Craig L Symonds has produced a magisterial volume covering the conflict at sea.
All the major events you would associate with the seas and oceans are here – Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor, Battle of the Atlantic, Scapa Flow (why did the crew of U47 speak in whispers when no one could hear them?), D-Day, Midway, Mers-el-Kébir (why was the British sinking of the French fleet so personally important to Churchill?) – as well as naval leaders Lord Mountbatten, Admiral Yamamoto, Bill Halsey – but also many little-known incidents and personalities are brought to life.
The multi-award winning Professor Symonds has shown why he is one of the world’s leading naval historians in this book
He is the author of a history of the Battle of Midway and a brief history of the US navy (also published by Oxford) as well as a history of the American Civil War at sea.
World War II At Sea is highly recommended for those who want to know why the sea was so important from 1939 until 1945 and to understand the mechanics behind naval operations.