Under the Red Sea Sun (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1946) is a book by Edward Ellsberg describing salvage operations of ships scuttled by the Italians at the port of Massawa on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea during World War II. Massawa has an exellent harbor, has a Muslim influence, and is very very hot during the summer.

Ellsberg, a skilled writer, described how a small group of workers under his direction accomplished an almost Herculean task with virtually no resources. Much of the story is an entertaining account of the bureaucratic politics of working in a remote backwater far from support and assistance.

Ellsberg paints a realistic picture of confusion and incompetence in the early days of the war. He was particularly caustic about the US civilian contractor building facilities at Asmara.

Quotation

Ellsberg, who had vast technical knowledge and experience, described experts as "...people who know so much about how things have been done in the past that they are usually blind to how they can be done in the future."

Reviews

• Atlantic 178:172. December 1946.
• Booklist 43:84. November 15, 1946.
• Christian Science Monitor, November 15, 1946. P. 16.
• New York Times November 3, 1946. P. 5.
• New Yorker 22:65. December 28, 1946.
• San Francisco Chronicle, November 12, 1946. P16.
• Saturday Review 29:14. November 16, 1946.

1946 books