Page 18 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - August '19

Page 18, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Book Review

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing precisely what is happening on field forces, including naval

Of The Lusitania that same day inside German fleets and submarines.
submarine U-20, the ship that
It was critical that word of
will, six days later, fatefully this ability to intercept and
By Nils A. Shapiro cross paths with the Lusitania decode such secret messages
There were two reasons off the Irish coast – information remain unknown by Germany.
why I was immediately he gathered from the daily This created a dilemma for the
attracted to this book when log kept by the vessel’s Capt. Admiralty. For example, when
I came across it on the Walther Schwieger. it became necessary to warn
shelf of a local library a Then, in alternating chapters, British ships about the presence
couple of weeks ago. we follow the two ships, day of U-Boats in areas which they
The first reason was one by day as they head toward the were about to enter, how could
word in the book’s subtitle: inevitable: Room 40 issue such a warning
Lusitania. Throughout “The Lusitania, called ‘the without the Germans becoming
my entire adult life, that Greyhound of the Seas,’ had suspicious?
word had been filed away broken all speed records for The British became creative
somewhere in my memory as a vague reference to ocean liners, had already made in resolving such problems,
the name of an ocean liner that had been sunk by a 201 Atlantic crossings, and but sometimes had to “bite
submarine. But that’s all I knew. Never in any high its Captain, William Thomas the bullet,” and run risks they
school nor college class did I learn much more about Turner, was the most seasoned would otherwise have preferred
that tragic historic event. of all in the Cunard Lines’ to avoid. One such decision by
Instead, thanks to two major Hollywood motion employ. On the morning of the the Admiralty was an instruction
pictures, the Titanic’s collision with an iceberg in 1912 Lusitania’s departure, New York for all ships, including private
is fixed in most Americans’ minds as history’s most newspapers reported a German boats, not to assist as escorts
horrible sea disaster. warning that all ships entering or in rescues when a sinking
In reality, the sinking of the Lusitania – known to British waters would run the risk of attack. Capt. Turner occurred, for fear that submarines might still be
be an innocent passenger liner – by a German U-Boat assured his passengers that (1) the Lusitania was more patrolling those same waters and would present a danger
submarine on the afternoon of Friday, May 7, 1915, than twice the speed of any submarine and could out- to the escorts and rescuers.
was far more consequential: the single most important run a U-Boat if necessary, and (2) upon entering British There remains one additional – and haunting –
factor in President Woodrow Wilson’s decision to end waters the Royal Navy would be sending Destroyers suspicion that has lingered for the more than 100 years
America’s position of neutrality and enter World War I to escort it to port in Liverpool. As a result, the word since the sinking of the Lusitania: Britain had been
against Germany. ‘submarine’ became a subject of humor for many hoping for almost two years that America would enter the
Consider the following, as related by author Erik passengers during the voyage, though not for all. war against Germany. As the author’s research shows,
Larson: “Of the Lusitania’s 1,959 passengers and crew, “The Unterseeboot-20 (U-20) was one of a growing Winston Churchill and his Admiralty leaders believed
only 764 survived; the total of deaths was 1,195. The fleet of submarines that was growing in importance as a that the loss of innocent American lives on a passenger
three German stowaways brought the total to 1,198. weapon in Germany’s military arsenal. At first assigned ocean liner would be the final blow to convince the
Of 33 infants aboard, only six survived. Over 600 to attacking only enemy warships, that policy gradually U.S. President. Was that the reason why Capt. Turner
passengers were never found. Among the dead were 123 shifted to include all vessels that entered British waters, failed to receive the messages he needed about the close
Americans.” in part because some ships changed their flags to those position of submarine U-20 ... and got no escort through
Despite what was universally condemned as an of neutral nations in an effort to avoid German attacks. the dangerous waters of the Irish Sea?
unwarranted attack against an unarmed civilian U-20’s Capt. Walther Schweiger was 32 years of age at Meanwhile, President Wilson – who had recently
passenger ship, it took almost two years after the event the time this story takes place, and had already made lost his beloved wife, Ellen – had finally come out of
for President Wilson to finally make his decision to a name for himself among the most successful in the mourning, thanks to his having fallen head over heels
bring the United States into the war! The entire story submarine fleet.” in love with the charming Edith Galt, and was wooing
of the Lusitania’s ill-fated voyage across the North But there are other, highly important and influential her with poetry, candlelight dinners and garden walks
Atlantic, from its departure on May 1 out of New characters in this story, as well, and what we learn about in an almost schoolboy-ish romantic courting until she
York City’s west side Hudson River dock toward its them will be surprising – perhaps even shocking – to finally accepted and they wed. With all that was going
intended Liverpool, England, destination is related in most readers. on in his personal life, did that distraction contribute
an incredibly detailed, day-by-day drama as gripping A number of chapters reveal the inner working of a to his taking almost two years after the sinking of the
as the most suspenseful mystery novel. The fact that top-secret operation that took place in England known as Lusitania for his decision to have America enter the war?
today we know the final outcome doesn’t matter at all, “Room 40.” Under the control of the Admiralty (whose Day by day, literally hour by hour – and despite the
because so much extraordinary research has gone into top gun was Winston Churchill), this was where the perhaps deliberate lack of warning and aid – Erik Larson
the writing of this book that you feel as if it is all new! British had broken the Germans’ wireless codes, and recreates a drama that could still have been averted but
And that is the second reason why I was attracted to were successfully intercepting all two-way messages for several fateful changes of fate, and decisions made in
this book when I came across it in the library: The name between the enemy’s military high command and its seconds and minutes, above and below the Atlantic waters.
of the author, Erik Larson, is a sure-fire guarantee of a
book that will be impossible to put down once begun.
Each of his previous works rocketed to the top of the
national bestseller lists. I had earlier read, and reviewed
in this column, two of his books. Devil in the White City, Palm Beach Beauty Salon
his revelation about the case of the serial killer who took
advantage of the celebration of the 1893 World’s Fair
in Chicago to lure his victims to their ends. Another of
his 10 history bestsellers, Thunderstruck, had me riveted
with the story of how the Italian, Guglielmo Marconi’s, 10%
new invention of the wireless was used to solve a crime
on the high seas. Once you get hooked on an Erik Larson
book, you want more.
His presentation in Dead Wake is brilliantly paced. A OFF
chapter about the day of the Lusitania’s departure from
New York, describing in remarkable detail the specific
activities of some of the interesting passengers – which Tues.
Larson has researched from surviving letters, diaries and
other documents – is followed by a chapter describing New clients only

Susan
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