World War II at Sea

A Global History

By: Craig L. Symonds

Narrated by: Eric Martin

Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

Opening with the 1930 London Conference, Symonds shows how any limitations on naval warfare would become irrelevant before the decade was up, as Europe erupted into conflict once more and its navies were brought to bear against each other. World War II at Sea offers a global perspective, focusing on the major engagements and personalities and revealing both their scale and their interconnection: the U-boat attack on Scapa Flow and the Battle of the Atlantic; the "miracle" evacuation from Dunkirk and the pitched battles for control of Norway fjords; Mussolini's Regia Marina - at the start of the war the fourth-largest navy in the world - and the dominance of the Kidö Butai and Japanese naval power in the Pacific; Pearl Harbor then Midway; the struggles of the Russian Navy and the scuttling of the French Fleet in Toulon in 1942; the landings in North Africa and then Normandy. Here as well are the notable naval leaders - FDR and Churchill, both self-proclaimed "Navy men," Karl Dönitz, François Darlan, Ernest King, Isoroku Yamamoto, Erich Raeder, Inigo Campioni, Louis Mountbatten, William Halsey, as well as the hundreds of thousands of seamen and officers of all nationalities whose live were imperiled and lost during the greatest naval conflicts in history.

©2018 Craig L. Symonds (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Outstanding

I have read dozens of books about WW-II, and many, many about the war at sea during that conflict. This was one of the very BEST. I learned several vignettes an other facts that recent schlorship has brought to light. I highly recommend this book.

DISAPPOINTING FACTUAL ERRORS

Presentation is great and it's nice to have a comprehensive book on the entire war at sea. However, numerous disappointing errors of fact in the campaign that I personally know. For example, Symonds states IJN lost only a destroyer at Battle of Cape Esperance. IJN destroyer Fubuki was sunk, but in fact the annihilation and sinking of the heavy cruiser Furutaka was the signal event of the battle. On a larger scale, Symonds reports that 7th Marine Division was sent to Guadalcanal, when in fact the USMC never had a 7th division and it was the 7th Marine Regiment that was sent. To a civilian that might seem minor, but to one who wore both USN and USMC uniforms it's breathtaking. Says death of Yamamoto was one year and one day after Battle of Midway -- not sure how April 1943 is 1 year 1 day after June 1942. Makes me wonder how many errors of fact there are on the campaigns that I am not already conversant in and whether Symonds is a qualified historian or simply an energetic author. Had to pause at this point to write this comment, so I can not comment on how many more errors there are after chapter 18. Looks like he enlisted uninterested undergraduates to put it all together and then put his name on the resulting book.

The Ocean War: 30,000 feet to 600 feet below

My highly decorated father-in-law fought in WWII in France and Germany. He would never have arrived except for other men -such as my father- who helped design the ships in the Brooklyn Navy yard that carried our armed forces to Europe and the Pacific. Men and woman like them saved the world. As Wellington said, : this was"a near run thing" ; victory was not inevitable. This book will convince you victory was hard won at all levels. But you get a better appreciation by examining the war at sea. It really is wonderful given the premise that --like a sausage circus balloon -- you squeeze at one end and it expands at another. Ships needed for the invasion in Europe had to compete with carrier losses in the Pacific. This book examines the global sea war chronologically --hitting the major battles and political infighting but also telling us stories about single ship actions complete with the names of the captains. And it is not just about the war. It is the war against commerce and the war to build more ships faster than the enemy can sink them. Great bravery and damn good luck in some cases saved the day. It is a wonderful, gripping story, well told.and very interesting.The print version has maps and photographs. This audio version is seriously marred by the lack the .pdf s that accompany other military-related audio-books. That said you can find most of the maps on line in Wikipedia. Get the book.-- you will not be disappointed.

Most Comprehensive history...pay close attention

Craig Symonds is a master of naval history. This is a comprehensive masterpiece of naval warfare during World War II. It’s very thorough so if one isn’t paying attention, much detail will be missed. I had to rewind a lot. But no detail is left uncovered. Eric Martin’s narration strikes the perfect tone. This will most definitely require a second or third listen.

A Great Bird’s Eye View of WWII

I have read lots of books about particular WWII battles and soldiers; this one gave me my first bird’s eye view of the war as a whole, using the operations at sea as a prism. I appreciated Symonds’ ability to pepper the big narrative with both incisive character sketches of important players and engaging smaller tales of particular battles—all while explaining clearly the technical, strategic, or logistical issues needed to comprehend what was at stake in any given operation. Eric Martin’s narration at first struck me as a bit stilted, but I soon came to appreciate the care and clarity he brought to more difficult passages that require a listener’s complete attention. I liked it so much I’m going to take it from the top and listen to the whole thing again.

WIDE Ranging. Paints comprehensive global picture.

Superbly researched and presented. Ties all theaters together to provide a fascinating interlocking view of World War II at sea.

Very rewarding coverage of entire war effort.

I haven't experienced as thorough a coverage of this world war in such a compact package. Author Symonds gives an astounding walk of the entire War from the Naval aspect while still furnishing the right amount of detail on the other services contributions. And this with a very good description of nationalistic aspects on all of the nations on both sides of the conflict.

Battle Logistics writ large

The scale of the Naval engagements in both theaters and the sacrifices made by all combatants are staggering when absorbed in one session like this.

Both sides have tales to tell

I enjoyed the way we are shown both sides of the battles and the build up to it. He can be credited with the amount of research conducted to make the book.

Must-read naval history

Most books that cover the naval history of World War II focus on the war in the Pacific, the Atlantic or the Mediterranean. Mr Symond’s narrative presents the whole arc of naval engagements from the 1930 London Naval Treaty to the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender - from the Baltic Sea to the Gulf of Leyte; from the Bering Strait to the Bay of Bengal - a world at war at sea.

It is well researched, written and narrated (if you set the speed to 1.25)

One of the most compelling threads of this saga is the utter collapse, at every turn, of the British Navy and the amazing courage of the British sailors in the face of that onslaught. After 200 years, it is the final chapter of “Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!”