LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
November 2015 Non-Fiction Book of the Month.
World War Two - we are an island, don't produce enough food, enough raw materials, armaments or men to fight - Britain's unique vulnarability. It led to The Battle of the Atlantic, fighting back against the German planes, U-boats and battle ships. What a desperate fight it was and how well Jonathan Dimbleby illuminates the confusion, the losses and the resistance to the superior German forces. He gives us the course of the battle(s), the strategies and plans – or lack of them but what I found most humbling was the human story he brings us, the sacrifice and bravery of the ordinary seamen, the sheer terror of being bombed and shipwrecked, lost in the vast ocean, prey to the enemy and to the cold. ~ Sue Baker
Like for Like Reading
The Cruel Sea (Novel), Nicholas Monsarrat
Citizen Sailors: The Royal Navy in the Second World War, Glyn Prysor
Sue Baker
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| Primary Genre |
History
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About
The Battle of the Atlantic How the Allies Won the War Synopsis
With a gripping tale that transforms our understanding of the Second World War, The Battle of the Atlantic was - though often overlooked - crucial to victory in the Second World War. If the German U-boats had prevailed, the maritime artery across the Atlantic would have been severed. Mass hunger would have consumed Britain, and the Allied armies would have been prevented from joining in the invasion of Europe. There would have been no D-Day. Through fascinating contemporary diaries and letters, from the leaders and from the sailors on all sides, Jonathan Dimbleby creates a thrilling narrative that uniquely places the campaign in the context of the entire Second World War. Challenging conventional wisdom on the use of intelligence and on Churchill's bombing campaign, The Battle of the Atlantic tells the epic story of the decisions that led to victory, and the horror and humanity of life on those perilous seas.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780241186602 |
| Publication date: |
22nd October 2015 |
| Author: |
Jonathan Dimbleby |
| Publisher: |
Viking an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Primary Genre |
History
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Press Reviews
Jonathan Dimbleby Press Reviews
'Winston Churchill famously described the Battle of the Atlantic as 'a war of groping and drowning, a war of ambuscade and stratagem, a war of science and seamanship and no book depicts all of those myriad aspects better than Jonathan Dimbleby's majestic overview. His judgments can sometimes be harsh and are bound to be controversial, but they are backed up with wide reading, diligent scholarship and cogent argument. This is a truly gripping account of a campaign that the author rightly puts epicentral to the Allied victory in the Second World War.' Andrew Roberts, author of 'Masters and Commanders'
'Jonathan Dimbleby's second volume on the Second World War is even better than its predecessor. The Battle of the Atlantic is a gripping account of the Allies' hard-won victory at sea. Dimbley has delivered a masterful narrative that challenges many of the received views about this often overlooked conflict that foretold the defeat of Nazism.' -- Amanda Foreman
'A gripping read and a great contribution to the history of the Second World War. The author realizes his immense ambition of bringing out the human aspects of the drama at every level, from the heads of state to the crews in the Atlantic, while also bringing important nuances to received views on the struggle against the U-boats, and, indeed, on Churchill's war leadership. An epic account.' Peter Padfield, author of 'War Beneath the Sea: Submarine Conflict 1939-1945', and biographies of Donitz, Himmler and Hess
'The epic Battle of the Atlantic can only really be understood when set against the strategic context of the time. This highly engaging history does this by combining gripping accounts of the tactics and operational fortunes of the Germans and the Allies in this bitterest of battles with an authoritative review of the strategic thinking that helps explain their motives and their responses at the highest national level, and that shows why victory was so important for both sides.' Professor Geoff Till, author of 'The Development of British Naval Thinking
Author
About Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby is a writer, broadcaster and film-maker. He presents Any Questions? for BBC Radio 4 and presented ITV's flagship weekly political programme, This Week, for over ten years. In 2008 his five-part series on Russia was broadcast by BBC 2, accompanied by his book, Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and Its People; other books include Charles: The Private Man, the Public Face and The Last Governor, and the highly acclaimed Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein. He lives in Devon.
Author photo © Antonio Olmos
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