This book was written to accompany the BBC television series of the same title. As might be expected from a TV series, it contains a good many anecdotes from people who were involved in the campaign, both British and German, and is a balanced account of their experiences.
Williams also describes the tactics and training of the two sides, especially the ineffective tactics of the escorts at the beginning of the war and the very effective tactics which were developed later, aided by significant advances in technology such as radar and High-Frequency Direction-Finding. He contrasts the over-simple organisation by which Donitz ran the U-boats with the highly developed Western Approaches Command run by Admirals Noble and Horton.
The book concentrates entirely on the Atlantic U-boat campaign; very little is said about German surface warships and merchant raiders, or about the Arctic convoys or U-boats in the Mediterranean and elsewhere.
The book is a good read and gives a satisfactory overview of this campaign, the longest of the war, lasting from 3 September 1939 to VE Day, and the one that Britain had to win or be reduced to starvation and to be forced into making peace with Germany.
The paperback edition is made from Forest Stewardship Council certified paper, which is laudable, but the reproduction of photographs on this paper is pretty awful; hence only four stars.


Flip to back
Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
OK
The Battle Of The Atlantic Paperback – 1 May 2003
by
Andrew Williams
(Author)
Andrew Williams
(Author)
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
|
See all formats and editions
Hide other formats and editions
Amazon Price
|
New from | Used from |
Paperback
"Please retry"
|
$7.77
|
$7.77 | — |
FREE delivery:
Monday, 26 April
on first order.
Fastest delivery:
Thursday, 22 April
Order within 3 hrs and 33 mins
Order within 3 hrs and 33 mins
Enhance your purchase
Save on selected Bestselling Children's books.
Includes Bluey, Peter Rabbit, Spot, Peppa Pig, Roald Dahl and more. Click to explore.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
- Atlantic Nightmare: The longest continuous military campaign in World War IIPaperback
- The Battle Of The Atlantic: The Allies' Submarine Fight Against Hitler's Gray Wolves Of The SeaPaperback
- The Battle of the Atlantic: How the Allies Won the WarBroadcaster Writer and Filmmaker Jonathan DimblebyHardcover
- The Battle of the Atlantic: September 1939 - May 1943: 01Paperback
- Battle of the AtlanticMARC MILNERPaperback
Start reading The Battle Of The Atlantic on your Kindle in under a minute.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
AUDIBLE FREE TRIAL
Includes your first audiobook free, a bonus book selected by our editors, unlimited access to exclusive podcasts and more. $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime. Learn more >
Product details
- Publisher : BBC EBURY; 1st edition (1 May 2003)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0563488638
- ISBN-13 : 978-0563488637
- Dimensions : 12.6 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 484,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Product description
Review
Excellent ― Sunday Express
Book Description
'...an excellent book.' Sunday Express
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
54 global ratings
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Top reviews from other countries

Mr. J. Hastings
4.0 out of 5 stars
it contains a good many anecdotes from people who were involved in the ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 July 2016Verified Purchase
Report abuse

Pan Kleks
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is an extremely well written and documented book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2015Verified Purchase
I can't really remember how i came across this book, but when I started to read it, i just could not put it down!
It tells the story of one of the longest and most bitter campaigns of WW2. The story of German Admiral Karl Dönitz, his U-Boat arm and his quest to starve fighting United Kingdom into submission. It follows all the main facts chronologically from the sinking of the SS Athenia right till the end of the campaign, focusing mainly on the U-boats operations.
What Andrew Williams perfectly does, is finding the balance between personal stories and larger picture. Thanks to that, we can look at quite a few facts from different perspective, as he tries to tell the story "as it was", not taking any side. He criticises, when deserved, all parties. Not only Dönitz but also the King and Churchill.
It can be an eye-opener for many people. It is an extremely well written and documented book. It is a book I would recommend to anyone interested in the battle of Atlantic, battle to keep UK fighting.
It tells the story of one of the longest and most bitter campaigns of WW2. The story of German Admiral Karl Dönitz, his U-Boat arm and his quest to starve fighting United Kingdom into submission. It follows all the main facts chronologically from the sinking of the SS Athenia right till the end of the campaign, focusing mainly on the U-boats operations.
What Andrew Williams perfectly does, is finding the balance between personal stories and larger picture. Thanks to that, we can look at quite a few facts from different perspective, as he tries to tell the story "as it was", not taking any side. He criticises, when deserved, all parties. Not only Dönitz but also the King and Churchill.
It can be an eye-opener for many people. It is an extremely well written and documented book. It is a book I would recommend to anyone interested in the battle of Atlantic, battle to keep UK fighting.

buyright,.
5.0 out of 5 stars
a very good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 April 2014Verified Purchase
Having seen and read other peoples comments on this book based on true stories of the second world war, I wasn't disappointed and I found it very gripping reading of what the sailors and seamen had to go through as well as all the dangers of sailing in ships with little or no protection ,in running the gauntlet bringing food and supplies to England and to which
to which these brave seamen put their lives on the line bringing food and materials to Britain,
and sadly many of these brave seamen never survived to see the end on the second world war.
this book is a real insight to seamen and sailors ,and of conditions and dangers that they faced on a daily basis, at that time,
to which these brave seamen put their lives on the line bringing food and materials to Britain,
and sadly many of these brave seamen never survived to see the end on the second world war.
this book is a real insight to seamen and sailors ,and of conditions and dangers that they faced on a daily basis, at that time,
2 people found this helpful
Report abuse

Miquel
4.0 out of 5 stars
Read this book for a good overview of the battle agaisnt the u-boats
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 May 2013Verified Purchase
I had read plenty of books about WW2 but little about the war at sea, so I picked up this book. I think this was a good choice because it provides a great overview of the battle of the Atlantic, during the first half of the war. The war at sea is often overlooked but it is actually the closest Germany came to winning in the West before America entered the war. Most of the book focuses on u-boat operations, as this was the most strategically important part of the war at sea. The book is well documented but, at the same time, the non-expert reader won't get lost in technicalities. Highly readable and good personal descriptions of the key commanders that fought this battle.

weltonian
4.0 out of 5 stars
A grim but fascinating document of wartime
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2016Verified Purchase
There is not a page of this book that is other than fascinating. Providing the reader with vivid testimony of those who fought this terrible battle, At a time when the Nazi high command demanded utter ruthlessness in dealing with the survivors of torpedoed vessels, it is reassuring to read of acts of humanity by some U-boat commanders - sometimes to the point of disobeying orders. Once started the book is hard to put aside.