Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II [Hardcover]

Otto Giese (Author), James E. Wise (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994

The war diary of former German naval officer Otto Giese recounts a seafaring career of extraordinary scope. It begins with the dawn of World War II, while the author is a junior officer on board the ocean liner SS Columbus, and continues through his confinement in a British prisoner-of-war camp after the war. This book showcases more than one hundred high-quality photographs taken by Giese throughout his wartime service to present a unique historical overview Interspersed among tales of hardship and loss are colorful, anecdotes that relay the camaraderie surrounding plots to escape detention at Angel Island the unlikely processing of German seamen at Ellis Island, and Giese's experiences policing guerrilla warfare in the Malayan jungle. He greets the incongruous movements of war with equanimity and offers an unwavering assessment of the dictates of duty.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The late Otto Giese served aboard square-riggers and numerous oceangoing freighters through World War II and started his own shipping line after the war. James E. Wise Jr., a retired captain in the U.S. Navy who served as a naval aviator, is the coauthor of several books, including Soldiers Lost at Sea. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 289 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557503079
• ISBN-13: 978-1557503077
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,778,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A German sailor's adventurous career., January 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II (Hardcover)

This book is not strictly about u-boats. It is a masterfully written chronical of a young merchant marine officer's transition from peacetime sailing aboard a luxury liner to the German navy. Only part of the book is about his time aboard a u-boat. Many of his adventures take place in the exotic lands of Malaya, China, and Japan. I have an extensive library of submarine books and sea stories, and I consider this one of the best in my collection. I heartily recommend this to anyone with a sense of adventure.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sailor's odyssey is a bit of everything, October 28, 2003

By 

David W. Nicholas (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II (Hardcover)

Otto Giese had an unusual war. He was a merchant marine officer with a German cruise company when the shooting started in 1939, and the cruise ship he was on was in the Caribbean. His ship attempted to return to Germany, but was intercepted by the Royal Navy and scuttled by its crew. They wound up being interned by the U.S. Navy (entering the U.S. through Ellis Island!) and found their way to San Francisco and then Japan with the idea of being repatriated to Germany through the U.S.S.R. Instead, though, Giese wound up as a watch officer on board a blockade runner which successfully made the run from Japan to occupied France via Cape Horn, rendevousing with a German commerce raider in mid-Pacific along the way.

Once he was back in Germany, he sought out service in the Navy, in spite of opposition from his employer. He wound up serving as an enlisted man on U-405 through four patrols operating out of Norway against Murmansk convoys. Then he was transferred to officer training, and soon assigned to U-181, which travelled from France to the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope. Once there, they eventually landed at Penang in Malaysia, intending to restock with supplies needed in Germany and return there later. When they tried to sail back home, the sub's drive bearings failed and they had to return to Indonesia, where they waited out the end of the war. He then spent some time interned by the Japanese in Malaysia, more time as a POW both there and in Britain, before finally returning to Germany. He eventually settled in Florida and became a U.S. citizen.

This book comprises what is described as a "war diary" kept by Giese. This stretches credulity a bit, and I think it would be better to describe it as a memoir. The author recounts the events briefly, and some of the chapters are so short it only takes a few moments to read them. Sinking of Allied ships is handled in a sentence, perhaps two. There isn't that much information on life on a U-boat during WW2.

Why then the high rating? Turns out Giese was a shutterbug (camera enthusiast) and kept a Leica camera with him at all times. He managed to develop photos of his experiences and keep them safe all these years, and the book is sprinkled with more than a hundred of them. Frankly, the pictures are much better than the book is, and I enjoyed them a great deal. The book was still good, don't get me wrong, but without the photos would have drawn three stars, not four.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very well written account, January 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II (Hardcover)

This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the u-boat war. The author has a very interesting story that starts with his service on an ocean liner at the outbreak of the war. From there he goes to surface raiders and then to u-boats,eventually ending with his internment in the far east when his sub is taken over by japan when germany surrenders. There are books with more text devoted to u-boat battles than this one however the book stands out for the authors unusual oddessy which he does an excellent job in writing about. The author also provides a superb collection of photos taken by himself that provides a great accompaniment to the narrative.