When I hear the term 'ace.' I immediately think of aircraft. But in this case, a German man is telling his story of what happened in the U-boats during WWII. He worked his way up through the ranks, even having to wait to become commander simply because he was too young. He was an intelligent man and knew what he was doing. He cared about his men and always did what he could to bring them back alive.
The writing style of this memoir was very conversational, and it made for an easy read. I was never reluctant to pick it up. The postscript and a speech given by Suhren take up a lot of the end. The actual memoirs ended around page 254. After that was a brief summary of the rest of his life and a speech he gave at the First Post-War reunion of U-boat men in 1954.
The translator starts off the memoir by clearing up a few things. I appreciated how many people he contacted and worked with to get this book into the shape that it is. There are also many pictures, which were included throughout the book instead of all shoved in at the end. I liked that as well.
Overall, this was just a man doing his duty to his country. He was not a member of the Nazi party, and he didn't really seem to care for politics at all. His outspokenness got him in trouble on numerous occasions, but it never stopped him from saying what he felt. He was put in prison after the war, and it didn't seem to be something he understood. He was just doing his duty just as the men on the other side did, so why was he being punished? Eventually, he was let out and built his life back together, but it's an interesting question. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to find out what life was like on a U-boat. Good Book!
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