Rebecca Tope's favorite books about women, their letters, and World War II

Book cover of The Blitz Detective Book cover of A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City Book cover of The Cruel Sea Book cover of A House in the Country Book cover of An Invisible Friendship

The best World War 2 naval thrillers

Book cover of The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II Book cover of Eye of the Needle Book cover of Storm Warning Book cover of The Good Shepherd Book cover of The Cruel Sea

The best books about the sea that aren’t just about sailing on it, or fighting on it, or drowning in it, but are really about the human condition

Book cover of This Thing of Darkness Book cover of The Cruel Sea Book cover of Rites of Passage Book cover of Star of the Sea Book cover of Clarissa Oakes

The best war novels look beyond glory and victory to show the awful impact on the individual regardless of nationality

Book cover of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Book cover of No Ordinary Pilot: One Young Man’s Extraordinary Exploits in World War II Book cover of The Jacaranda Tree Book cover of The Cruel Sea Book cover of All Quiet on the Western Front

The best novels about the reality of war at sea by writers who’ve survived it

Book cover of Mr. Midshipman Easy Book cover of HMS Saracen Book cover of HMS Ulysses Book cover of Das Boot Book cover of The Cruel Sea

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Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Cruel Sea.

Book cover of A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City Book cover of Rites of Passage Book cover of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Book cover of The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II Book cover of Eye of the Needle Book cover of All Quiet on the Western Front

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