the vessel. Thus, he shows the hubris that was demonstrated in the same vein the Titanic fostered such confidence a few years before. Through the captain of the vessel, the author accounts for the sense of confidence they had in the capabilities of the ship and the safety of their voyage. Furthermore incorporates the military transcripts of the German U-boat commanded by Walther Schwieger to explore why the German forces attacked a vessel occupied by innocent civilians. As a mostly character-driven account, the book delves into the personal life of US President Woodrow Wilson and his love affair with Edith Galt. The exploration of the President's personal and love life in the novel can appear irrelevant but examines the state of mind of the key people. In that, President Wilson was adamant that the United States remain neutral in the war up to that point and a little further thereafter.
At its crux, the book alludes to the question of American neutrality in the Great War up to that point and the subsequent participation in it. Larson describes the tragedy of Lusitania in vivid descriptions of the cost of human lives, damage, and its horror to express why it instantly vilified German forces. As soon after that, the United States joined the war to fight against the German forces in support of Allied powers. Accordingly, highlighting the attacks on neutral shipping as the main motivation for the United States eventual declaration of war. Therefore, the book explores if the attack on Lusitania was strategically allowed to take place to terminate America’s neutrality. As much blame was placed on Germans as the adversaries at the time, Larson explores multiple perspectives to further the discourse around the subject.
