The Lusitania: The Life, Loss, and Legacy of an Ocean Legend [Hardcover]

Daniel Allen Butler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

8-page photo section 6 x 9 Unravels the mystery of the tragic event that drew the U.S. into World War I Provides rare first-person accounts from survivors of the disaster The sinking of the Lusitania has long been perceived as the reason the United States went to war in 1917. But according to Daniel Allen Butler, author of Unsinkable, the story is much more complex. Butler makes extensive use of primary accounts, letting the participants tell their stories in their own words. More than simply chronicling the events leading up the sinking, The Lusitania follows the rescue and fate of the people aboard her; recounts the inquiry after the sinking, led by none other than Lord Mersey of the Titanic inquiry fame; and explains why and how the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-20 set the tone for the twentieth century's interpretation of "total war." Daniel Allen Butler, the son of a former merchant marine seaman, is the author of Unsinkable: The Full Story of RMS Titanic (0-8117-1814-X). He currently resides in in Atlantic Beach, Florida.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811709892
• ISBN-13: 978-0811709897
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,920,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a good history lesson, August 5, 2001

By 

M. H. Bayliss "book queen" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lusitania: The Life, Loss, and Legacy of an Ocean Legend (Hardcover)

A note to readers -- the first half of this book is more of a chronicle of WW I than an account of the Lusitania. If you're just a disaster buff, you'll probably like the Titanic stories better than this. The author explains in his final note that he deliberately focused on the historical context and meaning of this event rather than the minutia of the sinking itself (as he does in his Titanic book). I personally enjoyed the WWI refresher. There are still many unanswered questions about the ship's death -- did Churchill deliberately let it be struck to draw the US into battle? We may never know. The author does a nice job of putting this event in context. The sinking chapters are shorter than you'd think (heck, the ship went down in 18 minutes) but there is a lot of juicy background stuff here.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lusitania, May 30, 2004

By 

Jeff Miller "TruthWILLout" (Rancho Cucamonga, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lusitania (Mass Market Paperback)

After putting the sinking of the Lusitania into historical context, author David Butler delineates in harrowing detail the ship's final moments, recreating for the reader a mind's eye image of what must have ocurred aboard ship during this pivotal event in world history. His description of the minute by minute efforts of the passengers to survive (the ship sank in only 18 minutes!) his 85 pages of sinking description mark a high point in this type of writing. You'll never need to read another account of a ship's sinking after "witnessing" this one! It just couldn't have been written better. A masterful job on all counts, the author is to be commended not only on his attention to the details of historical perspective, but as well to his understanding of human emotions brought to the very brink of existence. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best book on lusitania, June 9, 2008

By 

S. D. Simmons "s.d. simmons" (charleston ,s.c.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lusitania: The Life, Loss, and Legacy of an Ocean Legend (Hardcover)

this is the best book on lusitania book.this book is more than telling you about what lead up to the sinken but following rescue and fate of the people aboard her that tragic trip.