Customer Reviews

The U-Boat: The Evolution and Technical History of German Submarines

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I purchased the book "The U-Boat: The Evolution and Technical History of German Submarines" used [...]several months ago. The book was translated and published by the Naval Institute Press in 1981 (Hard Cover, 384 pages). The Original book by Eberhard Rossler has been published several times in Germany. The last publication was in 1996 by Bernhard & Graefe Verlang and the title is "Geschichte Des Deutchen Ubootbaus," Band 1 (Volume 1) and Band 2 (Volume 2) Hard Cover, 550 total pages, plus an additional 19 folded blue print sheets in the back of the books.

This Naval Institute Press book is difficult to read because of the size of the print type. This was done because of the volumes of information contained within the constraints of a single volume format. Throughout the book, the quality of the photographs don't meet the standards of books printed in modern print shops today. However, I believe Eberhard Rossler is the definitive expert when it comes to the German U-boat. This book covers the U-boat origins, W.W.I and W.W.II developments (and much more), and some information on NATO U-boats up until the mid 70's (1974). It wound be a fantastic book on U-boats, if a modern publisher would use the contents of the original German books and include all the separate blue prints.

I purchased my copy of the Naval Institute Press book in near mint condition for my personal library. In my opinion, this was a good investment.

Update:

The Cassell & Co re-printed edition 2002 is exactly the same as the Naval Press edition printed in 1989 (format and size). The new dust cover is excellent and the print is much sharper and darker. This book is an excellent buy for the U-Boat enthusiast.

Printer's Error:

The U-Boat drawing on page 118 is labeled as a "Type VII C". This is not correct! In fact, this error was also in the Naval Press edition printed in 1989. The German text edition printed in 1996 identifies it correctly as a "Type IX C" on page 169. The Type VII C never had two stern torpedo tubes side-by-site.

Don_

This book is worth the money!
It dispells any myths and stories about u-boats, and tells the full story of consturtion and building problems more so in WWII.
A very good read for sub modellers!

Excellent history of German Uboats. Highly recommended. A few more structural drawings showing engineering development would be nice.