For German U-Boats hunting Allied ships in the treacherous waters of the Atlantic, no target was as prized as the Leviathan, which carried more than ten thousand doughboys per crossing. But the Germans were not the only deadly force threatening the ship and its passengers. In 1918, a devastating influenza pandemic—the Spanish flu—spread throughout the globe, predominantly striking healthy young adults, including many soldiers.

Peter Hernon tells the ship’s story across multiple voyages and through the experiences of a diverse cast of participants, including the ship’s captain, Henry Bryan; General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force; Congressman Royal Johnson, who voted against the war but enlisted once the resolution passed; Freddie Stowers, a young black South Carolinian whose heroism was ignored because of his race; Irvin Cobb, a star war reporter for the Saturday Evening Post; and Elizabeth Weaver, an army nurse who saw the war’s horrors firsthand; as well as a host of famous supporting characters, including a young Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Humphrey Bogart.

Thoroughly researched, dramatic, and fast-paced, The Great Rescue is a unique look at the Great War and the lives it touched.