I know C.S. Forester for his series of Hornblower novels. I’ll admit I hadn’t really given the matter all that much thought, but the assumption on my part was that the Hornblower books were all written back in the day, that is, the 1800s.

It turns out that no, they were written in the 1930s. Forester was a naval man, it seems, and in addition to his Hornblower series wrote many fine non-fiction books about naval combat, “Sink The Bismarck” being one of them. It is a factual account of the week after the largest battleship in the world, the Bismark of the Kriegsmarine, sailed out of it’s harbour in Gdynia and into a showdown with the British Home Fleet.

The most interesting thing about this book is that it cites the hunting of the Bismarck as the turning point of World War Two. I can’t really confirm nor deny this claim. The Bismarck itself seems inconsequential. It was a large, fast, powerful ship for sure, but befiore the war was over naval battles would be fought by carriers and won with air superiority. But Forester makes a good  (well, excellent) case for the Bismarck hunt being that last time that the Germans had the initiative, the last time the German Eagle ever stared the British Bulldog in the eye and squared up for a fight. After the Bismark was sunk the Germans were on the back foot. They lost in Africa, Barbarossa began in Russia and America joined the war on the side of England. The hunt, Forester shows, was widely regarded as a game of brinkmanship, with empires at stake. The Kriegsmarine lost.  The hunt was closely followed in America, and when the Royal Navy won the Lend-lease program began in earnest. It was as though the Americans had finally chosen sides. They went with the winners.

The book as a piece of writing is exceptionally good. It is told from the points of view of the captains of the ships concerned and the Admirals in command. One of the things I quite liked about it was that it did not seek to ‘humanize’ the Germans. Lest I be accused of being too harsh, let me explain. Recent war movies like ‘Valkyrie’ and ‘Enemy At The Gate’ have leaned towards the idea that the German Army were all generally apolitical and just fighting for their evil masters in Berlin. This was not the case, and this book documents it well. The speeches given by Admiral Lutjens (Bismarck’s officer commanding) and cheered by the ship’s crews are full of references to ‘the threat of international Jewry’ and ‘the world under the swastika banner of National Socialism’. Disturbing indeed, and even more disturbing when you realise that these were not fictionalised accounts, but come from Forester’s interviews with Bismarck survivors.

This was a quick read  (it took me only a couple of hours) and I can recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn about an important time in world history.

Despite being a book lover and, god forbid, a Librarian! I am NOT a big reader of Classics. In fact, I prefer it if they’re turned into films. I love a good costume drama!

However, there was just something about this book that made me borrow it. Perhaps it was the cover. I do like a book with a good cover. To be honest, in the beginning it was the cover, but then I read the blurb and met Flora Poste and her relatives the Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm. I took Cold Comfort Farm away with me over my Easter holidays and I meant to read it, classic or not.

Once I’d started the book and got used to the difference in language (it was first published in 1932) I really started to enjoy it. The characters were delightful, the plot wonderful and to my surprise, it was funny!

I’m wondering how many other great stories I have dismissed, simply because they are “classics”. It is time to broaden my horizons and challenge myself with my reading.

Cold Comfort Farm gets 4 stars from me.