The Ship — C.S. Forester

The Ship is the heroic tale of a few hours in the life of a British light cruiser in World War II, and of the men on it. Before writing The Ship, C.S.Forester spent several weeks on a similar warship, and has given us a very clear picture of the actual thoughts and emotions of the men as they carry out their tasks of fighting in and maintaining a modern warship. The Ship is part of the protecting screen of a convoy vital to the continued effectiveness of Malta, an island in the Mediterranean See south of Italy. And Malta in 1942 was threatened with every danger the imagination could conceive — the danger of attack from the air, of attack from the sea, of pestilence and of famine. A civilian population of a quarter of a million, and a garrison of God only knew how many, were on short rations until the food these ships carried should be delivered to them. And to escort the convoy through there were only these five light cruisers and a dozen destroyers — the convoy had to get through, and if it were reckless to risk it with such an escort, then recklessness had to be tolerated. Malta did hold out throughout the war, through the successes of the Ship and other naval efforts. Here we have an insight into the characters of the men who sailed in those ships, and can better realize, from this book, how they did their jobs, what they thought, the commitments and sacrifices they made to eventually bring peace.