Presents an account of the sinking of the luxury liner "Lusitania" on May 7, 1915 by a German torpedo, examines events that led to the attack that claimed the lives of some twelve hundred people, and looks at how the sinking affected the course of World War I.

Prologue --Part 1. Troubled waters -- A scrap of paper -- The weapon of the weaker nation -- More beautiful than Solomon's temple -- Gott strafe England! -- The American armory -- part 2. Final crossing -- The warning -- Leaving harbor -- The ostrich club -- Fellow passengers -- Inside the U-20 -- "The miraculous draught of fishes" -- Into the war zone -- "Suppose they should sink the Lusitania?" -- part 3. An ocean red with blood -- "My God, we are lost" -- "Come at once!" -- A bizarre orchestra of death -- Wave upon wave -- A long lingering moan -- Rescues and recoveries -- The town of the dead -- A Sad and horrible task -- part 4. "Remember the Lusitania!" -- The Hun's most ghastly crime -- Fool or traitor? -- No longer neutral spectators -- German agents are everywhere -- The Kaiser's business only -- "That story is forever disposed of" -- Diving into the wreck -- part 5. Willful murder? -- A legitimate target? -- Harm's way -- Anglo-Saxon attitudes -- The U-boat diary -- A new barbarism -- Epilogue -- Appendix A. The Lusitania in facts and figures -- Appendix B. A. technical account of the sinking -- Acknowledgments -- Notes and sources -- Bibliography -- Art credits -- Index.