Product Description

This is the first fully illustrated book about U-boats to combine first-class commissioned photographs and artwork with narrative eyewitness accounts by crewman so enabling the reader to acquire as accurate and redolent a picture of life in the U-boat arm as is possible within the covers of a book. The author, a well-known U-boat historian, has pieced together the technical details of the roles of individual crew members with extensive first-hand reports, many drawn from previously unpublished oral histories. These experiences - from cooks to engineers and from young recruits to battle-hardened commanders - build up into a powerful picture of life undersea. But the book is not just about the experience on the front line; U-boat men had a reputation for making the most of time spent ashore, between missions, and a vivid portrayal of life back at the home bases is also drawn. The book breaks new ground not just for the inclusion of new oral histories, but also for the presentation of the equipment and interiors of the U-boats using specially-commissioned new photography. There are an ever-increasing number of websites and forums dedicated to the U-boat war that are testament to the continuing fascination with this subject and this book is sure to satisfy a new generation of enthusiast looking for the very best in archival research and presentation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26305 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

About the Author
LAWRENCE PATERSON has a long-standing interest in the Kriegsmarine. For Greenhill and Chatham he has written Hitler's Grey Wolves (published 2004), U-boat War Patrol (2004; reprinted in a paperback edition in 2006), Weapons of Desperation (2006), and U-Baots in the Mediterranean (2007)

Customer Reviews

Gives the reader a greater understanding of the U Boat.
Lawrence Paterson has been writing about U Boats for many years with previous books being a detailed analysis of, for example, 1st U Boat Flotilla, 2nd U Boat Flotilla, U Boats in the Mediterranean and in the Indian Ocean and so forth. In this work, however, he writes not about the war - but about those who fought and died for their country inside U Boats.

There were two occasions during the 20th Century when the dreaded U Boat went to war - i.e. the wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. Whilst World War Two may be fresher in people's minds, the U Boat was recognised as a lethal weapon capable of making a decisive difference very early in World War One. With the United Kingdom being an island nation, the U Boat was able to hold that nation as a hostage were it ever allowed so to do.

As more and more of Europe gave way to German domination, the Battle of the Atlantic was to become a battle of wits between those on the surface and the captains and crews of individual U Boats. Those men, whose place of work was in a metal sweat-box below the surface of the sea, often fought heroic battles for which few were ever recognised. Their death rate was greater than in any other branch of the German forces. Quite often, their deaths went unrecorded with nobody knowing their last resting place.

This is the story of those men and their place of work. It is a large and fully illustrated book with many photographs people have not bothered to publish before. They include details of every aspect of U Boat life - from how the men washed to how they ate. What makes this book so good is the attention to detail.

On the one hand, there are photographs of different pennants and various emblems, cartoons of the day, the book by Gunther Prien, typical U Boat crockery, an enigma machine, wireless key, arctic underwear and uniforms. On the other, there are pictures of different U Boats at sea and detailed photographs of specific features from within a preserved U Boat which would help any reader identify a specific part of a U Boat's interior or engine.

With all that photography and illustration being expertly supported by an easy-to-read and informative text, what we have is a first rate book about the U Boat put together in a very different way - and different is good.

NM