Pursuit: The Chase and Sinking of the Battleship Bismarck (Classics of Naval Literature) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With a new introduction by the author. First published in 1974, this work remains in the forefront of the many books, movies, and television programs about the epic World War II drama played out in the stormy Atlantic. It is a thrilling firsthand account of the hunting down and sinking of the battleship Bismarck, pride of the German Fleet, told by a member of the Royal Navy's destroyer force who participated in the pursuit. The author's own experiences add fire and immediacy to the account that has come to be considered a classic by critic and general reader alike. The world's largest warship when she first sailed into the Atlantic in May 1941, the Bismarck was a serious threat to Britain's survival and her sinking of the beloved battle cruiser HMS Hood with nearly fifteen hundred aboard sent shock waves throughout Britain.

Determined to track her down, the Royal Navy engaged in pursuit, finding the mammoth warship just hours from her safe harbor. The chess-like plotting, the horror and heroism on both sides, the final apocalyptic action have never been portrayed more vividly and objectively--and never with the benefit of such detailed documentation from both British and German sources. A measure of the book's epic qualities is that knowledge of the outcome in no way lessens the tension. When she was sunk just days after her own victorious action with the Hood, the Bismarck took more than two thousand German sailors to the bottom of the ocean and with them the dreams of the German naval high command. For sheer suspense, this book can hardly be equaled. For carefully researched history, it is an admirable example of fine writing. Ludovic Kennedy's introduction to this new edition places the event in perspective for today's audiences.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557504725
• ISBN-13: 978-1557504722
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,631,867 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eloquent, absorbing and immensely insightful - a "classic", December 28, 2003

By	Matthew Tesch (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Written in 1974 ~ in a world before Muellenheim-Rechberg, Ballard, and Mearns became published, familiar names ~ this is a wide-ranging and richly-textured account deserving of the too-loosely bandied term "classic". Sir Ludovic was a serving Lieutenant aboard HMS TARTAR, one of the Tribal-class destroyers present at the climax of this most epic of sea stories. Far from being merely an "I was there..." account, PURSUIT is the result of extensive research into official British, German and other records, coupled with the fruits of an amazing array of interviews and correspondence with many of the key players, at sea and ashore. Esmond Knight, from the PRINCE OF WALES (who also made a cameo appearance in "Sink the Bismarck") was among the sources, as was (surprising to me) Norwegian fisherman Viggo Axelssen, whose sunset sighting of the two German ships outbound past Kristiansand confirmed the first sighting report relayed by Britain's Naval Attache in Stockholm.
Sir Ludovic weaves a wealth of facts and operational insights through his narrative strands, his hallmark prose style at once seductively gripping and colourful: scenes, moods, weather, waves and witness accounts bring this tragic tale to life in a unique way. For example, from the start of Chapter Four (you'll know what's coming!): "And so the two admirals, Luetjens and Holland, riding on their great chargers, came at each other like knights of old, with guns for lances and armoured bridges for visors and pennants streaming in the wind."
The track charts and maps are masterpieces, and set a standard for the genre all too rarely emulated today. One photograph in particular ~ of BISMARCK departing from Grimstad Fjord ~ is a gem I've not seen in any other publication, and the double-page view from the REPULSE of the KGV and VICTORIOUS "standing on towards the enemy in a flurry of spray" captures the lonely desperation of the evening following the Denmark Strait battle.
By any measure, this book is a "must have".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still one of the best accounts, April 24, 2005

By	birchden "birchden" (Eastbourne, East Sussex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This is a worthwhile and even-handed account of the pursuit and subsequent sinking of the Bismarck, which is particularly notable for the way in which in the author uses his own wartime experience as a junior naval officer to evoke the human element of this dramatic episode of naval history and bring the account to life.

Especially memorable in this respect are his comments on the sinking of the Hood and his description of the grim fate of Bismarck's survivors as the Dorsetshire broke off her rescue action.

The book is not without its inaccuracies -- for example, Kennedy wrongly suggests that Luftwaffe reconnaisance of Scapa Flow was misled by British decoy ships -- and it is marred by a writing style which perversely omits many conjunctions.

However, Kennedy's book will be read with profit by anyone seeking a straightforward account of how in the space of three days, two of the world's greatest warships were destroyed and with them over 3,500 mostly young lives.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, January 14, 2007

By	Skip Klauber "a history lover" (near Hollywood, Florida, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Many times the term "classic" is overused, but not in this case. The author actually served in the British navy in WWII and his book pulls you in, gives you an idea of what is was really like to be on the Hood, or on the Bismarck during its final battle. It also gives you an idea of what the Hood meant, as a symbol, to the British navy. The only question that was not answered for me, was why no FW Condors were sent out to aid the Bismarck when the British moved in?