RMS Lusitania: It Wasn't and It Didn't

Book excerpt: Within hours of the sinking of RMS Lusitania by a German submarine off the Cork coast in May 1915, a narrative was created which over time became the accepted truth of the incident. Many people today still believe the sinking of the Lusitania was a savage attack on an innocent vessel that brought America into the war. In this book, author and historian Michael Martin raises a series of disturbing questions that challenge this longheld perspective. Examining a raft of old and new evidence suggesting a more sinister function of RMS Lusitania, this book explores the widespread use of civilian vessels within the war effort; it shines a light on the operational response of the Royal Navy in the immediate aftermath of the incident; and it looks at the nature of the response of the United States at this crucial juncture. And, above all, this book questions the narrative that has grown up around one of the most pivotal junctures in the war to end all wars.