Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson, 418 pages

Erik Larson writes narrative nonfiction.  That means he does a good job of making history interesting.

The Lusitania was a British passenger ship that was torpedoed and sunk off the Irish coast in May 1915.  In my vague knowledge of World War I, I thought that the sinking of the Lusitania prompted the United States to declare war on Germany.  It didn't.  The United States didn't enter the war until April 1917.

This is a story of the ocean liner, its passengers and crew, its final voyage, its sinking and the aftermath.  It is also a story of what was happening politically in the United States, Britain and Germany in front of and behind the scenes from 1915 to 1917.

This is a great book for anyone interested in history, intrigue or a good story.