BOOK REVIEWS
![[Image]](pict181.jpg) |
The Lusitania Story |
Although several books have already been written about the Lusitania, this one is more than just the latest in the line. It is, in fact, a very good read. The authors are known experts on the ship, and many "Lusitania fans" will already know their names from two earlier Lusitania books and from their website.
Authors with considerable expertise sometimes tend towards a very specific focus in their writing. In the case of the Lusitania, for example, authors might well concentrate on a minute-by-minute account of the sinking alone. In this book, though, the events of the sinking take their place in a wider view of the Lusitania tragedy. The authors devote a large section of their book to an aspect of the liner's history which is often overlooked - the "early life," as it were. There are chapters covering the ship's design, building and (very successful) pre-war service as one of the jewels of the North Atlantic passenger trade. So the reader has lots of historical background material against which to consider the events and implications of the sinking. The book isn't just a re-hash of earlier books, although it often re-appraises earlier writers' research and conclusions.
There is a succinct account of the Board of Enquiry into the sinking, a cover-up attempt so blatant that even the chairman denounced it as "a damned dirty business" before resigning his position as Receiver of Wrecks.
After considering the probable cause of the sinking in which they re-evaluate previous theories and observations, the authors move on to the last phase - the Lusitania today, and in bringing their account right up to date, they have enjoyed the support and assistance of the Lusitania's present owner, Greg Bemis Jr., who has spent a great deal of time (and money) surveying the wreck.
When I unwrapped the book, I thought that the author's claim to be telling the whole "Lusitania Story" was rather an extravagant one but having read the book I think the title is justifiable, and that the authors do cover, in a very readable way, the whole story from beginning to end. Or at least, from beginning to the present day. The story of the Lusitania, I'm sure, hasn't finished yet.
The Lusitania Story
is published by:
Pen & Sword Books
Hard Covers
175 pages, illustrations
ISBN: 0-85052-902-6
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