Wilful Murder: The Sinking of the Lusitania

Wilful Murder: The Sinking of the Lusitania

by Diana Preston (Author)

Synopsis

On May 7th, 1915 a passenger ship crossing the Atlantic sank with the loss of 1200 lives. On board were some world-famous figures, including multimillionaire Alfred Vanderbilt. But this wasn't the Titanic and there was no iceberg. The liner was the Lusitania and it was torpedoed by a German U-boat. "Wilful Murder" is the story of the sinking of the Lusitania. The book looks at the events in their full historical context, while placing the human dimension at its heart. Using first-hand accounts of the tragedy the author brings the characters to life, recreating the splendour of the liner as it set sail and the horror of its final moments. Using British, American and German research material, Diana Preston aims to answer many of the unanswered and controversial questions surrounding the Lusitania: why didn't Cunard listen to warnings that the ship would be a target of the Germans? Was the Lusitania sacrificed to bring the Americans into the War? What was really in the Lusitania's hold? Was she armed? Had Cunard's offices been infiltrated by German agents? And did the Kaiser's decision to cease unrestricted U-boat warfare in response to international outrage expressed after the sinking effectively change the outcome of the World War I?

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 608
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Corgi
Published: 02 Jun 2003

ISBN 10: 0552998869
ISBN 13: 9780552998864
Book Overview: Diana Preston's other work includes The Road to Culloden Moor: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the '45 Rebellion , A First Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole and The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China's War on Foreigners that Shook the World in the Summer of 1900 .

Media Reviews
Very good. . . . Preston has done an extraordinary amount of work, particularly in tracing the memories of survivors. - Sunday Times It is not easy, nowadays, to write an original book on the First World War . . . but Preston has succeeded. - Sunday Times
Author Bio
Diana Preston is an Oxford-trained historian, writer, and broadcaster who lives in London. She is the author of The Road to Culloden Moor: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the '45 Rebellion; A First Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole and The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China's War on Foreigners that Shook the World in the Summer of 1900.