Phantom Fleet by Alexander Rose

 

What an informative and entertaining book! It read more like a thriller than a military naval history book. The depth of the research gave insight into the men and the mission to capture a German U-boat. It brought to life the efforts of the U.S. intelligence officers, their superiors, and their British and German counterparts as they played a cat-and-mouse game.
 
Beginning in 1942, with German U-boats off the eastern coast of the United States disrupting supply shipments, to the capturing of a U-boat in 1944, this story unfolds from the perspective of the U.S. and German naval officers. Along the way, the book recounts the critical work done by the British to crack the German Enigma encrypting device and how the U.S. used the information to hunt down the elusive U-boats and break the back of the German Navy.

I liked how Rose got into the personalities of the men involved, making it an intimate read with a depth not otherwise achievable. Owing to his conversational writing, the book is a captivating account of a single incident during World War II, highlighting its relationship to the war effort. I don't usually read World War II-era books, but I'm glad I made an exception for this book. 

5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is May 20, 2025.

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The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides

In this excellently researched and written account of Captain James Cook's last voyage, Hampton Sides captures the intrigue of what happened to Cook on his fatal final exploration.

In 1776, Captain James Cook set out with secret orders to find the Pacific entrance to the fabled Northwest Passage. He was also tasked with returning a Tahitian man to his Pacific island home after his time in England, where he was hosted by luminaries such as Lord Sandwich and King George III. This was the much-lauded Cook's third exploratory voyage, and he would be perhaps the first to encounter the people of the Hawaiian islands--an encounter that proved deadly.

Hampton Sides's descriptions of the natives Cook encountered and Cook's demeanor, both to his crew and to the native people, raise questions about Cook's suitability to lead this voyage. His sometimes rash actions countered his first two successful voyages and raised questions about first contact with native islanders. Cook's detractors depict him as an arrogant man who spread disease and robbed natives of their culture. Given today's attitudes and philosophies, I credit Sides's even-handed portrayal of Cook's encounters.

5/5 stars.

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The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

 I always learn something from a book by Erik Larson. Even if it's history I know, as in "The Demon of Unrest," Larson's research and presentation bring an era or a person to life.

It's 1860, and the United States is on the brink of breaking apart over slavery. During the lame-duck period between President Buchanan's exit and Lincoln's assumption of the presidency, North Carolina formally secedes, with other Southern states considering it. The focus is now on Fort Sumter, situated in Charleston's harbor. North Carolina and the Union want this critical piece of real estate. With little guidance from Washington, it's up to Major Robert Anderson to navigate the political waters surrounding the fort.

Using excerpts from diaries of people close to the situation, Larson does an excellent job transporting the reader back to the American Civil War era and illuminating the cultural and political climate of the day. What is most frightening is the parallel between the political environment in that era and our current situation: a nation at odds. This time, red states versus blue states are divided over several issues, with democracy seemingly on the line. I hope things turn out better this time. 

5/5 stars.

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A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks by David Gibbins

 What an interesting and entertaining way to learn about or brush up on history. I had no idea so much knowledge about our past could be gained from the objects found on a shipwreck.

From a Bronze Age ship uncovered in Dover to a World War II ship, underwater archeologist David Gibbins does an excellent job of tying our past and present together in an informative narrative. What could easily have been a dry rehash of history is instead an engaging look, through an archeologist's eye, at different eras in history and what artifacts tell us about our past. Even though I enjoyed the ancient shipwrecks more than the recently uncovered ones, I found all twelve enlightening.

If you like history and archeology, I think you will enjoy this book.

4/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is April 2, 2024.

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The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I by Douglas Brunt

 Reading a nonfiction book can be dicey. I have read some that were so scholarly that I felt I needed a Ph.D. to get through them. Others, especially Erik Larson's books, safely navigate the waters between well-researched and eminently readable. Douglas Brunt's account of Rudolf Diesel's life and mysterious disappearance falls into this later category.

In September 1913, a body was found floating at sea, and although it was not recovered, items found on it led family members to believe it was that of Rudolf Diesel, who went missing on a crossing of the English Channel. How did he come to be in the water? Did he accidentally go overboard? Was it suicide? Or, more ominously, could he have been murdered?

Documenting the life of this unique individual who rose from poverty to invent one of the most critical engines in history, this book details not only the many obstacles Diesel overcame but also brings to life the era and the people around him. He fought an uphill battle trying to convince the industrial world of the superiority of the Diesel engine and its application to everyday life. Diesel was an inventor and a humanitarian whose vision of a better, less polluted world was a life goal.

This book is part biography and part page-turning mystery.  It is both insightful and suspenseful, with a twist I bought into. The arguments about what happened to Rudolf Diesel on that fateful crossing are well-reasoned and clearly presented. I now have a better appreciation of the Diesel engine and the man behind it.

5/5 stars.

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