Captain’s Bookshelf An Unlikely Survival In War-Torn Waters
Hot on the heels of seeing his last project, The Finest Hours, which was transformed into a summer blockbuster starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, author Michael J. Tougias’ latest work, So Close to Home, brings readers face-to-face with one of the largest and rarely seen menaces of World War II: Germany’s Unterseeboot or U-Boat.
Much has been written about Nazi Germany’s fleet of U-boats, including a post-war reflection from Winston Churchill where he states, “The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril.” However, most of these stories take place an ocean away, in the European theatre. In late May 1942, just 40 miles off of America’s Gulf Coast, the falsehood of the security blanket came crashing down.
Unknowingly stalked by a decorated U-Boat commander named Erich Würdemann, the merchant freighter Heredia, with 62 souls aboard, was struck by two torpedoes. Amazingly, after the blast, sinking, and battling sharks, hypothermia, and dehydration while adrift for over 18 hours, all of the Downs family aboard the Heredia remained alive. Their struggles against insurmountable odds serve as the focal point of Tougias’ tale as he backtracks, building a big picture view of the events leading up to that fateful morning. So Close to Home is meticulously researched, and includes excerpts from Commander Würdemann’s own war diary that illustrate his own daring mission, so far from the support of his allies. The book provides context and perspective from both sides of the trenches as Tougias paints a harrowing tale of survival that may challenge what many readers think they know about WWII.
Fans of So Close To Home, or any of Tougias’ 23 other books, can rub shoulders with the author this fall as he headlines a pair of seminars at TrawlerFestBay Bridge. The two seminars, both held on October 1st, spring from Tougias’ years of researching and writing his epic stories of survival at sea. The first seminar, beginning at 10:45 a.m., is called “Survive & Thrive: Decision-Making From Those Who Have Overcome All Odds.” The second, “The Finest Hours,” kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and serves as the closer to the week-long seminar series. To reserve tickets or find out more, visit us at www.passagemaker. (TrawlerFest-Bay Bridge event tab), or call (443) 745-7785.
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So Close To Home,
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