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I wanted to love this book as much as I did Erik Larson's others. But I found it harder to get through, with only the last quarter really capturing my interest. I had hoped he would offer some conclusions about the controversy around the sinking of the Lusitania (did the British intentionally leave the ship unprotected so it would get torpedoed, bringing the US into the war? What caused the second explosion?) but I don't feel like I know any more than I did before reading this book.
As with all of Larson's books, I found the subject matter so fascinating, I couldn't believe I didn't know this story already. Even the footnotes are worth reading.
I withheld disbelief as long as I could, and enjoyed most of the book, but the ending felt rushed and totally improbable. I wanted to like it more than I did.
My only criticisms are of 1) the love story with the museum librarian within the first 50 pages and 2) the big paternity reveal after a car crash. Both would have been perfect for a daytime soap-opera but were beneath the rest of this beautifully researched and written novel.
