K.A. Nelson

About K.A. Nelson

A native of suburban Philadelphia and lifelong history enthusiast, K.A. Nelson graduated from Penn State University and served six years as a Marine Corps officer. He was first certified as a scuba diver in 2006, became active in it while stationed in California, and earned the PADI Divemaster certification in 2017. After relocating back to Pennsylvania, he began exploring New Jersey’s wrecks. This inspired him in 2021 to begin writing KILLING SHORE: THE TRUE STORY OF HITLER'S U-BOATS OFF THE NEW JERSEY COAST, scheduled for release by Brookline Books in April 2024.

KILLING SHORE tells the story of Nazi Germany’s U-boat campaign in United States waters through the eyes of those who experienced its brutality firsthand off New Jersey. Leveraging a multitude of primary sources, it provides a seafarer’s-eye view from multiple perspectives—victims, attackers, and rescuers—reflecting the author’s fascination with ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. In addition to providing historical and scientific context for these events, and dispelling a few misconceptions, KILLING SHORE represents the first-ever detailed exploration of WWII U-boat operations off the Jersey Shore backed by serious scholarship. Moreover, for all but one of the eleven ships in its main narrative, this book constitutes the only long form narrative account ever written about their final journeys.