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  • Steel Boat Iron Hearts

  • A U-boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505
  • By: Hans Goebeler, John Vanzo
  • Narrated by: Norman Dietz
  • Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (83 ratings)
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Steel Boat Iron Hearts cover art

Steel Boat Iron Hearts

By: Hans Goebeler,John Vanzo
Narrated by: Norman Dietz
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Summary

Using his own experiences, log books, and correspondence with other U-boat crewmen, Hans Goebeler offers rich and personal details about what life was like in the German Navy under Hitler. Since his first and last posting was to U-505, Goebeler's perspective of the crew, commanders, and war patrols paints a vivid and complete portrait unlike any other to come out of the Kriegsmarine. He witnessed it all, from deadly sabotage efforts that almost sunk the boat to the tragic suicide of the only U-boat commander who took his life during World War II. The vivid, honest, and smooth-flowing prose calls it like it was and pulls no punches.

U-505 was captured by Captain Dan Gallery's Guadalcanal Task Group 22.3 on June 4, 1944. Trapped by this "hunter-killer" group, U-505 was depth-charged to the surface, strafed by machine gun fire, and boarded. It was the first ship captured at sea since the War of 1812. Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors tour U-505 each year at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

This edition includes a special foreword by Keith Gill, curator of U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry.

©2008 Hans Jacob Goebeler and John Vanzo (P)2016 Tantor

What listeners say about Steel Boat Iron Hearts

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Spoilt story

The story is great, the narration is atrocious though. Audio books are serious literary vehicles and the choice of narrator is massive in their production. An English speaking German would have encapsulated the depth of this book, the narrator chosen detracted from it in every way. Re work this book and I'd buy it again but will never buy anything by this narrator.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Poor Narration

I was looking forward to this one, but felt the narrator really mangled the text. I have a lot of respect for the guys who got into a steel tube and went under the water whatever flag they flew, but there was something about the author I didn't gel with.

Disappointed

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stick with it

Starts of as the u505 Chicago Nazi appreciation society then gets into the story of life on a uboat at war. A patriotic German probably confused about being a Nazi.
Narration is so bad it’s good

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, poor narration

I loved the story, but the narration was so monotonous and unemotional. Ruined the many tense moments.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A view from the other side

A brilliant story from the viewpoint of a surviving U — Boat sailor. As most war histories are written by the winners it is intriguing to see the war through the eyes of someone serving in the forces of the losers. They share the same hopes and fears, yet history dehumanises the Germans, incorrectly. This book tells the truth of what it was to be a member of an Elite few who suffered the worst percentage losses of any of the services, yet went out on a war patrol knowing they may never come back. They have my deepest respect.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect reading of a great book

German WWII uboats are my hobby for almost 30 years. I know this book, I have this book, I read this book several times before. But even then I really did enjoy this reading during long driving on boring highways
Thank you!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

probably revisionist.

I'm not entirely convinced of the author's objectivity. A drawback of the audiobook format is the lack of references of source material. Audible has a body of excellent narrators, but the reader for this book was dull and uninspired

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating and Unique Account of U-Boat Life

At first I was not too hot on the narrator, but he really grew on me, and I very much enjoyed his rhythm and delivery after an hour or two. I was really captivated by this story, I knew nothing of the history of the boat, but this account brought it alive and was in great detail as to the reality of the daily life on board a U-Boat. The tedium, the sheer fear, the sabotage and constant threat from a vastly superior enemy.
This was excellent, a real gem and I will no doubt listen to it again.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Compliments Das Boot

This isn’t the same story as Das Boot but in my opinion it sits alongside it. This is a factual account of what the author and crew U-505 went through during WW2 from the first mission, early ‘success’, changing fortunes as the allies got the upper hand, dockyard sabotage, life of submariners aboard the submarine and ashore through to capture and imprisonment. I do recommend it but the reader/narrator is very wooden with a monotone and nasal voice. I also take issue with what is said in the final ten minutes or so, such as ‘three million innocent German deaths after the war due to starvation rations imposed by the victors. He also bemoans the three million German military deaths and criticises Russian ethnic cleansing after the war. I agree the Russians were ******** and inhuman in their treatment of Germans but the author makes no mention of the atrocities carried out by Germany during WW 2 and in the lead up to it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent book

excellent listen with first hand accounts of the truth, as said, the historians get alot of facts wrong, this is why I don't like historian written books, only memoirs and diaries. I've never been one for naval war stories, being an infantry man but I really enjoyed this book alot. Well worth the listen, never a dull moment. sharks hitching a ride. class.

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