Crosscuts between London and the convoy are thankfully kept to a minimum as Mr. Hastings focuses on the hazards, mundane and terrifying, of naval warfare.

The immediacy of this book obliterates the cold detachment that time’s passage usually allows. We feel in our bones torpedoes hitting home. Hastings takes his readers into the bomb-blasted wardroom of the carrier Indomitable.

... [a] white-knuckle ride.

The very word 'convoy' conjures an image of lumbering merchant ships ferrying food and supplies. It’s hardly the stuff to set the pulse racing. The veteran historian Max Hastings wants to redress this misconception with his latest book, Operation Pedestal.

... a free-flowing narrative.

Hastings’ first full-length narrative of war at sea measures up to his usual high standards.

... a sterling account.