Bestselling author Erik Larson garners rave reviews for his upcoming book 'Dead Wake'

'Wake' centers on the sinking of the British ship the Lusitania in 1915. The book will be released on March 10.

'Dead Wake' is by Erik Larson.

March 3, 2015

Bestselling author Erik Larson’s new book will come out later this month, and it’s already garnering many positive reviews.

Larson is the author of such bestsellers as “The Devil in the White City,” which explored the creation of the 1893 World’s Fair and a murderer who was operating at the time, and “In the Garden of Beasts,” which told the story of American ambassador William E. Dodd and his and his family’s time living in Nazi Germany.

His new book, “Dead Wake,” is being released on March 10 and tells the story of the Lusitania, the British ship that was sunk by a German U-Boat. More than a thousand passengers were killed. 

Howard University hoped to make history. Now it’s ready for a different role.

Both the Monitor and Amazon have named “Wake” as one of the best books of March, with Amazon editorial director Sara Nelson saying of the book, “You know where it's going, [but] he makes you care about the situation.” 

Other publications have received the book positively as well, with Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal both giving “Wake” starred reviews. “Larson once again demonstrates his expert researching skills and writing abilities,” KR wrote. “An intriguing, entirely engrossing investigation into a legendary disaster.” Meanwhile, Library Journal’s Stephanie Sendaula wrote of Larson, “He vividly illustrates how these foreboding factors led to terror, tragedy, and ultimately the Great War. Once again, Larson transforms a complex event into a thrilling human interest story. This suspenseful account will entice readers of military and maritime history along with lovers of popular history.” 

And Publishers Weekly called the book “a narrative as smooth as the titular passenger liner … riveting…. He expertly builds tension up to the final encounter…. Larson convincingly constructs his case for what happened and why, and by the end, we care about the individual passengers we’ve come to know – a blunt reminder that war is, at its most basic, a matter of life and death.”