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The #1 Times bestseller and #3 Sunday Times bestseller (May 2021)

‘Over this past year of pandemic, we’ve lost so much. People have died, great institutions have gone under, life itself seems permanently altered. Yet one certainty remains: Max Hastings still churns out military histories, and they continue to be outstanding. This book like all the others … is a cracker. With his usual combination of sensitivity to human suffering and superb dramatic instinct, Hastings has given us a gripping tale …The immediacy of this book obliterates the cold detachment that time’s passage usually allows … We feel in our bones torpedoes hitting home … the four-day ordeal British sailors endured … is a drama superbly told …The delight lies in the detail, the percussive power of tiny facts …is what makes Hastings such a superb storyteller’
The Times

‘Superb … as ever Hastings gives excellent pen portraits of the personalities involved … Hastings has written many wonderful books … but few combine so well his unique gifts as a historian: an understanding of human nature, a nose for a telling quotation, and the ability to write gripping prose’
Sunday Telegraph

‘The white-knuckle ride of Hastings’s gripping narrative … is a high-octane adventure served up with torpedoes, Stuka dive bombers and catastrophic U-boat attacks … heart-stirring …memorable … and highly readable’
Sunday Times

‘One of the most dramatic forgotten chapters of the war, as told in a new book by the incomparable Max Hastings’
Daily Mail

‘Veteran military historian Hastings’ first full-length narrative of war at sea measures up to his usual high standards … Vividly chronicling the sinking of the aircraft carrier Eagle, Hastings initiates 250 pages of gripping fireworks and insights … Another enthralling Hastings must-read’
Kirkus, starred review

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