Iron Coffins: A U-boat Commander's War, 1939-45

minett · 07-19-12, 05:04 AM

Ordered this book yesterday Just wondering if anyone else has read it and there thoughts on it??? ..I wanted a book as written by a uboat captain during the war years and this seems the best ive found..Ive anyone can recommend any other good uboat books from ww2 that would be great Sink them all Minett

Maki4444 · 07-19-12, 05:29 AM

I am so happy that someone mentioned this book. Amazing stuff, really. Makes you cry at one point. What those men went through....terrible. Just don't expect the book to have descriptions of stadimeter readings and calculations of AOB and things like that. It's a book about the experience of the sailors, about life ashore, about their hopes and trials under the sea. It's about death and about a hard grip on life

I would really like to rad more of such books, but the libraries in my country have a limited number of such literature. Ordering from the net is a bit expensive though. But if I hear a good recommendation on this thread I woul love to give it a go

Sailor Steve · 07-19-12, 07:56 AM

Noobs!

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins

Review:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...17&postcount=1

Herr-Berbunch · 07-19-12, 07:58 AM

Off the top of my head I recall it being a good book, but a lot of people here will shout it down as being written with poetic licence.

They still all enjoyed it though.

Maki4444 · 07-19-12, 08:27 AM

Hahhahaha, can't beat a Rock'n roll grandpa

mookiemookie · 07-19-12, 08:38 AM

I think there are better books out there. Steel Boats, Iron Hearts, for example, and U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth.

Sailor Steve · 07-19-12, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maki4444

Hahhahaha, can't beat a Rock'n roll grandpa

Sure you can. All you need is a big enough stick.

Hinrich Schwab · 07-19-12, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Noobs!

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins

Review:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...17&postcount=1

I think we need a few more threads, just to be sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

Off the top of my head I recall it being a good book, but a lot of people here will shout it down as being written with poetic licence.

They still all enjoyed it though.

I agree with this. If one reads this for the sake of entertainment, the book will most certainly achieve its purpose. As far as a factual account, the answer is "no".

One must definitely de-fog the periscope before looking through it on this one. I think what makes this work draw so much venom is that people expected a recreation of events while the book is pretty much a romanticization of them. Likewise with Das Boot, Werner wrote this decades after the war and admitted in the book that he destroyed his journals on one of his patrols. As long as the book is not taken too seriously, it is good. Its scholastic merit is negligible except as an example of literature.

Ducimus · 07-19-12, 10:57 AM

Iron coffins is a fantastic novel.

Sailor Steve · 07-19-12, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hinrich Schwab

I think what makes this work draw so much venom is that people expected a recreation of events while the book is pretty much a romanticization of them.

I think the problem lies in the fact that Werner, or his publicist, claimed that it was fact. It's not the poetic license that causes a bad reaction, it's the pretending that there was none.

Quote:

Likewise with Das Boot, Werner wrote this decades after the war and admitted in the book that he destroyed his journals on one of his patrols. As long as the book is not taken too seriously, it is good. Its scholastic merit is negligible except as an example of literature.

Here I disagree. Buchheim said that his account was fiction, loosely based on fact. That makes all the difference.

Harald_Lange · 07-20-12, 12:37 AM

It's my current read at the moment, and I have to say it's one awesome book, highly recommended.

07-19-12, 05:04 AM	#1
minett Watch Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: England Posts: 23 Downloads: 160 Uploads: 0	Iron Coffins: A U-boat Commander's War, 1939-45 Ordered this book yesterday Just wondering if anyone else has read it and there thoughts on it??? ..I wanted a book as written by a uboat captain during the war years and this seems the best ive found..Ive anyone can recommend any other good uboat books from ww2 that would be great Sink them all Minett

07-19-12, 07:56 AM	#3
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	Noobs! http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...t=iron+coffins Review: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...17&postcount=1 __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

07-19-12, 07:58 AM	#4
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	Off the top of my head I recall it being a good book, but a lot of people here will shout it down as being written with poetic licence. They still all enjoyed it though. __________________

07-19-12, 08:38 AM	#6
mookiemookie Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 9,404 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 1	I think there are better books out there. Steel Boats, Iron Hearts, for example, and U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth. __________________ They don’t think it be like it is, but it do. Want more U-boat Kaleun portraits for your SH3 Commander Profiles? Download the SH3 Commander Portrait Pack here.

07-19-12, 05:29 AM	#2
Maki4444 Sparky Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Croatia Posts: 152 Downloads: 334 Uploads: 0	I am so happy that someone mentioned this book. Amazing stuff, really. Makes you cry at one point. What those men went through....terrible. Just don't expect the book to have descriptions of stadimeter readings and calculations of AOB and things like that. It's a book about the experience of the sailors, about life ashore, about their hopes and trials under the sea. It's about death and about a hard grip on life I would really like to rad more of such books, but the libraries in my country have a limited number of such literature. Ordering from the net is a bit expensive though. But if I hear a good recommendation on this thread I woul love to give it a go

07-19-12, 08:27 AM	#5
Maki4444 Sparky Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Croatia Posts: 152 Downloads: 334 Uploads: 0	Hahhahaha, can't beat a Rock'n roll grandpa

07-19-12, 10:57 AM	#9
Ducimus Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,987 Downloads: 67 Uploads: 2	Iron coffins is a fantastic novel.

07-20-12, 12:37 AM	#11
Harald_Lange Ensign Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: NY Harbour, Periscope depth. Posts: 235 Downloads: 160 Uploads: 0	It's my current read at the moment, and I have to say it's one awesome book, highly recommended.