Book Description
Submarines had a vital, if often unheralded, role in the superpower navies during the Cold War. Their crews carried out intelligence-collection operations, sought out and stood ready to destroy opposing submarines, and, from the early 1960s, threatened missile attacks on their adversary’s homeland, providing in many respects the most survivable nuclear deterrent of the Cold War. For both East and West, the modern submarine originated in German U-boat designs obtained at the end of World War II. Although enjoying a similar technology base, by the 1990s the superpowers had created submarine fleets of radically different designs and capabilities. Written in collaboration with the former Soviet submarine design bureaus, Norman Polmar and K. J. Moore authoritatively demonstrate in this landmark study how differing submarine missions, antisubmarine priorities, levels of technical competence, and approaches to submarine design organizations and management caused the divergence.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2007-08-14
I sought a book with a serious overview of the topic of Cold War submarines, and not a book about one or another aspect of the topic. I ended up with a book that contains both an excellent overview as well as serious discussion of specific submarines, strategies, technologies and the men behind the scenes.
The story is well placed within the historical context of the political, military and economical events and processes of the Cold War. The text is well written and well structured.
Especially fascinating is the look behind the scenes of Soviet submarine design, construction and operations - those were among the best-kept secrets of the Soviet Union.
Besides dealing with "main stream" submarines, there are several interesting chapters about different experimental projects; rescue submarines and several fantasy projects, like freight vessels and aircraft carrying submarines.
Although the story is focused on the Cold War period, there is a detailed discussion of WWII technology that highly influenced Cold War designs, as well as descriptions of post Cold War vessels and fleets.
The book is well illustrated with photographs and line drawings.
Great book.......2007-03-16
Not as many actual pix of subs as most books but it is very well written and also dabbles into the politics and design that went on with each new design of submarine. Nice charts and missile specs and things like that. Goes into greater detail of the US boats more than Soviet.
Absolutely The Best.......2007-02-13
I was somewhat skeptical of this book when I saw nothing but 5 star reviews from purchasers of the title. However, having read it, this is THE Cold War submarine reference. It contains insights not only into the technologies deployed, but the rational (or in some cases the Irrational) that led to the development of the mysterious technological marvels we could only speculate on during the cold war. The authors clearly show both American and Soviet perspectives on the cold war submarine development. I found the information regarding the CONFORM design on 1967 to be of particular interest. Rickover's insistence on developing the 688 class killed CONFORM. Yet CONFORM was 40 years ahead of anything available at that time. It is interesting that the 688's were far more fragile than one might imagine. Yet Rickover insisted on having his way. Where would we be had the CONFORM design gone through?? This book is absolutely the best material that I have read to date on cold war submarines.
A very balanced overview.......2006-12-03
I knew about a Polmar from reading references in some papers, so I finally decided to give a try. I wasn't disappointed. There were lots of technical details giving an overview. Better yet, it is a balanced account - by no means are Americans portrayed as all powerful.
If there were two things it can be improved on - well, one would be the placement of the endnotes. It is a matter of taste, but considering how many there were and how interesting they were, it might have been more convenient to have put them at the bottom of the main text as footnotes for each page.
The second is that I would have killed for a chapter or two on "other than the equipment". Subs are not just their designers, their admirals and the technicals - it is also the men, their organization and their training. Polmar briefly goes over the differences, but it could have been given a full chapter or at least an Appendix if extra efficiency measures were applied to the pre-Cold War history stuff.
Now, I'm going to buy another Polmar book that would hopefully fill up the gap. Wish me luck.
Covers Much More than the Title indicates.......2006-03-10
I thoroughly agree with Mr. Dougherty's enthusiastic reader review. The authors have put together a virtual encyclopedia on modern sub design and construction with real insight into what the subs were intended to do, and how some politicians and bureaucrats sabotaged the projects. I found particularly illuminating how each side of the Soviet-US conflict used the records and existing prototypes of Nazi Germany's U-Boat experiments. Baker's line drawings and diagrams are quite helpful in visualizing the boats, as are the ample photos of the real subs and scale models. This is a book to which I will return again and again whenever there is some news item about
undersea naval competition.
Customer Reviews:
Valuable reference.......2003-01-22
This graduate-level book is crammed with information about marine geology. Plenty of diagrams and charts assist in the visualization of sometimes difficult concepts. The book's only real flaws are that it is a bit out of date (15 years) and that the editing is a bit dense - every couple pages one runs across extremely abstruse phrasing or grammatical errors. The information itself, however, is indispensable. There aren't any real alternatives to this book if you are studying geological oceanography or are merely interested in post-introductory texts on the subject.
Un comentario desde Mexico........1999-12-21
A very good title for introducing in the marine field. There is no necesary a deep knowledge of the sedimentary processes, only the fundamental concepts. Also this book is good for tectonics and physical geology. Can remember many concepts and can learn many more. I think this book is the excellent complement in the sedimentology courses. I recommended it for non-graduated students. If you want to known all the marine geology camp and what this camp can offers you...this book is all what you need.
Un muy buen libro para conocer el campo de la geologia marina. No se necesita un conocimiento profundo de la sedimentologia, solo los conceptos basicos. Este libro tambien es muy bueno en tectonica y geologia fisica, permite recordar muchos conceptos y aprender muchos mas. Es un complemento excelente para los cursos de sedimentologia. Es de los mejores textos a nivel licenciatura.
Amazon.com
Little is known--and less has been published--about American submarine espionage during the Cold War. These submerged sentinels silently monitored the Soviet Union's harbors, shadowed its subs, watched its missile tests, eavesdropped on its conversations, and even retrieved top-secret debris from the bottom of the sea. In an engaging mix of first-rate journalism and historical narrative, Sherry Sontag, Christopher Drew, and Annette Lawrence Drew describe what went on.
"Most of the stories in Blind Man's Bluff have never been told publicly," they write, "and none have ever been told in this level of detail." Among their revelations is the most complete accounting to date of the 1968 disappearance of the U.S.S. Scorpion; the story of how the Navy located a live hydrogen bomb lost by the Air Force; and a plot by the CIA and Howard Hughes to steal a Soviet sub. The most interesting chapter reveals how an American sub secretly tapped Soviet communications cables beneath the waves. Blind Man's Bluff is a compelling book about the courage, ingenuity, and patriotism of America's underwater spies. --John J. Miller
Book Description
For decades American submarines have roamed the depths in a dangerous battle for information and advantage in missions known only to a select few. Now, after six years of research, those missions are told in Blind Man's Bluff, a magnificent achievement in investigative reporting. It reads like a spy thriller -- except everything in it is true. This is an epic of adventure, ingenuity, courage, and disaster beneath the sea, a story filled with unforgettable characters who engineered daring missions to tap the enemy's underwater communications cables and to shadow Soviet submarines. It is a story of heroes and spies, of bravery and tragedy.
Customer Reviews:
Blind Man's Bluff.......2007-10-02
I worked alongside the members of the submarine service and can testify that their deeds were harrowing, critical to national security, and seldom appreciated. I applaud the authors (despite a little downplaying of the true nature of the HORSE COW Bar in Vallejo, California) for their tenacity in digging out the truth, their wisdom in choosing to leave out some interesting stories they doubtless heard, and their honesty in portraying the whispered role of the "silent service". My heartfelt thanks to all concerned!
G. L. Spears
Finally the Silent Service has a voice.......2007-08-15
I ordered "Blind Man's Bluff" because of a friends reccomendation. I retired from the Navy in 1992 and during my active duty time, I served on three submarines. This book brought back many memories and emotions. I want to thank Sherry Sontag for telling our story. As I read the book, I felt like I was back on my boat. I began to remember some of my deployments and my shipmates. The times at sea, the boredom and the panic. I would reccommend this book to anyone who has an intrest in submarines or submariners. I especially reccommend this book to the families of submarine crews. Finally you get a picture into our lives on the boats. For years, I could not tell my family what I did, now they can read for themselves. Please read this book and get to know some of the heros of the Silent Service.
Finally!.......2007-08-08
After years of not being allowed to tell friends or familty about what we did on submarines, this book lays out some of the missions. Now I can tell my family "Just read the book."
Well Researched and Written.......2007-06-12
As a former submariner, I have mixed feelings about this book. I am still not convinced it should be publicly available, but the book is well-researched and written.
I particularly like that there is none of the Tom Clancy hype - no supermen here - just ordinary guys doing their jobs under difficult and dangerous conditions.
The authors portray more 2nd guessing among the crew than I ever personally encountered. "Is it worth it?" is a useless question when you are doing what is necessary. Now that the first Cold War is over, I think it is easy to forget that the outcome (the West winning) was neither obvious or inevitable. I am convinced that it is only because of sacrifices like the ones portrayed in this book that we enjoy the security that we do (yes, we are much safer today, war on terror and all, than we ever were in the 50's - mid 80's)
Parts of the book were illuminating to me. I've had friends who served on all the subs discussed, but submariners don't discuss these things even amongst ourselves. The description of being stuck in the mud on the bottom of a Russian harbor is riveting and perhaps the most frightening thing I have ever read. Submarine disasters usually happen in an instant, but the really nasty ones take hours and days and maybe even weeks...
So, as I mentioned, I don't know that the book should have been written. I personally applaud the men who turned the authors over to the NIS. But, now that it has apparently been cleared for publication, I highly recommend it.
Blind Man's Bluff (Book Review).......2007-06-06
Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage by Sherry Sontag & Cristopher Drew
The book is basically about submarine espionage undertaken by the United States Navy during the Cold War. I initially thought it had a relatively boring topic, after all, what is so exciting about submarines undertaking espionage missions, which I initially thought just involved listening or gathering signal data?
But I bought it anyway, because I felt it should be well-written since it was a New York Times bestseller. So no matter how boring the topic may be, it should still be good read, because the authors know how to spin a good yarn.
Well, it turned out I was wrong about submarine espionage being boring. Yes, they do gather signal intelligence, basically listening for signals in the USSR, most of time during weapons launch, & following other subs.
The story was written so well you learn a LOT about soviet subs, underwater sea technology, etc.
Aside from signal intelligence, the USN subs also undertook even more daring missions: Tapping Soviet submarine cables (which is probably one of the best intelligence coups ever), & retrieving submarine & missile parts from the depths of the ocean.
If you are interested in military naval topics, then this book is a M-U-S-T read. You learn just SO much about submarine military technology in general just by reading it.
Book Highlights:
- Stories of the first signal intelligence gathering missions into the USSR.
- How American submarine commanders had to develop new tactics & procedures on tailing the then newer, more stealthier & more capable nuclear ballistic missile submarines of the Yankee-class.
- Secret programs to develop unmanned deep sea submersibles to locate Soviet missiles that splashed down to the sea during live-fire testing, & located sunk Soviet missile submarines.
- Additional & more accurate details on the recovery of an Echo-class submarine that sunk in the Pacific by the CIA using the "Glomar Explorer".
- How the program to tap Soviet undersea telephone line cables got underway, & resulted in perhaps one of the best intelligence coups of all time.
- Details on submarine disasters all throughout the Cold War.
Book Description
The Sound of Music endeared Georg von Trapp (1880–1947) and his singing family to the world, and it also showed us how desperately the Nazis wanted Captain von Trapp for their navy. In To the Last Salute we learn why. Trapp’s own story of his exploits as a submarine commander during the First World War is as exciting as it is instructive, bringing to stirring life a little-known chapter in the naval history of that war.
In his many guises Trapp describes life as captain of Austro-Hungarian U-boats in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, emerging by turn as the Imperial Austrian naval officer, the witty observer of international politics, and the indefatigable and ultimately heartbroken patriot opposing the Allied enemy. He relates deadly duels with submarine sweepers, narrow escapes and excruciatingly close calls, and the spectacular sinking of cargo and war ships—all the while maintaining a keen sense of the camaraderie of seamen from every corner of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A picture of a lost time, a portrait of a remarkable character, a window on early submarine warfare: Trapp’s story, in English for the first time, offers a rare combination of human interest, historical insight, and true life-and-death adventure.
Customer Reviews:
U-boats and insights into the geopolitical situation of Austro-Hungary in WWI. .......2007-10-09
This is reasonably light read broken into bite-size chapters covering a variety of experiences surrounding the author's service as a WWI Austrian U-boat captain, the boat technologies of the time and the everyday impact of the politics as Austria's empire unraveled. Austria's relationship with it's wealthy and larger German ally is seen from another perspective as well as the polyglot nature of the many ethnic groups belonging to and participating in the Austrian war effort. A fine military account from the man responsible for "The Sound of Music."
An engaging and moving memoir of life in the Austrian Navy.......2007-09-26
To the Last Salute is Georg Ritter von Trapp's memoir of commanding a U-boat in the Austrian Navy during World War I. While his style of writing does take some getting used to, von Trapp provides an engaging and suspenseful tale of life on a primitive submarine during an oft-neglected period of military history. The book also gives us an insight into von Trapp as a man, more insight than one finds in other books on the life of his famous family. His accounts of the horrors of war and the loss of his beloved navy at the end of the war are especially moving. For those interested in von Trapp, the Austrian Navy, World War I, and the history of submarine warfare, the book will be especially useful; anyone interested in the story of an intriguing, thoughtful, and courageous man will enjoy the chronicle of von Trapp's adventures as well.
Interesting History of the True Life "Captain" from the 'Sound of Music'........2007-08-22
Captain Georg von Trapp's Memoirs were published in Austria in German in the 1930's. One of his Grandaughters (an offspring of one of the real life von Trapp Family Singers)has translated her famous ancestor's work into English and now we can all see why the Evil Nazi's were so set on getting "The Captain" into their Navy when they took over Austria.
The work is very short and von Trapp has a matter of fact writing style similar to that of U.S. counterpart Gene Fluckey in his memoir of the USS Barb. Unlike Fluckey however von Trapp had to go to war in an antequated obsolete gasoline powered Austrian U-boat which was barely a step above the Turtle or the Hunley. A german U boat Captain told him upon going inside the ship that he "was lucky to be Alive". In addition he had to deal with a multinational crew that grew more restless as the war went on and their countries began to break away from the Hapsburg yoke.
The memoir is a good glimpse of a theatre of WWI which is barely mentioned, the Naval War in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean. Very little has been written of the War at sea between the Austrian navy on one side and the Italians and the French on the other. Most I have seen have dealt with the Royal Navy in the Dardanelles.
The book also begins with some von Trapp Family background and reveals many interesting facts such as the Captain's first wife was English and many of 'the children' were a lot older than 'sixteen going on seventeen' when they escaped Austria. Sadly when the Captain died of lung cancer in 1947 it may have been related to all of the gas fumes he inhaled on the poorly ventilated u boat during the war.
Finally!.......2007-08-08
I've wished for this book to be translated into English for a very long time! It was worth the wait.
I've always wanted to know more about Captain von Trapp, in his own words and this book is as close as I am going to get. It did not disappoint as it provided a window to see the Captain, the man.
I could not help but believe this book was more a compilation from a journal he may have kept. I also could not help but believe, if not for his modesty, there was so much more he could have shared.
Perhaps, without realizing it, he showed us many sides, least of which were his tender and compassionate side. How many military captains do you know would allow a rescued kitten to live on board his submarine?
I gave this book five stars, not so much for literary greatess as for the enjoyment received from reading it and having a few more questions answered.
It should be enjoyed by all Sound of Music fans and I believe those interested in history will enjoy it as well. Even though I knew the outcome, I could not help but hold my breath as he told of daring escapades while captaining his u-boats. I found myself, while reading about his experiences, thinking of the movie, K-9, The Widowmaker.
My only complaint, it was only 188 pages log. :-(
Excellent to see in an english translation.......2007-06-27
I had known of this book for many years, and had even thought about seeing if a publisher would be willing to entertain a translation. It was wonderful to see a member of the family lead the effort and have a copy back in print and in english after too many years out of print. It is a wonderful story of a patriotic naval officer, of a now absent navy tell of his adventures as the most successful captain of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. His work with his crew (from all over the empire) dealing with bureaucratic officers, sinking ships in an old sub, that his German peers recommended not taking to sea (they thought it unseaworthy and an antique), and then further adventures in a French sub, sunk then raised to strike again against them is intersting. Those who have read Lowell Thomas' account, or Edwyn Gray's books on the German WW1 submarine service will find this a very different tale and one worth comparing to other efforts.
For those who wondered where the Captain in the von Trapp family singers came from this fills in a void covering elements of his older children and first wife. Through his first wife, he was related to the inventor of the modern torpedo, who had set up a factory in Austra-Hungary before WW1.
The book is well written and reads quickly, and tells the tale of a dedicated and talented patriot in an prior phase of his life, which was later known to the world in song and story.
Book Description
With the content of an authoritative reference and the excitement of a thriller, this history of the U.S. submarine war is one of the most informative and entertaining books written on the Pacific campaign. The author, a respected journalist and World War II submariner himself, is credited with providing a complete and unbiased account of what happened. When published in 1975, it was the first such account to detail controversial aspects of the American campaign, from the torpedo scandal to discrepancies between claimed and confirmed sinkings.
To get to the truth, Clay Blair interviewed scores of skippers, staff officers, and code breakers, and combed thousands of documents and personal papers. In addition, he thoroughly researched the development of the submarine and torpedo from pre-war to post-war times. As a result, he takes the reader into the submarine war at all levels--the highest strategy sessions in Washington, the terrifying moments in subs at the bottom of the ocean waiting out exploding depth charges, the zany efforts of a crew coaxing a chicken to lay an egg. He also exposes the reader to the jealous infighting of admirals vying for power and the problems between cautious older skippers and daring young commanders. Supplementing the text are nearly forty maps showing submarine activity in the context of every important naval engagement in the Pacific, more than thirty pages of photographs, multiple appendixes (including a calendar of submarine war patrols), and an index of over 2,000 entries. This is a work of great scholarship and scope that makes a timeless contribution to the history of World War II.
Customer Reviews:
All the Detail You Could Ever Want.......2007-08-23
What a read! I know it's history, but this is a page turner. The author just keeps bringing it on. I was impressed with the obvious volume of research, but the truly impressive thing is that he keeps your interest all the way through. An outstanding and extremely readable account of an underpublicized arena of WW II.
How the Silent Service strangled the Japanese Empire:.......2007-01-23
This is, quite simply, an outstanding history book. The depth of research done by the author is amazing. It is a blow by blow, patrol by patrol account of how these brave men put the Japanese war machine out of business. It is also exceptionally well written and extemely readable. It's one of those very few books that you can, literally, open up to any page, start reading, and become consumed with interest. This book belongs on any WWII naval bookshelf, and is, I believe, the definitive account of the Pacific Submariners' war.
The WW 2 Sub Warfare Encyclopedia.......2005-09-03
The is book has it all and says it all about the Use of Sumarines in the Pacific during WW2.
The good points about the book:
1. It complete describes every aspect of Submarines - torpedoes - engagements - personnel - strategy.
2. It gives a comprehensive amount of detail about the Commanders and Officers who fought in the Submarines - who did well and who didn't and why.
3. It gives a great amount of detail about the personnel feuds - the attitudes of the Sumarine Admialty in Hawaii - and In Australia. Their pettiness is detailed as well as their greatness. Both get equal measure.
The Weak points: All of the above detail gets a bit tedious and repetitive.
The real eye opener for for me was the fact thatin WW@ it was the submarines that did most of the damage to the Japanese Navy and they eliminated the merchant Marine - with one arm tied behind its back. The torpedoes they used on the boats were a failure for the first 15 months of the war. In reading the details of this issue - it is amazing that even with such incompetence in the Bureau of Naval Ordinance and with some doltish Admirals - that we did actually win the War.
Read the book and find out how we did it. Warts and all.
The silence is deafening!.......2005-08-27
This is a very detailed rundown of the USN's silent service during the Pacific war, and is a must if you are interesetd in the submarine operations, from a US perspective.
Blair also exposes, compared to post war analyses, the over, and dubious claims of ships sunk by the submariners, and a comparson with the U boats will reveal that the latter was much, much more successful, despite the lack of air and surface support, and its codes being cracked and read.
A comparison of Blair's 2 volume work on the U boats with this work will reveal his blatant biases against the Germans, no doubt a case of the inferiority complex.
Submerged in the Details.......2005-08-04
This is certainly a detailed and worthy survey of the US submarine war in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. It offers a great deal of information, much of which characterizes the area commanders with their personal goals, squabbles, and jealousies. It develops the story over the full reach of the war, from the frantic days following the attack at Pearl Harbor, the mostly ineffective first retaliations early in the war, the gradual build up of strength and experience in 1943, to the domination of the wolf packs and strangulation of Japan late in the war. The abominable ineffectiveness of American torpedoes and the denial and difficulty in remedying the problems with exploders and depth control are detailed. So are other interesting topics such as the replacement of skippers who failed to fulfill their assignments with the aggressiveness and tenacity required. All the various tasks assigned to fleet subs during the war are revealed as well and the different techniques encouraged in the various areas of operation. The role of the cryptologists and their essential efforts is also detailed. All this is good stuff and maybe the book deserves more than three stars. But I was overwhelmed by the shear tedium of patrol after patrol after patrol summarized with minimal detail or apparent purpose. This data could have been presented in table format with ease and clarity. The result is that the significant events, famous exploits, and heroic individuals are lost in this muddle of repetitive summaries. By book's end, it is difficult to separate the gallant from the routine. If it were not for signposts along the way from events familiar to me, it would have been even less differentiated. I've read of the Wahoo, Tang, Rasher, and Barb previously in excellent narratives, so their events stood out, as did the Tautog, Drum, and Cobia, subs I've visited. Otherwise, this narrative would have been even less discerning. An unusual style in military narrative employed here is another negative; the author chooses not to associate rank with individual's names. With the significance of rank in the military, this is detractive. I think the author would have served the story better with dramatic examples of incidents that characterize the heroic service performed by these crew and to feature leading events. Instead readers must try to discern this on their own.
Book Description
In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s
Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger’s
The Perfect Storm comes a true tale of riveting adventure in which two weekend scuba divers risk everything to solve a great historical mystery–and make history themselves.
For John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, deep wreck diving was more than a sport. Testing themselves against treacherous currents, braving depths that induced hallucinatory effects, navigating through wreckage as perilous as a minefield, they pushed themselves to their limits and beyond, brushing against death more than once in the rusting hulks of sunken ships.
But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey: a World War II German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wasteland of twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bones–all buried under decades of accumulated sediment.
No identifying marks were visible on the submarine or the few artifacts brought to the surface. No historian, expert, or government had a clue as to which U-boat the men had found. In fact, the official records all agreed that there simply could not be a sunken U-boat and crew at that location.
Over the next six years, an elite team of divers embarked on a quest to solve the mystery. Some of them would not live to see its end. Chatterton and Kohler, at first bitter rivals, would be drawn into a friendship that deepened to an almost mystical sense of brotherhood with each other and with the drowned U-boat sailors–former enemies of their country. As the men’s marriages frayed under the pressure of a shared obsession, their dives grew more daring, and each realized that he was hunting more than the identities of a lost U-boat and its nameless crew.
Author Robert Kurson’s account of this quest is at once thrilling and emotionally complex, and it is written with a vivid sense of what divers actually experience when they meet the dangers of the ocean’s underworld. The story of
Shadow Divers often seems too amazing to be true, but it all happened, two hundred thirty feet down, in the deep blue sea.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
CHAPTER ONE
THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
Brielle, New Jersey, September 1991
Bill Nagle's life changed the day a fisherman sat beside him in a ramshackle bar and told him about a mystery he had found lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Against his better judgment, that fisherman promised to tell Nagle how to find it. The men agreed to meet the next day on the rickety wooden pier that led to Nagle's boat, the Seeker, a vessel Nagle had built to chase possibility. But when the appointed time came, the fisherman was not there. Nagle paced back and forth, careful not to plunge through the pier where its wooden planks had rotted away. He had lived much of his life on the Atlantic, and he knew when worlds were about to shift. Usually, that happened before a storm or when a man's boat broke. Today, however, he knew it was going to happen when the fisherman handed him a scrap of paper, a hand-scrawled set of numbers that would lead to the sunken mystery. Nagle looked into the distance for the fisherman. He saw no one. The salt air blew against the small seashore town of Brielle, tilting the dockside boats and spraying the Atlantic into Nagle's eyes. When the mist died down he looked again. This time, he saw the fisherman approaching, a small square of paper crumpled in his hands. The fisherman looked worried. Like Nagle, he had lived on the ocean, and he also knew when a man's life was about to change.
In the whispers of approaching autumn, Brielle's rouge is blown away and what remains is the real Brielle, the locals' Brielle. This small seashore town on the central New Jersey coast is the place where the boat captains and fishermen live, where convenience store owners stay open to serve neighbors, where fifth graders can repair scallop dredges. This is where the hangers-on and wannabes and also-rans and once-greats keep believing in the sea. In Brielle, when the customers leave, the town's lines show, and they are the kind grooved by the thin dif
Customer Reviews:
You Feel Like You Are There.......2007-10-05
Others have gone into detail about this book, and it is true. This book combines a mystery worthy of a Sherlock Holmes novel with the details of technical diving and written in such a gripping manner that it could be a work of pop fiction (not in a negative way, just that it flows so well and put together so well that it could have been made up, if that makes sense.)
And the author does a great job of not leaving you "hanging" with an abrupt ending.
Highly recommended and has set the bar for other books in this genre.
J ohn Sutphen MD, ex navy diver /submarine medical officer .......2007-09-21
Tantallizing and heart pounding tale based on incredibly researched information about u boats and diving with an accurate, simple description of practical diving, diving medicine and physiology.
Compulsion to know the answer........2007-09-13
A fascinating saga about 2 deep sea divers and their 6 year odyssey to uncover the identity of a sunken German U boat. A captivating story, and you'll learn a lot about deep sea diving.
Deep Thrills.......2007-09-05
An absorbing account of the discovery and identification by veteran divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler of a sunken Nazi U-boat 100 miles off the coast of New Jersey. Kurson skillfully weaves together several threads into a very readable narrative, including the evolution of Chatterton and Kohler's rivalry-turned-friendship, the technical hazards of exploring a mangled wreck in 230 feet of water, and the duo's maddening, seven-year long ordeal to obtain positive evidence -- both on the wreck and in official but flawed US and German naval records -- of the boat's identity. As the tale draws to a close, Kurson also draws a moving portrait of the U-boat's crew, who went to sea in the final days of the war and knew that they likely would not return alive.
I started diving when the final pieces of this mystery were falling into place, and can remember following the story of New Jersey's mystery U-boat in the papers. However, none of those articles was anywhere as involving as Kurson's account, which I devoured in four days. Sure, there's some overheated prose here and there ("in a shipwreck, where every danger is first cousin to every other, a diver's desparation makes an open house of his bad situation."), but that's a minor strike against this otherwise excellent and comprehensive work.
Rare Intimate Journey To The Shadows.......2007-08-28
Sometimes the flaws make a thing so much more than perfection could ever achieve. The imperfections in this literary account of the exploration of a WWII submarine discovered in 1991 off the Coast of New Jersey are well documented. Those imperfections didn't bother me.
I was facinated by the detailed account of the personalities of the divers in "Shadow." Its easy to identify a future SCUBA diver - someone who is comfortable putting their face under water. Even better, because it will sometimes trump the 'face' test, is whether a person's curiosity is so intense that they are able to project their consciousness entirely onto something outside of themselves to the virtual exclusion of other thoughts. Divers want to investigate, explore, see something extraordinary, find out whats under that rock, go someplace very few people have been, find something unique, etc. The experience is so strong, you may forget to be worried about all the risks.
My enjoyment of "Shadow" was absolutely enhanced by my experience as a diver who is both Nitrox and advanced open water certified. I have never gone deeper than 110 ft - The U-boat 85, off of Nags Head, North Carolina, which is 20ft shallower than the recreational diving limit of 130 ft. So far, I've never wanted to see anything deeper, but I suspect I'll pass. Surface light begins to diminish rapidly. It usually gets alot colder.
At the depths routinely visitied by the divers in this book, 230 ft., nitrogen narcosis is an inevitability, and helium mixes carry their own risks. Water pressure increases to seven times what it is at the surface. Just when you need all your mental faculties and judgement, you can be assured they will be impared to an extent that cannot be anticipated from dive to dive. Even more frightening is that getting to the surface to resolve any problems that may arise (my mask came off once at 80 ft), must now include a life-saving decompression stop. When you head for the surface with less than 30 minutes of air for your stop, you're in trouble.
Diving can put you face to face with three realities that I don't sense as readily on land: 1.) the incredible spiritual beauty of the natural world, 2.) how alone we really are (I've never felt more alone than those very few times I've dived without a buddy), 3.) Death is always hiding within convenient reach.
The insatiable curiosity of the two lead characters, Chatterton and Kohler, also drives them above the water, as they travel to Europe to learn as much as they can about the submarine and its crew. There was no 'gold' involved, just an incredible mystery to solve.
"Shadow" was one of those books I read in one sitting (I missed dinner). I would compare it to Krakauer's works in power and drama, if not as well written. But again, in a way the rough nature of the text enhanced the story, as if I was sitting across the table from the author.
NOTE TO FELLOW DIVERS: After reading this book I have found my goal for my diving trips next summer - get my "Rescue Diver" certification.
NOTE TO THOSE PEOPLE trying to get young men (ages 9-15) into reading - I know of two young men who hated to read until they picked up this book. Not that they love reading now, but the 'no trespassing' sign is now down in front of the library.
Book Description
The submarine, first introduced to America's fleet in 1900, is today a 300-foot-long, 30-foot-wide vessel filled with some of the world's most sophisticated technology and courageous, skilled, all-volunteer personnel. In each submarine, over 100 crew members work together for months at a time to protect U.S. interests around the world. Written by an outstanding team, United States Submarines contains essays on submarine history and today's submariners, focusing not only on the subs, torpedoes, and related technologies but especially on the people who make it all work. Full-color and vintage photography, portraits, recruiting posters, and historically inspired paintings complement the riveting text.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding book!.......2003-12-13
Without question, probably the FINEST history of submarines. Well written and many, many photos all bound into a beautifull book. A worthwhile addition to any library.
A Masterpiece!!.......2003-08-09
The best book on submarines you will ever find!! Enough said!
A great reference. The one sub book to buy........2003-06-22
I spent 6 years on a ballistic missile submarine and I have a great interest in the history and current developments of the Silent Service. If you are a veteran submariner, you will like the way the book is put together. It has great photos and it is truly a beautifully made book that you can pass along to a son or grandson to share the pride us "bubbleheads" all share.
If you aren't a submariner but you aspire to be one or if you simply want to learn about the world of subs, then this is also the book for you. It is a huge volume that will occupy hours of your time. I would recommend this book over any of the lesser, albeit cheaper, more poorly made books on the subject.
If you find the price a little steep, you may also want to consider "Silent Chase: Submarines of the U.S. Navy". It is smaller but still a well made book. (ISBN 0-934738-38-6)
Contrasts submarine history with today's modern vessels.......2002-08-08
This is an outstanding, lavish history of the U.S. submarine: if only one submarine history were to be chosen as a comprehensive library reference, it should be this. A team of historians, authors and Naval experts contribute to this title, which holds over 300 pages of text and photos. Black and white and color photos embellish essays that contrast submarine history with today's modern vessels, providing a unique and lavish display. Suitable for special gifts, United States Submarines is a recommended pick for any interested in military history in general or submarine development in particular.
Submariners book.......2002-05-20
This book is written by the experts. One look at it will tell you that these gentlemen know there stuff. The articles are well written, the pictures are great. You won't be sorry you ordered this book. It will be on the front of your desk for sure.
Amazon.com
A former infantryman, Adolf Hitler had little use for the German navy, which he considered inept and politically suspect. Still, through the skillful maneuverings of a young, up-and-coming naval officer named Karl Dönitz, Hitler eventually endorsed a costly program of shipbuilding. As a result, Dönitz was able to field a vast fleet of U-boats when Germany went to war against France and England in 1939. Although his enemies were initially better equipped, Dönitz was the craftier fighter, launching daring raids on shipping convoys and Allied harbors, and for a time, controlling the chief Atlantic sealanes.
In this monumental history, Clay Blair analyzes the German U-boat campaigns from 1939 to 1942 (a companion volume continues his narrative to 1945), which, he writes, fall into three phases: one against England alone, another against the newly arrived American navy, and a furious third against the combined Allied forces. Blair argues, against other historians, that the "U-boat peril" has been overestimated. He holds that the American submarine campaign against Japan in the Pacific was far more effective, and observes that 99 percent of Allied merchant ships on transatlantic convoys reached their destinations. Even so, the U-boats introduced a powerful element of terror into an already horrific war, diverting Allied effort into antisubmarine campaigns and delaying the transport of much-needed materiel.
Blair's outstanding work adds much to the naval history of World War II. Packed with detail, it is sure to become a standard work on the Battle of the Atlantic. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Clay Blair's best-selling naval classic Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan, is regarded as the definitive account of that decisive phase of the war in the Pacific. Nine years in the making, Hitler's U-boat War is destined to become the definitive account of the German submarine war against the Allies, or "The Battle of the Atlantic."
It is an epic sea story, the most arduous and prolonged naval battle in all history. For a period of nearly six years, the German U-boat force attempted to blockade and isolate the British Isles, in hopes of forcing the British out of the war, thereby thwarting the Allied strategic air assault on German cities as well as Overlord, the Allied invasion of Occupied France. Fortunately for the Allies, the U-boat force failed to achieve either of these objectives, but in the attempt they sank 2,800 Allied merchant ships, while the Allies sank nearly 800 U-boats. On both sides, tens of thousands of sailors perished.
The top secret Allied penetration of German naval codes, and, conversely, the top secret German penetration of Allied naval codes played important roles in the Atlantic naval battle. In order to safeguard the secrets of codebreaking in the postwar years, London and Washington agreed to withhold all official codebreaking and U-boat records. Thus for decade upon decade an authoritative and definitive history of the Battle of the Atlantic could not be attempted. The accounts that did appear were incomplete and full of errors of fact and false interpretations and conclusions, often leaving the entirely wrong impression that the German U-boats came within a whisker of defeating the Allies, a myth that persists.
When London and Washington finally began to release the official records in the 1980s, Clay Blair and his wife, Joan, commenced work on this history in Washington, London, and Germany. They relied on the official records as well as the work of German, British, American, and Canadian naval scholars who published studies of bits and pieces of the story. The end result is this magnificent and monumental work, crammed with vivid and dramatic scenes of naval actions and dispassionate but startling new revelations and interpretations and conclusions about all aspects of the Battle of the Atlantic.
The Blair history will be published in two volumes. This first volume, The Hunters, covers the first three years of the war, August 1939 to August 1942. Told chronologically, it is subdivided into two major sections, the War Against the British Empire, and the War Against the Americas. Volume II, The Hunted, to follow a year later, will cover the last years of the naval war in Europe, August 1942 to May 1945, when the Allies finally overcame the U-boat threat.
Never before has Hitler's U-boat war been chronicled with such authority, fidelity, objectivity, and detail. Nothing is omitted. Even those who fought the Battle of the Atlantic will find no end of surprises. Later generations will benefit by having at hand an account of this important phase of World War II, free of bias and mythology.
Customer Reviews:
Very good book!.......2007-05-13
This a very good book about the U-Boat history in the Second World War!
I recomend!
Best regards,
Excellent research but a little too biased.......2006-11-18
I've always enjoyed Clay Blair's writing style. Probably because he was a journalist instead of an historian. However, as with his book Silent Victory, he can't help injecting his personal biases in the narrative. Blairs interest in U boats came about when his boat the USS Guardfish was docked next to Erich Topp's U 2513. That was later used as a target by the U.S. Navy. The U 2513 was a type XXI boat that was ahead of its time technologically. The torpedo tubes were designed to operate like a revolver shooting bullets! Blair tends to down play the achievements of the Kreigsmarine in the early years of the war, and the technological advancements put forth by Doenitz and his staff. A fact Mr. Blair conviently omits.
Reference Text.......2005-08-23
This is definitely a must-have for anyone seriously interested in the U-boat war of the Atlantic. Actually, this is the first book I've read on U-boats but I can imagine that this may well be the all-encompassing reference text. The book is well written and gives an excellent account of what happened. For a novice wanting to get the general idea it's perhaps a little too detailed. The accounts of the exact amount of tonnage sunk by each and every U-boat gets a little tiresome after a couple of hundred pages, but what can you do? You don't have to memorize them. Nonetheless, it's interesting to see how most U-boat commanders overstated their kills.
I got to this book after reading SHADOW DIVERS which is absolutely the best book on diving written so far. (You do not have to be a diver to dig this)
There are two parts to Hitler's U-boat War, The Hunters 1939-1942, and The Hunted 1942-1945 and I have no idea why both volumes aren't available by the same publisher. The second volume is only available used at approx. three times the price of a new edition of the first volume(?) It took me a while to figure this out so I got the second volume from Weidenfeld & Nicholson military who sell only the second volume. Here at Amazon the title of this second volume is merely given as Hitler's U-Boat War which is confusing because from that you don't initially know that there are two volumes and which one this one is. Only when you see the actual photo of the bookcover you see that it says The Hunted 1942-1945. Why make life easy?
Long book but an exhaustive and exceptional one........2005-08-07
Clay Blair has done an outstanding work on his first volume: "Hitler's U-boat war, The Hunters". The appendix alone contains a large sum of information about the first half of the U-Boat war. No one book should ever be considered as "the definite volume", but these works are about as close as it is possible to get. While Clay Blair describes on every U-boat operation, he also sets on destroying several myths about the U-boat war (such as the unnecessary criticisms on Admiral King).
His style of writing can sometimes be "dry" as he tends to repeat the same words over and over but that would be the only negative part about this otherwise wonderful book.
This book is highly recommended for anyone seeking for an exhaustive book on the evolution of the U-boat war and of the people involved.
I would give this book 4.5/5 but since it's limited to either 4 or 5, I'l go with the 5 stars.
Sadly, the 2nd volume of Hitler's U-boat war doesn't seem to be available on Amazon.ca... I guess I must go look elsewhere to purchase it.
~Shc~
The best U-boat book available........2005-07-12
This has to be one of the best presented and historically researched books of the German U-boat war ever made. It has a great mix of technical information with many anecdotal stories taken from eye witness accounts and from the personal diaries and logs of the men who fought the battles.
I have read other military history books covering such events as D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, but this has to be the first book that didn't bore me with endless streams of impersonal statistics and facts but still delivered enough of the information to please any grognard.
I have read some reviews that claim Blair was biased, and anti-German, and I have to say I don't understand at all how anyone could come to this conclusion. Blair criticizes and praises both sides for their mistakes and triumphs during the U-boat war. And his conclusion that the German U-boat war was doomed from the start of the war is more than supported for the sheer statistical and historical facts presented.
Average customer rating:
- Grim Reading
- Oh, Dear! The Dreadful Happenings Continue.
- Hook-Handed Man's secret revealed!
- How Could You Not Like It
- MUST HAVE!
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The Grim Grotto (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 11)
Lemony Snicket
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The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10)
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The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 8)
ASIN: 0064410145
Release Date: 2004-09-21 |
Amazon.com
It's tough when the things that stand between you and your desired sugar bowl are a host of deadly mushrooms and an uncomfortable diving suit. The unlucky Baudelaire orphans find themselves in deep (once again) in this eleventh book in Lemony Snicket's odd-and-full-of-woe-but-quite-funny Series of Unfortunate Events. In The Grim Grotto, the siblings find themselves headed down Stricken Stream on a broken toboggan when they are spotted by the submarine Queequeg, carrying Captain Widdershins, his somewhat volatile stepdaughter Fiona, and optimistic Phil from Lucky Smells Lumbermill. The adventures that follow as the crew tries to get to the aforementioned sugar bowl before Count Olaf are so horrible that the narrator inserts factual information about the water cycle so that readers will get bored and stop reading the book. It doesn't work. As per usual, readers will want to soak up every awf! ul detail and follow the Baudelaires all the way back to the place we first met them--Briny Beach. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
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An Interview with Lemony Snicket
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A Few Words from Daniel Handler
Due to the world-wide web of conspiracy which surrounds him, Lemony Snicket often communicates with the general public through his representative, Daniel Handler. We were lucky enough to hear from Daniel, and asked him the questions we ask every author, Amazon.com's The Significant Seven
Book Description
Warning: Your day will become very dark – and possibly damp – if you read this book.
Plan to spend this spring in hiding. Lemony Snicket is back with the eleventh book in his New York Times bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Lemony Snicket's saga about the charming, intelligent and grossly unlucky Baudelaire orphans continues to provoke suspicion and despair in readers the world over. In the eleventh and most alarming volume yet in the bestselling phenomenon A Series of Unfortunate Events, the intrepid siblings delve further into the dark mystery surrounding the death of their parents and the baffling VFD organisation.
Ages 9+
Customer Reviews:
Grim Reading.......2007-10-05
The Baudelaire orphans continue their search for the VFD and the sugar bowl with the hidden message as they escape down the slippery slope of the Mortmain Mountains and away from the evil Count Olaf. Their toboggan ride down the stream leads them to discover a submarine manned by a Captain, his stepdaughter, and Phil - a man the siblings met previously, all of which are friendly to the search for the sugar bowl and interested in keeping it out of Olaf's clutches. But just when it seems as though the Baudelaires have other people to work with and confide in, Olaf manages to strike again and keep the children on a collision course with disaster. The children must work together and keep their wits about them if they are to hope that they will someday escape from Olaf and his evil henchmen for good.
This installment contributes almost nothing to the overall plot line of the series. After a slight increase in the pace of the series, this one brings the fun back to a screeching halt. The concept is frustrating at this point and ready for the big conclusion. As in some of the earlier novels, the writing at the beginning of chapters is often disjointed and seems in need of good editing. It is good that there are only two books left because if there was no end in sight, I would likely put an end to it myself.
Oh, Dear! The Dreadful Happenings Continue........2007-09-09
Dear Reader,
When we last saw the Baudelaire children, they were being swept out to sea after having fallen down a mountain. It was most dreadful. I should have just left them there and not continued reading about their unfortunate lives in THE GRIM GROTTO, the eleventh chronicle of those poor, unhappy Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny.
THE GRIM GROTTO finds them even in more dire circumstances than before. They are misled into believing they have found a former ally of the VFD. Then they have to live in the cramped and tight living arrangements aboard a submarine with no chance of getting out unless they put on these horribly heavy underwater-breathing suits. Aboard the submarine they are threatened from the outside by a giant mechanical monster and Count Olaf and his crew. Then we they finally do get out to walk around they are almost killed by poisonous mushrooms and despite all the precautions they take, disaster strikes anyway.
You'd best stay away from this one. But if do choose to read THE GRIM GROTTO, it's not my fault if anything happens.
Sincerely,
Uncle TV
Hook-Handed Man's secret revealed!.......2007-08-14
After nearly escaping from the almost-melting Mortmain Mountains in the previous book in the series, The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10), the Baudelaire orphans (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) are taken in by the eccentric Captain Widdershins and his stepdaughter Fiona aboard a submarine. The Queequeg submarine is not exactly in good shape, so the Baudelaires are not exactly any more safe in this particular chapter of their lives than they ever were. During their perilous quest to find the mysterious sugar bowl down in an underwater grotto found on the bottom of the Striken Stream, the unlucky children encounter a poisonous fungus known as the Medusoid Mycelium. The deadly mushroom has the ability to grow on human throats and choke its victim to death in an hour or less. Of course, one of the Baudelaires is infected by the horrible fungus and might not make it to the next book! This book, along with all of the other books in the series, is great read for the little kids and the teens and the adults and everyone else who loves a good page-turner. Not only is this book a good mystery, but also touches on the subject of villainy. Just like in real life, characters in the book change from being good to evil and vise-versa - a serious topic to discuss to readers. Besides that, Lemony Snicket (the author) makes references to various famous writers and their words through the Verse Fluctuation Declaration poem-involving V.F.D. code (similar to Aunt Josephine's and the Quagmires') and the submarine's name and uniform. Even though it is fiction, I would not doubt that A Series of Unfortunate Events will someday become a book required in many schools. They are simply so well-written with suspense, humor, mystery, and a bit of drama! (By the way, my review`s title speaks the truth).
How Could You Not Like It.......2007-08-03
If you are reading this series you obviously like the books. The author hasn't disspointed you with this one. Another creepy amazing little story about the 3 children you have grown found of... another suspenseful ending.... a must read.
MUST HAVE!.......2007-07-23
This audio version of the Lemony Snicket book, Grim Grotto, is excellent. Tim Curry reads and he does different voices for the characters and there is music which is catchy and fun, one song for each book (I also recommend getting the CD, Tragic Treasury by the Gothic Archies). Only get this if you like the series. Start with Book 1, A Bad Beginning. Not all audiobooks in the series are read by Tim Curry, but I think 11 of them are.
Book Description
L arry Bond emerges with the greatest submarine novel in over twenty years....sure to take its place among thegreatest submarine novels of all time! The USS Memphis, a dilapidated submarine that shouldhave been mothballed decades ago, has been given one last mission by the newly elected president. The task: To sneak illegally into Russia's coastal waters and survey theleaking nuclear fuel containers hidden on the floor of theArctic Ocean. More than just an environmental nightmare,this radioactive burial ground houses enough nuclearmaterial to destroy most of America's major cities.
Customer Reviews:
A memorial book.......2007-09-22
This book was written in memory of someone dear to Mr Larry Bond. As an enduring tribute for a friend, the book has some merit. But is not what one expects of Mr Bond.
The book is filled with so many minute incidents and details illustrating the life of a submariner, that the story itself is lost in petty conflicts, some rough encounters, and other miscellaneous incidents.
It almost looks like Mr Bond wanted to make a biography of his departed friend, and in hopes to make it authentic, he included every single incident that was ever witnessed by his friend when he was in Active Duty.
The story begins well, a young officer gets a second chance for glory, through political strings, he manages the impossible: a navy pilot transforms himself into a submariner. Then comes the crew who doesn't like him much, because he has connections. Then the mission involves an attractive female scientist and her overbearing boss, and now the junior officer shows some interest in her
Here is when I put down the book and started to wait for a movie to come out with Scott Caan or Jake Gillenhaal playing the main role and Jessica Alba to play the role of the young female scientist.
It's hard to think of Larry Bond as a sentimental author, but I think because of the more realistic nature of his characters on this story, many people are disappointed.
Dangerous Ground by Larry Bond.......2007-09-19
Excellent book that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. If you like military fiction you'll love this book.
Full speed ahead? More like three knots.......2007-06-19
This was an odd book. It wasn't bad, even though there was absolutely no action until the last 40 pages or so. It was kind of like a roller coaster that goes real slow through some vaguely intersting scenery, then right at the end, does three loops and a free fall. I've never read this author before and based on this book, probably won't read him again.
Larry Bond.......2007-04-04
Another good book by a submarine-adventure author I enjoy. Amazon provides a good way to find early books by authors one enjoys. Books are consistently in the condition advertised and are shipped promptly.
Larry Bond keeps the standard up........2006-11-04
Larry Bond has again written a very good book that will keep you reading well into the night and the next morning. I find "Dangerous Ground" to be a book that is very concise in it's technical detail and a book that will make you want to keep reading.
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