Which are the 3 best Lusitania books

[Tarn Stephanos]

Which are the 3 best books detailing the story of the Lusitania ?

#1 in my view, is the 'Lusitania's Last Voyage' by Charles lauriet, 1915. As this was written by a survivor of the sinking, his book stands above the rest, as he was there.Was the Lauriet book the only Lusitania book ever to be written by a survivor?

# 2 was no doubt the 1907 Engineering special edition book dedicated to the construction of Lusitania, is a wealth of info in the photos and text presented within.

But for the third best Lusitania book, I cant decide if the Hoeling,Simpson or Butler books would be the best of the best. What do you all think?

regards

tarn Stephanos

 

[Tarn Stephanos]

How was "Seven Days to Disaster"? Thats one Lucy title i have yet to read...

regards

Tarn Stephanos

ps- Eric, i really liked the Lucy book you and Ken out out 10 years back- Is that still available?

 

[Brian Meister]

Tarn,

Interesting you should mention that title,
as it is in my top three. As a reseacher with
a definite affinity toward accounting for
people, I find the Hickey / Smith book to
be a good read, 2nd to Dolph and Mary Hoehling's
The Last Voyage of the Lusitania.
Like Eric, I am not sure that you could
limit the list to three as many of them deal
with a variety of goals in mind; tech vs people
for example.

 

[Zack Schwarz]

I do not have a top three list but I was wondering if anybody has heard anything on the new Lusitania book, The Lusitania Story. I will contain a complete passenger and crew list for the last voyage.

 

[Tarn Stephanos]

The Lauriet book was unusual, in that it seemed to have both the rough draft and the final draft of his tale, so its a tad redundant, but nonetheless excellent. The Lauriet account was reprinted in an issue of Titanic International's journal "Voyage" years back, but his account should be reissued in book form..

regards

Tarn Stephanos

ps- anyone read the novel Lusitania?

 

[Richard K. Mason]

Hello Tarn and all others;

I'm sorry to get to this poste so late but I had to respond to what I've read here. May I mention 3 books that might interest you and others regarding the "Lusitania"? The first "The Day They Sank The Lusitania" paperback form published in 1967, author; Donald Barr Chidsey. Contains breif but excellent account of the tragedy with great photos. Second; "The Liners" hard-cover form published in 1981, author Terry Allen. Has a short but conscise story as well as some extremely graphic pictures of the dead in their coffins. Third; "Raiders Of The Deep" published originally in 1929, re-printed in paperback form in 1964, author Lowell Thomas. No photos but has an excellent section dealing with the Lusitania including a description of the sinking in the actual words of the man who sank her, Kapitainleutnant Walter Schweiger. Good luck in finding any of these!

Regards,
Richard

 

[Michael Shetina]

Best in my opinion:
3) The Hickey / Smith Book
2) Bailey And Ryan Book
1) The Hoehling Book
Worst:
2) The Colin Simpson Book
1) Diana Prestons Book (Sad, because it had ANTR potential)

 

[Dave Gittins]

I've recently come on an extract from a book by David Butler, simply called Lusitania. It was published in 1982. Any comments on this one?

 

[Geoff Whitfield]

Dave, It's fact, interwoven with fiction and as such is a reasonable read.

Geoff

 

[Dave Gittins]

Thanks for that, Geoff. It sounds like it should only be read after reading more factual work.

 

[Matt Simons]

I only have one recommended book, and it's more about the aftermath and the secrets of the Lusitania it is The Lusitania Unravelling the Mysteries by Patrick O'Sullivan

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Matt, you should really try to get the Bailey and Ryan work if you can. It's every bit the gem that Eric Sauder says it is. I was lucky enough to find a copy for $20.00 at a used bookshop. I doubt you could even touch it for less then a couple hundred if you were to get it online.

 

[Matt Simons]

Great idea Michael, I'll see if I can find it.

 

[William Graham]

The three best books on the Lusitania is:

The Last Voyage of the Lusitania ( 1956, 1996 )
by A.A.Hoehling and Mary Hoehling
Lost At Sea ( 1984, 1999 ) by A.A.Hoehling
Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston