The War at Sea Volume I. The Defensive (HMSO Official History of WWII - Military)

Narrative version of the famous 'War at Sea' series by Roskill. Anyone familiar with these fascinatiing books will realise that it is impossible to reproduce the many maps, tables and appendixes of the original in 'Kindle' format - you can't squeeze an A3 map or table onto a A5 Kindle and still read it.

Nevertheless the detailled and highly information text stands on his own as one of the greatest books about the Second World War. It is both a literary and historical masterpiece - a 20th Century 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

The first volume takes from the pre war planing for war, through the Battle of the River Plate, The Campaign in Norway, and Dunkirk. and on into the the pivotal year of 1941. No aspect of the War at Sea is missed. In the final sections the stress of the Royal Navy is apparent with too few ships to cover too many commitments.

The book culminates with the disasters at Singapor and Pearl Harbour. This is not just a book about the Royal Navy, succeeding volumes cover the operations of the US Navy with a detail and breath of strategic vision only surpassed by Morisons 'History of US Naval Operations in WWII'

Not only is it a history and work of literature - it is also a textbook on Naval Strategy with references to many famous writers such as Mahan and Corbett that provide insight into to all the many and varied aspects of WWII.