Books

Bloodstained Sea
Where They Lay
Tracks in the Sea: Matthew Fontaine Maury and the Mapping of the Oceans
A Revolution in Favor of Government: Origins of the U.S. Constitution and the Making of the American State
Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide and Modern Identity
The Phoenix Program
The Pledge
The Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge
Stolen Childhood: A Saga of Polish War Children
The Lady and the Tigers: Remembering the Flying Tigers of World War II
Spanish Economics in the Sixteenth Century: Theory, Policy, and Practice
Major Problems in American Indian History
America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s
Cold Peace: Stalin and the Soviet Ruling Circle, 1945-1953
Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam
The Tiananmen Papers
Postwar Japan: 1945 to Present (Historical Association Studies)
The French Revolution (Historical Association Studies)
The Turks in World History
The Horses of St. Marks: A Story of Triumph in Byzantium, Paris and Venice
That Man: An Insider's Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Revolutionary France: 1770-1880 (History of France S.)
The Germans and the Final Solution: Public Opinion Under Nazism (Jewish Society & Culture S.)
A History of India (History of the World S.)
England and Its Rulers: 1066-1272 (Classic Histories of England)

Average customer rating:

Horror in the Atlantic
Bloodstained Sea
Interesting view on the Battle of the Atlantic
All Coasties: Battle Stations!
Like you are there

Bloodstained Sea
Michael G. Walling
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Sinbad of the Coast Guard
Coast Guard Action in Vietnam: Stories of Those Who Served
Rescued By The U.S. Coast Guard: Great Acts Of Heroism Since 1878
The Coast Guard in World War I: An Untold Story
Always Ready: The U.S. Coast Guard (Power)

ASIN: 0071457933

Book Description

"The definitive work on what the Coast Guard achieved when called to serve. An absolute 'must read.' "—Military magazine

Americans called it Torpedo Junction; to the Germans, it was Devil's Gorge. By any name, the North Atlantic of the early 1940s was one of the most dangerous fronts in a catastrophic war. Called upon in desperate times, seven of the Coast Guard's finest ships—the sleek, efficient, tough 327-foot Secretary-class cutters—and their crews plied these unforgiving waters to protect convoys of troops and much-needed supplies.

Painstakingly assembled from interviews, diaries, notes, and letters, these are their stories. . . .

"One of the most riveting accounts of naval combat history I've seen."—Vince Patton, Master Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)

"A compelling tale of courage and heroism told with all the fury and terror experienced by those Coast Guard veterans who lived it."—Robert F. Cross, author, Sailor in the White House: The Seafaring Life of FDR

"Walling brings the bloody Battle of the Atlantic alive."—Dr. Martin Davis, author, Traditions and Tales of the Navy; executive director, the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum

"An important contribution to the history of the Coast Guard in World War II."—Naval History

"Snatches our venerable Coast Guard's history from the depths of obscurity and preserves the exploits of these brave men for future generations."—David Morris, author, Storm on the Horizon: Khaffi—The Battle that Changed the Course of the Gulf War

Customer Reviews:

Horror in the Atlantic.......2007-06-29

Mike Walling backs up for a running start: he describes the sudden attention paid to the Coast Guard by the Navy before WWII was even declared. I wonder if the record of 1 hour and 45 minutes still stands for painting a white ship battleship gray.

In chapter after chapter he delineates the torpedoing of merchant ships by the dozen and the storms never seemed to let up. The rescues of a pitifully few men are nothing short of amazing. It reads like a whodunnit even though we know how it comes out.
Mike takes some statistics and breathes life into them making the reader really care what happens to the ships doomed or not. I'm guessing that surviving U-boat commanders are reading it and learning how it all came out.

The judges of the Samuel Eliot Morison award for Navy literature are to be commended for tearing themselves away from the book and awarding it the prize.

Bloodstained Sea.......2007-03-26

Bloodstained Sea was a pleasure to read, my Dad served on the USCGC Campbell during WWII so this book was special to me. Unfortunately, he passed away at an early age allowing him and me no time to discuss his Coast Guard service. This book has given me the opportunity to understand some of the hardships those men endured.
If history interests you at all this is a must read. The rescues, tragedies and determination of these men are brought to life with the author's detail.

Interesting view on the Battle of the Atlantic.......2006-07-20

Every author that attempts to undertake a project to write a portion of the history of the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II has to pick a specific area to focus on - some focus on the U-Boats, some on the merchant ships, other on the tactics. Michael Walling has chosen to explore a different area than any others I've seen - the US Coast Guard involvement in the battle, with a particular focus on the Secretary Class of the Coast Guard Cutters.

The Secretary class boats were 327 foot long cutters that could run at high speeds and handle the terrible weather prevalent in the North Atlantic, thus making them ideal for escort & sub-hunting duty. Walling focuses on just a handful of ships in his tale, but does so quite nicely.

Naturally, when covering a topic such as an entire theatre of war, many other players partake in the story, and Walling most assuredly has not ignored any of the critical players, including the merchant vessels that the Cutters were escorting, the U-Boats that they were hunting, or (most importantly) the people that they were rescuing.

In my opinion, Walling spends perhaps a little too much time on the weather aspects of the battle, though this certainly made for fascinating reading, since many authors almost completely ignore this facet of this theater of war. Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would say that it is an exciting, well researched, engaging tome covering the topic. I would recommend this book, in conjunction with some others, to any reader looking for a comprehensive story - this is a nice piece, it needed to be told, and is a solid addition to the literature on the topic.

All Coasties: Battle Stations!.......2006-01-25

This is the fascinating and not well known tale of the US Coast Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic during WWII. My father served as a gunner on convoy escort duty in Spring 1945 and I never really understood the dangers of this type of work until I read this book. They were sinking U-boats off the East Coast right up until the surrender in May 1945!

The best parts of this book were the actual stories of the coastguardsmen themselves. The most difficult part was reading through the course of the many battles as described in the skippers' after action reports.

All in all, I have now a greater respect for what the the USCG did in WWII and what it continues to do today in the Global War on Terror.

Like you are there.......2005-06-17

This is an absolutely excellent tale of the Coast Guardsmen who manned the cutters in the battle of the Atlantic. Focuses primarily on the 7 Secretary Class cutters but tell some on all that served in the Atlantic. His narrative is sprinkled with input of many survivors. Those words make it real. You feel the wet, tired and cold that they do and the fear and numbness of war in the convoys. A great read. As a Coast Guardsman who has sailed those waters and still can only imagine what they went through, I highly recommend this book.

Average customer rating:

Bloodstained Sea
Michael G. Walling
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFMUXG

Bloodstained Sea : The U.S. Coastguard in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1941-1944

Average customer rating:

Bloodstained Sea : The U.S. Coastguard in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1941-1944
Michael Walling
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OG2RPQ

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