Book Pick: Dead Wake, by Erik Larson

Let's hope author Erik Larson lives to a hundred and keeps writing nonfiction books like his most recent 'Dead Wake' right up till the end. Subtitled 'The Last Crossing of the Lusitania', it chronicles the sinking of the Lusitania by German sub U-20, May 7, 1915, which created inexorable tension between Germany and the US, culminating in US's declaration of war twenty-three months later, sealing Germany's WWI doom.

Larson hooked me on his meticulous research and mesmerizing narrative style couple years back with 'The Devil in the White City', which interwove the 1893 Colombian Exposition with HH Holmes 'murder castle' at 63rd on Wallace in Chicago's Englewood community. He continued that spell with 'In the Garden of Beasts', telling the tale of University of Chicago history prof William Dodd, coerced by FDR to be first US Ambassador to Nazi Germany. Now comes 'Dead Wake' which again weaves related narratives to the main event, the Lusitania sinking; including President Wilson's difficulty dealing with the catastrophe due to being besotted with his love interest Edith Boling, resisting his entreaties to become the second Mrs. Wilson. Up pops Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, who quite likely allowed the Lusitania's torpedoing to prod Wilson to save England's bacon by joining the European slaughter. Churchill and his warmongering buddies were so callous and cynical, they covered up their evil deed by blaming the entire sinking on hapless captain William Turner who was provided neither the proper intelligence Churchill's Admiralty had, nor the destroyer convoy which would have certainly spooked U-20's attack.

Even though 'Dead Wake' doesn't quite measure up to the first two Larson histories, it's a terrific tale, great history, and lesson on the all pervading evil of war on all sides. Don't know what Larson's researching now, but whatever it is, I'm in.