De Hartog, Jan The Captain

One of the great works of nautical fiction. The novel follows the World War 2 career of Dutch ocean-going tugboat Captain Martinus Harinxma. It is set chiefly on the infamous North Atlantic Murmansk run. The book's major theme is the making of a captain and of the almost mystical bond that develops between a captain and his ship. The qualities of leadership and courage are also movingly explored, as is the concept of man's own basic humanity. Beyond this, the novel is a page-turning tale of the North Atlantic convoy system that both saved Great Britain from Nazi aggression and set the stage for Germany's final defeat in 1945. A must-read for anyone interested in the genre.