"e;Eric Wiberg's ability, to unearth obscure historical facts, keeps me in a constant state of surprise. I commend his relentless determination to verify every detail, with local sources in Nassau's historical community, for corroboration of his findings."e;—Capt. Paul C. Aranha, author, THE ISLAND AIRMAN . . . AND HIS BAHAMA ISLANDS HOME. "e;Eric Wiberg has made a significant contribution to the bibliography of World War II history."e; —J. Revell Carr, Santa Fe, N.M. This book tells one more key part of the big story and is one more piece in the giant puzzle of the history of World War II. Its value for historians cannot be underestimated. Throughout the stories of the attacks by German and Italian submarines on Allied shipping in the water around the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, several consistent themes emerge in Wiberg's thorough accounts. Prime among them is the heroism of the merchant mariners who time and again put themselves in danger as they performed the critical task of moving supplies, military and civilian, which were vital to ultimate victory. We read of numerous instances of sailors having their ships shot out from under them and then continuously going back to sea and having additional ships torpedoed and sunk. We can also recognize what we know today as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which was seldom recognized 75 years ago. Eric Wiberg grew up in the Bahamas, the son of the Swedish Consul-General there. A licensed maritime lawyer, his thesis for a Master's Degree in Marine Affairs was published as Tanker Disasters. For three years he commercially operated tankers in Singapore. Over 25 years he has sailed on 100 vessels, most of them sailboats, for 75,000 miles, including voyages across the Atlantic and Pacific and over 30 ocean passages to or from Bermuda. He has published four books, the latest being ROUND THE WORLD IN THE WRONG SEASON. A graduate of Boston College, he studied at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, and in Lisbon. Employed in the shipping industry in New York City, he lives with his wife and son in Westport, Connecticut.
