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Lothar G-Unther Buchheim

Das Boot: The Boat Paperback – April 1, 2007

by Lothar-Günther Buchheim (Author)

406 ratings

Part of: W&N Military (29 books)

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The thrilling wartime novel that inspired Wolfgang Petersen's Academy Award-nominated, blockbuster film! Written by an actual survivor of Germany's U-boat fleet, Das Boot is one of the most exciting stories of naval warfare ever published, a tale filled with almost unbearable tension and suspense. In autumn 1941, a German U-boat commander and his crew set out on yet another hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. Over the coming weeks they brave the ocean's stormy waters and seek out British supply ships to destroy. But their targets travel in well-guarded convoys. When contact finally occurs, the hunter quickly becomes the hunted, and a cat-and-mouse game begins as the U-boat hides deep beneath the surface of the sea. Soon, claustrophobia becomes an enemy almost as frightening as the depth charges exploding around them. The release of this supremely gripping, merciless intense story commemorates the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

Print length

563 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Cassell
Publication date

April 1, 2007
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

5.25 x 1.38 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0304352314
ISBN-13

978-0304352319
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lothar-Gunther Bucheim was born in 1918 and grew up in Saxony. When the war broke out he joined the navy and served on mine-sweepers, destroyers and submarines on the last as an official navy correspondent.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cassell; Reprint edition (April 1, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 563 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0304352314
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0304352319
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.38 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #90,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #749 in Military Historical Fiction
- #1,813 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #1,828 in War Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
406 ratings

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5 star		85%
4 star		9%
3 star		2%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Ned Barnett

World War II's "All Quiet on the Western Front"

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2018

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This is a book I'd read decades ago; re-reading it was a real pleasure. I had forgotten how incredibly much detail went into this book, which - start to finish - covers just one war patrol of one submarine from one junior officer's perspective. If you have any interest in the war at sea in WW-II - especially the battle of (and against) the submarines, you should read this, as well as Iron Coffins (which is not a novel, but the two, together, will give you a real sense of what the war was like). This is the Second World War's "All Quiet on the Western Front, and well worth reading.

10 people found this helpful

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Munseyflora

Not a place you want to be

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2014

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I bought this book after seeing the movie and visiting U-505 in Chicago. Independent of their cause and leadership you have to be sympathetic to the German (not Nazi) submariner for what they experienced during their operations. Certainly, some policies were deplorable and indefensible; unrestricted submarine warfare and abandoning sailors from destroyed ships. For the vast majority of those who manned U-boats, however, these sailors were no different from those who served in unpleasant military situations in any war; far from home, risking their lives, doing what they did not want to do in less-than-desirable conditions. Too often, movies glamorize submarine service, showing spacious interiors and crews with pleasant demeanors, this book was written by a submariner who brings the reality to light. The job varied between boring and harrowing, conditions were barely livable and three quarters of German submariners in WW II died at sea. An American submariner once told me Das Boot (the movie based upon this book) was the first realistic movie about life aboard a submarine. This book does not glorify war or the German war effort; much like the movie you feel badly for the young people involved.

30 people found this helpful

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P. A. Panozzo

An Amazing Book!

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2019

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For many years, I have repeatedly viewed "Das Boot" on DVD and recently decided to acquire the novel, the genesis of the film. I find that the film and the novel very nicely complement each other! Having read the novel has given me a greater appreciation for the film which was very well executed! I love to read; I thrive on description and detail and "Das Boot" delivers satisfaction!

5 people found this helpful

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Lowflyer

Fascinating story

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2014

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In reading the book I am pleasantly surprised that the derived tv series and subsequent movies followed it so closely. As I read the book, I can easily picture the characters and settings from those video derivations. The book has excellent character development (no surprise here, but I'm sure most readers in the US will have seen a cider version before reading the book). The ordinary crewmen talk like sailors, bragging about women and sexual exploits. The officers mostly question how the U-boats are being used but do their job as professional military men. The depth charging descriptions are vivid and go on and on, which is how it must have seemed as they were happening. Living conditions on the boat are portrayed as they must certainly have been: fifty human beings confined in a twenty-foot diameter tube for two months with limited bathing and toilet facilities, rotting food, odors of highly stressed men living with Diesel engines, fuel oil, lubricating oil, and banks of sulphuric acid batteries.

The subtitles in the videos were fairly close to the German being spoken, which is a reasonable rendition of the book. My wife insisted on listening to the English soundtrack, which comicaly attempts to remove anything the least bit offensive to a Sunday school class. But the original subtitles are still there, blatantly revealing the demented hacking by censors. Wish I didn't have to be subjected to the the puritanical sterilization of a great story. I suggest reading the book to get the full flavor of Das Boot. Bet it is even better in its original German language.

8 people found this helpful

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Zipper bag

A joy to read

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2019

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Excellent book that spins a wonderful yarn. Some of the terminology and ship bearings are difficult to understand at first eg., aft, bow, port, bulwark, tower etc, but with a dictionary and a brief google of ship bearings make it understandable. If you saw the movie, that helps too. Wolfgang also likes to really get into describing the natural surroundings of the ship when the men are viewing nature from the bridge. Overall, really enjoyed this book.

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Mike

Good book, loosely follows the movie

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2020

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There is much better and in depth Information here than the movie. If you have ever wondered what it would have been like to be a service man on a German U boat during WWII, this is a great book. I took one star off because I felt the author was in some places way too wordy.

One person found this helpful

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Georg

Very good book indeed

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2019

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I saw the movie on TV a couple of times, and bought the DVD, and simply had to buy the book - very good book and for me as non-submariner - with good explanations of submarine life on patrol, including basic principles of submarine technology but without being technical manual. It is also fair to crew members. It helps with understanding the movie better too.

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Susan R. Matthews

I bought this book because I love the movie they made from it

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2016

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I bought this book because I love the movie they made from it. I was pleasantly surprised by how compelling the narrative is -- as a narrative, it is engaging and very vivid. The stench! The movie can't communicate to you the stench, and the experience of living in such horrifically cramped quarters for months and months and months! -- Book was in better-than-expected condition; promptly dispatched, will remain my library, great value for money. Aces all around!

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

dave1514

Let down by poor translation

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2021

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Such a shame there isn't an English translation as much of the atmosphere is lost by a slightly crass mangling into a strange mishmash of transatlantic jargon. Much of what I suspect was a fairly accurate depiction of U boat warfare in the original German becomes a tepid (and sometimes turgid) victim of poor translation. I would really like to see a translation performed by a proper naval historian or even a competent academic which I think would revitalise this text.

3 people found this helpful

p2pnut

A classic book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 31, 2022

Verified Purchase

I had watched the excellent film of this gritty moving story many years ago and can now see how faithful to the book it was. The author takes us on a claustrophobic voyage that reeks of fuel oil and sweat as the crew suffer the privations and fears of life aboard the submarine. Never glorifying war and always ridiculing nationalism we get a glimpse of the terror and futility experienced by ordinary human beings thrown together in an extraordinary environment. I recommend this book, especially to modern readers who are in danger of forgetting the horrors of war.

Steve Duddy

Syntax.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

I read this book and I have to say that it lost some of its potency during the translation from German to English. I wonder how it would read if someone else now translated the English version back to German. Sometimes translations don't cross well and the original German syntax was a little lost. However, the book still has the power to bring across the claustrophobic atmosphere of a submarine and the mortal terror of a determined depth charge attack by an RN destroyer.

5 people found this helpful

BaillieJr

Great book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2015

Verified Purchase

Awesome book. Im not the biggest fan of war books, however this was a pure delight to read. Buchheim is a great author with zero pretentiousness about his work. The narrative is long and well structured, which draws you in to the cramped isolated feeling of being 'on the boat' right next to the narrator.
By far my favourite war time book i have read. Give it a go, you will not be disappointed!

4 people found this helpful

N C Hunt

Better than the film

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

Reading this you can smell the inside of the U-boat. Admittedly I have only been in two submarines, one Chinese nuclear, one Finnish, the latter a museum piece from WWII, so I have no idea what I am taling about. It is ust that I think I can smell the U-boat because the writing is so good.

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