I wish to thank the many people, including former U-boat crewmen, who shared their experiences with me, responded to my letters or e-mails, or answered my questions on various Kriegsmarine forums.
Details of the historical events that underpin the novel, along
with suggestions for further reading, can be found on my Web site: www.charlesmccain.com
I can say without reservation that An Honorable German would never have been written and published without the encouragement, enthusiasm, and constant support of my friend the distinguished historian and author Derek Leebaert. He not only made time to listen and empathize with my frustrations over writing, he introduced me to my agent. Thank you, Derek, for everything you did for me. Without you, it never would have happened.
There is a proverb that I have found to be true throughout my life: “When the student is willing, the teacher appears.” And so it was that I met one of the best teachers I have ever had: Jürgen Meyer-Brenkhof (Crew X/71M), Fregattenkapitän a.D., Deutsche Marine (Commander, retired, German Navy). I offer my heart-felt thanks and sincere gratitude to Jürgen, who shared with me his encyclopedic knowledge of the German navy, German history, and all subjects nautical. Jürgen read the entire manuscript, made numerous corrections, offered many suggestions, and answered hundreds of questions. Further, he entrusted me with the private memoirs of his late father, who served with great bravery in the Kriegsmarine, and whose memoirs are rich in the kind of detail I was seeking. All of this greatly improved the accuracy of the narrative. Thank you, Jürgen, for all you taught me, your friendship, and your support of this endeavor.
My literary agent, Deborah Grosvenor, who, among her many accomplishments discovered the novelist Tom Clancy, put her considerable reputation on the line to sell my novel. Both her decision to represent me and her constant encouragement during the year and a half I spent rewriting my novel were critical in keeping up my morale. Her enthusiasm and passion for An Honorable German resulted in a letter to publishers so strong as to be the equivalent of a broadside from Graf Spee. Thank you, Deborah, for all you did. No author could have asked more from an agent.
I offer my most sincere thanks and gratitude to my editor, Mitch Hoffman. His uncompromising vision of what the novel could be, his sharp pencil, and his gentle requests for me to re-work (and rework) certain scenes in the novel not only challenged me to do my very best writing but made the book so much better than it otherwise would have been. Further, Mitch always knew just the right words with which to reassure me during the many times I became so stressed out I wanted to throw my laptop out the window.
I want to thank Tom Rancich, Lt. Commander (ret.), U.S. Navy SEALS, who kindly answered a number of my questions about ships and other subjects nautical.
I want to thank my friend Captain William D. Messer, Palm Beach Pilots Association, who carefully reviewed the manuscript for any errors or omissions.
I owe special thanks to my friend Stuart Brodsky, who spent so much time listening to me talk about the novel that he became an expert on the German navy, even though he did not want to be.
I want to thank the following fraternity brothers, who have been listening to this story off and on since we first graduated from Tulane: Larry Comiskey, Nelson Gibson, Scott Katzmann, and Bob Warren. I am grateful for their support over these many years but, far more important, I am grateful for the bonds of brotherhood and friendship we formed in college, which have stayed with us to this day.
I would like to thank the following for their friendship and support over many years: my brother Will McCain and my sister-in-law Jeanelle, Hugh Auchincloss, Greg Barnard and Roman Terleckyj, Dana and Stan Day, Scott Guenther, Glenn Hennessey, Jon Low, Isaac Lustgarten and Edward Flannigan, Anne Messer, Tom O’Rourke, Dana Pickard and Joyce Elden, Robin Rance, Joy Ryan, David Sperling, Stacey Jarrett Wagner, Eleanor Weinstock, and Matt Weissman. To this list I add, in memoriam, my late friend and one of the finest men I have ever known, Sander B. Weinstock.
In the book of sorrow that is the Second World War, there exists a chapter seldom read, the words now so faded as to be indecipherable. These are the names of the countless Germans who gave their lives resisting the tyranny of the Third Reich. They deserve to be remembered.
In the process of publishing An Honorable German, many people put their mark on the manuscript with suggestions, corrections, edits, queries, advice, et al. However, as the author, I had the last word on all the changes, and the manuscript did not go to press until I had given my final approval. Therefore, I am solely responsible for all errors, mistakes of omission or commission, or any other inaccuracies—which is as it should be. After all, it’s my name on the cover.
Writing An Honorable German has been a journey of its own, one that has lasted much of my adult life. Like all such journeys, it taught me lessons I never expected and took me places I never imagined.
Charles L. McCain
Washington, D.C. 2008
New Orleans, LA
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