We will begin this excellent feature again here in KTB #107, as the whole works of 119 REVIEWS by DICK are of great value to researchers. This feature is entirely the work of DICK COLE (204-A-1986) and we really appreciate his hard work to compile such a comprehensive listing.

INTRODUCTION

'This bibliography will discuss the literature, including books, articles and tapes that have been published in English about German U-Boats of the 2nd World War era. The purpose is to provide-non German speaking readers (like myself) a means of obtaining more information about U-Boats. I will not attempt to determine the accuracy of the contents of the material as I am not qualified to do so. I will try to tell you what material has been published and what it contains.

However, before I begin, I would like to make the following points that must be kept in mind when reading the literature.

1. No one can know exactly what it was like to serve on a U-Boat except those who did.

2. Every sailor has his own unique story. What happened on one U-Boat did not necessarily happen in all of them.

3. Translation is not always accurate. Almost all literature written from the German point of view has been translated into English, and seldom by the author.

4. Stories written during the War by either side may contain propaganda, may have been censored, or may be based on erroneous assumptions. Thus, they might not be completely factual.

5. Stories written after the War by either side may be more intended to justify, rationalize, glorify, vilify or condemn rather than to accurately relate the facts.

6. Time tends to distort memory. The longer the time between the event and the writing, the more likely errors in detail will occur.

True researchers will maintain an open mind while collecting data. Judgements are made only after evaluating all the information. I suggest you do the same when you are reading about U-Boats. It should give you a much more accurate idea of what really happened.

CHAPTER I - AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND MEMOIRS

Among the most accurate sources of historical information are accounts written at the time the event occurred by people who actually were there. Unfortunately, very few of these sources exist from the U-Boat service, at least in English. More commonly available are autobiographies or memoirs written after the War ended. While these may be somewhat less accurate because of the elapsed time, they still have the distinct value of being written by the actual participants.'

We begin with the autobiography of Gunther Prien in KTB #108; but why wait for all 119 BOOK REVIEWS to come out in our KTB Magazine? Just send a contribution of $25 or more to our COMPUTER FUND and request DICK's BOOK REVIEWS, and you'll receive the complete listing quickly.