This is the definitive biography of Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, one of the major commanders of the Second World War. The Sunday Telegraph described it as "compellingly readable". As supreme commander of the Kreigsmarine, Dönitz was responsible for the staggering death toll among the U-boat crews he sent out to fight the battle of the Atlantic, a bitter contest that constantly threatened to cut Allies' vital supply lifeline. But this is more than a study of war at sea: it is an unflinching portrait of a dedicated officer who was corrupted by his inner need for a cause and a leader to serve. Dönitz of course discovered both in Adolf Hitler, who found in the admiral his most loyal supporter and confidant and duly appointed him his successor, the last fuhrer of the third Reich - which he indeed became for a few short days in 1945.