It is now a century since the Lusitania sank. For seven and a half years after her maiden voyage, she crossed the rugged North Atlantic with punctuality and dependability. She had fast become a living legend, the ship of choice for many of the transatlantic travelers. Since her sinking on May 7, 1915, however, her wondrous career and technological marvels have largely been neglected. Instead, the focus has shifted to her political importance, and on numerous conspiracy theories about her last voyage and sinking. This illustrated biography of the Lusitania discusses her entire story, from her conception and birth on the Clyde to her career and, finally, her tragic demise off the coast of Ireland; it reveals her as she has never been seen before. Prepare to take a journey back in time… step aboard the decks of one of the world s largest, finest, fastest and most beloved ocean liners, and relive her history in all its splendor. Today the Lusitania is remembered mostly for her tragic sinking on May 7, 1915, and the political ramifications of that disaster. That sinking, however, was merely the startling and grim finale to an incredibly eventful life, the death of one legend and the beginning of another. This book relives the entire life of the Lusitania, from her beginnings to her demise; it is an unprecedented biography of the great ship and the people who sailed on her. From the ship s technical design features to the greatest events in her career, her story is told in both words and pictures. Hundreds of photographs and illustrations, breathtaking new artwork, and all-new plans of the ship reveal the liner as never before.