Iron Coffins: A Personal Account of the German U-Boat Battles of World War II

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Summary: Highly informative
Review: What struck me most from reading this was the insight that it gave of the dramatic collapse of Nazi Germany. The author gives a very enduring and readable account of both the horror of living under facist rule and the waste of life that war brings. For these reasons you should read this book.

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Summary: One of the best and fullest WWII U-boat accounts
Review: Well written. Werner was in the "2nd wave" of U-boat officers. Unlike the "1st Wave" of professional officers who scored huge successes against lone ships and unprotected or poorly protected convoys devoid of "Ultra" intercepts, 10 cm radar, "Huff-Duff" short signal location, and swarms of aircraft and then took flotilla shore commands, Werner missed the "Happy Times." He incorrectly portrays his first boat (U-557) as partaking in this successful "Happy Time" by sinking 30,000 tons in a convoy attack in the summer of 1942, when convoy battles were getting very dangerous - this he can be forgiven- most submariners overestimated their kills, especially during this transitory time between the easy huge sinkings and the later suicidal convoy attacks. For the most part, the rest is factual. Note that on a scale of 1-10, German Boats went from about a 2 to a 5 and then a 10 by mid 1943, in terms of difficulty against numerous radar and "Ultra" enhanced warships and especially aircraft- giant clumsy American subs that would have been slaughtered from the get-go in the Atalntic (even in 1945, 500 feet was about as deep as they could go and live to tell - many U-boats exceeded 900 feet early in the war, and 1000 feet later. They had it about 3 the whole war, with mines and poor torpedoes their biggest dificulties.) Werner displays execeptional judgement and intelligence - note his deep suspicion of radio reports as a source of Allied detection, location and destructiion of U-boats - other commanders who should have known better guaranteed their destruction with radio reports. This Werner believed in the late '60's - yet the first break in the silence by the Allied intelligence community ("A Man called Intrepid") wasn't until 1974, leading to large (and still incomplete, though getting close) revelations about Allied codebreaking that blows the mind. Like most fighter pilots, Werner did not rack big scores -though he came too late for much opportunity- but like most good pilots, he was a crafty survivor, and one of the most openly disgusted and critical commanders of the German war effort - for which he should receive big credit, as 20 years of additional time since he wrote his book has largely validated his observations. A really good read, and amazing that he survived. Check "U-boat.net.com" - I believe he is reported to be living in South Florida now. I first read this book in the early 70's and still find it a great read.

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Summary: Iron Coffins
Review: This is one of those books where reality is more gripping and exciting than fiction. How the author ever survived is a miracle. It was fascinating to gain a first hand account of Herbert Werner's war and an insight of what the Germans endured and felt through those difficult times. I have found a few historical anomalies but on the whole I believe the book to be accurate and I guarantee you will not put it down once you start reading.

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Summary: Awesome!
Review: Awesome, absolutly awesome! I loved this book. It's great to read a firsthand account from someone who actually was there through the whole U-boat war. Werner's writing really makes you feel as if you were there with him. I highly recomend this book to anyone interested in military history.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping.
Review: I read this shortly before I accepted a US Navy commission and volunteered for submarines. Remembering it made me grateful to have nuclear propulsion on my boat, even when the rigors of minding the reactor plant drove me to the brink. At least we had air conditioning--and lots of power and light.

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Summary: EXCELLENT 'INSIDE-THE-U-BOAT" WARTIME COVERAGE
Review: This is the very best book I have read actually describing the conditions inside a German u-boat during World War II Atlantic Ocean war patrols. It is well written with both action and information in mind. The action standpoint is superb and makes the reader wonder how Capt Werner and his crew ever survived the punishment they took in their little fragile "egg" as aircraft and ships constantly dropped bombs and depth charges on them. From the information standpoint, Werner gives us a very comprehensive and interesting description of what it is like inside the early u-boats. It is hard to imagine how the crew lived like they did in their constantly rocking boat: without bathing for months, eating moldy food, suffering from constant humidity, freezing or roasting as the season might be (no airconditioning or heaters), and not having proper sanitary conditions (using a bucket in rough seas, etc.) Very good detail on u-boat life both aboard ship and in port. From another information standpoint, Werner gives us a good description of what average Germans were thinking as the war progressed, what sort of damage ordinary citizens were taking as the war proceeded in depth over Germany both from the heavy air bombardment plus the advancement of Allied armies from the south, east, and north. Werner is also a "ladies man" so we do hear a lot about the girlfriends in every port, so to speak, plus German submariners' night life in different occupied locations. (They seemed to like France a lot.) It is good that Werner provides you this gamut of information: living inside the boat, dealing with the difficult navy bureaucracy, joys of in-port liberty, his nice but unfortunte family, the Nazi party bother, and so on since it furnishes the reader with a rounded out picture of life during these unusual times. Werner is lucky to have come back alive, and we are fortunate he wrote this book. His family and many of his friends were not so fortunate as the reader will see.

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Summary: The best and most real of any book on the war, I have read.
Review: Although it has been almost twenty years since I first read the book it hasn't lost any of its original excitement for this reader. It is a collecter and hopefully generations will continue to enjoy the brutal reality that is displayed in it. It is truely exciting and well written, I hope Werner has seen the success of his efforts writing about this horrible time in history. If you haven't seen "Das Boot", it's a must.

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Summary: The Best WWII Book About the Other Side!
Review: The first time I read 'Iron Coffins', it was for a term paper in high school. At that point, all Germans in WWII were evil Nazi stooges with the mental capacity of a slug in salt. Once I started reading Mr. Werner's excellent book, I actually found myself sharing in the excitement as a U-Boat sank Allied ships. I also found myself feeling the dread as Allied escort ships dropped thier deadly depth charges. Iron Coffins is a fast paced book that is hard to put down. One is able to truely experience what the war was like through Mr. Werner's eyes. Once you've finished, your understand something...that just because you are at war with an evil nation doesn't make it's people all evil. Mr. Werner may not have been a celebrated U-Boat commander, but if it weren't for him, we would never truely understand the meaning of the term 'Iron Coffin.'

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Summary: An honest, emotionally gripping autobiography.
Review: What makes this book different from so many memoirs written by WWII German soldiers is its emotional honesty and unvarnished detail. You get a good feeling for the squalid conditions endured by the submariners, and for their forboding as they realize the war is lost, Germany is being destroyed, and they're all on suicide missions. Still it is endured with a stoic devotion to duty that is both admirable and maddening. It's the story of a good man fighting for a terrible cause.

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Summary: This is a great book for anyone interested in the subject.
Review: I first read this book as a youth. I still believe this is one of the finest autobiographies I have ever read. The war seems to come to life when reading this book. I also agree with the review that states this book should be accompanied with the film "Das Boot." Both give a pretty accurate picture of the U-Boat war. The most startling fact in this book is that Werner is one of a handful of commanders to have survived the entire war in a U-Boat commnand. I still find his description of the last few months of the war very chilling.