Diary of a U-Boat Commander: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Diary of a U-Boat Commander, credited to Sir Stephen King-Hall, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Diary of a U-boat Commander, by Sir Stephen King-Hall. Read by Mark F. Smith. Captain Karl von Schenk of the Kaiser's Navy is a stereotypical German nobleman - supremely self-confident, touchy about the divisions of class and any infringement on his place. He thinks he is handsome, has a suitably manly physique, an excellent singing voice, and a facility with writing. His wartime service related in his diary is a series of triumphs over harrowing circumstances, bringing his boat back in spite of the best efforts of the Royal Navy to stop him. His one vulnerability is a young lady he meets on leave in Bruges, Belgium. Although she is the trophy girlfriend of a German colonel who could cause him much harm if he were to find out, von Schenk pursues his Zoe with Teutonic straightforwardness. And both he and the reader are entirely blind-sided by the unexpected thunderclap that puts an end to the sweet affair. Stephen King-Hall, a Royal Navy officer during the war and writing as "Etienne", penned this book as if he had simply discovered it on a surrendered submarine. In fact, some editions of the book list the author as "anonymous." King-Hall's knowlege of naval affairs lend authority to this yarn of men that go to the sea in ships that sink... on purpose. (Summary by Mark F. Smith)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Diary of a U-Boat Commander
• Author credits: Sir Stephen King-Hall
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 12
• Listed recording duration: 5:21:47

Catalogue topics

• war
• u-boat
• WWI

Track guide

1. Section 01 — 20:23
2. Section 02 — 35:58
3. Section 03 — 20:53
4. Section 04 — 22:27
5. Section 05 — 31:02
6. Section 06 — 31:03
7. Section 07 — 22:55
8. Section 08 — 23:18
9. Section 09 — 27:11
10. Section 10 — 22:26
11. Section 11 — 40:19
12. Section 12 — 24:01

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.