Decision at Sea: The Convoy Escorts (Men & Battle)

Written by a skilled naval historian who is himself a veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic, this relatively small book is a good introduction to the epic battle between Allied merchant convoys and their escorts, on the one hand, and German U-boats, on the other. The book actually ranges beyond the escorts themselves to take in all aspects of 'the Longest Battle,' from planning and leadership, to key clashes, to (of course) epic survival stories of merchant mariners adrift in the open ocean.As you'd expect from a volume this size, 'Decision at Sea' is not the definitive book on the topic. However, the important things are not slighted. Men like Max Horton, Peter Gretton, and Otto Kretschmer, events like the PQ-17 and SC-130 convoys, and innovations like HF/DF and the 'wolf pack' all get the attention they deserve. (Gretton's own book, 'Convoy Escort Commander' [Cassell, 1964], is a good title to read in convoy, as it were, with this one.) Anyone looking for a good survey of the topic, possibly as a prelude to deeper study, will find much of value here.