VICTORY AT SEA: TALES OF HIS MAJESTY'S COASTAL FORCES Hal Lawrence Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1989. 322pp, cloth, $28.95 ISBN 0-77104727-4. CIP Grades 10 and up/Ages 15 and up Reviewed by J.D. Ingram. Volume 18 Number 3 1990 May Hal Lawrence's first book, A Bloody War, was a personal account of his years in the Canadian navy from 1939 to 1945. It was a fast-paced, well-written, exciting and often amusing story, the kind of book that is easy to promote and get high school students interested in. The author's latest, Victory at Sea, is a collection of stories and accounts of the small boats of Coastal Command in the North Sea, English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike both A Bloody War and Tales of the North Atlantic, this took doesn't have the same degree of drama or interest. There is often too much detail in numbers and the names of people and ships. I regretted that the genuinely interesting, touching and dramatic stories are too few. There arc maps, but they do not always occur in proximity to the text. An appendix contains a list of honours and awards, but it is not clear if this is a complete list. A two-page bibliography is included and there are eight pages of black-and-white photos. A Bloody War was referred to as a "love story." Victory at Sea is dedicated to "the men whose yarns are told ...." Their telling is no doubt overdue, but this story did not stimulate or captivate as did its predecessors. J.D. Ingram, Gordon Bell High School, Winnipeg, Man.