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Paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
In this gripping, page-turning account, Sam Moses has told a story in the tradition of Sebastian Junger’s A Perfect Storm, Robert Kurson’s Shadow Divers, and Hampton Sides’s Ghost Soldiers. It’s a story about the heroism of two men in battle at sea during World War II, and one woman fleeing Nazi Norway with her child. It’s about how courage can change the course of history.
AT ALL COSTS: How a Crippled Ship and Two American Merchant Marines Turned the Tide of World War II is the astonishing untold account, with original historical reporting, of how two men faced unfathomable danger to help save the island of Malta, Churchill’s crux of the war.
In 1942, the tiny island of Malta was the most heavily bombed place on earth. Hitler needed Malta as a stepping-stone to get to the oil in Iraq and Iran (Persia at the time). Blockaded by sea, Malta was running on empty, in food, fuel and ammunition. Axis U-boats and dive-bombers made supply convoys to Malta more like suicide missions. In this last-hope convoy, 50 warships escorted 13 freighters carrying aviation fuel, and a single critical tanker, the SS Ohio, with 107,000 barrels of oil from Texas. Winston Churchill had traveled to Washington and asked FDR for the tanker–his prime ministership was at stake over this mission to Malta.
Relentlessly dive-bombed and repeatedly torpedoed, the Ohio suffered huge hits and was abandoned. Two young American merchant mariners–pulled from the sea after their own ship went down in flames–boarded the ravaged tanker, repaired her guns and fought off German and Italian dive-bombers, as the sinking Ohio was towed at 4 knots toward Malta with a tiny crew of volunteers.
Sam Moses’ AT ALL COSTS is a triumphant story of human bravery: fearless, selfless acts by men determined to save a ship and win a war; profound communal courage from an island under brutal siege; and leaders who understood the cause of freedom.
Kirkus (starred review)
A historical footnote provides a riveting tale of true American grit during World War II.
In 1942, the island of Malta was the primary launching point in the Mediterranean for Allied
aircraft and submarine attacks against Axis supply convoys. At the height of the North African
campaign, Rommel’s tanks prepared to sweep into Egypt, Iran and Iraq. The only thing they lacked was
the fuel to get there, and the shortage was equally desperate on Malta. The Allies launched Operation
Pedestal, a last-ditch effort to re-supply the base by sending a convoy from Britain through the Gibraltar
Strait to the beleaguered island. The convoy, which included the American tanker Ohio and the U.S.
freighter Santa Elisa, was anything but a milk run. Vietnam vet Moses (Fast Guys, Rich Guys and
Idiots, not reviewed) crafts a thrilling adventure on the high seas, though it takes a while to get started.
The book’s first third juxtaposes Malta’s plight against the stories of two American merchant seamen
on the Santa Elisa: Lonnie Dales and Fred Larsen, through whose eyes the battle will be viewed in bluecollar
detail. Once Operation Pedestal begins, the narrative is all action. The convoy comes under
repeated attack, lives are lost, the Santa Elisa is sunk. Dales and Larsen find themselves aboard the
wounded Ohio, full to the brim with Texas crude. If they can hold off Nazi attacks and keep their new
ship afloat long enough to reach Malta, the operation will be a success. Moses takes readers directly
into the heat of battle, demonstrating a strong command of historical detail.
Highly recommended for fans of naval adventure. (Agent: Peter Riva/International Transactions, Inc.)
"At All Costs is an extraordinary work of research and an exciting read that pays tribute to a crucial enterprise taken against incredible odds. Sam Moses has brought the ghastliness of war and the beauty of heroism together, in jarring union." –Frank Deford
“This book tells a great story. But Sam Moses is not just sharing a gripping tale. He is sharing an important and oft neglected story about a battle that played a decisive role in shaping the outcome of WW II. You will meet people who will linger in memory for their bravery, foolishness, or wisdom.” –Ken Auletta, author of Backstory
“Thrillingly told and beautifully researched, At All Costs is not just the against-all-odds story of the saving of Malta, but also of how the fate of nations can turn on the personal bravery of two ordinary men.”
–Robert Kurson, author of Shadow Divers
“Sam Moses has skillfully blended the vivid recollections of many eyewitnesses with a wealth of original documentary research to produce an immensely readable and authoritative account of this crucial operation.” –Mark Whitmore, Director of Collections, Imperial War Museum, London, England
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Interesting but a bit too wordy |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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Too wordy on the TWO merchant marines and their families. Do you seriously believe they turned the tide in WWII? But, it is an interesting read about:
1. How convoys worked
2. Regular guys acting bravely under fire
3. Regular guys acting afraid and running
4. How important Malta was to both sides
5. How the people on Malta suffered during the war
6. How easy it was to sink new, state-of-the-art ships
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| Technically poorly written page turner. |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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One quickly forgets about the difficulties in keeping up with the characters in this book while dodging dive bombers.
One actually feels as if present during the run for Malta. I recommend the book for any history buff - if only for the Churchill sections.
A good buy for a good read.
Ern Campbell, MD
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| How the ship got through |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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This is quite a good and interesting book about the convoy runs to Malta and in particular the voyage of the tanker OHIO. Having read the first half, I was however expecting to find the two American hero's personally swatting Axis planes out of the sky with their caps by the end. Instead while they act with supreme bravery, that bravery and guts is shared by a whole lot of other men too.
The build up is therefore almost a let down. The two main characters end up doing the same amazingly heroic deeds as the other people they share the story with, so that one is left wondering why the author didnt concentrate on the heroism of the entire bunch. It was certainly well deserved. Or was he specifically writing for an American audience and needed to show how, as the cover suggests, these two intredid heroes won WW2? I think the American flag may have slipped over the computer screen a little too often while he was writing.
What ever the reason for concentrating so much praise on these two men, nothing can diminish their heroism. Their dedication and sheer guts. In a crisis situation many people will rise to the occasion, and others will fail. In this story a few do fail, but the majority rise to deal with the terrible ordeal they must go through.
The research information is amazing. The author has travelled widely and written many letters to survivors in order to tell his story. He is to be commended for that. But there are some very silly editorial mistakes that diminish the research. On one hand he is telling us that the lack of fuel kept the Italian Battleships in port, and on another he twice describes one of the Italian cruisers as a battleship. British destroyers with 5" guns? I think not. There are other silly little mistakes that an editor should have picked up if he thoroughly read what the author had written.
Overall, the author does deserve praise for telling a good story and telling it well.
The thrust of historical research is of a very high standard that is only slightly marred by the silly mistakes described. I'm a little surprised an ex-Navy man would have made some of the errors of detail.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing more about the incredible voyage of the tanker OHIO. Its a good read and an entertainingly written one.
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| Fun read but |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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Ok is this great book, no. Is it a good read, well yes? The problem is that there are too many little mistakes that were made, pp 192 he refers to the battleship, Trieste. The Trieste was a Heavy Cruiser. The photograph identified as a JU-88 twin engine passing over a cruiser, is actually a tri-motor Italian bomber, you can even see the Italian markings on the planes wings. I don't even know what to do with this statement, pp 184, "German historians have long wondered how Churchill managed to persuade Stalin to join the allies." Hmm that little thing of Germany invading Russia may have had something to do with it, yah think. There are odd little statements throughout the book which has no basis in historic fact, the Swedes allowed the Germans to enter Norway through the backdoor. ????? Weak on sources, most are dated; there are far better histories of the Italian Navy then the ones used.
With all that this is still a great read and the guts that many of these men, not all, is truly remarkable. Would make a great film.
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| A great story, told pretty well |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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There's a lot to like about this book. Moses tells a great story. As other readers have pointed out, this is a tale of epic heroism and sacrifice, and you don't see many books that tell of WWII as it was fought by the merchant marine. Moses did his research, and makes liberal use of the recollections of those who fought this battle.
But "At All Costs" falls short of five stars for a couple reasons. At times it's hard to follow the action and the sequence of events, or to understand how events relate. Moses puts you in the moment and it can be tough to step back and understand the big picture.
And the subtitle, "How a crippled ship and two American merchant mariners turned the tide of World War II," shows how the book overreaches. I'm not discounting the importance of Malta, but you can't hang the outcome of the second world war on any one battle or event -- the allies would not have lost the war if Malta had fallen. Greater forces were at work, such as the economic strength of the United States, Hitler's failure as strategist, and Russia's vast territory and manpower (and willingness to sacrifice that manpower). This overreach hurts the book's credibility. The statement, noted by another reviewer, that German historians have always wondered how Churchill persuaded Stalin to join the Allies, doesn't help credibility either.
Finally, the two merchant seamen of the subtitle are featured prominently. This gets the book off to a slow start, as Moses tries too hard to inject human interest into a story that doesn't need it. Don't get me wrong -- those guys were heroes, but virtually everyone on that convoy was a hero.
If you're into naval history, I recommend this book. Just treat it as a great read and not necessarily great history.
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