Customer Reviews

Escort: The Battle of the Atlantic (Classics of Naval Literature)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not a History book or a how to book, this is a mans autobiography.
You have to understand that firstly is was written in 1955, and so has no information on the latest revelations regarding the role of Ultra etc. It also appears to have written from memory - with no evidence of supporting documenation, consequently there are documentable errors with respect to Timiings and names etc. Nevertheless this is a legitimate addition to the history of the battle of the Atlantic - of ones man role in it as remembered a decade after the events by a man who spent 5 years continously in action and who suffered emotionally for it. If it is a little standoffish who are we to judge, had we experienced these things we may too want to be selective in whatt we record for posterity. For me this was an authentic memoir, worth reading, and a book that puts the documentaed history into a real personal perspective.

Interesting story of a yachtsman (sailor) who wanted to fight U-boats and joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. It's a real story, but not a dry historical account. I read the 1974 paperback version.

..... Sometime later followup - I'm now reading another of his - The Long Fight - I'm thinking the name is the same - and it turns out to be the same author. I google the name and find his bio - [...] - very interesting person.

..... Much later - I just read a very good book on convoy protection in corvettes - "Three Corvettes" by Monsarrat. These 2 authors have very similar backgrounds - yachtsmen become commanders and captains. Another excellent book of this type is Monserrat's "Three Corvettes". Three Corvettes

This is a nice book but I am not able to give it a blistering endorsement. For me, it was too shy on day-to-day descriptions of the work of an escort ship. I was hoping to better understand how they operated. Like many British veterans of WWII, Rayner is too close with the truly juicy bits. On the other hand, his is an interesting story, full of fun pieces of sea lore and wartime history. But the British standoffishness keeps the reader at bay a bit too much.