Every researcher of, and writer about, the naval history of WW2 will inevitably draw on Roskill's seminal official record at some point. What these volumes lack in battle-narrative detail they make up for in the jaw-dropping, broad-brush immensity of their coverage of the world's oceans, combatants and theatres of war - from a largely Royal Navy perspective. What these volumes lack in alternative perspectives has largely been balanced and refined by many other authors who have followed in Roskill's footsteps - usually with the benefit of not only greater hindsight but also better access to more and detailed, and once-restricted, records. This series will not provide all the 'flesh' we know today, but it remains an important 'skeleton' upon which to build interpretations and assessments.
