4 books, just receive them yestedray, begin with Unbroken:

Unbroken the story of a submarine by alastar Mars,
No higher honor saving the USS Samuel B Roberts in the Persian gulf by Bradley Peniston,
The death of the USS Thresher by norman Polmar,
Topedo by Jeff Edwards.

I just started C.S. Forrester's Hornblower series after completing O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. I think I've become addicted to that genre now.

I also have a copy of Torpedo Junction by Homer Hickam, jr. that a friend gave me. I'm a bit burned out on non-fiction right now, but it looks like a good book.

"U-Boat Killer" - by Capt. Donald Macintyre :up:


"A classic of naval warfare, this is a royal Navy destroyer Captain's personal account of his experiences in the Second World War in the battle against the German U-boats as they attacked the Allied convoys in the harsh conditions of the North Atlantic.

In four unrelenting years Captain Macintyre fought a dozen convoys through the 'wolf packs', captured Germany's greatest U-boat commander and killed naother famous ace in one single savage night, to survive the war as the royal Navy's ace U-boat killer credited with seven U-boats destroyed."

from the book's jacket cover

"Shattered Sword, the untold Story of the Battle of Midway"

I am not even half through it but it is an amazing book which features incredible detail, even pilot rosters. It corrects many myths about this battle by trying to give an insight into japanese leader's psychology. Highly recommended ...

http://www.shatteredswordbook.com/

I just started "The Submarine" by Parrish. I picked it up last summer knowing that I'd want some submarine books for the late autumn. I'm a bit skeptical because one book seems a bit stretched to cover the history of military submarines from before the 20th century through both world wars and the cold war; also it's got a blurb on the back by one of the authors of "Red Star Rogue" which I read and hated.

I recently read "On Dangerous Ground" by Larry Bond which despite some flaws (not the least of which is the title) loved it. Easily one of the best (and few really good) submarine technothrillers I've seen in the past decade. It's not an epic "Red October" style book. It's a small story but one that really makes clear just what sort of day-to-day complications make up the life of those serving in subs.

I'm re-reading Silent Victory by Clay Blair. After reading the first 100 pages, it still amazes me that we survived. It was a good thing that the Japanese did not understand/respect submarines.

Just finishing up "Battles With the Luftwaffe" by Theo Boiten and Martin Bowman. Very informative, covered the strategic air campaign from 42-45. Alot of good pictures, most I have never seen before. Gets kind of repetitive, mostly tells where missions were flown too, who got what kills by bomber and/or fighter. Covers the evolution of the campaign. Overall I give it an OK.

Currently in the middle of J E Macdonnell's Find And Destroy which has an interesting juxtaposition between a U-Boat in the Atlantic and a British submarine in the Med.

Anyone else read any J E Macdonnell? for the uninitiated he's one of Australia's most prolific writers on fictional WWII naval encounters. They are usually short novellas and only take a day to read if you have the time.

Have started to read Shadow Divers.:up: Cant seem to put it down:hmm:

Finished Monsarrat At Sea. Great book. It's a collection of short stories and novellas written over a great period of time.

H.M. Corvette: The initial groundword for what would become The Cruel Sea. Monsarrat was a sub-lieutenant on a corvette he calls HMS Flower (he had to use fictional names, it being wartime and all). He relates many stories and anecdotes, and it's obvious to a reader of The Cruel Sea that several of his characters have experiences which in real life were Monsarrat's own. Though the character Lockhart is based on his own background, sub-lieutenant Ferraby gets one of the writer's real experiences: not knowing the correct command for taking in the stern lines, he gets help from the rating responsible for that job; all he has to do is give a general order to "take in the lines" and the enlisted rating does the rest for him. Again, when his is on his first night watch he starts to feel his power as the man actually in charge, and gives a course change order just to see what happens. The first lieutenant calls out "What the hell's going on up there?" Monsarrat answers that he saw a log in the water and changed course to avoid it, thus earning a dirty look from the lookout, who certainly would have shouted out had there been an actual log.

East Coast Corvette: Unlike his characters, who stay together for the war, Monsarrat was transferred to the British east coast when he was made first lieutenant. he relates many stories of dealing with attacks by German bombers and "e-boats" (Schnellboote).
Corvette Command: Monsarrat gains command of his own ship. Since the east coast had quited down by 1944 he spends a lot of time talking about the loneliness of command; the captain is not part of the officers' wardroom, he is just a guest there. There is no one he can turn to for advice; he must work everything out for himself. He does relate one story about leaving a convoy to escort two ships into Hull. When racing to regain the convoy, they keep looking for "bouy number 25", but can't find it anywhere. As they approach the convoy, they can see the light from the bouy blinking on and off, but they can't seem to get any closer. Finally they discover the truth: one of the merchants ran over the bouy, severed its chain and is now towing bouy number 25 behind it. The chain finally fouled the merchant's propellor, and they had to call for a tug to tow the hapless merchant and a trawler to escort it to the nearest harbor.

I Was There: A delightful short story about three men delivering a yacht to its new owner. They are forced to anchor off Dunkirk for the night, and spend their time telling personal stories of the deeds done during the 1940 evacuation.

HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour...: Another fiction concerning a sloop which is torpedoed, losing half the crew instantly. It's an hour-by-hour account of the captain deciding whether to abandon ship or try to get her back to port.

It Was Cruel: A new account of Monsarrat's wartime experiences, written in 1970, so he can finally name the corvette he served on: HMS Campanula. He includes more anecdotes, and finally reveals that his first captain was regular Naval Reserve and didn't like the 'Volunteer' reserves, and never hesitated to say so. No love lost there. He relates two similar experiences: one time he feels sorry for a German Condor pilot who flies 500 miles each way to drop one bomb a mile-and-a-half from the convoy. "What does he report when he gets home?" He then tells how much he hates it when there is an attack on Liverpool and one stray bomber has one bomb left and manages to use it to sink a merchant just as they're entering port at the end of the voyage.

The Ship That Died Of Shame: One last fictional story about a Fairmile-type gunboat HMS MGB 1087. The story basically takes place in 1950, when the down-and-out former skipper is reunited with the boat and his former first lieutenant, who gets him involved in questionable smuggling operations. He knows that a ship is just steel and wood, and in no way like a woman, but the more illegal the jobs get, the more things seem to go wrong with the boat.

All-in-all, Monsarrat At Sea is a fascinating read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes the sea, naval history or naval fiction.


I am currently starting The Eyes Of The Fleet: A Popular History Of Frigates And Frigate Captains, 1793-1815, by Anthony Price.

I just picked up some books from a second hand book seller (it was a antique shop as well so that kept my fiance busy!)

The last voyage of the Scharnhorst - descibes the last sortie of the ship from both points of view

The lone wolf- voyage of the Emden - A history of one of the most successful surface raiders of WW1 and what happened to the crew afterwards (the shore party got away while HMAS Sydney sank the Emden, they made it back to Germany, which was an adventure in itself!)

3 time life books about WW2

Prelude to war

The Italian Campain

Battle of the Adlantic

Plus one other

Lemon! : History of the cars that failed - has cars like the Edsel, Leyland P76 (pretty much any car produced by Leyand in the 60's and 70's), others that should never have been allowed on the road, Lada's Niki

Can't read about subs all the time.

I'm currently reading Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. After that I'll probably start on re-reading George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series to refresh my memory before A Dance with Dragons comes out.

If you are into fantasy even the slightest bit or even medieval europe, you owe it to yourself to check out Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, it's outstanding.

I've just finished Eyes Of The Fleet, and am starting another history from the age of sail: USS Essex and the Birth of the American Navy, by Frances Diane Robotti and James Vescovi. It has some very entertaining stories about the construction of an early frigate and the people who built and served in her.

The Battle of Kursk
By Glantz

This has too be the best book on this battle for me, two thirds into it and enjoying it.

Good book. Currently I'm reading Twilight of the U-boat. It reads more like a story book with facts interjected. Not bad.

Just started Convoy by Dudley Pope. Not a bad read all up so far. Really strange photo on the cover of one of the US battleships being sunk in Pearl Harbour, considering it is a British book about a RN Leiutenant trying to work out how to stop Uboats attacking from within the middle of convoys!

After only two days I finished USS Essex and the Birth of the American Navy. It's a nice little book, telling the complete story from its launch to its capture by the British in 1813. USS Essex was the first American warship to enter the Pacific Ocean, and also participated in actions against the Tripoli pirates. It's a fun little book, and fills in quite a few answers I didn't know about the period before.

I've started another classic, The Caine Mutiny. More to come soon.

I just picked up Das Boot from the library, a bit tattered but otherwise in good nick....not bad for 20p ;)

So...no need to guess what I'm reading now :up:

The Caine Mutiny, by Herman Wouk: not a review, but a book report.

If anyone is familiar with the movie they'll know the story: in the middle of the Second World War an old WWI 'four piper' destroyer now converted to a mine sweeper is shackled with a captain who is slowly losing his grip on reality. The crew suffers under his strange behaviour as best they can. Then comes a situation so desparate that the XO feels he must sieze control of the ship. The Caine is saved, and the XO finds himself facing a court-martial, and the charge is mutiny. If he is found guilty, he might hang. The trial is the highlight of the story, and it is all seen through the eyes of a young ensign, who is facing possible accessory charges himself.

The Caine Mutiny and The Cruel Sea:
Having recently read The Cruel Sea, I couldn't help but notice remarkable similarities between the two books. Both Authors served during the war, Nicholas Monsarrat in Corvettes and Herman Wouk in Destroyer-Minesweepers. Both books were published the same year, 1951. There are similarities in their experiences, and those show up in the books. Both stories start with young officers arriving on board; both feature wonderful descriptions of life at sea in small ships; both feature good men and detestable ones and both have scenes of the men coping with life ashore while their ships are in safe ports for refit. Both authors also put pieces of themselves into more than one character; Keefer, like Wouk, is a budding author; Keith is the new boy on the block and Greenwald, like Wouk, is Jewish, which has a bearing on the story.

Both books also partly hinge on the dislike of Regular and Volunteer officers for each other.

The Caine Mutiny-book and movie:
The book is a fantastic read; the old phrase "I couldn't put it down" is apt. It seems overlong at some points; reviewers of the movie complained that it would have been better without the long romance between the ensign and his girl, and the relationship with his mother. This is easier to take in the book, because it sets up his emotional state and frames the main story in seeming real life. In the movie it seems to get in the way, rather than help. There are many more scenes in the book of Commander Queeg's slow breakdown, and it flows more naturally. When it comes to the actual trial, there is a lot more in the book, making the movie seem a little choppy. That said, Queeg is certainly one of Humphrey Bogart's finest roles, and it's well worth seeing. The book also has a lot more on Ensign Keith's training days, leading up to his assignment to the Caine. The movie leaves a lot of this out, as movies must. The book also contains a bit of anti-semitism: The lawyer, Barney Greenwald, is Jewish, and reflects some of Wouk's feelings about his perception of his treatment while in the navy.

The end of the movie is far different from the book. In both, when Keith first comes aboard he is appalled by what he considers to be a slovenly ship run by a slovenly captain, and he is glad when the the very martial Queeg first comes aboard. By the end of the movie Keith is glad to be reunited with Commander de Vriess, realizing that he is a good example of a captain who understands his men and knows how to get the best out of them. In the book this never happens. Instead, Keefer, the unlikable man who started it all, ends up being the Caine's new skipper. He gets a commupance, finding out that he and Queeg are not so different after all. Probably the saddest figure is the XO, Lieutenant Maryk, who decides to make the navy his life, only to have that destroyed after the court-martial; even though he is aquitted he'll never have a real career as an officer.

In spite of some flaws, this is one of the best books I've ever read. I've been a fan of the movie for years; now I have to see it again just so I can make a better comparison.

Just got "Clear the Bridge" by Dick O'Kane - the story of U.S.S Tang's war against Japan. I read it years ago, but only got a copy from ebay, I had bought the book in August but it took a sceinic trip on the way to Australia!