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An Honorable German
In the tradition of Das Boot and The Hunt for Red October comes a sweeping saga of World War II, featuring a heroic and conflicted German U-Boat commander.
An Honorable German
When World War II begins, Max Brekendorf, a proud young German naval officer, fights for his country with honor and courage. With the unstoppable German war machine overrunning Europe, Max looks ahea...more
An Honorable German
When World War II begins, Max Brekendorf, a proud young German naval officer, fights for his country with honor and courage. With the unstoppable German war machine overrunning Europe, Max looks ahea...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
May 28th 2009
by Grand Central Publishing
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Outstanding maritime action sequences are the high points of McCain's otherwise naïve-feeling debut. Max Brekendorf, a young German naval officer during WWII, serves on a battleship in the Atlantic, a merchant raider in the Indian Ocean and, after being adrift in a lifeboat and a convalescence in Paris, he volunteers for the U-boat force. As the war wears on, the navy, an institution that once forbade officers from joining political parties, becomes overrun with Nazi loyalists, creating tensions...more
An Honorable German by Charles McCain is a military history buff’s dream. It is poignant, lyrical fiction woven around what I can only determine are historically accurate facts. It is noted in author Charles McCain’s biography that more than twenty years of research went into this novel. The research is quite apparent since McCain puts the reader right on board with the German Navy. The descriptions of the warships, of the situations taking place aboard and in the North Atlantic waters surroundi...more
There are plenty of novels about World War II in modern literature, and I've read several of them.
But we scarcely see one from the enemy's perspective.
Charles McCain's brilliant novel, the product of 20 years research,is an engrossing tale of an honourable Kriegsmarine officer and his survival at sea. Max Brekendorff is a professional naval officer with a lovely fiancee and a distaste of Nazis.
McCain's story follows Max as he serves aboard the famed pocket battleship Graf Spee, endures weeks in ...more
But we scarcely see one from the enemy's perspective.
Charles McCain's brilliant novel, the product of 20 years research,is an engrossing tale of an honourable Kriegsmarine officer and his survival at sea. Max Brekendorff is a professional naval officer with a lovely fiancee and a distaste of Nazis.
McCain's story follows Max as he serves aboard the famed pocket battleship Graf Spee, endures weeks in ...more
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I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Charles McCain. It's great, cracking, piece of straight ahead historical fiction. It follows the career of a young German Naval officer who starts off aboard the famous pocket battleship Graf Spee. Through his eyes you follow the ship's exploits in the South Atlantic during the first months of the War, including its scuttling in the Rio del Platte. Anybody who is interested in the German Navy will definitely enjoy this read. It is very atmospheric, a good ...more
This book caught my eye on the new book display at my town’s public library. An Honorable German is the story of Maximillian (Max) Brekendorf, an officer of the German Navy during WWII. The action of the book begins on September 30, 1939 and ends on September 10, 1944. The story of Max’s war experience shows the slow destruction of the naval traditions that were Max’s passion as well as the repeated bombings of Berlin and the decline of Nazi Germany. There are some great sea battles, details a...more
Really interesting read. The book shows both the progression of WWII and Max (the protagonist) from a German perspective. As a naval officer, Max experiences the war in fits and spurts, fighting at sea for months at a time then returning to war-torn Europe for periods of "rest." One of the things that makes this book so interesting is seeing (through Max's eyes) the changes to the German people during the course of the war. It starts with everything being logical and sensible (we're ju...more
I stumbled upon this novel on a library display shelf, and read it on impulse. I found this a compelling story, and the description of the suffering endured by average Germans was the most wrenching part of it. We who live in the countries victorious in the war too often, and understandably focus on the tribulations of the Allied victims of Nazi aggression. But ordinary Germans suffered terribly, none more than the Berliners who found themselves under the bombs raining down from Allied bombers ...more
This is a very good novel about Germany in World War II. The central character was loyal to Germany and showed little or no sympathy towards the Nazis. He was an officer on the Graf Spee, a German battleship that the crew scuttled near Montivideo, Uraguay. He then served on a cruiser which was sunk in the Indian Ocean by the British. Later still he commanded a German submarine. He was eventually captured and spent time in a prisoner of war camp in New Mexico. An excellent portrait of the inner w...more
A fictionalized story of World War II, told from the point of view of a German U-Boat captain, with plenty of well-researched historical detail. The sea battle scenes were harrowing, the descriptions of submarine life appropriately claustrophobia-inducing, and the reflections on the British bombing of Berlin and other German cities as seen through the eyes of a German citizen (and a good man) were devastating. A gripping read, and one that makes me want to do further reading on WW2 submarine w...more
This is an incredibly well-written book. I think military buffs would love it because the technical aspects seem to be totally spot-on. Folks who love history would love it because McCain's portrayal of wartime Germany and France feel almost like he was there. And people who love good fiction writing would not in the least be disappointed by McCain's prose, and his hero is far more compelling than you'd think a U-boat commander even could be. I strongly recommend this book.
Yeah, I just won this book, signed by the Author!!! A Second World War book women can enjoy... I have no interest in the navy whatsoever, but this book had me on the ship/boat with the characters... written with the point of view of a normal non-Nazi soldier, hard to put down
I picked out this book because I enjoy reading about the pow's etc. of WWII. It is about a German naval officer. I liked it a lot, some romance and lots of action. A little sex and some rough language.
A superb tale of WWII told from the perspective of a German naval officer. The book is extremely well researched an an excellent first novel by this author.
I love historical fiction, and this is one of the best. World War II told from the German perspective. Outstanding.
I'm probably not the intended audience for this book. I'm definitely not a military-buff nor do I have any particular interest in World War II. I picked up this book because my parents knew the author in college, and I thought, hey, why not? Despite all this, I really really enjoyed reading it. If a book is well-written (and impeccably researched!), I'm apt to like it, even if I don't know anything about the subject matter.
I'm very glad Mr. McCain gave a voice to oft-forgotten non-Na...more
I'm very glad Mr. McCain gave a voice to oft-forgotten non-Na...more
Loved this book! Fantastic!
See my reviews at the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Book Nook at www.reviewjournal.com/blogs/booknook
A good book. I've read it being compared to Das Boot and Red October, and in places it was, but it was a lot like Winds of War in too many places. So, all in all, not a waste of time, but not quite as gripping as I'd have liked.
I thought this book would be about Germans that resisted the Nazi movement, but rather it was about a german naval captain. Reminiscent of "U-571" and easier to follow than "The Hunt for Red October", this was readable. I learned that the German Navy did not operate directly for the Nazi party and a lot of the officers did not believe the propaganda coming from them. There is some sexual content and swearing including some of the "F word".
I really enjoyed this book about a U-Boat captain as he rises through the ranks of e German navy. The book tells the story in such a way that I found myself cheering the Germans on. Excellent characters and the story line is top-drawer!
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