Sub-Log.com - Book Reviews

Submarine and Undersea Book Recommendations

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 18:44:46 -0400

Here are some reviews of good, recommended books on a range of undersea topics. Submarine books make up the bulk of them but there are also a lot on general underwater exploration. Check back for new reviews!

Reviews Index

Running Critical - review

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 14:06:23 -0400

	Running Critical: The Silent War, Rickover, and General Dynamics ASIN: 0060153776 Binding: Hardcover List price: $19.95 USD

Description

This book chronicles the political and corporate history of the 688 class nuclear attack submarine. There is much insight into the methods and manner of Admiral Rickover and also a lot of material on the corporate goings-on at Electric Boat during the construction of these boats. At the same time the Trident program was starting so it was a hectic era of sub construction in the USA.

The Navy Times Book of Submarines

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 18:07:36 -0400

- larger image -	Navy Times Book of Submarines ASIN: 0425157776 Binding: Hardcover List price: $31.95 USD

Description

This is a very readable, engaging history of submarine technology, events and politics. Highly recommended. Contains a number of black and white illustrations and photos but is primarily text.

Covers submarines from very early origins (1580!) to present times. The book is weighted towards the pre-1945 era: about one third of the book covers pre-1914 developments with much of the rest covering the two world wars. There's relatively light coverage of the Cold War and present era - less than 50 pages.

Category: submarine history

Technical content: average

Overall: excellent

Dark Waters - review

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 13:38:46 -0400

- larger image -	Dark Waters: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub ASIN: 0451207777 Binding: Hardcover List price: $24.95 USD

Description

Very entertaining history of the capable, unique NR-1, the only nuclear submersible yet built. The coauthors include journalist Don Davis and member of the first crew, Lee Vyborny. Mr. Vyborny tells some excellent stories from the years he spent during the NR-1's design, construction and early operating career. After Vyborny leaves the crew the boat's history is told in third person but the stories are no less interesting. For example, the interactions with Rickover are somehow written to be more amusing than irritating!

This book is similar to Blind Man's Bluff in its handling of covert cold war operations by the US Navy but the first person stories told by Lee Vyborny really pull the reader in and are very engaging.

Category: cold war nuclear submersible

Boats: NR-1

Heroes: NR-1 crew and, for getting it built, Admiral Rickover

Technical content: average

Always Another Adventure - review

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 13:39:08 -0400

	Always another adventure, ASIN: B0006BRD9O Binding: Hardcover

Description

This guy, Robert F. Marx, seems to evoke strong reactions: variously distaste for such a scallywag, fascination and respect for his reckless full experience of life, and disbelief that so many things can happen to one man. An obsession with diving leads the author on an endless series of adventures from the dawn of the SCUBA age up to the mid-1960s. There are side trips to hunt for lost Mayan cities and do research in Spanish shipping archives but much of the book takes place on and under the sea.

Note: This is out-of-print and isn't too easy to find. The only Marx book I find in print now is Shipwrecks of the Americas.

Non-fiction Rating: 3 Ned Lands

Entertainment: 5

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine - review

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 13:45:09 -0400

- larger image -	Secrets Of A Civil War Submarine: Solving The Mysteries Of The H. L. Hunley ASIN: 1575058308 Binding: Hardcover List price: $18.95 USD Amazon price: $17.05 USD

Description

Attractively illustrated book, for adolescent readers, that tells the story of the Confederate submarine Hunley and then quickly dives into describing the recovery and preservation of this vessel. Compelling text tells the various phases of the Hunley story and keeps it interesting. Over half of the book is on the recovery and preservation effort and what this has taught researchers about the boat and its last crew. Illustrated with period photos, documents and paintings, along with modern photos of the recovered boat and its contents, recreations of the crews faces and original artwork illustrating the operation of the Hunley.

Heroes: archaeologists, and the Hunley's crews for bravery in operating such a craft

Boat: CS Hunley

Location: South Carolina, USA

Category: juvenile, historical wreck preservation

Technical content: Light

Blind Man's Bluff - review

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 22:06:56 -0400

- larger image -	Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage ASIN: 006103004X Binding: Mass Market Paperback List price: $7.99 USD Amazon price: $7.99 USD

Description

Very good, readable account of some important US submarine activities during the Cold War. Espionage is a focus but this book includes amazing tales of trailing Soviet boomers and unravelling the loss of the Scorpion, along with stories on tapping Soviet undersea communications lines and recovering sunken Soviet boats. It covers the political situation and provides good historical context along the way.

Category: military, cold war submarines

Location: Atlantic, Pacific Oceans, Barents Sea, Sea of Okhotsk

Heroes: sub crew and officers

Boats: US attack subs from "GUPPY" to 688(I) w/ mention of Seawolf and Virginia classes

Tech content: Average

Overall: Excellent

Manned Submersibles by Frank Busby - review, print and online book

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 12:24:56 -0400

Manned Submersibles is a fine review of small submarine technology and vehicles ala 1976.

There is a large amount of technical information here of interest to enthusiasts and home builders. It's not a textbook so you won't get formulas for computing crush depth, but it covers virtually every area of submersibles from ballasting systems to insurance. Down at the bottom of this page is a table of contents listing of the chapters on vehicle technology and operations.

Alvin Search Track - F6F Aircraft

This book was published by the US government and while a bit dated it is in the public domain and so can
be republished and freely distributed. There are a few sites hosting this book but here's the best that I've seen:

Hostile Waters - review

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 16:17:42 -0400

- larger image -	Hostile Waters ASIN: 0312966121 Binding: Mass Market Paperback List price: $6.99 USD Amazon price: $6.99 USD

Description

A page turner of a nuclear submarine disaster story, at least as good as the fictional Hunt for Red October.

Category: nuclear missile submarine, tragedy

Boats: Soviet ballistic missile submarine K-219, NAVAGA or YANKEE-1 class

Heroes: captain and crew

Location: Western Atlantic Ocean

The Last Dive - review

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 16:16:37 -0400

- larger image -	The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent into the Ocean's Depths ASIN: 0060932597 Binding: Paperback List price: $13.95 USD Amazon price: $11.16 USD

Description

Category: Technical scuba diving, caves and shipwrecks

Boats: German type VII

Heroes: The author, but Chris and Chrissy Rouse are the main subjects of the book.

Location: USA, East Coast and Florida

Fascinating story of an unusual father and son dive team that became active in highly technical cave and wreck diving. Good amount of information on technical diving. Sadly ends with their deaths.

Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea - review

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 13:47:29 -0400

- larger image -	Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea ASIN: 0375703373 Binding: Paperback List price: $15.95 USD Amazon price: $10.85 USD

Description

Category: treasure hunting

Boats: SS Central America is the main ship but there's a very capable ROV

Heroes: Tommy Thompson, engineer and leader of the whole adventure

Location: USA, Midwest and offshore East Coast

Synopsis: Highly recommended story of the very capable Tommy Thompson and his multi-year quest to find and recover the treasure of the Central America. Provides insight into modern treasure hunting including fund raising, and legal and engineering issues. There's not a great deal of technical detail on the ROV but I didn't miss it here.

America's Lost Treasure - review

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 13:46:17 -0400

- larger image -	America's Lost Treasure ASIN: 0871137321 Binding: Hardcover List price: $39.95 USD

Description

Category: treasure hunting

Boats: SS Central America and a big, capable ROV

Heroes: Tommy Thompson

Location: USA, Midwest and East Coast

Synopsis: Coffee table companion book to Gary Kinder's excellent Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. Thompson has put together a very good set of photos and descriptive text that doesn't overlap the Ship of Gold story. It's great to see the systems and treasure recovered that you read about in detail in the earlier book.

The Sea Hunters II - review

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 13:03:27 -0400

- larger image -	The Sea Hunters II ASIN: 0399149252 Binding: Hardcover List price: $27.95 USD

Description

Category: Historical shipwreck investigation, searching and often discovery.

Boats: Many but no submarines. Several Civil War ironclads, the Carpathia, US Navy airship Akron and PT-109.

Heroes: Clive Cussler again.

Location: USA, briefly the Solomon Islands

Synopsis: Same as the earlier book. See The Sea Hunters

The Sea Hunters - review

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 13:02:21 -0400

- larger image -	The Sea Hunters: True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks ASIN: 0743480694 Binding: Mass Market Paperback List price: $7.99 USD Amazon price: $7.99 USD

Description

Boats: Many surface ships, but one submarine, the CS Hunley.

Heroes: Clive Cussler (for funding the expeditions)

Location: USA

Synopsis: A collection of shipwreck hunting stories, all funded by Mr. Cussler, with narrative descriptions of the sinkings. Some are more interesting than others but it's hard to beat the fact that they found the Hunley.

Shadow Divers - review

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 11:17:50 -0400

- larger image -	Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last My ASIN: 0375508589 Binding: Hardcover List price: $26.95 USD Amazon price: $17.79 USD

Description

A great read; a gripping mystery with real-life adventure in dangerous conditions underwater. Follow the author from initial discovery of the submarine wreck through years of investigation into its identity and the mystery of its sinking. Here's a CBS news interview with Chatterton and Kohler.

Category: Technical scuba diving, historical shipwreck investigation

Boats: German type VII U-boat

Heroes: John Chatterton and Rich Kohler (as seen on the History Channel's Deep Sea Detectives). Tenacious, obsessed problem solvers.

Location: USA, East Coast