Rated 5+
From: Library
This book will go down as one of my favorite reads this year. I do not remember what prompted me to put this book on my reserve list at the library because I have slept a time or two since then and have been to California and back. What ever it was that prompted me to do it I am very happy that I did.
I was hooked from the first chapter. The descriptions of conditions on a U-Boat and the emotional and ethical struggles of Max as the commander in charge, and the battles and rescues at sea were fantastic as well as what life was like for the German citizens as they gradually lost the war. The description of how people converted their gasoline driven engines to wood burning really surprised me. It's amazing what people can manage to contrive when they have too.
I also loved the fact that McCain weaved in a romantic life for the hero and delivered an in depth account of what it must have been like for a young German naval officer in WWII who was truly "Honorable" in thought, word and deed. A real page turner of a book.
