Normandie: I finally finished "The Last Voyage." I also read "The Lusitania's Last Voyage" by Charles E. Lauriat, Jr., (book seller and saloon passenger).
That was my very first
Lusitania book, and my first eBay purchase! I'm afraid to touch my copy. Where did you find yours?
Both of these were intense reads. The survivors' accounts of what they witnessed really impacted me emotionally. I can't imagine the horror and shock people faced at the onset of the torpedo blast and the short period of time (est. 20 minutes) they had left in which to die (1,197 victims). It is a shame the way the portholes were open thus allowing the water to flow in faster as well as the way some people improperly fastened their life belts. Also, some life boats failed (I don't know how many) because they couldn't break them free from the davits quickly enough with some of the boats therefore crashing into the ocean while capsizing (even breaking) and casting their passengers into the water.
I was just telling my friends about this at coffee last week: how the severe list prevented the launching of almost all of the lifeboats, and how many people put their life belts on incorrectly, thus forcing their heads toward the water.
The Last Voyage took me a while to read. I would say that I really began reading intently about 3/4s through and toward the end. I just couldn't put the book down from that point forward. The survivor accounts absorbed my complete attention.
I'm so happy to hear this! It is a truly absorbing, and sad, tale. I'll have to re-read this again soon.
ADDTIONALLY: I watched the Naudet Brothers 9/11 documentary. That was hard to watch. Unbelievably, they were there filming before and after the event occurred. Each of the brothers almost died when the buildings collapsed. I forced myself to watch. It was hard.
So, I did my homework as assigned (suggested) by my amazing instructor, Ms. Normandie. Thank you for guiding me to the movie and the book.
I agree; this was really tough to watch. The Naudet brothers were the only ones who captured footage of the first plane to strike the WTC. It's amazing to watch on the video—you can hear the noise of the plane being so low, which was strange, and then—boom!—that one brother holding the camera lifted it to the sky just in time to capture the horrific event.
What have I learned from this? Well, maybe I'll reveal that in another post ... maybe.
I'd love to hear more. If you are interested in learning more about the
Lusitania, check out Eric Sauder's books and TV interviews. I just saw him on a documentary a few weeks ago. He's such a great person; he's even dived on the wreck—and the submersible got tangled in fishing nets! Fortunately the operator was able to maneuver the submersible free. Eric is so smart, and a genuinely kind person. His brother Bill is brilliant as well, and also very kind, and is a
Titanic expert. He was a consultant on the Cameron film.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.