Best U-boat books?

[Puster Bill]

Just wanted to throw in another vote for Clay Blair's two volume set. I just finished Volume I for the umpteenth time, and am reading Volume II for the umpteenth time.

[Puster Bill]

Oh, and don't forget online resources, like the BdU/FdU war diary:

http://www.uboatarchive.net/BDUKTB.htm

Nothing like getting it straight from the horse's mouth.

[desirableroasted]

You were supposed to make my life easier!

Thank you all for the reccies. That's just why this forum never fails to amaze me.

I find myself leaning toward the Blair books and the U-boat Commander's Handbook, at least for this round.

Though I do go to Flensburg about once a year, and should read up on Luth before the next time.

So many books, so little time!

I second Flag4's suggestion to make a sticky thread about U-boat books.

[flag4]

...what i am trying to say is that over the years i have noticed the steady climb at the top end of these books.
a few years ago i never saw this type of book/subject matter so expensive at the top end...

Lone Wolf: Life and Death of U-boat Ace Werner Henke
between £20-30-70. i got mine a few days ago from america for just over £11 delivered. this one from england £121.85, yes it is new but my god
for 288 pages?
Clay Blairs tommes range from £11-50 either side of the atlantic.
　
u boat war - bucheim 6 used copies from £23
　
john terraine: Business in Great Waters: U-boat Wars, 1916-45 £95.95 from america, used-new. or 25p ?
　
jordan vause: U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth £91.99 brand new from england. or you can get one for as little as £3.30 !!
　
timothy p mulligan: Neither Sharks Nor Wolves: The Men of Germany's U-boat Arm, 1939-45 hard cover £25 0r used £4.74
　
Teddy Suhren: Ace of Aces: Memoirs of A U-Boat Rebel [Hardcover] 248pages: £205
　
Steel Boat, Iron Hearts: A U-Boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505: £9.44 0r £50 hardcover.

im sure someone could explain all this.

these books are not in bad condititon - i guess, because i have ordered them in different conditions over the years and never thought oh christ, im sending that back. they have all been in better condititon than advertised.
　
　
maybe the market has been affected by the economy - or people will buy at these prices, i have no idea. i just know that books related to this subject have gone
up, but VERY up at the top end.
　
i guess its the discrepency between high and low that opens my eyes. its not the like with all, but certain titles have an odd price
　
maybe more people have become interested - hence the hike.
　
we should hold on to them once read. they will be worth a small fortune one day.
　
now i will go back top making an inexpensive broccolli soup with blue cheese.
　

[musides]

It appears you can read portions of iron coffins via google:

http://books.google.com/books?id=yFI...page&q&f=false

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by flag4

...what i am trying to say is that over the years i have noticed the steady climb at the top end of these books.
a few years ago i never saw this type of book/subject matter so expensive at the top end...

im sure someone could explain all this.
　

The U-boat war is an esoteric corner of WWII. The books discussed here were published in limited numbers, perhaps even privately, by houses with little marketing budget. They never became bestsellers. They ended up in the hands of "nerds" -- like us -- and rarely got passed on.

Now, as the the generation that was the "natural" readership for these books passes on, a lot of the books are going to be tossed by sons and daughters who just see it as a dry, boring subject. Or put out into the flea market/jumble sale market where they will never be seen by an enthusiast.

An example. At a "barn sale" not 500 meters from my own house, I found a good-condition Andrees Handatlas from 1902. As a cartography enthusiast, I had slobbered over one in London not two months before, but felt I couldn't afford it. Here it was for sale for €2. That's right, €2. After I bought it, I asked the guy what he was going to do if it was unsold at the end of the summer. "Oh, take it to the dump."

So a lot of these books are going to become rare and sought after, because they will never return to the market. If you run across a first edition of any of these, at a fair price, grab it.

Thankfully, it's far easier to reprint books these days. So for those of us who cannot afford an original, probably some kind house will reprint at some point, even if the paper is not nearly as good.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by desirableroasted

Thankfully, it's far easier to reprint books these days. So for those of us who cannot afford an original, probably some kind house will reprint at some point, even if the paper is not nearly as good.

The one upside to the passage of time is the increasing number of people who are able and willing to seek out "niche" publications via the internet. I own books now that I would never have been able to buy 20 years ago, simply because they weren't stocked at the local bookstores and the chances of finding them used somewhere local were almost equally slim. Heck, I probably wouldn't even know of the existence of most of the books I've bought online if I hadn't seen them or heard about them online somewhere.

It's no longer necessary to distribute huge numbers of a title to stores all over creation in the hopes that enough nerds/geeks/enthusiasts will happen on them in their local shops to make it worth a reprint. All you need is an Amazon listing for it, lol, and more and more of your niche demographic will find you. And/or be pointed in your direction because they bought something else on the same subject.

[Herr-Berbunch]

I'm another one for Paterson's U-Boat War Patrol, the quantity of the pictures from one patrol is great. I don't own it though, it's from my local library. Also Bernard Edwards' Dönitz and the Wolf Packs is by my bed and a good read so far

[ReallyDedPoet]

Originally Posted by K-61

I acquired volume 2 in a secondhand book store. I have been searching ever since for volume 1 but no luck yet. I think at this point I'd offer one of my kidneys for a copy.

Save your Kidney's, I see the first volume is currently on Amazon.ca:
Here

Help this place by getting it through the SUBSIM Store

[Jimbuna]

The Golden Horseshoe: The Story of Otto Kretschmer, Germany's Top U-boat Ace (Fortunes of War) [Paperback]

Terence Robertson (Author)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Golden-Horse...555688&sr=1-13

Picked this interesting read up whilst on holiday recently for £4.99

[flag4]

..have just ordered this The critical convoy battles of March 1943 : the battle for HX.229/SC122 Jurgen (translated by Derek Masters) Rohwer; Hardcover; £3.99

£3.99!! ??

top price £25!.

mine is a first edition, i hope it comes with plates - i think it does. but the imbalance of pricing is bizzar.

follow the link from musides and click on the books. there are titles there i have never heard of like 'Bloody Winter.' about the russian convoys...

...man, i whish i was rich

You might contact Ken @ http://www.ubootwaffe.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1621

He is selling numerous books.

[diesel97]

So many books, so little time... . Operation Drumbeat & Black May by Michael Gannon plus U-boat commander by 'Ali' Cremer. Convoy by Martin Middlebrook.

[Captain Nemo]

Sometime ago I managed to obtain on ebay a copy of "The U-boat war in the Atlantic 1939-1945" including all the charts, published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO).

It is an account of German U-boat operations written for the British Admiralty (originally classified material) at the end of the war by Günther Hessler with the assistance of Alfred Hoschatt. Both had been staff officers in U-boat command. Hessler had been the commander of U-107 earlier in the war and was Donitz’s son-in-law.

I haven't had a chance to examine it in any great detail, and it looks quite technical, does anyone else have this book and can comment?

Nemo

[Herr-Berbunch]

Originally Posted by Captain Nemo

Sometime ago I managed to obtain on ebay a copy of "The U-boat war in the Atlantic 1939-1945" including all the charts, published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO).

Somebody else, outside of this forum, mentioned that the other day so I looked it up - blimey it's not a cheap book!!! And to make matters worse, my local libraries don't stock it either .

Enjoy it!