The Mathews Men

Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats

By: William Geroux

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

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 Audio

Critic reviews

“Vividly drawn and emotionally gripping." (Daniel James Brown, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Boys in the Boat)

“Poignant... A deep, compassionate group biography of these ‘unsung heroes’ of the Merchant Marines.”(Kirkus)

“Geroux combines the skills of a newsman and those of a scholar to tell the story of the vital and heroic role played by the US Merchant Marines during WWII." (Publishers Weekly)

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.

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:(

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.

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.

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.

send this book to your congressmen

This is a forgotten piece of American History that needs to be told. narration is a little dull.

Excellent research

Excellent research providing vivid details. An outstanding tribute to the men of Matthews County, Va

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.

Amazingly informative

I found this book so informative . So much I never knew. Thank you great research

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.