Book info

• Title Secrets of the Conqueror
• Author Stuart Prebble
• Year 2012
• Genre Non-fiction

HMS Conqueror is Britain's most famous submarine. It is the only sub since World War Two to have sunk an enemy ship. Conqueror's sinking of the Argentine cruiser Belgrano made inevitable an all-out war over the future of the Falkland Islands, and sparked off one of the most controversial episodes of twentieth century politics. The controversy was fuelled by a war-diary kept by an officer on board HMS Conqueror, and as a young TV producer in the 1980s Stuart Prebble scooped the world by locating the diary's author and getting his story on the record. But in the course of uncovering his Falklands story, Stuart Prebble also learned a military secret which could have come straight out of a Cold War thriller. It involved the Top Secret activities of the Conqueror in the months before and after the Falklands War.

Thoughts

It’s no secret that I have a fondness for submarines, but I actually know precious little about them. The odd movie here or there is about the limit of my expertise, but I’m keen to start righting this wrong. This book chronicles the true story of what one of our submarines was really doing during the Cold War, and also details some of the coverup that occurred to hide its actions.

Non-fiction and historical books (if you can call thirty years history) like this can sometimes be stuffy and hard work, but this was really well written, very engaging and with some great interviews, conversations, and details. Even the bits explaining more technical details about submarines or about the machinations of war were easily digested.

I thought it was a fascinating read, raising plenty of questions, revealing lots of great stuff about submarines themselves, and also perking up my interest in that period of history as well. Top stuff.

Rating: 5 / 5