This is a captivating narrative nonfiction of how a group of American WWII sailors from the Guadalcanal carrier ship worked together to capture German U-boat 505. It's an incredible story, but one few of us has probably heard of. This book was well-written and very well-narrated... the accents were spot-on!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me early access to the ARC audiobook edition of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars, rounded upward.

Code Name Nemo is the true story of how U.S. Naval Commander Dan Gallery and his men captured a German U-boat during World War II. My thanks go to NetGalley, Diversion Books, and Dreamscape Media for the review copies. This book will be available to the public June 4, 2024.

German U-boats were brilliantly engineered submarines that were the terror of the seas for Allied forces in the Atlantic theater during World War II. They were extremely difficult to detect, and were responsible for sending not only Allied ships, but also Merchant Marine vessels and other commercial craft to the bottom of the ocean. Until Gallery took the initiative to capture one, the U.S. Navy had been hard pressed just to sink the treacherous subs rather than be sunk by them. To capture one was an intelligence coup of the highest order, providing the Allies with not only the technical details of the U-boats themselves, but also a host of military secrets kept onboard, including the codes that in turn led to the plans and locations of other German subs.

No Naval officer had even attempted such a thing before. Nazis were expected to destroy their subs rather than allow them to be taken; this, even if it meant all or part of the crews had to drown with the vessels. But lately, it was known that there were sailors that were conscripted and who were not Germans, men from conquered European nations. Gallery believed that some of these men would now choose to surrender and live, rather than drown themselves for the Fuhrer. Gallery was right.

Lachman does a presentable job of describing the events leading up to the sub’s capture, and he chooses to tell it from dual perspectives, and so we see it through both American eyes and those of the Germans. I am not a fan of this trend. For starters, I don’t see this as a good time, if such exists, to depict Nazis as warm and fuzzy fellows that just happened to be on the losing side of history. Furthermore—and I’ve said it before, so forgive me if you are my longtime reader and growing sick of my saying this—you never see historical writers take this tack when detailing the events of the Pacific theater. It’s as if there’s an implied requirement, saying, Look here. We are all (Caucasian) human beings, after all.

That aside, I enjoyed this book, particularly the most exciting part when they board the sub and have to prevent its exploding, or sinking fast along with the U.S. sailors that have come on deck. There is a certain amount of information dumping up front that slows things down a bit up front, and that might also confuse a reader or listener trying to remember the many names and personal histories of those involved. I can see the reasoning behind all of it; some of those mentioned in this book will have descendants that swell with pride as they hear of the courage and cleverness of their great-great whatevers, and who may be devastated to see their late relative omitted. However, the narrative would flow better if the details were streamlined.

I primarily use the audio version, with the Kindle version as backup for rechecking facts. Some of the time I used both at once. Qarie Marshall is the reader for the audio, and does an outstanding job of taking me back in time, once the story gets moving.

The research is adequate, but not stellar. Certain sources get the lion’s share of use, primarily Dan Gallery himself, who has written at length about his experience. I found myself wondering, from time to time, if I would have been better served to read his own account rather than this one. But by then I had this one well underway, so I went with it.

Those that enjoy military history might enjoy this story, and for them, I rate this book four stars. As a general read for history buffs, it may be more of a three star read. If you are the latter and considering reading it, you may want to get it free or cheap, rather than investing full cover price.

This was probably the best-written nonfiction history book I’ve ever read. I was so interested in the stories of the men involved in and leading up to the capture of U505 and the way it all unfolded, I almost forgot I was reading a nonfiction book.

I really enjoyed hearing about each of the men’s backstories - both US and German, who they were, what they did and then their investment in WW2 and the U505 capture. It was incredible to hear what they risked, how they interacted, and how they viewed their service in the war and their mission. It excellently weaved in the entire plot of the mission and happenings of it, as well as briefly touched on the after-story of each of them. By getting personal with each of the men, it caused you to become invested in what was going rather than just listing facts and stats, tho it was not lacking for information either.

I do think the blurb for the book fell short in accurately portraying the book. The capture of U505 wasn’t even introduced until about 50% in - the first half was about U505, the individuals and their backstories on either side of the war involved with it, and set the scene for how the U boats were affecting the Allies in the fight against the Nazis. If you’re going into the book thinking it’s only about the capture of U505 because of the blurb, it’s going to feel like you veered off course.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, the writing, narrator etc. Highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook. All opinions are mine.

🎧Codename Nemo🎧
By: Charles Lachman
Narrated By: Qarie Marshall
Review Score: 4 1/2 Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints
•The narration on this book is top tier.

•I learned so much about U-Boats, an area I truthfully didn’t know much about.

•I loved how the Navy was able to steal a U-Boat, it was such an interesting series of events.

•While nonfiction, this book is fast paced and engaging, so it doesn’t read as dry or long.

————————————————————————————————————

🎧 Audiobook Review! 🎧

Codename Nemo was kindly provided as an ALC by Netgalley and Dreamscape Media. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

Release Date: 6/4/24

I am a lover of World War 2 history. I feel, confidently, that it is the area of history I know the most about.

With that being said, I do not know a ton about U-Boats. I know the Germans were ruthless in their attack of ships. I know you were supposed to “zig zag” so that the torpedo wasn’t as likely to hit you. But really, thats all I knew. So when I saw this book pop up, I was intrigued, and excited when I received the ALC.

This book was SO INTERESTING. Just learning about naval traditions, technology evolution, and the overall story of the Americans capturing a German U-Boat…it was all so well done.

I really enjoyed the narration of this story. I actually looked up what other books Marshall has narrated. Much to my surprise, he has also narrated a few other books I love (The Formula being the most recent book I listened to).

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I loved learning something new about an area of history that I enjoy. If you like history, check this book out!

#bookstagram #books #readingnow #boogiereadsbooks #fivekeyfeels #audiobooks #audiobook #nonfiction #arcreview #netgalley #boogiesbulletpoints #dreamscapemedia #codenamenemo #charleslachman #qariemarshall

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of this narrative of a period in World War II when the US Navy was fighting the Germans with an important need to be able to track, evade and destroy to German U-boats. The story is told in a conversational style and had many harrowing and heartbreaking moments. The loss of ships and lives is immense and the tension of the time and the heroic actions resonate as it unfolds. It was hard to put down.

A good book that goes over U-505. I enjoyed listening to it as I haven't don't much reading about world war two submarines before. It kept me engaged and I enjoyed listening to the French resistance sabotage.

Codename Nemo tells the story of the USS Guadalcanal and their capture of the German U-Boat 505. This was the first capture of an enemy boat by the United States since the War of 1812.

The book does a good job laying out the story. It starts with background on the U-boats and how they terrorize the Atlantic during World War II. While telling us about the U-boats, we also learned about the German Navy men who were the crew of U-505. The book also details the US Navy men who were part of this during capture.

We get to see the overall ramifications of this capture while also seeing other things that went on, like the taking of war souvenirs. Finally, the book dives in to how the United States kept the capture of secret, so they could to use the information gathered to their advantage.

This book was not only an interesting read, but also a very intriguing one. It almost read like a novel. I wanted to keep listening one more chapter. If you are a fan of World War II and US history Or just enjoy a good story, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. To NetGalley, Charles Lachlan, and Dreamscape Media for a free advanced copy for an honest review.

I listened to an advanced copy of the audiobook.

Super interesting book, written with a focus on the people on all the warships involved. I had never heard of this event and I now want to travel to see the exhibit.

I really enjoyed the way the author described and explained everything, I'll be reading their other books.

The narrator is great, understandable at speeds 0.5-2.5.


Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity.

Excellent! I had no idea about the history of the U505, the escort carrier USS Guadalcanal, and Captain Dan Gallery. I'm so glad I took copious notes to keep track of all the names, and there were a LOT of names. I didn't know who the major players were and most names were recurring, so I feel that my efforts were helpful. The book seems to move slowly but it all comes together in due time. There were a lot of moving parts and Charles Lachman's words, as narrated by Qarie Marshall, brought this historical gem to life for me.
IMO, the best part of this book is the epilogue, but you must read the rest for the epilogue to have meaning.
Content Considerations: cussing- h*ll, Chr**t, and, I believe, at least one F-bomb was dropped. Most of this was toward the beginning and was contextually appropriate.

Codename Nemo by Charles Lachman
The Hunt for a Nazi U-Boat and the Elusive Enigma Machine
Narrated by Qarie Marshall

Anything about the Enigma machine interests me so when I saw the those words in the descriptive title of the book, I knew I wanted to listen to this audiobook. It turns out that there isn't a lot said about the Enigma machine even if it's a big reason for wanting to capture a Nazi U-Boat but I'm glad those words drew me to this book. I had no idea of the details of Operation Nemo and enjoyed the way the story is told. For all that this was war, the human interest stories are so interesting to me.

We see history being made and the course of WWII being changed with the success of Operation Nemo. We get to know the events leading up to the birth of the crazy idea of boarding a German U-Boat before it could be sunk, an unthinkable idea since German U-Boats were rigged with triggers to sink the boats if there was a risk of being captured. A German solder would die before letting his ship be captured. That is until June 4, 1944, when everything went wrong for the Nazi submarine U-505.

We learn about the submarine's rocky past before that date and the careful planning for the unlikely event that a U-Boat could be captured. We meet the men leading up to June 4, on both sides of war, with the author bringing the men to life, no matter what side they fought on. I already knew I wouldn't want to be at sea, especially confined to a small space at sea, and the details of German U-Boat life are harrowing. For so long they are the hunters but then they become the hunted as ways to seek them out become better. Little did the crew of U-505 know that it was their very boat that going to be the prize.

Charles Lachman has made this part of history so interesting that I know I'll check out more books from him. Qarie Marshall makes this story an enjoyable listen. I especially like that after we get to know so many of these men, the author lets us know what happens to them in the years after the capture of U-505.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC.

Review of “Codename Nemo: The Hunt for a Nazi U-Boat and the Elusive Enigma Machine”

By: Charles Lachman

All Versions Available June 4/2024

Check it Out on Goodreads!!

Disclaimer: Please note that I received an Audio ARC from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Lachman’s detailed narrative takes us back to June 4, 1944, just before D-Day, when a US Navy task force achieved the impossible by capturing a German U-Boat, along with its crew, technology, and encryption codes. Through the eyes of both American heroes and German U-Boaters, Lachman paints a vivid picture of Operation Nemo, a thrilling cat-and-mouse game that undoubtedly shortened the duration of the war.

What struck me most about this book is the incredible bravery and skill of the men involved. Their courage in the face of danger is truly inspiring, and Lachman does an excellent job of bringing their stories to life.

The level of research that went into this book is clear on every page, and Lachman’s fast-paced storytelling keeps you hooked from start to finish. It’s a fascinating glimpse into a little-known chapter of World War II history, and I couldn’t put it down.

If you’re looking for a gripping and well-researched war narrative, this book is definitely worth a read. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

Get it at…

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I always like to read these kind of stories. During a big event (World War II, in this case) we find out about some forgotten or never before told tale most people would not be familiar with. Kind of a "behind the scenes" story.

A US Navy ship's captain hatches a crazy plan to try and board and commandeer a Nazi U-Boat during World War II, rather than allow the Nazi sailors to scuttle the submarine and sink it with its secrets lost to the bottom of the sea, as is their usual procedure. As wacky as the plan is, it actually works and the US got their hands on secrets of the Nazi navy and an actual Enigma machine. They had current information and could break codes of future communications.

You can tell author Charles Lachman put a great deal of time and effort into research in order to make this book rich with detail and then added his own literary flair to make it into a compelling story. I didn't want to pause my audiobook.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.