The Mathews Men
Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats
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Narrated by:
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Arthur Morey
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By:
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William Geroux
About this listen
From the author of The Ghost Ships of Archangel, one of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: The U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the US Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community’s monumental contribution to that effort.
Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery - but it sent an unusually large concentration of sea captains to fight in World War II. The Mathews Men tells that heroic story through the experiences of one extraordinary family whose seven sons (and their neighbors), US merchant mariners all, suddenly found themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of the U-boats bearing down on the coastal United States in 1942.
From the late 1930s to 1945, virtually all the fuel, food, and munitions that sustained the Allies in Europe traveled not via the Navy but in merchant ships. After Pearl Harbor, those unprotected ships instantly became the U-boats’ prime targets. And they were easy targets - the Navy lacked the inclination or resources to defend them until the beginning of 1943. Hitler was determined that his U-boats should sink every American ship they could find, sometimes within sight of tourist beaches, and to kill as many mariners as possible, in order to frighten their shipmates into staying ashore.
As the war progressed, men from Mathews sailed the North and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and even the icy Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle, where they braved the dreaded Murmansk Run. Through their experiences we have eyewitnesses to every danger zone, in every kind of ship. Some died horrific deaths. Others fought to survive torpedo explosions, flaming oil slicks, storms, shark attacks, mine blasts, and harrowing lifeboat odysseys - only to ship out again on the next boat as soon as they'd returned to safety.
The Mathews Men shows us the war far beyond traditional battlefields - often the US merchant mariners’ life-and-death struggles took place just off the US coast - but also takes us to the landing beaches at D-Day and to the Pacific. “When final victory is ours”, General Dwight D. Eisenhower had predicted, “there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marine". Here, finally, is the heroic story of those merchant seamen, recast as the human story of the men from Mathews.
©2016 William Geroux (P)2016 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Vividly drawn and emotionally gripping." (Daniel James Brown, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Boys in the Boat)
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Submarine Commander
- A Story of World War II and Korea
- By: Paul R. Schratz
- Narrated by: John N. Gully
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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A fascinating personal memoir of underwater combat in World War II, told by a man who played a major role in those dangerous operations. Frank and beautifully written, this book will be of lasting value as a submarine history by an expert and as an enduring military and political analysis.
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Engrossing Memoir
- By Jean on 12-24-15
By: Paul R. Schratz
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Ship of Ghosts
- The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of of Her Survivors
- By: James D. Hornfischer
- Narrated by: Mark Cashman
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Renowned as FDR's favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. But the men of the Houston fought back with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, willpower, and the undying faith that their country would prevail.
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interesting read
- By Laurie on 05-11-07
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The War Below
- The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan
- By: James Scott
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The War Below is a dramatic account of extraordinary heroism, ingenuity, and perseverance—and the vital role American submarines played in winning the Pacific War. Focusing on the unique stories of the submarines Silversides, Drum, and Tang—and the men who skippered and crewed them—James Scott takes readers beneath the waves to experience the thrill of a direct hit on a merchant ship and the terror of depth charge attacks.
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Unique. Engaging. Worth your credit.
- By Ryan on 06-21-13
By: James Scott
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Indianapolis
- By: Lynn Vincent, Sara Vladic
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Just after midnight on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis is sailing alone in the Philippine Sea when she is sunk by two Japanese torpedoes. For the next five nights and four days, almost 300 miles from the nearest land, nearly 900 men battle injuries, sharks, dehydration, insanity, and eventually each other. Only 316 will survive. Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic tell the complete story of the ship, her crew, and their final mission to save one of their own.
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As good as In Harm's Way but different
- By tru britty on 07-13-18
By: Lynn Vincent, and others
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Torpedo Run
- The Story of WWII Submarine Hero Eugene B. Fluckey
- By: Don Keith
- Narrated by: Vincent Caruso
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Over the course of five combat patrols during the Pacific War, Commander Fluckey reinvented submarine warfare, pioneering audacious strategies to hunt and sink Japanese warships and merchant vessels. At the helm of the USS Barb, he directed his boat to attack warship convoys - never mind the lop-sided odds - and to slip into heavily defended enemy harbors to launch torpedoes at unsuspecting targets.
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Fluckey was a legend.
- By Sarah H. on 10-28-24
By: Don Keith
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For Crew and Country
- The Inspirational True Story of Bravery and Sacrifice Aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts
- By: John Wukovits
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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On October 25, 1944, the Samuel B. Roberts and 12 other vessels stood between Japan’s largest battleship force ever and MacArthur’s transports inside Leyte Gulf. Facing more than 20 Japanese vessels - including the 70,000-ton Yamato - the 1,200-ton Samuel B. Roberts turned immediately to action, churning straight at the enemy in a near-suicidal attempt to deflect the more potent foe and buy time for MacArthur’s forces.
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Well Done Naval Story of the Samuel B. Roberts
- By David on 05-15-13
By: John Wukovits
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Fatal Dive
- Solving the World War II Mystery of the USS Grunion
- By: Peter F. Stevens
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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No radio distress call ever crackled from the submarine USS Grunion. In 1942, under the fog of World War II, the vessel simply vanished without a trace. For nearly sixty-five years, only a dead silence lingered regarding the fate of the sub and its seventy-man crew—until now. Here author Peter F. Stevens reveals the incredible true story of the search for and discovery of the Grunion—as well as the navy’s shocking and willful cover-up of the submarine’s baffling disappearance.
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Not my first Grunion book
- By nerdymko on 02-13-21
By: Peter F. Stevens
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PT-109
- JFK's Night of Destiny
- By: William Doyle
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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A thrilling, moment-by-moment account of one of the most famous events of World War II - the sinking of PT-109 and John F. Kennedy's heroic actions that saved his crew - and a fascinating examination of how that extraordinary episode shaped the future president's life.
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Hagiography, but a good one
- By Joshua on 10-20-18
By: William Doyle
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Gallant Lady
- A Biography of the USS Archerfish
- By: Don Keith, Ken Henry
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Archerfish, a diesel powered Balao-class submarine crafted in the 1940s, won a unique, heroic place in military history and the memories of her crew members. Here is her story: from her assembly in New England and her dedication by Eleanor Roosevelt's personal secretary, to her service in World War II, where she broke the back of the Japanese Navy, and her critical role in the Cold War.
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Bilgewater
- By Richard on 04-01-06
By: Don Keith, and others
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In Harm's Way
- The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors
- By: Doug Stanton
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated 300 men were killed upon impact; close to 900 sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they remained undetected by the navy for nearly four days and nights. Battered by a savage sea, they struggled to stay alive, fighting off sharks, hypothermia, and dementia. By the time rescue arrived, all but 317 men had died. The captain's subsequent court-martial left many questions unanswered
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Captivating
- By Clarence Sparks on 10-22-16
By: Doug Stanton
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Ninety Percent of Everything
- Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate
- By: Rose George
- Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Rose George, acclaimed chronicler of what we would rather ignore, sails from Rotterdam to Suez to Singapore on ships the length of football fields and the height of Niagara Falls; she patrols the Indian Ocean with an anti-piracy task force; she joins seafaring chaplains and investigates the harm that ships inflict on endangered whales. Sharply informative and entertaining, Ninety Percent of Everything reveals the workings and perils of an unseen world that holds the key to our economy, our environment, and our very civilization.
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I was quite mislead by the title.....
- By Steve on 10-20-17
By: Rose George
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Pearl Harbor
- From Infamy to Greatness
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Published in time for the 75th anniversary, a gripping and definitive account of the event that changed 20th-century America - Pearl Harbor - based on years of research and new information uncovered by a New York Times best-selling author.
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Poorly researched, author loses credibility.
- By booger on 12-23-18
By: Craig Nelson
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Sea of Thunder
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The book focuses on four naval commanders, two American, two Japanese, whose lives collided at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 - a clash involving more ships (almost 300), more men (nearly 200,000) and covering a larger area (more than 100 thousand square miles, roughly the size of the British Isles) than any naval battle in recorded history.
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Good
- By Hika on 12-28-09
By: Evan Thomas
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Tin Can Titans
- The Heroic Men and Ships of World War II's Most Decorated Navy Destroyer Squadron
- By: John Wukovits
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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When Admiral William Halsey selected Destroyer Squadron 21 to lead his victorious ships into Tokyo Bay to accept the Japanese surrender, it was the most battle-hardened US naval squadron of the war. But it was not the squadron of ships that had accumulated such an inspiring résumé; it was the people serving aboard them. Through diaries, personal interviews with survivors, and letters written to and by the crews during the war, preeminent historian of the Pacific theater John Wukovits brings to life the human story of the squadron and its men.
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Captivating
- By Jean on 09-23-17
By: John Wukovits
What listeners say about The Mathews Men
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dave White
- 09-22-21
Great Read!!
The book is a quick read. Very interesting perspective regarding the merchant marine and their families viewpoint. I live 1 hour from Mathews and had no idea of their contribution to the war.
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- Neldasews
- 05-23-16
This WW11 history should not be missed!
Anyone who loves American history needs to add the Merchant Marines of WW11 to their knowledge. We owe them so much more than they ever received. Don't miss this 5 Star book.
Afterword: while I was listening to this book my favorite uncle passed away at the age of 93, only after his passing did I find out he served aboard the SS Williams Victory. I'm a daughter of a USNA 1943 grad. And most of the stories were of the Navy. I wish I had known to ask:(
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- Adam
- 07-26-16
Great subject, but is drawn out.
What did you like best about The Mathews Men? What did you like least?
The book covers a great subject and really does a great job giving you a look into what the merchant marines dealt with in WWII. I felt the book was bit drawn out. It probably could have been about 2/3 the length and still gotten the story and point across.
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2 people found this helpful
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- LMac
- 01-17-17
Very interesting read
The book is not what I expected but rather something better. It starts slow but is definitely worth finishing. Depicts life of a community of folks with generations of Merchant Marines trying to survive Hitler's Uboat war.
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- Suzanne L. Coste
- 06-22-16
Didn't know about Marthews Men
I knew about there were merchant marines but I was not aware of how vital they were to the war effort. A great book about one family who had so many sons all in the merchant marines. I thank them all for their service.
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- P. VEASEY
- 08-05-16
send this book to your congressmen
This is a forgotten piece of American History that needs to be told. narration is a little dull.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-02-24
Excellent research
Excellent research providing vivid details. An outstanding tribute to the men of Matthews County, Va
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- Constance C.
- 04-28-16
Great History of Merchant Seamen
An eye-opening look at the tremendous loss of life, ships and what they carried during WW II. Book circles around one family in particular, but speaks to the men and their families of Matthews County whose profession was ocean shipping around the world. Another aspect of the war that one rarely hears about. Very well written and narrated.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Antoinette
- 09-04-16
Amazingly informative
I found this book so informative . So much I never knew. Thank you great research
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- Shannon Coy
- 06-19-17
Wonderful account of the price paid by this community
The author captured the overall price this community paid in service to the country and illustrates it well. Matthews should be proud of the legacy and we should realize the level of our indebtedness to them.
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