This non-fiction book follows the fateful trip of the ocean liner Lusitania, which was sunk by a German torpedo just off the coast of Ireland in May, 1915. En route from New York to Liverpool, the ship was one day away from its destination, passing through a channel well- known for German submarines, but the ship's captain was led to believe the ship would be safely escorted, and it wasn't. In Britain a highly secret de-coding agency called Room 40, knew of the danger, but for whatever reason- probably thinking a shipwreck like this would hasten America's joining the Allied Forces- the Lusitania sailed, fully ignorant of the danger ahead.
The book relates the voyage, the passengers' various stories, the trip and the commander of the U-20, the German submarine, plus a detailed description of the sinking.
This was a very absorbing read, almost like a novel. I'm glad I read it- it offers a completely different vantage point of the Great War, and America's involvement, not to mention the British duplicity, especially Winston Churchill, who was First Lord of Room 40.
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