They sank sixty-nine in February and seventy in March.
To lose the Battle of the Atlantic was to lose Britain, Russia, and the war. Having no other option, the government hastily commandeered yachts and sent them out into the north Atlantic to locate submarines and rescue survivors. The regulations required Ensign Nicholas Worth and his six man crew to take her out into the Atlantic that winter, but, as the old Coast Guard axiom says, the regulations did not require them to come back. He had never before said even one word about his part in the Battle of the Atlantic or about how he had lost his leg.
But now the old man realizes that the time has come to end his long silence about the voyages of The Fourteen Boat and explain to a later generation what life was like for those who were young in Kindle Edition , pages. Published first published May 11th To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Voyages in Desperate Times , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about Voyages in Desperate Times.
Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
VOYAGES IN DESPERATE TIMES A Novel by Jule A. Miller No times were more desperate for America, and for the world that depended upon her. Voyages in Desperate Times has 8 ratings and 2 reviews. Daniel said: Voyages in Desperate Times reads as two books intertwined into a single novel. One b.
Sep 08, Daniel Villines rated it really liked it. Voyages in Desperate Times reads as two books intertwined into a single novel.
One book is a fictional account of WWII centered on a little-known aspect of the naval war fought just off our eastern shoreline by the Coast Guard. The other book is comprised of an informal interview between a granddaughter and her grandfather fifty years after the war. The grandfather is the main character in the first book. The structure of the overall novel is very good with a sort of fading back and forth betwee Voyages in Desperate Times reads as two books intertwined into a single novel.
The structure of the overall novel is very good with a sort of fading back and forth between the past and the present that creates a pleasant sense of nostalgia. The first of the two books portrays the early part of the war when German U-boats were devastating Atlantic shipping and venturing attacks directly off the eastern coast of the US.
The US did not have the military resources to counter this threat and had to improvised a response. This episode of WWII is just one small part of the overall conflict and is practically forgotten. And yet, it represents the spirit of a nation determined to survive and to eventually win the war.
This first book is exceedingly good and is well worth the read. The content of the second book is equally engaging in that it provides the perspective of the old veteran looking back upon his life as a young man facing his wartime experiences, sometimes for the first time since they occured.
In some ways, this second story reminded me of asking my own questions of my grandparents about their wartime experiences.
I did what I had to do because the war demanded such actions; personal sacrifice was just a part of life. It may be that these opinions were intended to make the old veteran appear old and crotchety, or it may be that Jule Miller was expounding some lightweight propaganda. In any event, I recommend that these opinions be ignored so that the rest of this remarkable novel can be allowed to convey the history and human experience that it intends to convey. This book is the very thing that historical fiction should be.
Apr 26, Todd E Hubbard rated it liked it. The story of the crew of a lonely sailing yacht deployed out of wartime desparation on patrol in the coastal waters off New England, "Voyages in Desperate Times" is told in flashbacks that move the story from past to present. The past is gripping in depicting the prepartions for combat and life at sea, with a love story subplot that is both quaint and earnest, ringing true to the World War II era. Everyone knows that more jobs will diminish this problem but it is very difficult to find donors to help.
Castin said her husband and five cousins never told her they planned to leave on the morning of Nov. For days, she said, she suffered stomachaches and diarrhea awaiting word about them. But to the 45, residents who call this often novelized, turtle-shaped speck home, it is anything but a romanticized haven.
Ravaging hurricanes, persistent drought, grinding poverty and U. Until now, no one has been able to help us recover the loss from those hurricanes.
Others transported Haitian-grown plantains, mangoes and other fresh produce to the Bahamas. Coast Guard in the late s clamped down on the wooden sailboats, citing safety concerns: Migrants make the six-hour trek from Port-au-Prince by bus, then are ferried to the island from the nearby mainland city of Port-de-Paix.
Once here, they either hike or travel by motorcycle to any of more than a dozen departure points. And desperation trumps the risks. The first time Major, 29, had his hopes for a new life dashed, he was within sight of the jagged coastlines of the southern Bahamas. The second time, he was picked up near Cuba. The third, last November, he almost starved to death after four food-less days aboard a capsized, overcrowded foot sailboat off the Bahamas. At least 30 people died, most of them from starvation. Among them was a local elected official.
During the four days the group spent before they were spotted by a U. Coast Guard helicopter, there were fights aboard, they said, as people scrambled for food and water. In all, were rescued. But Orelien, who worked as a sailor aboard the ship, said the captain told him there were passengers. Some paid with money and livestock.