This is a superb survey of the fierce naval struggles; from 1939 up to the invasion of the Norway in April 1940. Beginning with the sinking of the German fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919; it then covers the rebuilding of the Kriegsmarine and parallel developments in the Royal Navy; and in the European navies. Focusing on the actions at sea after the fall of Poland; this history covers the sinking of Courageous; the German mining of the British East Coast; the Northern Patrol; the sinking of Rawalpindi; small ship operations in the North Sea and German Bight; the Altmark incident; German surface raiders and the early stages of the submarine war in the Atlantic. Researched extensively in German; British; and other archives; the work is intended to paint a balanced and detailed picture of this significant period of the war when the opposing naval forces were adapting to a form of naval warfare quite different to that experienced in WWI.
#710964 in Books New York Review Books 2013-11-05 2013-11-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x 1.45 x 5.88l; 1.75 #File Name: 1590176731622 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Light in the DarknessBy CustomerThank you; Slavko Goldstein; for a magnificent; meticulous contribution to clarifying the fog that has engulfed my understanding of the period 1941-1950 in Croatia. I would have given it five stars except for the omission of all but passing reference to Alois Stepinac. So; we are still left to wonder--saint or sinner and to what degree. As a person whose roots are from Veljun; this is a signifocant omission. Otherwise; I intensely read the entire work over nearly one continuous reading over two days. I would have read on and on if there were more. My own feelings about the situation to a degree mirror those of this meticulous observer. His accounts very much corroborate much of my family's "folk" history of the times. I have read the accounts of Glase von Horstenau many years ago; and I was able to follow the events of 1991-1995 through the use of official UNPROFÓR maps sent to me through unofficial channels. It may be true; as Tolstoy said; that historians answer the questions no one ever asked; but it is not true about Slavko's fine piece of work. Thank you again; Mr. Goldstein. I cannot express how much you have helped shed light on a dark; murky period. Understanding without blaming is so very hard to do.24 of 27 people found the following review helpful. Probably best and most readable description of Croatia's history from 1941-1995 that I ever readBy Brooklyn residentDisclosure: Born in Croatia in the 60-ties in a Catholic family (with some distant members married to Serbs and others scattered throughout former Yugoslavia); I grew up in West Germany; returned to Croatia about a decade before another war erupted; and in Brooklyn; NY since before the war ended in 1995. Voted only one time in multiparty elections; in 1990; and it happened to be for HSLS; which was cofounded by the author. Do not know him and never met him at the time of this writing. Ordered Croatian version of book; but read and completed the English Kindle version.It is very hard to classify and pinpoint this book. It is part autobiography; part biography of his father; part detailed documentary chronicle of events of 1941-1945 of the Karlovac region (and beyond) of Croatia; part history of the Holocaust in Croatia.The style is meandering; but linking together places; people and events spanning decades; and describing the most difficult and contentious times of Croatia's recent history in a factual; honest and I would dare say personally courageous way. I see Croatia still as a place where emotions run very high when it comes to certain topics; and the author has poked his stick into the vasp nests of every contentious topic that lets the blood boil on every political side (left; right or center).One of the most remarkable quality of the book is his ability; rare by Croatian; Yugoslav and probably Balkan standards; to describe events from various points of view; making them look less black and white; with lots of gray and even color mixed into it.I was surprised to find that many of the stories of my parents and grandparents about the difficult WW2 period in Northern Croatia in a region closer to the Hungarian border sounded very similar to what I found in this book written about Karlovac; which convinced me that the author has done his best to be truthful and complete in his description of events of this time.For a Croatian kid interested in history; but growing up on one-sided stories from either one or the other side; this book is priceless and in my middle age explains to me things from the 1930-ties to today like nothing else I ever read in a book about this region.I truly hope that in my lifetime this book will be made obligatory reading for Croatian high school students.For the non-Croatian/Yugoslav/Balkan among the readers this book may be a little more difficult to follow than to someone like me. There are many interesting descriptions of life before; during and after the war in that part of Croatia; of life in the Partisan guerrilla fighters in Yugoslavia in WW2; etc.One of the remarkable aspects of this book is the detailed description of the fate of many of Croatia's Jewish residents; and their options at the time; which; though they were affected by the Holocaust; had the remarkable alternative to join the resistance and fight the murderers of their people; and be in the end victorious. The author's mother made that choice and saved her and her sons' life.I could go on and on in describing what else this book contains; and suffice it to say that I doubt that a foreign reader will find all portions of the book equally interesting; but for readers wanting to understand the Balkans in the 20th century this book should be required reading; as it comes from an eyewitness to critical events who is very objective in his approach; detail oriented and as complete as possible.I am waiting for the Croatian edition of the book and may post an update later on commenting on additional aspects of the book.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Well researched and documented book. Somewhat selective in telling "the whole truth"By Milan GacesaI was born in what is now Croatia to parents of Serbian heritage one year before "NDH" was proclaimed. In our immediate family we lost 2 people to the "cleansing" campaign. It is impossible to convey the horrors of such a campaign; but the book makes a reasonable effort to do so; perhaps understandably choosing to bypass the most gruesome practices of the "cleansers". I have known; for many years; the woman mentioned in the book; Dara Skoric; but she is reluctant; more than 70 years later; to talk about the specifics of the events that lead to her capture and escape. At the beginning of the book the author mentions the number of people of Serbian heritage lost; but does not make an effort to substantiate that number in the remainder of the book. He goes to great lengths to substantiate 'a number' in each specific example where atrocities happened; e.g.: Glina; etc.; but does not return to the claimed total number. The author's efforts to equate Chetniks and Ustashe is curious; although in the eyes of a Parizan that may be understandable or necessary in his environment today. During my early school years; in Communist Yugoslavia; my best friend; Mile Chubelic; was a boy whose mother was of Serbian descent and father was of Croatian decent. Mile and I were separated in 1954 when I emigrated from Yugoslavia; and were not in regular contact; but met on occasion when I returned for visits. In 1992 Mile was rounded up together with more than 100 other 'undesirables' (presumably because he was only 50% of Croatian blood) and massacred in Gospic by Croatian nationalists. The parallels of 1941 and 1992-95 are only alluded to in the book; which is understandable because the book is about 1941. However; there was a great opportunity lost in showing the common roots of the two campaigns.It is hoped that the author will follow-up this excellent book with other material from the same period and the same region; especially documentation of the most recent tragic events in that region. I wholeheartedly agree with another reviewer who says that this book should be made required reading for high school students in Croatia.
