On May 7th, 1915 a passenger ship crossing the Atlantic sank with the loss of 1200 lives. On board were some world-famous figures, including multimillionaire Alfred Vanderbilt. But this wasn't theTitanicand there was no iceberg. The liner was theLusitaniaand it was torpedoed by a German U-boat.Wilful Murderis the hugely compelling story of the sinking of theLusitania. The first book to look at the events in their full historical context, it is also the first to place the human dimension at its heart. Using first-hand accounts of the tragedy Diana Preston brings the characters to life, recreating the splendour of the liner as it set sail and the horror of its final moments. Using British, American and German research material she answers many of the unanswered and controversial questions surrounding theLusitania: why didn't Cunard listen to warnings that the ship would be a target of the Germans? Was theLusitaniasacrificed to bring the Americans into the War? What was really in theLusitania's hold? Was she armed? Had Cunard's offices been infiltrated by German agents? And did the Kaiser's decision to cease unrestricted U-boat warfare in response to international outrage expressed after the sinking effectively change the outcome of the First World War?Highly readable, highly researchedWilful Murdercasts dramatic new light on one of the world's most famous maritime disasters.**Review�Very good. . . . Preston has done an extraordinary amount of work, particularly in tracing the memories of survivors.��Sunday Times�It is not easy, nowadays, to write an original book on the First World War . . . but Preston has succeeded.��Sunday TimesReview"Very good. . . . Preston has done an extraordinary amount of work, particularly in tracing the memories of survivors."-"Sunday Times""It is not easy, nowadays, to write an original book on the First World War . . . but Preston has succeeded."-"Sunday Times"�