Customer Reviews

Grey Wolf: U-Boat Crewman of World War II (Warrior)

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I paid close to $[...] for this book. There are half a dozen better works for a lot cheaper price and that is why I gave this book only two stars. Does it have good information, yes. Is there much information on a general topic, no. You do not get any interviews with surviving U-boat personnel. You don't get many pictures of the U-boats or crews.

I did like reading about the training of the crew members. Also, all German NCOs (non-commissioned officers) went through infantry leadership. That I didn't know and when the book is done it makes sense, it's a leadership thing. Also, I liked the fact that book describes the demographic make up of the German enlisted sailors; they were mostly working class German Lutherans who were mostly not Nazis. Indeed, Hitler lamented that his navy was very Christian and that may have been one of the reasons he lost WWII; they were not mean enough for the job. Contrast this to the American submarines who were absolutely ruthless in the last two years of WWII and - basically - exterminated the merchant marine of Japan.

So, this book does have good information. However, there are lots of plain "history" magazines that have as much information at a fraction of the cost. If you want a great story of a U-boat commander in WWII then read the largely factual "Iron Coffins".

I give this book 2 stars. It's fairly good but not worth the cost.