A round-up of the latest BOOKS
THE CRUEL SEA
BY NICHOLAS MONSARATT
OK, nothing to do with sailing but an awful lot to do with the sea. This is a book that focuses on the vicious Battle of the Atlantic during WWII when the British Navy desperately tried to keep the supply line between the US and the UK open in the face of a sustained and savage attack by the German ‘Wolf Pack’ of U Boats. To this end, large convoys of slow moving merchantmen were escorted across the Atlantic by the Royal Navy with predictably awful results. The book is fiction but it clearly draws heavily on Montserrat’s own experiences serving as Sub Lieutenant and eventually Lieutenant Commander on various corvettes and Frigates during this epic running battle. As such, the book has the very clear tang of authenticity which makes it both gripping and horrifying in equal measure. This is certainly not a book for the faint hearted and Monsarrat pulls no punches in portraying the war at sea for what it was; savage, remorseless and relentless. The book also conveys with great accuracy the extent to which Britain and its allies were caught on the
