Spencer Dunmore

This book has a curious similarity to the Bible. Apparently everyone owns it. That doesn't mean they've read it.

The cover of my copy proudly proclaims it a National Bestseller. It is good to see a history sell well, and especially good to see a history involving supreme loyalty and tragic loss be successful. But getting through it was, for me, an incredible chore. The problem is, this is basically a chronicle -- "On such and such date, thus-and-so units of 6 Group flew to somewhere, dropped show more some bombs, suffered some losses. Here's a human interest story about one of those losses. And so and so won a medal."

Repeat about 600 times, and you have this book. There are a few pages describing the broader objectives, describing the aircraft, discussing the obsessive mindset of "Bomber" Harris, but mostly, it's the story of the raids. After enough of that, it really got hard to tell them apart, even if you ignore all the casualties (most of them civilian) caused by those bombs.

The flip side is, if there are tales of hundreds of raids, there are probably thousands of accounts of individual heroism and suffering. Perhaps, if you are a relative of one of those who fought and died, the book becomes more personal and more meaningful. I am not a Canadian; perhaps it makes all the difference. But if you, like me, lack a personal connection to this book, you may find it very hard going.

Which, when you think about it, is what most of those bomber crews -- so few of whom came back -- experienced also. show less

This is certainly a very thorough account of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. It was an interesting read, especially for all of the colourful anecdotes from the students. Boys will be boys, and of course there are stories of mock dogfights, flying low to impress the ladies, and all the various mishaps that can occur with student pilots trying to command falling-apart learner aircraft. However, it's one of those books where a little goes a long way if you weren't actively show more involved in this sort of thing or have only a casual/superficial interest in aviation. Recommended more for the serious military buffs than for the neophytes. show less

This book provides solid background, historical and personal, and puts to rest the conspiracy theories associated with the torpedoing and sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. There were ample warnings that the ship would be the target of German subs on its return journey to England, all of which were ignored.

Ballard sets out to prove that three essential elements were involved. One, German warfare changed the rules of traditional warfare, the Captain refused to accept that possibility and show more ignored all warnings and procedural changes, and the torpedo struck a technical weakness in the ship.

Prior to this event, all nations were expected to avoid striking non-combatants, such as unarmed ships. The Captain made decisions based more upon the comfort of his ship's elite than upon wartime realities--zigzagging would be too unsettling and time consuming and speed, one of the ship's greatest assets, was less important than reaching port at the right time. Finally, no one allowed for the accumulation of coal dust in her nearly empty bunkers, which would combine with oxygen and a spark when the torpedo ripped into the hull. show less

I borrowed this book from the library because I'd just finished listening to Erik Larson's Dead Wake, and reviewing the print copy of that book, and was disappointed to find only one illustration of this famous ship. I didn't know much about the Lusitania itself and wanted to learn more.

The book does not disappoint. It is full of period photographs and illustrations of the ship (and related materials, such as postcards, ads, and menus), and the aftermath of its sinking, as well as people on show more the ship. There are also maps and diagrams to help the reader understand the layout of the ship, its final journey (and the journey of the German submarine that sunk it).

Robert Ballard is best known as the man who explored the sunken Titanic, and there are a number of pages in the last quarter of the book devoted to his expedition to the Lusitania wreck in 1993. This narrative and the accompanying photographs are also extremely interesting, especially the "then and now" comparison photographs of parts of the ship from 1904 to 1915 with the sunken part in 1993. Ballard's theory that coal dust in empty bins ignited and caused the second, post-torpedo explosion (not any contraband or a boiler or a conspiracy) that ultimately sunk the ship.

The book ends with a chronology of the ship, acknowledgments and photo/illustration credits, a bibliography, and an index. Definitely recommended to anyone who wants to learn more about the Lusitania, whose sinking ultimately led to the United States entry into World War I.

© Amanda Pape - 2015

[This book was borrowed from and returned to the local public library. This review also appears on Bookin' It.] show less