3 Books Wanted.

[NASAAN101]

Guys,
There are three books im looking for and dont know if they are still out there: THE BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles) by Angus Konstam and BISMARCK: A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and TIRPITZ: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander.. what do you thing?
Nikki

[Don Boyer]

Nikki, ABE Books always has come through with titles like that for me...things you might not find in American used book stores. http://www.abebooks.com. Give it a try. Might cost some for shipping from outside US, but it's worth it if you want the titles on your bookshelf....:)
Regards,

[steve roberts]

Hi Nikki. If Dons post does not come up trumps,try amazon.co/books. They may well have reprinted copies or used copies for sale at a reasonable price,but once again you will have to pay shipping charges! Regards Steve.:)

[NASAAN101]

Don and steve,
Thanks for that! here is a little on the three books: THE BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles) by Angus Konstam
On 25 December 1943 the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst slipped out Altenfjord in Norway to attack Artic convoy JW55B which was carrying vital war supplies to the Soviet Union. But British naval intelligence knew of the Scharnhorst's mission before she sailed and the vulnerable convoy was protected by a large Royal Naval force including the battleship Duke of York. In effect the Scharnhorst was sailing into a trap. One of the most compelling naval dramas of the Second World War had begun. Angus Konstam's gripping account tells the story of this crucial and under-studied naval battle, and explains why the hopes of the German Kriegsmarine went down with their last great ship.
---------------
BISMARCK: A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship by Niklas Zetterling
A gripping tale of heroism -and doom-on the high seas . . .? The sinking of the German battleship Bismarck-a masterpiece of engineering, well-armored with a main artillery of eight 15-inch guns-was one of the most dramatic events of World War II. She left the port of Gotenhafen for her first operation on the night of 18 May 1941, yet was almost immediately discovered by Norwegian resistance and Allied air reconnaissance. British battlecruiser Hood was quickly dispatched from Scapa Flow to intercept the Bismarck, together with new battleship Prince of Wales. They were ordered to find the ship quickly because, on their way from the USA, several large convoys were heading for Britain. On 24 May, Bismarck was found off the coast of Greenland, but the ensuing battle was disastrous for the British. The Hood was totally destroyed within minutes (only 3 crewmen surviving), and Prince of Wales was badly damaged. The chase resumed until the German behemoth was finally caught, this time by four British capital ships supported by torpedo-bombers from the carrier Ark Royal. The icy North Atlantic roiled from the crash of shellfire and bursting explosions until finally the Bismarck collapsed, sending nearly 2,000 German sailors to a watery grave. Tamelander and Zetterling's work rests on stories from survivors and the latest historical discoveries. The book starts with a thorough account of maritime developments from 1871 up to the era of the giant battleship, and ends with a vivid account, hour by hour, of the dramatic and fateful hunt for the mighty Bismarck, Nazi-Germany's last hope to pose a powerful surface threat to Allied convoys. NIKLAS ZETTERLING, a researcher at the Swedish Defense College, is most recently co-author of The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East, 1944. Together with MICHAEL TAMELANDER, a part-time military author, they have written books about the battleship Tirpitz, the D-Day landings and the 1940 campaign in Norway.
---------------
TIRPITZ: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship by Niklas Zetterling
The story of the battleship Tirpitz-Bismarck's sister ship-and the desperateAllied efforts to destroy it . . . After the Royal Navy's bloody high seas campaign to kill the mighty Bismarck, the Allies were left with an uncomfortable truth-the German behemoth had a twin sister. Slightly larger than her sibling, the Tirpitz was equally capable of destroying any other battleship afloat, as well as wreak havoc on Allied troop and supply convoys. For the next three and a half years the Allies launched a variety of attacks to remove Germany's last serious surface threat. The Germans, for their part, had learned not to pit their super battleships against the strength of the entire Home Fleet outside the range of protecting aircraft. Thus they kept Tirpitz hidden within fjords along the Norwegian coast, like a Damocles Sword hanging over the Allies' maritime jugular, forcing the British to assume the offensive. This strategy paid dividends in July 1942 when the Tirpitz merely stirred from its berth, compelling the Royal Navy to abandon a Murmansk-bound convoy called PQ-17 in order to confront the leviathan. The convoy was then ripped apart by the Luftwaffe and U-boats, while the Tirpitz returned to its fjord. In 1943, the British launched a flotilla of midget submarines against the Tirpitz, losing all six of the subs while only lightly damaging the battleship. Aircraft attacked repeatedly, from carriers and both British and Soviet bases, suffering losses-including an escort carrier-while proving unable to completely knock out the mighty warship. Trying an indirect approach, the British launched one of the war's most daring commando raids-at St. Nazaire-in order to knock out the last drydock in Europe capable of servicing the Tirpitz. Of over 600 commandos and sailors in the raid, more than half were lost during an all-night battle that succeeded, at least, in knocking out the drydock. It was not until November 1944 that the Tirpitz finally succumbed to British aircraft armed with 10,000-lb Tallboy bombs, the ship capsizing at last with the loss of 1,000 sailors. In this book military historians Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander, authors of Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany's Greatest Battleship, illuminate the strategic implications and dramatic battles surrounding the Tirpitz, a ship that may have had greater influence on the course of World War II than her more famous sister. let me know what you guys thing of them ok..
Nikki

[steve roberts]

Hi Nikki.You are welcome. Good luck with your search. Steve.:)

[NASAAN101]

guys,
Here are the covers for the three books: THE BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles) by Angus Konstam and BISMARCK: A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and TIRPITZ: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander. let me know what you guys thing about them ok!
Nikki

[steve roberts]

Hi Nikki.They look like good reads.The one about the Battle of North cape I read year's ago and found it fascinating and sad at the same time! Also the one about the Bismark is a very good read,and also sad. By the look of the three covers you have put on the forum,these three are re-prints and look in very good condition.Which site did you find them on? Regards Steve.:)

[NASAAN101]

Steven,
I found them off Amazon.com! THE BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles) by Angus Konstam came out June 2009 and BISMARCK: A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship by Niklas Zetterling came out May 2009 and TIRPITZ: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander came out December 2009. so all three are new books..
Nikki

[steve roberts]

Hi Nikki.Thanks for that.I thought they might have be re-prints,but as you say they are brand new! I have not read the Tirpitz book as I thought she had rather a boring life,but I have ordered a copy from Amazon tonight.Regards. Steve.:)

[NASAAN101]

guys,
there is another book, I'm looking for two: Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck by Sir Ludovic Kennedy. here is a little on it: In May 1941, the German battleship Bismark, then the most formidable fighting ship afloat, escaped into the Atlantic, posing a terrible threat to the convoys that kept Britain supplied. This book gives a first hand account of the pursuit and sinking of the Bismark. this one is the first one to come out in Dec 1975. Let me know what you thing ok..
Nikki

[steve roberts]

Hi Nikki.The L. Kennedy book is the best I've read.Regards Steve.:)

[NASAAN101]

Steven,
I haven't found that anywhere? i looked on ABEbooks, and they don't have it! and i dont trust amazon.com! what do you guys thing?
Nikki

[steve roberts]

Hi Nikki.I have had no problem with Amozon,they even got me a used out of print book.But if you dont trust them,try the site Don posted whenyou first asked.Failing that just go to google and enter the name and and author in the search box and see what it comes up with.Regards Steve.

[JarrowDave]

guys,
there is another book, I'm looking for two: Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck by Sir Ludovic Kennedy. here is a little on it: In May 1941, the German battleship Bismark, then the most formidable fighting ship afloat, escaped into the Atlantic, posing a terrible threat to the convoys that kept Britain supplied. This book gives a first hand account of the pursuit and sinking of the Bismark. this one is the first one to come out in Dec 1975. Let me know what you thing ok..
Nikki

Ludovic Kennedy was a BBC reporter / presenter during the 50s, 60s, 70s and so on. He always came across as considered and fair minded. So anything he wrote is probably well worth the read.

His father was Captain of the Jervis Bay when she took on the Schanhorst and Gniesnau. I think he got a posthumous Victoria Cross.

LK made a couple of BBC TV documentaries about the sinking of the Scharnhorst and Bismarck. Very fair as I remember them.

JD


JD

[John Odom]

I've bought a lot of books from Amazon.com. Never a problem.

[NASAAN101]

JarrowDave,
the ship the twins (Schanhorst and Gniesnau) on was HMS Rawalpindi! Her Commander was Ludovic Kennedy Dad.. but anyway, i found a all of articles on her!
Nikki

[INVINCIBLE]

Ludovic Kennedy was a BBC reporter / presenter during the 50s, 60s, 70s and so on. He always came across as considered and fair minded. So anything he wrote is probably well worth the read.

His father was Captain of the Jervis Bay when she took on the Schanhorst and Gniesnau. I think he got a posthumous Victoria Cross.

LK made a couple of BBC TV documentaries about the sinking of the Scharnhorst and Bismarck. Very fair as I remember them.

JD


JD


The book is very good if a little dated now (published in 1974) and many books have been written on the subject since. Sub Lieut Ludovick Kennedy served as the Captain's Secretary in the destroyer HMS TARTAR. The Tribal Class destroyers were in Vian's squadron, which carried out the night torpedo attacks on the Bismarck.

[NASAAN101]

Guys,
I got Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander! its really good!
Nikki

[INVINCIBLE]

Guys,
I got Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander! its really good!
Nikki

Nikki,

Well done - yes I enjoyed "Tirpitz" when I read it many years ago.
On the subject of Bismarck there is a brand new book by Iain Ballantyne just coming out giving a new take on the action, entitled "Killing the Bismarck". In fact he and Captain Peter Hore are giving a presentation on the subject today in the National Museum of the Royal Navy in the Historic dockyard at Portsmouth at 2pm. The presentation is free and should be very intersting - i will be going. The Hood Association will then be hosting a dinner in Portsmouth tonight.

[Linton]

I use alibris.They sometimes are cheaper than abe.
http://www.alibris.co.uk/

If i have difficulty trying to find a book then I will try Fisher nautical.
Fisher nautical are very good and have a huge catalogue but they are not cheap!There enormous catalogue is not online so you have to email them.They do however produce monthly catalogues showing a selection of their stock.This month's is for authors with surnames beginning with Go-Ha.It takes them three years to get from A-Z. The catalogues alone are worth collecting just as an excellent bibliography of all things nautical.
http://www.fishernauticalbooks.co.uk/

[INVINCIBLE]

Guys,
There are three books im looking for and dont know if they are still out there: THE BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles) by Angus Konstam and BISMARCK: A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and TIRPITZ: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander.. what do you thing?
Nikki

Nikki,

There could well be another book on Bismarck that you might be interested in.
The naval historians Iain Ballantyne and Captain Peter Hore gave an excellent presentation today on the sinking of the Bismarck to launch the new book “Killing the Bismarck” by Iain Ballantyne. The presentation took place in the national museum of the Royal Navy in the historic dockyard at Portsmouth and was very well attended including a fair number of veterans who had been present. I sat next to a veteran who had been the Captain’s messenger on the bridge of Dorsetshire when she put the final torpedoes into the Bismarck. He still has a vivid and detailed memory of that incredible battle. He was onboard Dorsetshire when she was sunk later by the Japanese in the Far East.
A great deal of interest was raised by a newly discovered photograph of either the Hood or the Prince of Wales firing a salvo at close range. The mystery as to which ship it is centres around a strange gout of fire or steam shooting high up into the air from the centre of the battleship. The photograph is taken from the deck of another ship at about four cables distance. Anyway the photograph is included in the new book and many more naval experts will obviously ponder over the photograph at great length.

[NASAAN101]

guys,
Now I just need the other three im looking for: THE BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles) by Angus Konstam and BISMARCK: A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck by Sir Ludovic Kennedy. i'm Almost finish with Tirptiz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship!
Nikki

[INVINCIBLE]

guys,
Now I just need the other three im looking for: THE BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles) by Angus Konstam and BISMARCK: A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck by Sir Ludovic Kennedy. i'm Almost finish with Tirptiz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship!
Nikki

Nikki,

Try Amazon – they have copies of ‘Battle of North Cape’ from £10.25 and copies of ‘Pursuit’ from £0.01 (pp) or from ££3.02 (hard back). Somebody borrowed my copies of ‘Battle of North Cape’ and ‘Bismarck’ but sadly they were never returned., though I had read both. I replaced ‘Battle of North Cape’ with John Winton’s ‘Death of the Scharnhorst’ which I think is better. As regards Bismarck I hung on to my copy of ‘Pursuit’, which I enjoyed I also picked up ‘Bismarck’ by Bercuson & Herwig and also Ballard’s ‘Discovery of the Bismarck’, which tells the full story of the battles. I recommend both.
Best of luck!

[NASAAN101]

Invincuble,
im not sure about Death of the Scharnhorst! Can you tell me about the book? about the book kenndey did, can you tell me about it and is it any good?
Nikki

[INVINCIBLE]

Invincuble,
im not sure about Death of the Scharnhorst! Can you tell me about the book? about the book kenndey did, can you tell me about it and is it any good?
Nikki

Nikki - Hi,

'Death of the Scharnhorst' was written by John Winton (a popular naval writer, including all the well known and now reprinted 'We Joined the Navy' books). He wrote it in 1983 and he draws on material from many of the earlier books on Scharnhorst including Busch, Fraser, CS Forester, Kimber etc. In my opinion it provides a very good coverage of the battle of North Cape and is a very easy book to read because of John Winton's style.
Ludovick Kennedy's 'Pursuit' is almost a classic, published in 1969 it is an exciting read and all the more authentic because he was there at the time. As above I do recommend both books and both are available from Amazon or should be available from a library.
Best of luck!

[NASAAN101]

hey Invincible,
THE BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE: The Death Ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 (Campaign Chronicles) by Angus Konstam and BISMARCK: A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship by Niklas Zetterling and Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck by Sir Ludovic Kennedy. are three im Really Looking at!
Nikki