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To the Last Salute, To the Last Salute, 0803246676, 0-8032-4667-6, 978-0-8032-4667-6, 9780803246676, Georg von Trapp
Translated and with an introduction by Elizabeth M. Campbell, , To the Last Salute, 0803206380, 0-8032-0638-0, 978-0-8032-0638-0, 9780803206380, Georg von Trapp
Translated and with an introduction by Elizabeth M. Campbell, , To the Last Salute, 0803213506, 0-8032-1350-6, 978-0-8032-1350-0, 9780803213500, Georg von Trapp
Translated and with an introduction by Elizabeth M. Campbell
With a
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To the Last Salute
Georg von Trapp Translated and with an introduction by Elizabeth M. Campbell
hardcover
2007.
196 pp.
33 photographs, map, diagram
978-0-8032-4667-6
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Out of Print
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paperback
2009.
224 pp.
33 photographs, map, figure
978-0-8032-1350-0
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The Sound of Music endeared Georg von Trapp (1880–1947) and his singing family to the world, and it also showed us how desperately the Nazis wanted Captain von Trapp for their navy. In To the Last Salute we learn why. Trapp’s own story of his exploits as a submarine commander during the First World War is as exciting as it is instructive, bringing to stirring life a little-known chapter in the naval history of that war. In his many guises Trapp describes life as captain of Austro-Hungarian U-boats in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, emerging by turn as the Imperial Austrian naval officer, the witty observer of international politics, and the indefatigable and ultimately heartbroken patriot opposing the Allied enemy. He relates deadly duels with submarine sweepers, narrow escapes and excruciatingly close calls, and the spectacular sinking of cargo and war ships—all the while maintaining a keen sense of the camaraderie of seamen from every corner of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A picture of a lost time, a portrait of a remarkable character, a window on early submarine warfare: Trapp’s story, in English for the first time, offers a rare combination of human interest, historical insight, and true life-and-death adventure.

Elizabeth M. Campbell is the granddaughter of Georg von Trapp. A graduate of Middlebury College, she is the director of annual giving and communications at the Cotting School in Lexington, Massachusetts. Campbell lives outside Boston with her two children and their dog.

“[A] lively, amusing, at-times-gripping memoir of naval warfare in the Mediterranean, and U-boat life. . . . One of its fascinating aspects is the glimpse it offers into the multiethnic makeup of this imperial navy, and the admirable attitudes and behavior of a patriotic officer on the losing side of a great conflict.”—The Atlantic “In his personal account, translated by his granddaughter Elizabeth Campbell, von Trapp captures the feeling of a bygone era where chivalry and love of country were paramount. . . . His amazing exploits in the Great War and life-and-death experiences as a commander of various U-boats will enthrall readers.”—Military Heritage “[von Trapp] almost certainly always tried to put his best foot forward, and he emerges from his account as a man of great skill, considerable compassion . . . and sufficient tact and tolerance to handle the kind of polyglot crews that sailed for the Dual Monarchy. [H]e became the highest scoring Austro-Hungarian submariner, despite equipment that was sometimes more dangerous to him and his men than to the enemy. He fought on to the end, knowing that the Dual Monarchy he served so well was crumbling.”—Booklist “[Elizabeth Campbell] has provided readers of naval history and popular culture something of great utility, and great fun: an English translation of her famous ancestor’s World War I memoir. . . . Trapp’s book gives us a rare glimpse into the world of the earlier submariner, and of a naval force that no longer exists. . . . An entertaining story that gives the reader a vivid picture of submarine warfare at its most primitive.” —Donald Stoker, Journal of Military History “Interesting and informative, the text is a rare history of an Austro-Hungarian involved in War. . . . [To the Last Salute] is highly recommended to those interested in the von Trapp family, the musical The Sound of Music, World War I from an Austro-Hungarian view, and U-boats.”—Curled Up With a Good Book
"To the Last Salute is a professional account of submarine operations during World War I by one of the ace skippers of the k-u-k Navy. . . . This work provides an often gripping tale of some long forgotten but interesting naval actions during the Great War."—NYMAS Review

2007 History Book Club Alternate selection 2007 Military Book Club Alternate selection
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