German Pocket Battleships – 1939-1945, by Gordon Williamson (Author), Ian Palmer (Illustrator), is a BRIEF history of the fantastic little warships built by Germany prior to the Second World War. Well written and illustrated, it left me wanting so much more! I blame myself for not checking on the page count before purchasing the title, and in all honesty, for the price, the book is a good value, but I learned nothing that I hadn’t already discovered from previous books or sources. I think the idea here is to acquire the entire series and then you would have a quick reference to any of the German warships, albeit not a comprehensive one.

Having said that, for someone new to naval history, or someone with a passing interest who does not want to find themselves buried under endless minute details, this volume would be an exceptional beginner’s tool. That is the bases for my rating it as high as I did. For the historian with a few hundred pounds of previous volumes concerning the German navy under their belt, pass on this one.

Review by Daniel Lloyd Little from www.daniellittle.com ( )