Descrizione

2 vols., 8vo., First Edition thus, with 126 plates on 48, and 2 double-page plans, 27 tables and 14 maps (8 double-page) in the text; black cloth, red endpapers, a near fine set in unclipped dustwrapper. Splendid set of the most comprehensive study to date, comprising 'The Hunters 1939-1942' (1997) and 'The Hunted 1942-1945' (1999). The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest, hardest-fought and most critical sea conflict in history: 'they [the U-boats] were the only thing that really frightened me' said Churchill. A study on this scale has been feasible only in the twenty years or so following the release of large official archives (the last of which principally concerned codes and code-breaking) in London and Washington. First published by Random House in New York 1996-98; the UK edition was published in far smaller numbers and in already difficult to find in this state.