Customer Reviews

Das Boot / the Boat (German Edition)

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Lother-Guenther Buchheim has provided us with a unique insight into an aspect of the Second World War that has been highly misrepresented in the modern "Hollywood" film industry. Disasters such as U-571 have unfortunately reached our screens, and as such, cloud our perspective as to how the Battle of the Atlantic was truly fought by men on both sides. The Germans are *always* the brutal bunglers given nothing but bad press, well, read this book and that view goes out the window along with the rest of the trash! These are ordinary men, from various backgrounds, called upon by their nation to serve in a time of war. As sailors in arguably the most dangerous naval profession (of the 40,000 servicemen who entered the U-Boat Arm, 30,000 became casualties) they are more than worthy of such a deep, thought-provoking appraisal. One cannot avoid sympathising with the crew as they toil through hostile waters on a hazardous voyage.

The book is technically a novel, but it is by no means a work of fiction. The author served as a naval war correspondant to the Kriegsmarine in the war, and this book is his recollection and interpretation of his own experiences. Although the characters are fictional, the experiences described are not.

I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in military history, especially if you wish to experience the war as the "other side" saw it. In effect, no different to ourselves.

Das Boot is a must-read for anyone remotely interested in sub warfare, WWII, or--most importantly--the psychological impact of war on men. With meticulous detail and great pacing, Buchheim does a superb job transporting you to one of Dönitz's "iron coffins," where life was cramped, dirty, fearful, and usually very short. Be sure to check out the acclaimed film adaptation, too; it's one of the very best war movies.

(Note: I read this book in the original German, so I can't comment on this particular translation.)

As others have noted, the book's author Lothar-Gunther Bucheim served on a U-Boat in World War II as a naval correspondent, and he notes in his introduction that while the characters in the book are fictional, all of the events that happen are based in reality. As such, he is able to describe what it was like to actually serve on a submarine in World War II ... the long periods of sheer boredom, the close quarters, squalid living conditions, personality conflicts, and fleeting periods of excitement and sheer terror ... much better than either an actual sub commander's memoirs or a work of pure fiction written by someone who didn't really serve on a submarine. He is able to give the real flavor of U-Boat service as part of a coherent, entertaining story. That is not meant as any disrespect or lessening of historical appreciation to any of the wonderful memoir's written by submariners on all sides, but as a work of fiction, Herr Bucheim is able to focus on just one cruise and provide a true feel for what it was like to be there, from the common seaman to the commander.

While Das Boot is a terrific book, that's not to say that I don't find a a few nits. Set in fall of 1941, the characters seem to be much more cynical and war-weary at that point in time, in my opinion, than would seem warranted. In 1941, it still appeared that the Nazi's might win World War II, although perhaps not at sea. The tone seems more appropriate for 1943 or later, when the Allies had taken full measure of the U-boat threat and began sinking them in such quantities that Admiral Doenitz was forced to pull them from the Atlantic for a period of time. Also, while the book intentionally mirrors the pace of the submariner's life while on patrol, the boredom, and in another instance, exposure to a month-long Atlantic storm, go on for too many pages.

However, the nits are just that ... minor nits, and in the whole, I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in what it was like to live as the hunter ... and hunted ... on a submarine.

Buchheim has an illustrative style which in other writers can be very tiresome - but somehow in this book it serves to highlight the extreme psychological stress of life on a WW2 U-boat - the claustrophobia, helplessness under fire, the total reliance on the split-second judgements of one man, the 30 year old commander they call 'The Old Man'. The only recourse for an individual trapped in this hell is to withdraw into an internal reality in which past events, opportunities taken and opportunities missed are examined in the same minute detail as the internal features of the boat, and the colours and textures of the waves and the clouds on the rare excursions to the tower. The only thing which goes unexamined is the future: best not to think beyond the immediate, in a world where life can be snatched away in an instant. The real shock of this book is that it is first hand documentary written by one of the few that got away.

`Das Boot` (German, 1973) portrays a German U-Boat during the second half of 1941 at the height of the campaign; by 1943 U-Boats would cease to be a serious threat to Allied shipping. The crew is shown in more humanistic rather than propagandist terms, the German Captain is ambivalent about the Nazi's and Hitler, the only thing the crew thinks about repeatedly are whores and sex. Bad smells, soiled clothing, wild facial hair, mold and claustrophobia are central actors. The juxtaposition of old whores and ships being blown up is effective, the banal vulgar details make the fighting scenes all the more real, and frightening. The ending is unfortunately melodramatic, but it's satisfying in a 19th century literary way. Buchheim wanted an anti-war novel that didn't glorify or mystify the German military, and from that perspective the ending makes sense, in the same way All Quite on the Western Front ends.

Since Buchheim actually served on a U-Boat during WWII, the novels verisimilitude is striking, many consider it to be the most authentic submarine novel ever written. This was re-enforced by the 1981 film version, which showed the technology of a U-Boat with great accuracy, although Buchheim criticized the Hollywood plot and hysterical acting as being overdone and cliche. He saw the film as "another re-glorification and re-mystification" of German heroism and nationalism. If you've seen the film, read the novel for a more sober and realistic look.

I remember when the movie was first released, at the time I was a movie projectionist who had become a tad jaded by movies in general. This story forced me to reconsider the sterotypes that Hollywood has traditionally forced upon us, ie the evil Hun versus the heroic Commander, RN or USN. I had to find the book at that point and was impressed despite what I believed to be a choppy writing style; however, 20 years and hundreds of books later I now recognize it more for its content and uniqueness. The ability of the author to show the weariness and jaded outlook of the crew and still portray the naivity of the younger members is priceless. My only wish is that I someday I'll be able to obtain this in hardback to add to my collection. If you are interested in maritime, if you are open minded to enjoy other points of view then you should read this classic about the men of the U-boats.

If being in a war can be described as 98% sheer boredom and 2% sheer terror, than this novel can be said to be an accurate description of that. Indeed, it is a complete and thorough examination of life on a German U-Boat mission during World War II. While it is mostly compelling, there are long stretches when not a whole lot is going on--just as it was in reality, no doubt--and although the author makes a valiant effort to keep things interesting, these passages tend to drag a bit.

The story is narrated and told in the first person by the war correspondent/author of the tale, so there is very much a sense of immediacy to this. The first thing which strikes one is how unpleasant life on a submarine was. The food, after the first few weeks, was horrible. There was very little space and no privacy with everyone jammed together. Some of the men even had to share bunks. (When one is on duty, the other used it, and vice versa.) To climb out of his own bunk, the narrator usually had to ask the person seated below him to move. Just about every meal was interrupted by the necessity of having to get up when someone wanted to pass. The air was clammy and stale with the reek of unwashed humans in close quarters.

Although this is informative, it goes on for the first hundred and eighty pages or so and worse, the author exacerbates the problem by putting things in which don't add anything and slow it down even further. So we get to hear the men's jokes and stories. We get to hear the author's lengthy descriptions of the ever changing look of the sea and sky. We get to hear about the working of the submarine: its engine, the flotation tanks, the torpedoes, etc. While much of this is mildly interesting, to put it bluntly, the guy is no Melville. The reader will find himself getting antsy for something to happen.

It does. The submarine gets hit by a storm that lasts for about a month. This is pretty good as to the drastic effect it has on the men's lives, getting pitched about constantly and incapable of getting any sleep unless the sub is underwater, which it can only be for a couple of hours at a time. The men turn into a bunch of scarecrow zombies. Again, it is informative, and again, one's interest begins to peter out well before the storm does.

The most intense aspect of the novel, of course, is the battle scenes which begin shortly after the storm ends and last off and on to the end of the novel. Although they torpedo a few ships, these battle scenes mostly have to do with their trying to get away. Life on the submarine alone has frayed the men's nerves almost to the breaking point. Enduring hour after hour of bombardment from above from relentless, sonar-equipped destroyers pushes many of them beyond their limit. The author describes the wailing and sobbing he hears in the darkened boat, and he himself remains frozen in fear as the crashing, pounding, roaring explosions occur seemingly right outside of their submarine. It is a mesmerizing and terrifying account, and continues right through to the hopeless ending.

But that's about as far as it goes. Except for the stoic captain, there really isn't much in the way of interesting character development, and the writing style, while certainly adequate, rarely rises above the pedestrian. It's a solid war novel, no more, no less.

Das Boot is one amazing book. From the grudges, toils, and rough world of sailors, Herr Buchheim has produced a novel with gut wrentching action and detailed sorrow. From the pre-cast off bar room orgies of saliors, to the maddening world of depth charge bombing, Das Boot will send you on one heck of a ride. The novel is able to capture the emotions of its reader and fully allow them to expreience the druggering perform by the U-Boat men of WW2. This book is written in a personal memoir style and will not appeal to all people. However, if one is intersted about reading the battle of the atlantic by the saliors who fought in it, then this is your book. Undoubly one of the best written descriptions of warfare that I have ever read.

Based on actual experience as a naval war reporter on a U-boat in World War II, this novel is an excellent portrayal of the mind-numbing claustrophobic boredom mixed in with a few moments of sheer terror, where everyone is almost entirely helpless as the Captain tries to maneuver the boat to survival. I felt like I was along for the ride. Though the author clearly survived the voyage, I was still nonetheless sold that the submarine would surely be destroyed; the men must have felt the situation hopeless and yet somehow they survived. Lucky me for finding this, which is outside of my usual circle.

I was interested on reading this book after watching the directors cut movie of the book. I always find it interesting to read the book that the movie wasa made from and see what was left out, as I did with The Hunt For Red October. I am always interested in reading true stories or watching movies about true events from WW II. I grew up after the war and have been very interested in what actually happened. What better way to do that but to read a book about an actual event.