I received a free copy of this e-book via the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for a review.

This might as well be called the Lusitania Encyclopedia. It is full of photographs that showcase the ship beautifully. The text of the book is richly detailed, and highly readable. This book helps to dispel many of the conspiracy theories that surround the circumstances of her sinking. The author does a brilliant job of showcasing the ship, starting with the design conception, construction, voyages, sinking and finally her legacy. This is a must for anyone interested in the ship, as well as fans of the great liners of the era. ( )

As far as content goes, this is probably the most thorough book ever written about LUSITANIA; incredible research went into this and it shows. I tip my hat at Mr. Layton's zeal for the ship; he no doubt loves her. There are many amazing photographs, many of which have never been published before....many just made my jaw drop. Too bad some are reproduced so poorly it's sometimes difficult to know what one is looking at. I guess what's really frustrating is that many of the photos I have seen have been crystal clear in other books (or on-line). This is not necessarily the fault of the author; many times an author is at the mercy of the publisher.

The size of and the font selected for the text makes it a difficult read; the book could have been half the size (making it less expensive) leaving room for the photos to be reproduced properly. There's also quite a bit of filler...there are many photos and graphics that have nothing to do with the ship (I don't like it when authors include photos of "how it might have looked on the LUSITANIA.") The wealth of information Mr. Layton provides simply doesn't call for it.

Overall, this is an excellent book, and is well worth having. ( )