[Hybrid] Just the Facts: the Nonfiction Only Book Club - Dead Wake by Erik Larson

This month we will discuss:
Dead Wake: the Last Crossing of the Lusitania

by Erik Larson

On May 1, 1915, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were anxious. Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone, and for months, its U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era's great transatlantic "Greyhounds" and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. He knew, moreover, that his ship -- the fastest then in service -- could outrun any threat. Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger's U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small -- hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more -- all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history.

Please feel free to join us. We ask that you read at least 200 pages of the book if you wish to participate in the discussion.

New members are always welcome! All of our meetings are hybrid so you can join us in person at the Johnson Public Library or via Zoom. Email kathryn.cannarozzi@hackensack.bccls.org for Zoom information.

Questions? Contact Kate Cannarozzi, (201) 343-4169, kathryn.cannarozzi@hackensack.bccls.org