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World War II Bookshelf

List of Books about the Merchant Navy in WW II:
Background Reading & Associated Books

  Use the ISBN number to search for books on amazon.com or rare book sites such as abebook.com
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Bercuson, David J. and Holger H. Herwig.

Deadly Seas: The Duel between the St. Croix and the U305 in the Battle of the Atlantic. 1997. - ISBN 0679309276

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Cameron, Ian. 

 
Red Duster, White Ensign: Story of Malta and the Malta Convoys. 1960.
Bantam Books reprint 1983 - ISBN 0553234919
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Canada. Veterans Affairs. 
 
The Scheldt, 1944-1994. Ottawa [Canada], 1994
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Davis, Maggie.
Stage Door Canteen, 2003 - ISBN 0759257760
Mystery, intrigue and romance, involving a British MN freighter in New York. Set in the winter of 1942-43, this book shows what life was like during the WW II. See author's website.
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 Greenlaw, Joanna.
The History of the Radio Officer in the British Merchant Navy and on Deep-Sea Trawlers.
ISBN 1904323014.
For information about the author and her books, see Merchant Navy Radio Officers. To order, please see the Joanna Greenlaw website or online bookstores, including amazon.com.uk
 
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Hague, Arnold. 
 
The Allied Convoy System, 1939-1945. 2000. A technical reference source, useful for specific details of convoys. ISBN 1557500193
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Heal, S. C.  - an author and publisher of maritime history, navy, shipping, & fisheries books.
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A Great Fleet of Ships: the Canadian Forts and Parks. 1551250233. A detailed history of the ships built by Canada for deep sea service in World War II.
Available through Cordillera or amazon.com
Cordillera Books Spring catalog 2005. -Adobe Reader required to view this document. For best results when printing, use legal-size paper (8.5 by 14 inches OR / 215.9 by 355.6 mm or equivalent). For more information, contact Cordillera.
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Hegland, Jon Rusting. 
 
Nortraships Flåte, vol. 2, 1942-1945. -- Information on D/S Norse King, page 49.
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Jordon, Roger. 
 
The World's Merchant Fleets, 1939: the Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships.. Chatham Pub., 1999. ISBN 186176023 or 155750959X
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Jullian, Marcel. 
 
 HMS Fidelity. London: Futura, 1975.
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Keegan, John, editor. 
 
Atlas of the Second World War. Ann Arbor (Michigan): Harper Collins, 1999. ISBN - 1586631977
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Kingswell, Peter. 
 
Fidelity Will Haunt Me Till I Die. Royal Marines Historical Society (Special Publication No. 13), ©1991; 3rd edition 2003. Lists causalities and survivors. Reprinted. Order RMHS Special Publication available from the Royal Marines official site.
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Leighton, Frank.
 
Frayed Lifelines: a Siege Survivor's Story. Trafford, 2003.  Memoir about Malta, during the siege in WW II.  - ISBN 1553958411
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Lloyds
 
Lloyds War Losses, the Second World War, volume 1. Colchester, 1990. (Note: Lloyds lists 3 casualties for the Empire Path, but the Tower Hill Memorial and the CWGC show 5 names).
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Meneight, W.A. 
 
A History of the United Molasses Co. Ltd. Liverpool, U.M., 1977. Privately published history, by the owners of the Athel Line and Tankers Ltd.
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Milner, Marc.
 
North Atlantic Run: The Royal Canadian Navy and the Battle for the Convoys. 1984 ISBN 0870214500 (hardcover).
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Mitchell, W.H. and L.A. Sawyer.  (see also Sawyer and Mitchell)
The Empire Ships: a Record of British-built and acquired Merchant Ships during the Second World War. 2nd edition. London: Lloyds of London Press Ltd. 1990. ISBN 1850442754
The Oceans, The Forts and The Parks: Merchant shipping for the British account in North America (Wartime Standard Ships, vol. 2). 1966 - ASIN: B0007IV3VA
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Mumford, J. Gordon. Memoirs about his experiences as a WW II Merchant Navy Radio Officer.
For his books about his experiences in Kenya (East Africa) after the war, see the African Bookshelf
 
The Black Pit ... and Beyond. Burnstown, ON: GSPH, 2000. ISBN: 1894263197. Memoir: Experiences of a 17 year old radio officer in WW II. Cdn $19.95  
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The Sampan Girl. Burnstown, ON: GSPH, 2001. 
A story of life, love, and loss in the Pacific islands and Hong Kong. 1945-56. Cdn $24.95

Buy Now OR BUY BOTH & SAVE
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Parker, Mike. 
 
Running the Gauntlet: an Oral History of Canadian Merchant Seamen in World War II. Halifax, N.S.: Nimbus Publishing, 1994.
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Poolman, Kenneth. 
 
Armed Merchant Cruisers. 1985. ISBN: 0436377063
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Revely, Henry. 
 
The Convoy that Nearly Died: The Story of Convoy ONS 154. 1979. ISBN: 0718304063
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Rohwer, Jürgen. 
 
Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two. 1983; rev. 1999. German, Italian and Japanese successesl. - ISBN: 1557500290
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Sawyer, L.A. and W.H. Mitchell
The Liberty Ships, the History of the Emergency type cargo ships constructed in USA during the Second World War. 1970.
Paperback edition ISBN: 1850440492; Hardcover ISBN: 1850440646
Victory Ships and Tankers. 1970. ISBN: 0870331825
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Schull, Joseph.
 
Far Distant Ships: An Official Account of Canadian Naval Operations in World War II. 1950. ASIN: B0007J8S9Y and ISBN: 0870212036
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Townsend, John.
 Seeing the World thro' a Porthole. Memoirs about British Merchant Navy, 1938-49. Xlibris, 2004. ISBN: 1401052363.
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Upton, Vernon
 
Upon Their Lawful Occasions: Reflections of a Merchant Navy Officer During Peace and War. (1904744257) Vernon Upton, GM, served in the Merchant Navy from just before the outbreak of World War II. His experiences of life in peace and war are vividly described in this comprehensive history. Matador, 2004. ISBN: 1904744257 amazon.com.
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Wade, Frank.

 A Midshipman's War, a young man in the Mediterranean Naval War, 1941-43. Vancouver, Canada: 1994. ISBN: 189559006X
For information about this and other books by Frank Wade, visit his website.

Many of the above books are available at amazon.com

Search for out-of-print books or hard-to-find books at abebooks.com

Books by Gordon Mumford

For books about Africa, see the African Bookshelf

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This page was updated on May 13, 2008
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