Description
The Deadly Trade is a fascinating and comprehensive account of how an initially ineffectual craft evolved into the most powerful and terrifying vessel ever invented. At the heart of this thrilling narrative lurks danger and power as acclaimed naval writer Iain Ballantyne reveals some of warfare's murkiest secrets. The cast of colourful characters includes an American who devised plunging boats to attack the British, then switched sides and tried to help the Royal Navy defeat Napoleon; a former monk who created submersible boats to assist the cause of Irish liberation; and a spy who, during the American Civil War, hid Confederate submarine secrets in her bonnet. The reader is plunged into the epic convoy battles of the twentieth century's world wars, when hopes of victory were placed on the shoulders of daring young submarine captains, many of whom perished along with the men they commanded. We learn of efforts by the British to seize Enigma material from U-boats, how Germany's so-called Grey Wolves were not always brave or invincible, and the role of American submarines in bringing Japan to its knees. Also covered are attacks by Royal Navy X-craft on Tirpitz, Nazi plans to bombard New York with primitive cruise missiles, and episodes when the Cold War era turned hot, not least the sinking of the Belgrano. The story concludes with a look at the resurgence of submarines as political and military tools and the threat of nuclear annihilation they pose.
About the Author
'Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom - 80th anniversary edition' is Iain's latest book and an updated and expanded new version of the 2016 original, this time published both as an e-book and a shop paperback. His previous book was 'Arnhem: Ten Days in The Cauldron' (Sept 2019), also for Agora Books.Although he has written several naval history books, including those on the Second World War and the Cold War, Iain Ballantyne has, during the course of his career as a journalist, editor, and author, also covered the activities of land forces.Those assignments took him to Kuwait, Oman, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Hong Kong, sometimes during times of conflict. Iain has visited WW2 battlefields in company with those who fought there as young men, while also spending hours in conversation with Arnhem veterans.As a teenager, Iain embarked on an expedition to follow the course of the Rhine, including a pilgrimage to Oosterbeek and Arnhem. He retraced the route of the British Airborne soldiers in 1944 as they tried to take the famous ‘bridge too far’.Iain Ballantyne’s assignments as a writer on naval affairs have taken him from the Arctic to mine infested waters off war-torn Kuwait, aboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier off Libya, into the South China Sea and below the Irish Sea in a hunter-killer submarine.Iain has contributed to coverage of naval and military issues in national and regional newspapers, and provided analysis and commentaries for radio and television, as well as prestigious publications by NATO and the Royal Navy.His most recent naval history book was 'The Deadly Trade: The Complete History of Submarine Warfare from Archimedes to the Present' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2018). It was published in the USA in December 2018, as 'The Deadly Deep' (Pegasus Books).Iain's other books include ‘Hunter Killers’ (Orion, 2013), which was published in the USA in September 2019 as 'Undersea Warriors' (Pegasus Books).Iain won a Mountbatten Certificate of Merit for his action-packed depiction of the pursuit and destruction of Hitler's flagship as recounted in ‘Killing the Bismarck’ (Pen & Sword, 2010).In 2017 he was awarded a Fellowship by the UK’s Maritime Foundation. One of its top annual awards, it recognised Iain’s immense contribution to the maritime cause since 1990, as a journalist, author of naval history books and Editor of 'WARSHIPS International Fleet Review' magazine from 1998 to the present.
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