A writer could hardly have been better prepared for writing a book than Monsarrat was for composing The Cruel Sea, as it was very much based on his own experience during World War II. The protagonist, Lockhart, resembles the wartime Monsarrat in age and background; he starts the war as a twenty-seven- year-old journalist turned naval officer and ends it, as did the author, as a seasoned veteran (although Lockhart goes no higher than executive officer, while Monsarrat eventually commanded three ships at various times). Lockhart's mentor is his commanding officer Captain Ericson, the professional seaman back in naval uniform for the war, a man who loves going to sea and who accepts, however difficult it may be at times, the full burden of combat command. The negative examples include the crude Australian First Lieutenant, Bennett, who functions on bluster and bullying rather than responsibility and courage, and...