War at Sea: A Naval History of World War II

With authoritative analysis, and in one volume, Miller majestically relates the history of the last great sea war for the general reader, from the sinking of the passenger ship Athenia on September 3, 1939, to the surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. The battle to secure the seas was the one campaign fought from the beginning of the conflict to its conclusion. The narrative covers the major operations of the American, British, Canadian, Soviet, German, Japanese and Italian navies, with recollections by those who manned the ships and planes. Miller's sweeping version of the Battle of the Atlantic--German U-boats versus Allied convoys--confirms that victory went to the Allies when American shipyards succeeded in producing merchant vessels faster than the Germans could sink them. His compelling account of the turning-point Battle of Midway reveals how the supremacy of carrier aircraft as the decisive factor in modern naval warfare was established. Miller is the author of FDR: An Intimate History. History Book Club main selection; BOMC alternate. (Sept.)