The Naval Handbook for Sailmakers

The Rescue Ships and The Convoys : Saving Lives During The Second World War. Book of the month December 2024.

This thoroughly researched and comprehensive account examines both the political, maritime and logistic aspects of the Arctic convoy campaign. Controversially it reveals that the losses of merchant vessels were significantly greater than hitherto understood.

Nautilus Telegraph' s Book of the Month for November 2021.

It’s a thorough work with useful charts and graphs, an interesting selection of photos and a good index. In addition to the facts and figures, Ireland provides analysis and insight, notably arguing provocatively that ‘the situation was never as parlous nor the struggle so evenly balanced as was perceived at the time and has consistently been described since’. It’s a stance that may not prove popular in the Merchant Navy community, but the book is worth a read nevertheless, and readers can make up their own minds after giving Ireland’s arguments a hearing.

From Hunter to Hunted : The U-Boat in the Atlantic, 1939-1943