Athenia Torpedoed

Just hours after World War II was declared, Germany struck its first blow, firing without warning on the passenger liner Athenia . The British ship was loaded with Americans, Canadians, and Europeans attempting to cross the Atlantic before the outbreak of war. As the ship sank, 1,306 were rescued but 112 people were lost, including thirty Americans. This account of the disaster, based on new research, tells a dramatic story of tragedy and triumph, as historian Francis Carroll chronicles the surv