Das Boot: The Boat

As others have noted, the book's author Lothar-Gunther Bucheim served on a U-Boat in World War II as a naval correspondent, and he notes in his introduction that while the characters in the book are fictional, all of the events that happen are based in reality. As such, he is able to describe what it was like to actually serve on a submarine in World War II ... the long periods of sheer boredom, the close quarters, squalid living conditions, personality conflicts, and fleeting periods of excitement and sheer terror ... much better than either an actual sub commander's memoirs or a work of pure fiction written by someone who didn't really serve on a submarine. He is able to give the real flavor of U-Boat service as part of a coherent, entertaining story. That is not meant as any disrespect or lessening of historical appreciation to any of the wonderful memoir's written by submariners on all sides, but as a work of fiction, Herr Bucheim is able to focus on just one cruise and provide a true feel for what it was like to be there, from the common seaman to the commander.

While Das Boot is a terrific book, that's not to say that I don't find a a few nits. Set in fall of 1941, the characters seem to be much more cynical and war-weary at that point in time, in my opinion, than would seem warranted. In 1941, it still appeared that the Nazi's might win World War II, although perhaps not at sea. The tone seems more appropriate for 1943 or later, when the Allies had taken full measure of the U-boat threat and began sinking them in such quantities that Admiral Doenitz was forced to pull them from the Atlantic for a period of time. Also, while the book intentionally mirrors the pace of the submariner's life while on patrol, the boredom, and in another instance, exposure to a month-long Atlantic storm, go on for too many pages.

However, the nits are just that ... minor nits, and in the whole, I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in what it was like to live as the hunter ... and hunted ... on a submarine.

If being in a war can be described as 98% sheer boredom and 2% sheer terror, than this novel can be said to be an accurate description of that. Indeed, it is a complete and thorough examination of life on a German U-Boat mission during World War II. While it is mostly compelling, there are long stretches when not a whole lot is going on--just as it was in reality, no doubt--and although the author makes a valiant effort to keep things interesting, these passages tend to drag a bit.

The story is narrated and told in the first person by the war correspondent/author of the tale, so there is very much a sense of immediacy to this. The first thing which strikes one is how unpleasant life on a submarine was. The food, after the first few weeks, was horrible. There was very little space and no privacy with everyone jammed together. Some of the men even had to share bunks. (When one is on duty, the other used it, and vice versa.) To climb out of his own bunk, the narrator usually had to ask the person seated below him to move. Just about every meal was interrupted by the necessity of having to get up when someone wanted to pass. The air was clammy and stale with the reek of unwashed humans in close quarters.

Although this is informative, it goes on for the first hundred and eighty pages or so and worse, the author exacerbates the problem by putting things in which don't add anything and slow it down even further. So we get to hear the men's jokes and stories. We get to hear the author's lengthy descriptions of the ever changing look of the sea and sky. We get to hear about the working of the submarine: its engine, the flotation tanks, the torpedoes, etc. While much of this is mildly interesting, to put it bluntly, the guy is no Melville. The reader will find himself getting antsy for something to happen.

It does. The submarine gets hit by a storm that lasts for about a month. This is pretty good as to the drastic effect it has on the men's lives, getting pitched about constantly and incapable of getting any sleep unless the sub is underwater, which it can only be for a couple of hours at a time. The men turn into a bunch of scarecrow zombies. Again, it is informative, and again, one's interest begins to peter out well before the storm does.

The most intense aspect of the novel, of course, is the battle scenes which begin shortly after the storm ends and last off and on to the end of the novel. Although they torpedo a few ships, these battle scenes mostly have to do with their trying to get away. Life on the submarine alone has frayed the men's nerves almost to the breaking point. Enduring hour after hour of bombardment from above from relentless, sonar-equipped destroyers pushes many of them beyond their limit. The author describes the wailing and sobbing he hears in the darkened boat, and he himself remains frozen in fear as the crashing, pounding, roaring explosions occur seemingly right outside of their submarine. It is a mesmerizing and terrifying account, and continues right through to the hopeless ending.

But that's about as far as it goes. Except for the stoic captain, there really isn't much in the way of interesting character development, and the writing style, while certainly adequate, rarely rises above the pedestrian. It's a solid war novel, no more, no less.

This important book is not about nations or ideologies. It is not about what side was right or wrong in WWII. It is about regular men in the throes of war, fighting for their families, their comrades, and for their very lives. Das Boot does not glorify war. On the contrary, it highlights the fact that we are all human and are all basically the same on the level of the individual. It illustrates that one of the horrors of war rarely mentioned is that the outcome is often decided by brute force, regardless of right, wrong, or ideology. The individual is caught in the middle, merely doing his best for what he believes is right.

Das Boot follows one German submarine on one patrol in the north Atlantic during WWII when the war is beginning to turn. We live in close quarters for weeks with the fictional crew of U-96, a Type VIIC-class U-boat. We feel the stifling claustrophobia of a WWII era submarine, the boredom of fruitless searches for the enemy, the tedium and fright of a month-long Atlantic hurricane, the thrill of the hunt, and the abject terror of the hunter becoming the hunted.

The intensity of Das Boot is something I have rarely experienced in a book. I found myself reading late into the night, huddled with the silent crew at impossible depths, listening to the creaking, the dripping condensation and the popping rivets of U-96 while awaiting the next depth charge attack. You can feel the sweat, you can taste the salt, and you can feel the shattering explosions rocking the control room.

75% of German submariners during WWII died on patrol, which makes Das Boot one of the very few surviving accounts of what that brutal life was like. Lothar-Günther Buchheim spent time on German subs during the war as a correspondent, and this fictionalized testament is a very valuable document of life "on the other side." In the U.S. most WWII accounts paint German fighting men with a very broad brush. Buchheim takes on a very controversial and difficult task by humanizing them. There are no heroes or false bravado here. The crew has a Christmas tree on board. They talk about their families, their sweethearts and their childhoods. They get their hands dirty and yearn to see the sky once again.

It may be true that victors write the histories, but it is important to remember that real people serve on both sides in any war. Highly recommended.

`Das Boot` (German, 1973) portrays a German U-Boat during the second half of 1941 at the height of the campaign; by 1943 U-Boats would cease to be a serious threat to Allied shipping. The crew is shown in more humanistic rather than propagandist terms, the German Captain is ambivalent about the Nazi's and Hitler, the only thing the crew thinks about repeatedly are whores and sex. Bad smells, soiled clothing, wild facial hair, mold and claustrophobia are central actors. The juxtaposition of old whores and ships being blown up is effective, the banal vulgar details make the fighting scenes all the more real, and frightening. The ending is unfortunately melodramatic, but it's satisfying in a 19th century literary way. Buchheim wanted an anti-war novel that didn't glorify or mystify the German military, and from that perspective the ending makes sense, in the same way All Quite on the Western Front ends.

Since Buchheim actually served on a U-Boat during WWII, the novels verisimilitude is striking, many consider it to be the most authentic submarine novel ever written. This was re-enforced by the 1981 film version, which showed the technology of a U-Boat with great accuracy, although Buchheim criticized the Hollywood plot and hysterical acting as being overdone and cliche. He saw the film as "another re-glorification and re-mystification" of German heroism and nationalism. If you've seen the film, read the novel for a more sober and realistic look.

The movie is one of my favorites and masterfully done - the directing, acting and story are beyond great. Watch it and see if you don't feel sympathy for the German grew and in one memorable scene of a Brit ship sinking, despise the Allies. War is hell from both sides and no one is an always 'good guy'. Serious, disturbing, brilliantly done film. Up there with Apocalypse Now for brilliant and yet disturbing and maybe one to watch once and that's enough -- a strong indication of doing a very difficult topic and having done it with panache!!

This book is an excellent adjunct to the movie. It opens up more about the movie, and gives the reader and viewer a more fleshed out story of the true life aboard a U boat during the war.

Well worth the time and money, see the movie, read the book.

Exc Book. Purchased as a gift to a combat Marine friend. Couldn't part with my copy. What i enjoyed most about the book is that the author shows the German sub crew to be just normal, good men dragged into a war they never wanted. Their ambitions and beliefs concerning the war and life in general. Also interesting reading was the explanation of how the sub operated. Anyone interested in history should enjoy this book.

you will love the book. It is a long volume, so anticipate spending many evenings of reading pleasure. Buchhelm is a wonderful writer, with fantastic descriptions of the men, life in a sub, and what it felt like to be in a sub during battle. If you know the ending, it makes reading it more poignant.

I was interested on reading this book after watching the directors cut movie of the book. I always find it interesting to read the book that the movie wasa made from and see what was left out, as I did with The Hunt For Red October. I am always interested in reading true stories or watching movies about true events from WW II. I grew up after the war and have been very interested in what actually happened. What better way to do that but to read a book about an actual event.

When you read this you realize how faithfully the movie adaptation conveys the boredom, terror and resignation German submariners must have felt in the latter part of WWII.