HMS ULYSSES by Alastair Maclean

Kurt Alden · 01-16-06, 06:59 AM

Hey all

My interest in all things sub-related has got me reading pretty well anything with subs in it and I'm just reading HMS Ulysses. That is one seriously scary book. It's interesting to read it from the point of view of the ship commander as opposed to the submariner and the descriptions of the sheer horror of being on a ship with subs around makes very scary reading.

There's me in my ignorance thinking that being on a ship wouldn't be too bad as you've always got a chance of getting off if the ship's going down but, in reality, it looks just as bad as being in a sinking sub. Reading about the way people are in the sea with the surface covered in burning oil really got to me.

I know this is not really SH3 related but I really recommend it as a (really scary) read.

Tazzie · 01-16-06, 07:10 AM

Thats one of the first books I read at school. Brilliant read.

Mowgli · 01-16-06, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazzie

Thats one of the first books I read at school. Brilliant read.

Brilliant. Read it at H.M.S. Ganges as a boy sailor.

Catfish · 01-16-06, 08:08 AM

Hello,
if you like McLean's Ulysses, try C.S. Forester's book "The ship" (first published 1943 in London). You will not be disappointed to say at least. It is about a light cruiser in the mediterranean sea during WW2. No subs i'm afraid, but ...
Greetings,
Catfish

malcymalc · 01-16-06, 08:08 AM

Kurt,
Another good read is "The Cruel Sea" by Nicholas Monsarrat (also made into a great film about 40 years ago). He served in convoy escorts and the B/W photography in the movie really caught the cold grey Atlantic - v atmospheric. I remember reading a foreward that he had written for a book about U-boats and his hatred for them still came through loud and clear.

My dad served on minesweepers during WWII and he told me that once they put to sea the galley light went out and they were on cold food until they returned to port (the ship was just tossed around and it was too dangerous to have the cookers lit) which rapidly degenerated to hard tack biscuits (not quite the weevil infested items served in the Napoleonic Wars - but not far off). Essentially think cold wet hungry and seasick for weeks at a time. No fun anywhere at sea - in subs or surface vessels.

And obviously "Das Boot" is the classic U-boat novel (and you should make an effort to get the mini-series on DVD - German with English subtitles - absolutely wonderful, a forerunner for Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers much later)

Regards
Malcolm

Kurt Alden · 01-16-06, 09:17 AM

Wow, loads of great recommendations there, thanks for those.

Jmack · 01-16-06, 09:42 AM

a great reading in fact ... its fiction but one gets lost in it in a way that it seams more real each page you read. the main caracthers are so wel defined and have such strong personalitys that they give that touch of true to the book . i t gives you a very good description of the artic convoys .

malcymalc · 01-16-06, 03:57 PM

Actually if you want lots of recommendations (or at least see some of what is out there try this website - nothing written in the last sven years but some great classics amongst the trash)

http://www.boat-links.com/books/nfl/nautfic-01.html

But for non-fiction Blair's two books on the Atlantic Campaign are up there on most peoples lists (although he does seem to have a rather pro-American slant as I recall).

Malcolm

Gammel · 01-16-06, 04:37 PM

H.M.S. Ulysses is great reading (german title: "Die MÃ¤nner der Ulysses", stupid, as always)

First thing coming to my mind when thinking of that book: that cold, that always present cold on that journey. *brrr*

and of couse the cool radar equipped german cruiser..

bookworm_020 · 01-16-06, 09:00 PM

H.M.S. Ulysses was the book that got me into maritime history, and onto sub warfare. I still got the book (it's falling apart, but I won't get rid of it).
It would make a great movie, but I dread what Hollywood would do to it.
I still have to rug up after reading this book, even in the Australian summer!

Jmack · 01-16-06, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

H.M.S. Ulysses was the book that got me into maritime history, and onto sub warfare. I still got the book (it's falling apart, but I won't get rid of it).
It would make a great movie, but I dread what Hollywood would do to it.
I still have to rug up after reading this book, even in the Australian summer!

maybe wolfgang petersen could direct it ...

bookworm_020 · 01-17-06, 12:28 AM

As long as we don't see pretty boys with bad accents, it stands a chance

bert8for3 · 02-22-06, 09:01 AM

I picked up the U-Boat Commander's Handbook and Herbert Werner's Iron Coffins, both terrific. But I'm frantically looking around the boat for dark paint, since the Handbook says that U-boats had a supply of dark paint to make sure nothing bright shone on deck. Anybody know where it is?

Dowly · 02-22-06, 09:17 AM

All I can say about 'Iron Coffins' is-- If Werner really got through all that, he is one lucky s.o.b.!

Great Book!

Quillan · 02-22-06, 09:30 AM

I still have all of Alistair MacLean's books in my collection, and reread them periodically. Ulysses is a great book; I went back through it not too long ago.

01-16-06, 06:59 AM	#1
Kurt Alden Swabbie Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 14 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	HMS ULYSSES by Alastair Maclean Hey all My interest in all things sub-related has got me reading pretty well anything with subs in it and I'm just reading HMS Ulysses. That is one seriously scary book. It's interesting to read it from the point of view of the ship commander as opposed to the submariner and the descriptions of the sheer horror of being on a ship with subs around makes very scary reading. There's me in my ignorance thinking that being on a ship wouldn't be too bad as you've always got a chance of getting off if the ship's going down but, in reality, it looks just as bad as being in a sinking sub. Reading about the way people are in the sea with the surface covered in burning oil really got to me. I know this is not really SH3 related but I really recommend it as a (really scary) read.

01-16-06, 09:00 PM	#10
bookworm_020 Navy Seal Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sinking ships off the Australian coast Posts: 5,966 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	H.M.S. Ulysses was the book that got me into maritime history, and onto sub warfare. I still got the book (it's falling apart, but I won't get rid of it). It would make a great movie, but I dread what Hollywood would do to it. I still have to rug up after reading this book, even in the Australian summer! __________________ "There is always one person in any organization who knows whats going on, That person must be fired"

01-17-06, 12:28 AM	#12
bookworm_020 Navy Seal Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sinking ships off the Australian coast Posts: 5,966 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	As long as we don't see pretty boys with bad accents, it stands a chance __________________ "There is always one person in any organization who knows whats going on, That person must be fired"

02-22-06, 09:30 AM	#15
Quillan Samurai Navy Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 579 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	I still have all of Alistair MacLean's books in my collection, and reread them periodically. Ulysses is a great book; I went back through it not too long ago. __________________ We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

01-16-06, 07:10 AM	#2
Tazzie Helmsman Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: NSW, Australia Posts: 101 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Thats one of the first books I read at school. Brilliant read.

01-16-06, 08:08 AM	#4
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 17,765 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	Hello, if you like McLean's Ulysses, try C.S. Forester's book "The ship" (first published 1943 in London). You will not be disappointed to say at least. It is about a light cruiser in the mediterranean sea during WW2. No subs i'm afraid, but ... Greetings, Catfish

01-16-06, 08:08 AM	#5
malcymalc Bosun Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 64 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Kurt, Another good read is "The Cruel Sea" by Nicholas Monsarrat (also made into a great film about 40 years ago). He served in convoy escorts and the B/W photography in the movie really caught the cold grey Atlantic - v atmospheric. I remember reading a foreward that he had written for a book about U-boats and his hatred for them still came through loud and clear. My dad served on minesweepers during WWII and he told me that once they put to sea the galley light went out and they were on cold food until they returned to port (the ship was just tossed around and it was too dangerous to have the cookers lit) which rapidly degenerated to hard tack biscuits (not quite the weevil infested items served in the Napoleonic Wars - but not far off). Essentially think cold wet hungry and seasick for weeks at a time. No fun anywhere at sea - in subs or surface vessels. And obviously "Das Boot" is the classic U-boat novel (and you should make an effort to get the mini-series on DVD - German with English subtitles - absolutely wonderful, a forerunner for Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers much later) Regards Malcolm

01-16-06, 09:17 AM	#6
Kurt Alden Swabbie Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 14 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Wow, loads of great recommendations there, thanks for those.

01-16-06, 09:42 AM	#7
Jmack Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 669 Downloads: 23 Uploads: 0	a great reading in fact ... its fiction but one gets lost in it in a way that it seams more real each page you read. the main caracthers are so wel defined and have such strong personalitys that they give that touch of true to the book . i t gives you a very good description of the artic convoys .

01-16-06, 03:57 PM	#8
malcymalc Bosun Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 64 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Actually if you want lots of recommendations (or at least see some of what is out there try this website - nothing written in the last sven years but some great classics amongst the trash) http://www.boat-links.com/books/nfl/nautfic-01.html But for non-fiction Blair's two books on the Atlantic Campaign are up there on most peoples lists (although he does seem to have a rather pro-American slant as I recall). Malcolm

01-16-06, 04:37 PM	#9
Gammel Commodore Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 641 Downloads: 276 Uploads: 0	H.M.S. Ulysses is great reading (german title: "Die MÃ¤nner der Ulysses", stupid, as always) First thing coming to my mind when thinking of that book: that cold, that always present cold on that journey. brrr and of couse the cool radar equipped german cruiser..

02-22-06, 09:01 AM	#13
bert8for3 Ace of the Deep Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,124 Downloads: 110 Uploads: 0	I picked up the U-Boat Commander's Handbook and Herbert Werner's Iron Coffins, both terrific. But I'm frantically looking around the boat for dark paint, since the Handbook says that U-boats had a supply of dark paint to make sure nothing bright shone on deck. Anybody know where it is?

02-22-06, 09:17 AM	#14
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	All I can say about 'Iron Coffins' is-- If Werner really got through all that, he is one lucky s.o.b.! Great Book!