Dead Wake is a non-fiction account of what happened to the Lusitania, the ocean liner sunk by a German u-boat that led to the the United States joining WWI. That was the extent of my knowledge about the topic prior to this book. I remember learning about the sinking of the Lusitania in high school but like most US history classes, we were racing through the 20th century at the end of the school year so it was a footnote, along with the Zimmerman Telegram […]
Timing is Everything
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania is another piece of historical non-fiction by Erik Larson, who brought us The Devil in the White City. It isn’t quite as gripping a read as its predecessor, but it’s definitely worth your time. Told from about four points of view (the German U-boat that sinks her, the passengers on the Lusitania and her captain, President Woodrow Wilson, and Room 40 of the British Intelligence Service), the book addresses the build-up to the US’s entrance into The Great […]
A Must Read if you live in, have been to, or are interested in Chicago
A little over a year ago I left the balmy southern United States for the snowy Midwest, Chicago suburbs to be specific, so, this book quickly climbed to the top of my “to read” pile. How could I live here and not tackle Larson’s fantastic telling of such a pivotal point in the city’s history? I knew I had made the correct choice when I found no less than seven copies at my local library. Definite move toward further acclimation to my new home, though […]
These are books you finish
The book club I started with my friends has been getting more and more official and we’re getting more input on books from people not me, which is wonderful. It’s also how I ended up reading In the Garden of Beasts because nonfiction has really just not been my particular kettle of fish. That fact remains, but I am glad I read it. William Dodd is a Depression-era university professor who would really just like a little more free time to work on his book. He […]