Pursuit (Cassell Military Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Ludovic Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cassell Military Paperbacks | Publication Date: April 30, 2001

In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck headed out into the North Atlantic to raid Allied shipping. She was accompanied by the Prinz Eugen and her pursuit was an epic of naval warfare. Found and shadowed by British cruisers, she was engaged by the Hood and the Prince of Wales. Within minutes, she had sunk the Hood, pride of the Royal Navy, and damaged the latter. The next few days were agonising for both sides. The Bismarck was attacked by Swordfish of the Fleet Air Arm, lost then relocated, attacked once more and disabled. Now there was no choice for the pride of the Kriegsmarine but to run for safety and the French port of Brest. But then the battleships Rodney and King George V caught up with her.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ludovic Kennedy is a noted historian and the writer of numerous works.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Cassell Military (April 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304355267
• ISBN-13: 978-0304355266
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,087,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've ever read, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pursuit: The Chase and Sinking of the Bismarck (Hardcover)

The best book I've ever read. The ONLY book I've ever read about the sinking of the Bismarck. It's about a dark time in the early years of World War II. It's about the German superbattleship Bismarck. Its captain flouted naval tradition by referring to the ship as "He" instead of "She." The Bismarck was on its way to France, and then out into the Atlantic shipping lanes, where, if successful, she was to destroy Allied shipping. Fortunately, the British had gotten word of this, and sent the ships of the Home Fleet, including the battlecruiser HMS Hood, and the carrier Victorious, after her. The Hood was the first and last victim of the Bismarck. She was soon sunk by a combination of British cruisers and carriers. The famous Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber, the only biplane torpedo bomber in the war, attacked the Bismarck and sank her.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True history based on actual interviews, February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pursuit (Paperback)

In this book the author searches for actual survivors of the real event. Based on these interviews the reader is given a true picture of the chase and sinking of the Bismark. It even provides a very grizzly picture of what took place as the ship itself was being sunk. I am a friend of the American pilot who first spotted the Bismark and began the real chase. Knowing one of the characters in the book certainly made it more interesting to me. However, anyone intersted in world war II history should put this book on their must read list.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Standard Book on the Topic, August 27, 2010

By 

William Pilon (Roswell, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pursuit (Cassell Military Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Kennedy was a Sub-Lt aboard HMS Tartar one of the destroyers chasing Bismarck. His book is the best one I've come across on the topic. It is a fairly comprehensive history of the Bismarck and a very balanced account of her first and only operational mission. The book is well-written, and seems to make extensive use of both British and German sources. All in all, the best book I know of on the topic. Highly recommended.