Alanabit, glad you bring up C S Foresters "The Ship". Personally I would suggest that that book and "The General" are his two finest works. And C S F is not an author to be underrated. I an afraid the later "Hornblower" Books and the US of A varient "A Captain fron Coneticutt" (SP?) aka "Beat to Quarters", were written as a commercial/pot boiler basis for a defined audience. In fact "The Commodore " not to be confused with the 'Patrick O'Brien' book of the same name, was a propaganda effort (Published 1944), and I put it in the same category as the war time films "San Demitrio - London", and that Tommy Trinder classic "The Bells Go Down" - all superbly crafted, written and acted, but propaganda.

BTW the late Charley Horne ex RN - a resident of Whitstable, was one of the few survivors of HMS "Penelope" following her torpedoing in 1943 - I lent him a copy of "The Ship", he spent most of the "Gulf of Sirte" action closed up in the forward magazine, but yes the book rang true to him.

Ah, the memories that wern't recorded.


MAG - I really appreciate Nevil Shute's simplistic style, I would also bring to your attention some of Shute's earlier works, in particular "Pastoral" - every day life on a 'Bomber Command Base', and his two unsurpassed works on racial discrimination, and the consequences, "The Chequer Board" , and "Round the Bend", well worth reading, and reading again.

Gareth