Synopses & Reviews
History records few more gripping dramas than the naval history of World War II. It was the last great sea war, but in the half century since the final battles of that struggle, the conflict has receded into the past. Narvik, the Battle of the Atlantic, Midway, and the Philippine Sea are to the current generation as remote as Waterloo and Gettysburg. In
War at Sea, Nathan Miller brings the story of these monumental events--and the achievements, suffering, and heroism of those who served at sea during World War II--to the attention of readers who have only a nodding acquaintance with it. In doing so, he illuminates in dramatic fashion the costly mistakes and the blunders, the great skill and courage of the Allied commanders, tactical leaders, and enlisted men that denied the Axis powers victory.
From the sinking of the British passenger liner Athenia on September 3, 1939, by a German U-boat (against orders), to the Japanese surrender on board the Missouri, on September 2, 1945, War at Sea covers every major naval battle of World War II in one fascinating volume. In gripping detail, Miller recounts the major operations of the British, German, American, Japanese, Italian, Canadian, and Russian navies. Based on recently released Ultra intelligence information the Allies procured from their deciphering of coded messages passed by their enemies, ship logs, official reports, interviews with surviving servicemen, and personal accounts and anecdotes from the men who manned the ships and the aircraft, Miller gives a human face to the daily routine of life at sea--from being torpedoed to living in the confines of a submarine for weeks at a time. Miller also details the political and historical backgrounds of each navy and analyzes the strategies of the combatants. He goes on to show how new technology, such as aircraft carriers and submarines, pushed aside the battleship and changed the course of the war and modern warfare.
Too often today, war is viewed as a bloodless computer game complete with "smart" bombs, guided missiles, and "surgical strikes." In reality, war is about death. It is a mixture of boredom, exhaustion, and sudden and terrifying moments of horror. This is particularly true of war at sea. One minute a ship can be steaming peacefully on a calm ocean; in the next it can be ripped apart by torpedoes with its crew fighting for their lives in a cauldron of flaming oil or scalding steam. War at Sea tells the true story of naval warfare during World War II, capturing the drama, suspense, and narrow triumph of the Allied forces in the great battle to secure the seas.
Review
"This brisk, readable survey by a non-academic presents little that is new, but its comprehensiveness allows Miller to explain the significance of many naval battles now largely forgotten, such as the Battle of the Barents Sea and the Battle of Cape Matepan, and to illuminate the connections between such events. Although Miller has written many books, naval history is his specialty, and he is a master of the secondary literature in that field. Some readers may be bothered by the absence of conventional annotation or by the proliferation of typos, but this is still a solid and useful overview, as good as any single-volume work on such a broad subject is likely to be. One quibble: like most naval historians, Miller emphasizes the emergence of aircraft carriers and the end of the battleship era, but readers cannot help but notice that many Second World War naval engagements were still conventional surface battles fought by battleships and cruisers, and that battleships remained indispensable for shore bombardment." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Review
"Lively, informative, and richly textured....Well-researched and well-written, this is both an excellent reference volume and an engaging naval history that is a pleasure to read."--Sea Power
"Finally, a one-volume naval history of World War II that does justice to the enormous scope and detail of the subject. Entertaining, insightful, and a damn good read."--James F. Dunnigan, author of A Quick and Dirty Guide to War and How to Make War
"The general reader and specialist alike should set aside Samuel Eliot Morison and all the others and just devour Nathan Miller's classic tale of the navies of World War II."--Kenneth J. Hagan, U.S. Naval Academy and author of This People's Navy: The Making of American Sea Power
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 559-570) and index.
About the Author
Nathan Miller, a journalist, historian, and naval scholar, is the author of twelve books of history and biography, including
The U.S. Navy: A History, which is used as a textbook at the U.S. Naval Academy, and the widely acclaimed
Theodore Roosevelt: A Life. He lives in Washington, D.C.