At all costs: how a crippled ship and two American merchant mariners turned the tide of World War II

This is a first-class retelling of the story of Operation Pedestal, one of the most desperate convoy battles of World War II. The British island base of Malta was on the verge of starvation, so the British sent a large convoy of fast merchant vessels, escorted by most of the Mediterranean Fleet. The Italians made an equally desperate effort to stop the convoy, sinking several warships and nine of the merchant vessels. Moses' focus, like that of Ian Cameron in the classic Red Duster, White Ensign (1959), is on the American tanker Ohio, which carried vital fuel supplies and fought through to Malta by the skin of her teeth and the valor of her skipper, crew, and escorts. Any proper account of Operation Pedestal and its salvation of Malta will read like a novel by the late Alistair MacLean, but Moses here has marshaled the research and exercised the writing skills to produce a solid addition to WWII naval literature by anyone's lights. --Roland Green Copyright 2006 Booklist

With verve and empathy, author and former Navy Seaman Moses gives WWII's Operation Pedestal, "the most heavily defended and heavily attacked naval convoy in history," its first book-length treatment since Peter Smith's 1970 volume Pedestal, drawing on more than two years of his own research and 40-plus hours of new interviews with veterans of the mission. By mid-1942, the vital island base at Malta was under siege by Axis forces and almost exhausted of resources, leaving its inhabitants to starve in hiding. The British response was Operation Pedestal: almost 50 warships escorting 14 merchantmen on a do-or-die resupply mission beneath skies ruled by Hitler's Luftwaffe and through a gantlet of torpedo boats, submarines and minefields. Key to the operation was the SS Ohio, a tanker carrying over 12,000 tons of fuel oil, diesel, and kerosene. The Ohio was paralyzed after taking seven direct bomb and torpedo hits, and her dead weight kept breaking towlines. Under order, her crew abandoned ship, but two American sailors, their own ship sunk, volunteered to man the Ohio's guns and give the Royal Navy another chance to bring the Ohio in under tow. Merchant Mariners Francis Dales and Frederick Larsen kept the dive-bombers off balance as other volunteers fought to keep the tanker afloat and the tows intact. "The wording was to bring the Ohio in at all costs," Larson said later, and the remarkable heroism that won the day, as well as Moses' thorough retelling, makes this an exciting, imperative read for anyone interested in WWII. (Nov.7) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

A historical footnote provides a riveting tale of true American grit during World War II. In 1942, the island of Malta was the primary launching point in the Mediterranean for Allied aircraft and submarine attacks against Axis supply convoys. At the height of the North African campaign, Rommel's tanks prepared to sweep into Egypt, Iran and Iraq. The only thing they lacked was the fuel to get there, and the shortage was equally desperate on Malta. The Allies launched Operation Pedestal, a last-ditch effort to re-supply the base by sending a convoy from Britain through the Gibraltar Strait to the beleaguered island. The convoy, which included the American tanker Ohio and the U.S. freighter Santa Elisa, was anything but a milk run. Vietnam vet Moses (Fast Guys, Rich Guys and Idiots, not reviewed) crafts a thrilling adventure on the high seas, though it takes a while to get started. The book's first third juxtaposes Malta's plight against the stories of two American merchant seamen on the Santa Elisa: Lonnie Dales and Fred Larsen, through whose eyes the battle will be viewed in blue-collar detail. Once Operation Pedestal begins, the narrative is all action. The convoy comes under repeated attack, lives are lost, the Santa Elisa is sunk. Dales and Larsen find themselves aboard the wounded Ohio, full to the brim with Texas crude. If they can hold off Nazi attacks and keep their new ship afloat long enough to reach Malta, the operation will be a success. Moses takes readers directly into the heat of battle, demonstrating a strong command of historical detail. Highly recommended for fans of naval adventure. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

This is a first-class retelling of the story of Operation Pedestal, one of the most desperate convoy battles of World War II. The British island base of Malta was on the verge of starvation, so the British sent a large convoy of fast merchant vessels, escorted by most of the Mediterranean Fleet. The Italians made an equally desperate effort to stop the convoy, sinking several warships and nine of the merchant vessels. Moses' focus, like that of Ian Cameron in the classic Red Duster, White Ensign (1959), is on the American tanker Ohio, which carried vital fuel supplies and fought through to Malta by the skin of her teeth and the valor of her skipper, crew, and escorts. Any proper account of Operation Pedestal and its salvation of Malta will read like a novel by the late Alistair MacLean, but Moses here has marshaled the research and exercised the writing skills to produce a solid addition to WWII naval literature by anyone's lights. ((Reviewed November 15, 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.

With verve and empathy, author and former Navy Seaman Moses gives WWII's Operation Pedestal, "the most heavily defended and heavily attacked naval convoy in history," its first book-length treatment since Peter Smith's 1970 volume Pedestal, drawing on more than two years of his own research and 40-plus hours of new interviews with veterans of the mission. By mid-1942, the vital island base at Malta was under siege by Axis forces and almost exhausted of resources, leaving its inhabitants to starve in hiding. The British response was Operation Pedestal: almost 50 warships escorting 14 merchantmen on a do-or-die resupply mission beneath skies ruled by Hitler's Luftwaffe and through a gantlet of torpedo boats, submarines and minefields. Key to the operation was the SS Ohio, a tanker carrying over 12,000 tons of fuel oil, diesel, and kerosene. The Ohio was paralyzed after taking seven direct bomb and torpedo hits, and her dead weight kept breaking towlines. Under order, her crew abandoned ship, but two American sailors, their own ship sunk, volunteered to man the Ohio's guns and give the Royal Navy another chance to bring the Ohio in under tow. Merchant Mariners Francis Dales and Frederick Larsen kept the dive-bombers off balance as other volunteers fought to keep the tanker afloat and the tows intact. "The wording was to bring the Ohio in at all costs," Larson said later, and the remarkable heroism that won the day, as well as Moses' thorough retelling, makes this an exciting, imperative read for anyone interested in WWII. (Nov.7) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.