'Compelling' Sunday Times

'A triumph' Daily Mirror

'Gripping' Jonathan Dimbleby

1941. The Battle of the Atlantic is a disaster. Thousands of supply ships ferrying vital food and fuel from North America to Britain are being torpedoed by German U-boats. Britain is only weeks away from starvation - and with that, crushing defeat.

In the first week of 1942 a group of unlikely heroes - a retired naval captain and a clutch of brilliant young women - gather to form a secret strategy unit. On the top floor of a bomb-bruised HQ in Liverpool, the Western Approaches Tactical Unit spends days and nights designing and playing wargames in an effort to crack the U-boat tactics. As the U-boat wolfpacks continue to prey upon the supply ships, the Wrens race against time to save Britain.
With novelistic flair, investigative journalist Simon Parkin shines a light on Operation Raspberry and these unsung heroines in this riveting true story of war at sea.

'History writing at its best' Booklist

'Splendid . . . Simon Parkin's book rips along at full sail and is full of personality and personalities'
Sunday Express

'Vivid, engaging' New Yorker

About the Author
Simon Parkin is an award-winning British writer and journalist. He is a contributing writer for the New Yorker and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society (RHS), and is the author of A Game of Birds and Wolves and The Island of Extraordinary Captives, which was a New Yorker Book of the Year and won the Wingate Literary Prize. He lives in West Sussex.

Reviews
[A] splendid new history of the war in the Atlantic . . . Simon Parkin's book rips along at full sail and is full of personality and personalities. Above all, it brings a barely known aspect of the sea war out into the light. Which is a triumph in itself. -- John Lewis Stempel * Sunday Express *
Sheds compelling new light on the ferocious struggle being played out in the mid-Atlantic ... [A Game of Birds and Wolves] has all the elements of a film * Sunday Times *
In a riveting, intricately researched book, Simon Parkin tells the previously unknown story behind the Allied victory in the Atlantic during World War II. It's an underdog's tale - not only of British supply fleets trying to outrun German U-boats, but also of the women game designers who made that victory possible.
Engaging and skilful . . . [Parkin] writes with real flair and the human side of this story is brought out with fine vignettes and character sketches . . . If the place of women in Britain's naval war has been played down, Parkin's vivid story recovers it handsomely . . . Inside his narrative is a desire to show how ordinary people did extraordinary things in wartime . . . this is a good read on a corner of the war and the men and women who peopled it - one very much worthy of our attention. -- Richard Overy * Guardian *
A triumph * Daily Mirror *
History writing at its best * Booklist (starred review) *
With novelistic flair, Parkin transforms material gathered from research, interviews, and unpublished accounts into a highly readable book that celebrates the ingenuity of a British naval 'reject' and the accomplishments of the formerly faceless women never officially rewarded for their contribution to the Allied defeat of Germany. A lively, sharp WWII history. * Kirkus Reviews *
This is a thrilling story, compellingly told * History Revealed *
Enthralling . . . a pacey read with some wonderfully vivid set pieces * Literary Review *
Gripping . . . a great read. * Sorted Magazine *
A hugely enjoyable and exciting book . . . A compelling and important new story, lucidly and humanely told. -- Roland Phillipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan
Simon Parkin describes brilliantly the key role of WATU in the Battle of the Atlantic. I was proud to read of my mother's role as a Wren with influence far beyond her age and experience, and of my father's application of WATU-designed tactics in the key anti-U boat battle of the Atlantic. -- Vice Admiral Mike Gretton, son of Judy Du Vivier and Sir Peter Gretton
This is the riveting true story of war, amazing women, and one of the most important games in history. -- Major Tom Mouat MBE, Simulation and Modelling Technology School, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom
A stunning book about an unknown part of the largely forgotten Battle of the Atlantic, which is a must read. -- Niall Kilgour, chairman of the Submariners Association



Book Information
ISBN 9781529353211
Author Simon Parkin
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Sceptre
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 240g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 28mm