https://premraostoryteller.com/2017/09/22/shadow-over-the-atlantic-by-robert-forsyth/

When I first picked up "Shadows over the Atlantic," I was predisposed to like it. I have a longstanding interest in military history, the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine, but that said, I was somewhat disappointed. The book contains a great deal of densely packed information. Unfortunately, I cannot say that it was easy to unpack that information. Don't get me wrong, it is very well documented, and does "cover" , to some extent, a topic that has been underrepresented in print. For me, what was missing was a master narrative. By this I mean that it was like reading a great deal of information, some of it quite fascinating, but feeling afterwords that it was just information being presented for its own sake. Would it be useful to someone considering creating a master narrative around the raw material? Of course. Is it useful or even particularly interesting to the lay reader looking for an analysis built around the raw data, no. I wanted to like it, but I simply found that the theme, such as it was, could not hold the narrative together in the absence of further analysis. The story is there but not the storytelling. Much of the narrative is taken directly from the documentation, and this also promotes a kind of chaos where an a controlling narrative order might have made it easier to digest. In the end, I found myself intrigued but disappointed.

I received a free Kindle copy of Shadow Over the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe and the U-Boats: 1943-45 by Robert Forsyth courtesy of Net Galley and Osprey Publishing, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my history book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I read a great deal about World War II, but not much about U-Boats and their interaction with the Luftwaffe. It is the first book by Robert Forsyth that I have read.

This is a well researched book, but it is not one that will rivet you to your seat and cannot put down. The author presents the facts and story is a well detailed history of the relationship between U-Boats and the Luftwaffe. It lacks the engagement that some of the other authors of the time period have developed that makes for a more enjoyable read.

I recommend this to anyone with an interest in World War II in Europe, the Luftwaffe and U-Boats. But be prepared for a somewhat dry recitation of the facts.

Amazingly informative account of the battle of the Atlantic! The longest battle of ww2, from the German perspective! This area of the war was an area were the Germans came within a whisker of winning! I learned things I never knew and I was gripped the way a WW2 historian only can be, with excellent writing and the display information in a gripping way! Really great stuff!

I review quite a few books, and this is one of those books that always poses a challenge to review fairly. It is a well-researched and clearly written book, but it is just not the sort of history I enjoy reading.

=== The Good Stuff ===

* Robert Forsyth has put together an excellent and detailed look at the Luftwaffe during the Battle of the Atlantic. There is great detail on the command structure and leadership challenges of the German Airforce, and a look at how the politics and personal rivalries of Nazi Germany influenced and hindered its successes. For example, neither Hitler nor Goring ever really understood naval warfare, and Goring was much more interested in bombing of land targets and supporting invasions.

* If you are interested in specific planes used by the Luftwaffe, including the various subtypes and prototype models, this is about as comprehensive look at them as you will find. There are discussions of many of the sub-types of German aircraft, and how they fitted into specific roles in the sea war.

* The author also captures the efforts of individual German units, and their commanders, to put together a plan for air and naval units to work together. There wasn’t a lot of interest on the part of senior commanders, and probably the only reason for their success was there remoteness from Berlin.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===

* This is definitely a trees rather than a forest book. There is limited effort devoted to the overall strategic goals and results of the Battle of the Atlantic. There are details of individual missions, but little overall analysis of how successful the Luftwaffe was in the Atlantic, or if their contributions had any material effect on the war.

* It is just a personal preference, but I just don’t enjoy books that are crammed with facts. While I appreciate the author’s intent to document the names of individual commanders and the details of various versions of aircraft- I usually end up reading them and promptly forgetting what I read.

=== Summary ===

As a source for documenting specific facts about the Luftwaffe and its Atlantic campaign, the book is a valuable resource. But for “armchair historians” like me, I am more interested in narratives about the tactics and strategies of the warring powers, and more analysis on how specific actions, technologies, tactics and commanders affected the overall campaign and war.

I would not recommend the book unless you are really interested in detailed facts surrounding the German Air Force.