![]() One could argue now that knowledge is useless without action. Britain is busy spying on Germany, and has cracked the code to their military messages, but they cannot reveal their knowledge for fear of losing what they’ve gained. The book also details the political climate of the year 1915 in great detail. ![]() A combination of circumstances, of good and bad luck, of last minute decisions, propels U-20 and the Lusitania on the course that will lead to disaster. In fact, the author has done such a tremendous job of research in this masterful piece of nonfiction that the story becomes almost surreal. U-boats had but seven torpedoes, and were instructed to maintain two for their journey back to the Fatherland. One turned back toward a U-boat, its trajectory suddenly a circle. As often as targets were struck, torpedoes missed. And Larson makes clear that the submarines of World War I were barely more than metal cans with engines. Larson tells us a lot about Schwieger, a demon to us, but a war hero to Germany. Walther Schwieger, commander of U-20, who torpedoes the passenger liner. Turner will later be blamed by the British Admiralty for the loss of the Lusitania, though the fault lay in numerous hands, chiefly that of Kptlt. William Turner, a man who has guided many ships and survives two shipwrecks. He tells about the strong character of Capt. ![]() ![]() Larson begins with a history of World War I, starting in New York, as nearly 2,000 passengers and crew members prepare to board the ship for a crossing to England. ![]()
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