Review: Cruise of the Sea Eagle

Title: Cruise of the Sea Eagle
Authour: Blaine Pardoe
ISBN: 1-59228-694-1
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Stars: 5 (out of 5)

Well, I was in PEI (Prince Edward Island) for my summer vacation and just had to hit the local bookstores......Picked up a copy of this WWI Auxillary Cruiser. Boy oh Boy, what a story.
The Sea Eagle was originally a US cargo ship that gets caught on the high seas by the British....ends up in Germany and is interned there. German High Command decides to send this ship out as an auxillary cruiser. Did I mention that it is a SAILING SHIP?
Chapters cover the recruitment of the crew, the captain, preparations for the cruise and then the cruise and ultimate battles. The Captain ends up capturing and sinking 18 ships while in this guise. All the while using his wits to ensure that no one is killed.....in the end, only 1 man is killed in all the battles.
After losing the ship to a reef, the second part of this book is just as interesting. It deals with sailing to islands in the life boats, capture, escape from the POW camps and then ultimately being released.
The last chapters cover just the captain and how he made a small fortune with telling his story and tours etc....and then ends up saving his town in WWII from destruction by the Allies.
Even if you are not into naval battles this book would still be interesting. There are a few pictures and a couple of line drawings.
Definately Recommended.