by Lothar-Günther Bucheim

Hardbound edition first published by Knopf, New York, in 1975 containing 463 pages. Paperback edition published by Bantam, New York in 1976 containing 563 pages.

The German language ‘Das Boot’ translated into English. The film ‘The Boat’ was based on this novel in which a war correspondent accompanies a U-boat on a war patrol. The author claims the events depicted are the summation of his experiences aboard U-boats. He also states that the characters are fictitious. Therefore, while personal experiences may have been used as a basis for the setting, the personalities portrayed and the events that occur should not be taken as being typical of the U-boat life.