Lone Wolf: The Life and Death of U-Boat Ace Werner Henke

(Hardback)

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This work relates the life - and the death - of the rebel German seaman who became one of the most successful U-Boat commanders of World War II. The story of Werner Henke - and a narrative outlining the history of his boat, U-515, and its crew - forms the basis for a biography of a man who defies the stereotypes of German character, who never fitted in as a career officer in the German Navy, but who chose a suicideal death in acceptance of the code of the military service whose rules he continually bent and broke. Throughout, the story Mulligan relates is engrossing and action-packed. It is also a carefully documented study that aims to break new ground in uncovering the sociological background of Henke and his crew, thus making it a study in German history as well as a biography. Examining the background and attitudes of the crew - including their views on Hitler and the treatment of the Jews - Mulligan sheds light on the men who constituted an elite in Hitler's Wehrmacht. The story of U-515 is also closely correlated to the overall conduct of the U-Boat war, including assessments of Karl Donitz's strategy, the influence of technological innovations, and the contributions of Allied signal intelligence. Henke's confrontation with the Gestapo and a detailed account of the sinking of the passenger liner "Ceramic" further adds to the story, revealing the complex reality behind an image which is too often dominated by propaganda sterotypes.

Reviews

General readers will enjoy this book as will specialists. Highly recommended for all levels.-Choice
In recounting the twisty path taken by one casualty of a global conflict, Mulligan sheds considerable light on the tactics and technology employed by a loathsome regime's silent service.-Kirkus Reviews
Lone Wolf is thus a great addition to the history of World War Two and the German navy, whilst at the same time being a must read for anyone interested in the Battle of the Atlantic.-The Journal of Military History
Offers fresh insights into the Battle of the Atlantic through the story of a U-boat service that would ultimately lose three quarters of its men, and a portrait of one its most successful and controversial commanders.-Publishers Weekly
This excellent volume uses a comprehensive array of primary and secondary sources to paint a vivid portrait not only of this maverick of the Kriegsmarine but of a whole generation of German naval officers, especially U-boat veterans.-Booklist
"General readers will enjoy this book as will specialists. Highly recommended for all levels."-Choice
"In recounting the twisty path taken by one casualty of a global conflict, Mulligan sheds considerable light on the tactics and technology employed by a loathsome regime's silent service."-Kirkus Reviews
"Lone Wolf is thus a great addition to the history of World War Two and the German navy, whilst at the same time being a must read for anyone interested in the Battle of the Atlantic."-The Journal of Military History
"Offers fresh insights into the Battle of the Atlantic through the story of a U-boat service that would ultimately lose three quarters of its men, and a portrait of one its most successful and controversial commanders."-Publishers Weekly
"This excellent volume uses a comprehensive array of primary and secondary sources to paint a vivid portrait not only of this maverick of the Kriegsmarine but of a whole generation of German naval officers, especially U-boat veterans."-Booklist

Author Bio

TIMOTHY P. MULLIGAN is an archivist specializing in captured German and World War II era U.S. military and naval records. He edited the volume Wolf Packs in the Time-Life series The Third Reich (1989), and wrote the book, The Politics of Illusion and Empire (Praeger, 1988).