The Cruel Sea
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
About this listen
Based on the author's own vivid experiences, The Cruel Sea is the nail-biting story of the crew of HMS Compass Rose, a corvette assigned to protect convoys during World War II.
Darting back and forth across the icy North Atlantic, Compass Rose played a deadly cat-and-mouse game with packs of German U-boats lying in wait beneath the ocean waves. Packed with tension and vivid descriptions of agonizing U-boat hunts, this tale of the most bitter and chilling campaign of the war tells of ordinary men who had to master their own fears before they could face a brutal menace - one that would strike without warning from the deep.
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- The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack
- By: Tom Nagorski
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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An unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, and - above all - of courage and the power of the human spirit. On September 17, 1940, at a little after 10 at night, a German submarine torpedoed the passenger liner S.S. City of Benares in the North Atlantic. There were 406 people on board, but the ship's prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had elected to send their boys and girls away from Great Britain to escape the ravages of World War II. They were considered lucky, headed for quiet, peaceful, and relatively bountiful Canada.
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Riveting history
- By appreciative reader on 05-21-17
By: Tom Nagorski
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The Winds of War
- By: Herman Wouk
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 45 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II stands as the crowning achievement of one of America's most celebrated storytellers. Like no other books about the war, Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events - and all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II - as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom.
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A Masterpiece
- By Robert on 05-24-13
By: Herman Wouk
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Into the Storm
- Destroyermen, Book 1
- By: Taylor Anderson
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker---a Great-War vintage "four-stacker" destroyer---finds itself in full retreat from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits. In desperation, he heads Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover---and emerges somewhere else.
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It just never grabbed me.
- By Lore on 05-01-12
By: Taylor Anderson
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U.S.S. Seawolf
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The USS Seawolf was one of the greatest submarine raiders of all time. Having narrowly avoided the attack on Pearl Harbor the Seawolf set out for the seas of the Pacific to wreak havoc on Japanese shipping. Joseph Melvin Eckberg was on the Seawolf from her maiden voyage and remained with her until January 1943. As chief radioman he was instrumental in assisting Captain Frederick Warder to find and destroy enemy targets. From the claustrophobia of being trapped under water and the overwhelming fear of depth charges to the joys of aiding the war-effort and the camaraderie on the ship.
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Unfortunately not very good
- By Jason on 03-29-18
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The Mutiny of the Elsinore
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Life has lost its savor for Mr. Pathurst. New York, fame, women, the arts, have all become tedious. Searching for excitement, he books passage on a cargo vessel sailing from Baltimore to Seattle on a route that travels around the treacherous Cape Horn.
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Just can't listen
- By Michael on 06-25-05
By: Jack London
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The Shadow-Line
- By: Joseph Conrad
- Narrated by: Fred Williams
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Written at the start of the Great War, when his son Borys was at the Western Front, The Shadow-Line is Conrad's supreme effort to open man's eyes to the meaning of war through the stimulus of art. In many ways an autobiographical narrative, this masterpiece of his final period relates the story of a young and inexperienced sea captain whose first command finds him with a ship becalmed in tropical seas and a crew smitten with fever.
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A Reflexion on Maturity
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A Beautiful Blue Death
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Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison.
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I like cozy
- By Sheryl on 05-21-12
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The Sea Wolf
- By: Jack London
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Overall
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Performance
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Jack London worshiped strong and virtuous heroes, and his stories give great weight to the inevitable triumph of good over evil. His telling of the adventures of Humphrey van Weydon in The Sea Wolf is in keeping with this theme of moral man. His powerful and gripping saga of van Weydon's capture by a seal-hunting ship and the ensuing tangles with its dreaded captain, Wolf Larsen, makes this a classic American tale of peril and victory.
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I won the lottery!
- By Bill on 08-11-17
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The Lion at Sea
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- By: Max Hennessy
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Kelly Maguire knew from a young age that he could accomplish great things. As World War I begins, Kelly enlists in the Royal Navy, hoping to win both the war and glory. But from the barbarous battles of Gallipoli to the nightmarish action of Antwerp, Kelly learns the trials a soldier must face: trials that will forge him into a man. As the epic battle of Jutland approaches, everything is at stake.
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Great Navy Tale
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Sea of Poppies
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At the heart of this vibrant saga is an immense ship, the Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean, its purpose to fight China's vicious 19th-century Opium Wars. As for the crew, they are a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts.
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ignorance may be bliss
- By Evelyn M Kloepper on 07-27-09
By: Amitav Ghosh
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What listeners say about The Cruel Sea
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rollondger
- 07-06-16
Awesome performance, outstanding story
Great audio book. Narrator did a fantastic job! Story is great, a really good listen.
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- Us 5 Camp
- 04-02-18
Not a bad way to learn more about the convoys....
What made the experience of listening to The Cruel Sea the most enjoyable?
I enjoyed the novel approach as the facts, figures, tons are well known... it's the hearts and souls who were there that make it interesting.
Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
The forgotten service... a lifeline
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- David
- 03-14-17
A terrific job all around
What a terrific book this is. I never would have read it if I didn't see it on an Audible 2 for 1 special. Great writing, characters, and narration. A terrific job all around.
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- John Cabranes
- 01-14-22
Brilliant
First read this story about 45 years ago. It was(and is) a wonderful book. The narrator in this edition is excellent. The narration seemingly as effortless as it was seamless. If anything, the narration added greatly to the already great story. Bravo!
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- Tim
- 09-08-20
Accurate History
Even though “The Cruel Sea” is historical fiction about World War II and the war in the ocean, I found this book to be accurate. I haven’t really read anything about the war in the North Atlantic. It has always been ground combats. We often forget that World War II also took place in the water and the battle continued on way after the land ended. This book is more like a memorial for those seamen that lost their lives in the Atlantic. The battle of U-boats was technically specific where you forget that the story was made up.
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- DjaanO
- 11-22-22
Naval historical fiction at it's best
Montsarrat's writing is spare but stellar. This is a powerful portrayal of the ordinary men who gave extraordinary service shepherding convoys across the Atlantic during WWII.
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- MortonC
- 03-26-23
Excellent insight into convoy escort duty
Outstanding insights into what daily life was like for the convoy escort sailors - highly recommended!
While fiction, I assume that most of the incidents actually happened to someone or other, so I assume that we can use this as a basis for what the sailors went through.
The story and characters are all highly plausible and Simon Vance's delivery is perfection itself. He really makes this book special; well done!
The book also follows the characters on their personal journey, as they adapt (or succumb) to the pressures of their jobs, or a better understanding of who they are. You really feel that you get to know some of the main characters.
If you want to play a game of this book, go to BoardGameGeek and download the solo print-and-play game Corvette Command by Alan Eagle and try escorting a few convoys. But try to take it seriously and remember the harrowing rescue scenes when you lose a mechantman...
Anyway, fascinating story and storytelling -- I just wish that more of Nicholas Monsarrat's convoy books were on Audible.
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- Eustace B. Nifken
- 11-21-23
A Story of Men At Sea and Their Own Stories as Well
I believe this book to be the best and most comprehensive story of both men at sea and their own personal backgrounds of the Second World War. I read it many years ago when I was a much younger man, but this reading and listening have made the story a hundred times more meaningful and memorable than the first reading by a long shot. The Narrator and his most excellent narration added immeasurably to the story for me and I salute his performance a hundred times.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-17-24
Excellent book
This book tells a story of an unheralded group but essential service during the war.
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- A.N.Other
- 05-16-16
A classic
What did you love best about The Cruel Sea?
A geat story, authentic and one which really stays with you after you put the book down.
The book is a memorial to the seamen of WW2 who died in the Atlantic.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The captain of the Compas Rose, a character both believable and a typical Royal Navy captain.
What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Vance certainly brings the characters to life. The book was published in 1951 and is still a great read.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
WW2 1939 to 1945
Any additional comments?
The book is factual ( I am 93 and lived through those days so I can vouch for that. It stays with you and you begin comparing the present with those days of the Greatest Generation.
Maybe I am getting too old!!! Thanksgiving sweepstakes.
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31 people found this helpful