From Publishers Weekly
Made famous by a postwar Hollywood movie and Johnny Horton's song, the destruction of the feared German WWII warship involved the Royal Navy as well as clandestine American air and sea support. Canadian authors Bercuson, who has penned more than 30 books, and Herwig, who edits a book series titled Naval Policy and War, have teamed up to present a new look at the short-lived cruise of the German battleship in May 1941. Many previous books provide painstaking blow-by-blow accounts of the action; the authors here examine recently opened diplomatic flies from England and America that provide some fresh new data concerning the supposedly neutral American involvement in the hunt for the Bismarck. American planes spotted the German ship after she sank the Hood, and, although some of the evidence is circumstantial, the authors make a compelling claim that American Coast Guard vessels also assisted the overworked Royal Navy. Included in this book are concise, analytical biographies of the major officers from both sides, brief histories of the major naval vessels involved and cutting analysis of the crucial command decisions that sealed the Bismarck's fate. Students of WWII naval warfare will find this compelling reading, as will those interested in FDR's policy toward the belligerents. 21 illustrations and 3 maps not seen by PW.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The lack of a long naval tradition, Hitler's weak naval strategic outlook, Swedish espionage, FDR's close cooperation with Churchill even before Lend-Lease, and the official entry of America into World War II all combined to make the first cruise of the German battleship Bismarck a disaster. This hour-by-hour narrative by historians Bercuson (The Oxford Dictionary of Canadian Military History) and Herwig (coauthor, with Bercuson, of Deadly Seas) will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The authors have done good research and avoid the hyperbole often associated with descriptions of the Bismarck's sinking in 1941. Brief biographies of British and German naval leaders help us understand their philosophies of naval warfare. The Bismarck's brief encounter with the Royal Navy cemented Hitler's distaste for a surface war and helped eliminate the German surface fleet as a major player in World War II. A definite purchase for libraries seeking to update their naval collections, this volume also serves to update the two previous standard works on the Bismarck: William Shirer's Sinking of the Bismarck (o.p.) and C.S. Forester's The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck (1959). Richard Nowicki, formerly with Emerson Vocational High Sch. Buffalo, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
