Product Description

Accompanying the the BBC television series of the the same name, this work tells the story of Hitler's attempt to sever Britain's lifeline across the Atlantic. For Winston Churchill it was "the only thing that ever frightened me during the war". The book recounts the tale of the longest, most bitterly fought campaign of World War II. From 1939 until 1942, Hitler's U-Boats - his "grey wolves" - threatened to do what his air force couldn't - starve Britain into submission. The Allies lost a total of 15-million tons of shipping, and 40,000 sailors lost their lives during the five-year Battle of the Atlantic. Britain's imports - upon which it heavily relied - were halved during the war by the U-Boat threat, leading to enforced rationing and the introduction of the victory gardens. Gradually, the Allied losses began to decline largely due to the use of Radar - a system that could detect U-Boats on the surface of the oceans - and to the inaccuracy of the U-Boats torpedoes. Pulling on exclusive interviews with U-Boat crews, Andrew Williams draws a picture of the uncomfortable, claustrophobic and dangerous life on board the U-Boats - the "Iron Coffins" - and looks at the making of this elite "brotherhood" - 85 per cent of whom were killed. He also gathers interviews from the British and American navy to illustrate the story with numerous untold tales of enormous personal courage and horrific losses.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97392 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
This is a startling and at times harrowing study of just how close Britain came to defeat in the Second World War. Goering's Luftwaffe may have failed to break the people's spirit with their night-after-night blitzes, but Admiral Doenitz's U-boats came within an ace of starving the nation into submission. Details of the critical situation were kept from the British public during wartime, but afterwards Winston Churchill admitted that the battle for control of the north Atlantic had frightened him more than anything else throughout the entire conflict. This absorbing book - which accompanies a major BBC TV series - shows us how the Royal and merchant navies fell prey to the Atlantic U-boat menace over a period of more than three years both before and after America's entry into the war. During that time the Allies lost 15 million tons of shipping and 40,000 lives, plus a colossal amount of food and other essential supplies. Viewed in that context, this long but little-understood battle could truly be said to have had greater significance than the Dunkirk retreat or the aerial Battle of Britain. Drawing on first-hand testimony from both sides, Andrew Williams examines the terrifying journey faced by every convoy of supplies to set sail across the Atlantic. In the U-boats, the sailors were even more vulnerable as the Allies hit back. Life in the 'iron coffins' was claustrophobic and stressful. The average life span of a submariner could be measured in months. The photographs accompanying the text are among the most dramatic you will find from the Second World War. If ever razor-sharp conflict was captured on film, this is it. Williams's great skill is in allowing the protagonists to tell their own stories, which say far more than mere statistics ever could. As a reference book of the Second World War, this is essential reading. (Kirkus UK)

Customer Reviews

The Battle of the Atlantic
This book was an eye-opener for me. The background detail on the building and shaping of the U-boat arm was fascinating, demonstrating what a model of good leadership and strategy it was. I found the descriptions of the survivors very moving; the horror of floating in the middle of an ocean in a small lifeboat is something that had not occurred to me before. Apart from the human testimony (always interesting), the book is a gripping tale of desperation and triumph on both sides, which was hard to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot about a campaign which has had much less visibility than the land war.

Even better than the TV series
This is better than the TV series, which was itself very good. 'Battle of the Atlantic' covers the history and the evolution of technology and tactics used by both sides in the convoy war in the Atlantic. Personal accounts are used to add detail and realism but not at the expense of the wider picture. I particularly liked the inclusion of diagrams explaining convoy formations.

I had purchased this initially because it was very reasonably priced, with few expectations. To my delight it turned out to be very well written and entertaining. I have not read other books on the subject, but do read a lot of history books and I would be surprised to learn if any of the others were as good as this.

Truly a marvelous read.
This book is excellent. what more can I say. It tells the story of the Battle of the Atlantic by incomporating documentary evidence, personel accounts and great writing skill in a very compelling and readable account.