The Good Shepherd is a 1955 British novel about naval warfare during World War II, by C. S. Forester, exploring the difficulties of the Battle of the Atlantic, specifically as seen through the eyes of the United States commander of an escort fleet during a 52-hour period: the crews' struggle against the sea, the enemy, and the exhaustion brought on by constant vigilance.

The hero of The Good Shepherd is Commander George Krause, the captain of the fictional US Navy Mahan-class destroyer USS Keeling in World War II.

The subject voyage takes place early in 1942, shortly after the United States' entry into the war.

The British captains of the other vessels in the escort group are junior to him in rank, and much younger, but they have already been at war for more than two years.

It details his mood swings from his intense and focused excitement and awareness during combat to his letdown afterward, with fatigue, depression, and self-doubt in relation to the other captains under his command.

Principal photography began aboard the museum ship USS Kidd, a decommissioned destroyer.