Away All Boats

by Kenneth Dodson

Vintage paperback

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II, War, Nautical

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

After graduating from high school, Mr. Dodson spent 20 years in the Merchant Marine. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, he enlisted in the Navy and saw action in nine major battles, including Okinawa. He was injured and received numerous medals and citations. He left the service in 1947 as a lieutenant commander.

In the early 1950's, the poet Carl Sandburg, a friend, encouraged Mr. Dodson to write about his experiences during the war.

Mr. Dodson then took creative writing classes at the University of Washington and produced a popular novel, ''Away All Boats'' (1954), about the inexperienced crew of the attack transport Belinda. The book was made into a successful film in 1956 starring Jeff Chandler, Richard Boone, David Janssen and Lex Barker.

He wrote several other books, including ''Stranger to the Shore'' (1956), ''Hector the Stowaway Dog'' (1958), which was made into a Walt Disney television movie, and ''The China Pirates'' (1960). His last book, ''The Poet and the Sailor,'' was completed shortly before his death.

Reviews

[Kelley Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is a "Novel", my father served with Kenneth Dodson on this ship during the war. My father loved this book and I regret not having read it while he was still alive. We had watched the film based on the book and he told me all sorts of amazing things that happened. This book is so well-written you feel like you're there with the crew. I can't say enough good things about this book. Whether you are interested in World War two or not, find a copy of this book and check it out.

[Barbara Kurtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an avid reader, and this book is unlike any other. I’m sure it will be at the top of my “All Time Favorites” list for a very long time. I have always loved historical fiction and I often have sources (as close to primary as I can get) open beside me as I read them. Kenneth Dodson (the author of “Away All Boats”) served as an officer aboard the Attack Transport USS Pierce (APA 50) during World War II. My Dad served as a Gunners Mate 3rd, then 2nd, then 1at Class aboard the same ship during the same time. Although I don’t recall Dad mentioning Dodson, their dates of service are identical, and they surely were acquainted with each other. Dodson based “Away All Boats” on his service aboard the USS Pierce. As I read this realistic, impeccably accurate book of historical fiction, my primary source was my own Dad’s journal of his experiences aboard the ship and his letters (complete with censored cuts) to my Mom during his deployment. The dates of each and every battle, beach party, and shore leave exactly matched my Dad’s journal entries. Although the book was the story as told through the eyes of the senior officers and non-coms, during the battle sequences they often mentioned Gun 1 or Gun 2. My Dad’s journal stated which gun he was assigned to (often Gun 2), along with how many rounds he had fired towards shore or Kamikazes. So it was as if my own father were actually a character in the book.

I am the daughter of a loving, strong, practical man who was a member of the Greatest Generation (aka the Silent Generation). He heeded the call to serve his country, gave it his all, and came home to marry and raise a family. I am his only child, and he always thought it important to protect me and my mother from the horrors he experienced. This book has provided me with a glimpse into his experiences, and for that I am very grateful. The story is not romanticized; it is sometimes the story of heroes, but it also includes the story of cowards. It is the realistic story of humans who loved their country, their ship and their shipmates. I so wish my Dad were still here so I could talk with him about it.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good tale of WW II in the Pacific from the viewpoint of the officers and crew of an attack transport (a large armed freighter with an "APA" designation that carried landing craft and troops for amphibious landings, plus a large quantitiy of supplies). The main character is a reserve officer with 20+ years of experience on freighters in the Pacific, but the story is also told throught the eyes of many other officers and men. The author does a good job of keeping the characters well drawn -- it's a long book and plenty of time to explore lots of different experiences. This book is episodic and doesn't have a strong plot line other than the progress and survival of the ship, the USS Belinda. So I guess you could say the main character was the Belinda. Lots of excitement throughout.

Most of the characters and episodes were realistic, although the ship's captain for the last part of the story seems a bit off . . . but who's to say that isn't realistic? If it worked for "Mr. Roberts" and "The Caine Mutiny," why shouldn't it work for "Away All Boats"?

I'm guessing the author put everything he experienced and heard about from others into this book. Don't know what he did for an encore.

[Charles H Berlemann Jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the classics of WW2 naval literature that goes along with the Caine Mutiny, Harm's Way, Run Silent and Mr. Roberts. From told from the viewpoints of a Merchant ship Captain named Dave McDougall who gives up some of his stripes and pay grade to serve on a Attack Transport as a US Naval Reservist during the later half of WW2. From Tarawa on to Okinawa this ship delivers the men to the shores to take those islands. The various characters from the kindly and special Dr. Flynn the head of the sick bay, to the old 1st Lieutant Fraser who was also a Merchant Captain and now a Naval Reservist who lost command and the garbage grinder name Hubert who seems to live a charmed life. The two captains that serve on the ship from the old Captain Gedney who wanted a cruiser and not an old attack transport and then old Jed Hawks the man who has been in this war from the start in 1941 until he got command of this ship. As always the book is much better than the movie and in this case looking for the scenes in the classic 1956 movie and then finding more expansion of what is going on with some of the scenes shown and the discussions made. This is one of those books if for leadership should be on your shelf and if you like a good story about folks other than the carriers or the Marines then this should be on your shelf as well.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book from Dad's library published in 1954. The author said that he wanted to let people see how it really was on a ship in Pacific campaign of WWII. He used a fictional ship/crew participating in real battles to tell the story of the action. From eccentric captains to slackers, newbies and grunts the people are vividly shown progressing from island to island. This is so well written that you can see how newbies grow into experts, officers change roles and the unbearable burdens put upon a captain. I could feel the fear being suppressed as the crew unloads an entire transport ship and moves the people and materiel over reefs and to the beach in the face of invisible defenders waiting for the moment to fire. Then, the survivors go and do it again in a few months at the next island. When you would think they'd be brooding in anxiety, they are brooding over when they mail will arrive.

The climax was so amazingly written! I can't begin to describe how he reveals the events of mere seconds and what the men are thinking as it happens before their eyes.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written shortly after the end of WW2 by a former lieutenant commander who served aboard the Navy attack transport U.S.S. Pierce in the Pacific Theater. It tells a slightly fictionalized version of his travels/travails on the Pierce, which he reanames U.S.S. Belinda in the book. The book follows the Belinda from one beachhead to the next, Makin Island, Kwajalein, Saipan, Lingayen Gulf, and finally to Okinawa, all from 1943 to 1945. This could be the most realistic war novel you'll ever read because it was written by someone who was there, close in time to the events that happened. There's no attempt to embellish any aspect of the engagements and everything is explained in great detail. There really are no bad guys (except the enemy of course) and all the men are portrayed realistically and individually.

[Michael Gerardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew a thing or two about WWII, but reading this book was a whole new education. The complexity of naval operations on a single attack transport was astonishing, and the author clearly knew the subject well. I really felt like I was aboard ship during the campaigns of the U.S.S. Belinda! It's a long and sometimes difficult read (in part due to some peculiarities of the author's use of language), but well worth it.

[Jeff Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not terribly engaging in the first quarter of the book, nor is it great at character development but it does possess humor, and a good depiction of internal conflicts, in addition to the obvious conflict with Japan.

[Brian]

I really couldn't get into the book. I've seen the movie before, so I don't know if that has anything to do with why I couldn't get into the story.

[Albert Meier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account of a WWII attack landing transport. The details of life are portrayed well. You meet some interesting characters, but some are just wacky or annoying.

[Stacy Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a marvelous book. It follows amphibious landings on the Pacific during World War II. It is well-written, realistic, and a peek into history.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to re-read this book, which I first read in high school, because of my interest in my Dad's war. At 17 he was a sailor in the Pacific in 1944. This book vividly describes that Pacific war, not from the perspective of subs or carriers or destroyers, but an APA, an Attack Transport. These are the ships, which transported the men and material to the beaches. The author served on just such a ship, and his familiarity with that world breathes through every page. Compelling and absorbing, worth looking for at your local library. Quote: "We can't buy a deed to freedom; we have to pay for it as we go along. All that we've seen done -- all that's gone before our time -- is not enough, yet others will rise and stand fast when they must."

[Shayna]

This book is a very, well written historical fiction novel based on the life of an officer on an attack transport during WWII. Dodson uses great detail to help you create an image in your head of what is going on.

[Shefali]

Away All Boats by Kenneth Dodson (1956)

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping WWII story of a troop transport ship in the Pacific.

[Xdw · Rating 2 out of 5]

rereading WW2 pacific amphib historical fiction not bad

[Rudy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, slow in parts, but nothing is unimportant to the whole.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Review TK