• Steel Boat Iron Hearts

  • A U-boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505
  • By: Hans Goebeler, John Vanzo
  • Narrated by: Norman Dietz
  • Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (447 ratings)

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Steel Boat Iron Hearts  By  cover art

Steel Boat Iron Hearts

By: Hans Goebeler,John Vanzo
Narrated by: Norman Dietz
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Publisher's summary

Using his own experiences, log books, and correspondence with other U-boat crewmen, Hans Goebeler offers rich and personal details about what life was like in the German Navy under Hitler. Since his first and last posting was to U-505, Goebeler's perspective of the crew, commanders, and war patrols paints a vivid and complete portrait unlike any other to come out of the Kriegsmarine. He witnessed it all, from deadly sabotage efforts that almost sunk the boat to the tragic suicide of the only U-boat commander who took his life during World War II. The vivid, honest, and smooth-flowing prose calls it like it was and pulls no punches.

U-505 was captured by Captain Dan Gallery's Guadalcanal Task Group 22.3 on June 4, 1944. Trapped by this "hunter-killer" group, U-505 was depth-charged to the surface, strafed by machine gun fire, and boarded. It was the first ship captured at sea since the War of 1812. Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors tour U-505 each year at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

This edition includes a special foreword by Keith Gill, curator of U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry.

©2008 Hans Jacob Goebeler and John Vanzo (P)2016 Tantor

What listeners say about Steel Boat Iron Hearts

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not impressed with the narration

Disliked the unnecessary fake German soldier enthusiasm. The voice was annoying and made it bad.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Save your money, and buy the actual book.

I've listened to thousands of hours of Audiobooks. While I've come to be rather inured to the occasional horrible narration, I couldn't get past the first hour of this story. I mean seriously. Doesn't anyone vet these guys, or can just anyone off the street come in and somehow slur through his teeth and his nose, at the same time?

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A fascinating view into WWII naval history.

I grew up in Chicago and spent a lot of time at the Museum of Science and Industry I toured the U-505 many times when it was located on the outside rotting in the elements. I was elated when the old war relic was going to be given a proper home underground and fully restored to its real wartime appearance as a memorial to those brave souls who lost there lives and those who survived.
This book really brought to life the story of what life was like from a crewman's prospective. The story told here was absolutely very informative and eye opening. This was one of those books that really holds your interest. This was a well written memoir about life in Germany during wartime and living and serving in the U boat service. Eye opening.
Narrator was excellent.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

60% of the book is great

At first it was really interesting to hear about life as a U-boat crew member. But quickly the other 40% is the author bragging about having sex with prostitues and talking about how brave he was. Got hard to listen to after the fourteenth paragraph talking about "we U-boat men were better" etc. Also lamenting over the genocide the German people suffered after the war seems pretty ridiculous considering what happened during the war.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting U-boat book

What did you love best about Steel Boat Iron Hearts?

Interesting U-boat book but the narrator seemed a bit slow and sleepy, he didn't add any emotion when reading it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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This is by an unrepentant Nazi

He claims the Soviets and Americans were the aggressors and that the Allies perpetrated a genocide against Germany. He also paints him self as a brave hero. DISGUSTING HUMAN

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story

I enjoyed this. The author gave additional details about a submariner and specifically life aboard a u boat I had not heard elsewhere.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I really enjoyed it.

A great book, but it sounds like they took a few recordings of each passage and stitched them together. The change in tone of voice and emotion breaks the flow a little. At one point, the same passage is read twice in a row.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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a sailors account of the ship he loved

As interesting and dramatic as the classic, Das Boot. Not to be missed. You will feel like you are onboard and understand the German figjting man during times of better and worse.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Mixed bag

I am not in a position to judge the author's wartime experience and I don't even wish to shame him for his allegiance to a vanquished German Navy. He was clearly indoctrinated and educated as an elite submariner only to be on the losing side at the end of the war, one of only 56 to claim the prize for first US Navy capture of an enemy vessel since 1812. However, while heavy burdens were placed on the author psychologically and agonizingly at such a young age (he explicitly states that he agonized over his own self perceived role in allowing U505 to fall into US Navy hands) the author's fragile yet outsized ego interferes with the story line by constant rationalization, editorial interjection, and narcissism-- a lot of "l's" and "me's"-- that call into question the factual authenticity of his accounts.

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1 person found this helpful