A very well written historical account of the WWII North Atlantic convoys sent by the US and UK through Arctic waters to supply the Soviet Union. Centering on the ill-fated convoy, PQ-17 (ravaged by German air and naval forces when Britain decided to withdraw the protection of its navy), it includes a lot of background about WWII and the relationships amongst the US, UK, and USSR as well as Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. It also describes the day to day life of convoy sailors aboard ship and in port; and of Russian citizens under constant attack in Murmansk and Archangel. In a nutshell, The Ghost Ships of Archangel is a comprehensive look at a crucial and extremely perilous supply operation from the vantage points of not only the leaders at the very top, but the merchant sailors who ran it.