Exploring the Lusitania: Probing the Mysteries of the Sinking That Changed History

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 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 show more 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

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 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 show more 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 thought this book was wonderful: well organized and spectacularly illustrated.

The first 140 or so pages provide an overview of the history of Lusitania and her sinking. It is certainly not the kind of detailed historical account I found in Diana Preston's marvelous volume, but it appeared accurate and reasonably complete. And the photographs were marvelous! It is chock full of historical photographs of both the exterior and interior of the great liner -- including seldom-seen images of the spartan 3rd-class (or "third cabin") accommodations. We also see samples of menus and Cunard Line promotional literature of the time.

About 50 pages are devoted to Ballard's expedition to the remains of Lusitania where she lies off the Irish coast, show more and his own hypothesis (a reasonable one, I think) about the source of the "second explosion" after the torpedo hit and the reason the ship sank so quickly. The photographs (which include a trifold of the entire wreck, backed with a trifold diagram of the ship as she was) are stunning. I was also impressed by attempts to make the images understandable to the average viewer; they are presented, in most cases, with diagrams of the ship indicating what portion we are seeing and photos of those itiems/sections as they were in the liner's heyday.

Highly recommended! show less

I guess that's the book I read. Large format picture book that focuses on history of the Lusitania episode as well as the discovery and investigation of the wreck. The book I read was called Robert Ballard's Lusitania, but had the same author. History was more interesting than the exploration of the wreck in this case.

I found this used after reading "Dead Wake" and noting it in Larson's bibliography. It is a nice pictorial companion to that book. The Goodreads database says there is no hardcover version of this book, but that is what I have.

Robert Ballard's underwater exploration of the Lusitania. Full story, great pictures, and good illustrations.

Excellent photos including the historic ones.