Dead Wake

The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

By: Erik Larson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania

“Both terrifying and enthralling.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Thrilling, dramatic and powerful.”—NPR
“Thoroughly engrossing.”—George R.R. Martin

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.

Finalist for the Washington State Book Award • One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Miami Herald, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, LibraryReads, Indigo

©2015 Erik Larson (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Larson is one of the modern masters of popular narrative nonfiction...a resourceful reporter and a subtle stylist who understands the tricky art of Edward Scissorhands-ing narrative strands into a pleasing story...An entertaining book about a great subject, and it will do much to make this seismic event resonate for new generations of readers."—The New York Times Book Review

"Larson is an old hand at treating nonfiction like high drama...He knows how to pick details that have maximum soapy potential and then churn them down until they foam [and] has an eye for haunting, unexploited detail."—The New York Times

"In his gripping new examination of the last days of what was then the fastest cruise ship in the world, Larson brings the past stingingly alive...He draws upon telegrams, war logs, love letters, and survivor depositions to provide the intriguing details, things I didn't know I wanted to know...Thrilling, dramatic and powerful."—NPR

Larson writes history that reads like fiction

But it's not fiction. I wasn't sure I'd be interested in the Lusitania, but but I enjoyed Larson's other books so much, I thought "he might be able to do this one". I wasn't disappointed. From the logs of the U boat captain, British naval and government records, and diaries and statements of passengers, Larson weaves a narrative that reads as easily as good fiction. I put him in the category of Doris Kearns Goodman and Laura Hillenbrand.

Another fascinating non-fiction story from Larson

Not as good as Devil in the White City, but also very good.....a fascinating look at WW I on the seas, with U-boats plying the seas around the UK and making it difficult for allied ships. Well written as well as interesting, Larson writes a very readable style.

10 stars if that was an option

Erik Larson did it again - another research with details that covered all sides. The storytelling is captivating every moment of the book. Just as I knew Erik Larson from other books I've read, his research and structure of the story is second to none. There is not one single dull moment in this book.

And then, after all of Erik Larson's physical books I have read and loved, I discovered Scott Brick on Audible while listening to this book on my 3-hour commute every day. And, for the first time, I have found myself tagging along behind slow-moving cars in the rght lane on the freeway to get more listening time. Scott Brick's narration is absolutely brilliant.

The Erik Larson/Scott Brick combination is heavenly.

Excellent

Great story, hard to put down, even though I knew how it would end. Great narration by Scott Brick, as usual.

History that reads like a novel

A deep dive, as it were, into a story that everyone has heard of in general, but rarely learns the details of in history class. You get a real sense of who the people involved were- ship captain & crew, passengers, even the U boat commander. An excellent read.

Couldn't put it down!

Loved this! Mesmerizing. Narrator very good. WWII had its own room 40, which depicted in the the Oscar-nominated movie, The Imitation Game

Long, but good

This was a little too long, too much unnecessary details, but it was a good listen. It's hard to understand all that really happened throughout the journey and I think the captain could have done much more than he did. Good piece of history.

The Literary Equivalent of Ravel's Bolero

Impeccably researched and providing colorful details and insights into the real people that formed the cast and crew of this drama, the work moves with careful but inexorable pace, slowly building toward the crescendo which although known nevertheless captivates both in its tragic scale as well as objective detail. Well written and we'll narrated insightful and engaging.

unbelievably interesting

wow, quite a story with many characters dropping the ball which endangered so many innocent lived.

Interesting

Everything was presented very factually. Maybe too factual for me to absorb in audio form. I found everything interesting, though.