John Protasio

“Bring[s] home the horrors of life-and-death scenarios at sea . . . ties the sinking of the Lusitania to America’s entry into the First World War” (Sea History).

Unlike the loss of the Titanic several years earlier, which could be attributed to nature, the destruction of the passenger-liner Lusitania came at the hands of a German U-boat, one of many which infested the Atlantic at the time, seeking destruction. Many questions, however, rage to this day. Was the liner armed? Did she carry contraband munitions in a secret effort to aid the Allies? Did the Germans set out from the start to sink this ship? Was the Lusitania deliberately allowed to sink by the supposedly protective Royal Navy in order to draw the United States into the war?

This book answers these and other questions surrounding this emotionally charged sinking. It traces the story from the time of the vessel’s construction to her demise, while providing a real-time look at the chaos on board once German torpedoes had shattered the ship. And what of the U-boat commander, who may either have made the greatest mistake in history or had just been performing his duty? This account deals with the diplomatic repercussions of the sinking, while also examining the human side of the story.

John Protasio, author of three previous books on maritime disasters, has here provided an expert account and analysis of the sinking that swayed a nation—in fact, the world—into a new era, as the United States finally found that it could no longer hide behind its oceans and instead felt compelled to assert itself as a global power.

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