At All Costs: How a Crippled Ship and Two American Merchant Mariners Turned the Tide of World War II

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer although similar fail in comparison to this book. This book is a non stop thrill ride into an unexplored part of WW2. If you like war books, BUY this book!! You will never think of ww2 the same way.

This book is not only totaly fact, but tells the real story of how and why we won WW2. I am amazed a movie has not been done atleast twice over on this topic. History teachers of America should use this book, and Hollywood should make a movie. Read this book and wait for the movie to come! An amazing book! If you know of, heard about, or read Benedict Arnold's Navy by James L. Nelson, Sea of Thunder by Evan Thomas, The Terrible Hours by Peter Maas, Simple Courage by Frank Delaney, or Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney Do Not Miss This...

This is a book with a balanced view of the men and women fighting that terrible war - and the reasons for doing so! I was enthralled with the bravery, the story of a woman in the grip of the Gestapo rescuing herself and her infant son while her husband - not knowing she was trying to make her escape - was fighting in the biggest naval battle of 1942 - a battle with became the turning point of the war and spelled defeat for Rommel and the Italians, the beginning of the end. What a wonderfully written, clear and exciting book. Not your usual war story, this is for every person, not just WWII history fans.

Sailing on the open ocean under the US flag was a high risk proposition during World War II and many American sailors died on merchant ships that were attached by German U boats, Battleships and bombers. War supply convoys were the only way to get material through to the forces that need it. "At All Costs" takes an intimate look at a critically important convoy. A last ditch effort to bring supplies to a tiny island fighting for life and surrounded an enemy bent on their destruction. A ship fully loaded with highly flammable aviation fuel, kerosene, and ammunitions is dangerous in peace time with good weather. Now learn what it was like to sail that cargo through the tight quarters of the Mediterranean surrounded by fellow targets under intense enemy attack. If you can put this book down, you probably really need the sleep. I also enjoyed Sea of Thunder by Evan Thomas and Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller

Historians have always asked, in books I've read, "How did Churchill turn Stalin into an ally?" This book finally provides the answer. The author had access to all those previously secret documents and, in doing the research for the true story of two brave American sailors - who sort of seem to act for Roosevelt and Churchill - he came across the bigger picture, the real inside story. It is fascinating! I don't want to give it all away, but just as exciting as the page-turning epic sea battle to save the Ohio and her cargo, in the midst of all that carnage of brave men fighting and surviving (unbelievable courage by all, including the enemy!), in the midst of U-boat diary entries, secret Naval documents (60 years hidden away), and interviews with men who were there no longer wanting to hold their tongues - in the midst of all this emerges the reason for the carnage. Kind of like finding out why, after all these years, and how Rommel was stopped. In fact, how did Churchill and Roosevelt win the war? This book has the pivot, the turning point. I really enjoyed learning the real "why" - and even with that important revelation, the fast-paced, good reading kept pace. Every page is eye-popping amazement once you read into the book. And the end... well I won't spoil it. But Hollywood couldn't make this stuff up. I thought it was made up... but they even have the telegram to prove it in the photo section! Amazing!