Subnuts,
I don't disagree with your talking points.
However, they do not change the fact that i enjoyed reading the book.
If Werner's goal was to give the reader an anti war sentiment, he was successful with at least
this reader.
I think that one must be careful how they approach books on the subject matters such as this one.
on the one hand, there are proverbial text books on the subject which contain a great deal of facts and very little fanfare... and the way they read is testament to that; what i mean is,
they read like text books.
Homer Hickam's
Torpedo Junction comes to mind, well written, not a lot of fluff, just the facts, informative, in depth - but not what i would call a page turner.
on the other hand, there are books like
Iron Coffins.
While books of the
Iron Coffins variety may not contain a great deal of fact, and may actually contain a lot of bovine scatology... they come across with dramatic flare and exciting tone.
as any writer knows, if you want to sell a book, you have to write the stuff that people will
want to read.
somewhere in between those two categories, you have a respectable book which contains a myriad of facts
and a great and entertaining story.
the name of this "in between" book is...
Steel Boat, Iron Hearts by Hans Goebler.
In this reader's opinion, it contains just the right amount of story and fact to make it the front running U-Boat related book in my tiny and probably insignificant collection.
followed closely by
Torpedo Junction... with
Iron Coffins bringing up the rear.
but, like i said...
Iron Coffins was a fun read.