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Andrew Williams
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The Battle of the Atlantic Hardcover – Import, January 1, 2002

by ANDREW WILLIAMS (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 92 ratings
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Published to mark the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, and accompanying the television series of the same name, Andrew Williams has created a powerful testimony to the courage and tenacity displayed in this most relentless of struggles.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    BBC BOOKS
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2002
  5. ISBN-10
    056353429X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0563534297
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ BBC BOOKS; First Edition (January 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 056353429X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0563534297
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 92 ratings

About the author

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Andrew Williams

Andrew Williams

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Andrew worked as a senior producer on BBC Television's flagship current affairs programmes, Panorama and Newsnight, covering the major stories of the day. In 1997 he moved to BBC Documentaries and spent the next eleven years writing and directing television documentaries and drama documentaries for the BBC and international co-producers, including the award winning series, 'The Battle of the Atlantic'. He has written two best selling histories of the Second World War; 'The Battle of the Atlantic', and 'D-Day to Berlin'. His first novel, 'The Interrogator', was shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Thriller of the Year Award and the Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award, and it was the Daily Mail's debut thriller of 2009. His second, 'To Kill A Tsar', was one of the Daily Mail's thrillers of 2010 and was shortlisted for The Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the Ellis Peters Award. HIs 1960's espionage thriller, Witchfinder, was one of The Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year. Set inside the British intelligence services in the weeks following the defection of master spy, Kim Philby to the Soviet Union, it tells the story of an MI5 and CIA mole hunt that spirals dangerously out of control. Andrew's latest novel, The Prime Minister's Affair, is the story of a plot to blackmail a Labour Prime Minister and bring down the British Government. The Daily Mail described Andrew 'as one of Britain's most accomplished thriller writers', and the Times Literary Supplement noted that 'if le Carré needs a successor, Williams has all the equipment for the role.'

For background to his books and more on the author, visit: http://www.andrewwilliams.tv You can follow and discuss the books with Andrew on Facebook at AndrewWilliamsbooks or follow on twitter @AWilliamswriter.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
92 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ron L
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2017
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I bought this without realizing it was a knock-off from a TV series, and was prepared for disappointment when I found out. Surprise: It is well-written, with sufficient technical and historical detail to interest even those well-read on the subject, and you can add well-drawn characters to the positive side of the ledger. If not quite a page-turner, I found it hard to put down at times.
The battle was a long one and the advantage only later found the side to favor. Given German technical skills, it takes a careful explanation of the Nazi submarine command to show how and why the Germans gave up any chance of matching the Allied advances and how that finally turned the battle to the Allies.
Some detail is missing, the turf war required to deliver the Leigh lights to the patrolling aircraft for example. But given the book is less than 300 pages, that's quibbling.
Donitz's rise to No 2 Nazi is quite clearly explained and while Donitz does not come off as sympathetically as he is characterized elsewhere, Williams argues convincingly that he was the victim of 'victor's justice' at Nuremberg.
There are plenty of other books on the subject and the most comprehensive is probably "A World at Arms" (Weinberg), but none do the overview as will as this.
Highly recommended.
6 people found this helpful
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brandon d baur
4.0 out of 5 stars wreckage and war graves left by courage
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2014
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outstanding insight cost one cent with amazon,its even better than the public library and certainly not as crowded and no hastles just press a button.the uboat arm fleet is examined in detail, facts and figures are all avalible,very aggressive commanders netted out untold disaster and death on the high seas for six years,knights crosses dangling from their necks, hunt hunt hunt locate identify torpedos loss...the allies paid dearly ...captain lietenants average age was around twenty eight years crew were seventeen to twenty two yrs Davey jones locker is full of wreckage and war graves,recommended highly for naval students.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars If your interested in History
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2020
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Interesting and well written. Part of WWII the history buffs are well aware of and that everyone with interest in WWII should be aware of.
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Chet Houser
5.0 out of 5 stars Technology, strategy, secrets and tactics win the war in the Atlantic
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2016
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Amazing stories and behind the scene information that is only available now after years of secrecy.
How and why the German codes, Sonar, Radar and other technologies were acquired, misused and finally used correctly to help win the war is insightful.
One person found this helpful
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Troy Tempest
4.0 out of 5 stars A personal view of the U-Boat war (017)
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2007
This book by Andrew Williams is a great read for a number of reasons, the main one is his use of stories from both sides of the conflict. The reader gets to see how Admirals Karl Dönitz of the Kriegsmarine and Sir Max Horton of the Royal Navy engaged each others forces in this titanic duel for survival in the North Atlantic. More personal however, is the use of stories from survivors from both sides, including harrowing descriptions of life on board a U-boat during wartime. Some interesting photos accompany the very readable text.

A top read!
5 people found this helpful
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Charles Rudolph
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2016
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Pleased
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jAMES e. rEISENAUER
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2014
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As I expected.
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Top reviews from other countries

Pan Kleks
5.0 out of 5 stars It is an extremely well written and documented book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2015
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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.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars understanding the ups and downs...
Reviewed in Germany on August 6, 2013
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Battle of the Atlantic

Excellent and measured writing, that really gives a clear overview of the Atlantic war. There is praise where it is due, and the author does not judge... A difficult piece to write, but the clarity of the chapters helped me understand much better the various ups and downs of the Atlantic campaign of WW2 (no puns intended). An easy introduction for people simply interested in history, but one gets the sense that it is (and it clearly is) well-researched. Top marks.
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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 July 6, 2016
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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.
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Overseas Reviewer
5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than the TV series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 20, 2007
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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.
19 people found this helpful
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buyright,.
5.0 out of 5 stars a very good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2014
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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,
3 people found this helpful
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