The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread to discuss the "history of submarines".


A shot from the Argentina Navy shows the ARA San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric submarine, at the sea’s surface near Buenos Aires, Argentina. File photograph: Argentina Navy/AP

The Submarine: A History

by Tom Parrish

Synopsis:

For centuries people dreamed of navigating under the sea, but it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that inventors succeeded in developing practical submarines. With the coming of World War I, nations saw something entirely new in war: the deadly effectiveness of underwater craft, with German U-boats threatening to starve Britain and bringing the United States into the war, thus proving underwater battles more important than the great battles fought on land. A generation later U-boats repeated the struggle in the Atlantic, while in the Pacific U.S. submarines literally put Japan out of business. Then in the nuclear age, the true submarine became the most powerful weapon of war ever created the weapon that paradoxically kept the peace.

Now, military historian Thomas Parrish tells the story of those who first dreamed of underwater ships; of the practical and ingenious inventors and engineers who created and developed the submarine; of visionary naval strategists; of famous skippers on all sides steel-nerved men like America's Dick O'Kane, Germany's Reinhard Hardegen who wielded this weapon; of the famous and infamous deeds of boats like the U-20, the Wahoo, and the nuclear-powered Nautilus and George Washington; and of the tragedies that befell boats like the American Thresher and the Russian Kursk. Parrish's compelling narrative blends strategy, high policy, technology, heroism, and perilous adventure.

The Terrible Hours: The Greatest Submarine Rescue in History

by Peter Maas

Synopsis
On the eve of World War II, the Squalus, America's newest submarine, plunged into the North Atlantic. Miraculously, thirty-three crew members still survived. While their loved ones waited in unbearable tension on shore, their ultimate fate would depend upon one man, U.S. Navy officer Charles "Swede" Momsen -- an extraordinary combination of visionary, scientist, and man of action. In this thrilling true narrative, prize-winning author Peter Maas brings us in the vivid detail a moment-by-moment account of the disaster and the man at its center. Could he actually pluck those men from a watery grave? Or had all his pioneering work been in vain?

Shadow Divers

by Robert Kurson
Synopsis
Includes a section of b&w photos and one section of color plates. In the fall of 1991, two deep wreck divers discovered a World War II German U-boat sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey. No identifying marks were visible on the submarine or the few artifacts that John Chatterton and Richie Kohler 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 a quest to solve the mystery.

Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage

by Sherry Sontag
Synopsis
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.

This book is one of my favourites offering a general overview/history of the submarine:


by Brayton Harris
Description:
Shattering long-held myths and misunderstandings, author Brayton Harris traces the development of the submarine through an era in which writers of fiction saw the merits better than most professionals-until the Germans almost won World War I. He covers the professional and political arrogance that delayed antisubmarine development for so long that German submarines almost won World War II as well, and examines post-war progress toward the truly awesome submarine of today.

Along the way, Harris explores the shifting moral issues of "unrestricted" naval warfare, outlines the hundred-year search for an effective underwater power plant that culminated in the nuclear reactor, and raises important questions about the future. A fascinating exploration of the steps and stumbles during development, a rousing tribute to those who fought and died, and a powerful study of the submarine's impact on America, The Navy Times Book of Submarines is an unparalleled source for understanding the great hunters of the deep.

Thanks to all.

Anyone who served in the submarine service is a hero to me!!!

The Depths of Courage: American Submariners at War With Japan

by Flint Whitlock

Synopsis:

In World War II, a chosen few fought a silent war beneath the waves...These are their stories.

In the dark days after Pearl Harbor, the small, ill-equipped arm of the Navy known as Submarine Force would stand between the shattered U.S. Pacific Fleet and the might of the Japanese Navy. Unfortunately, the spirit and courage of the Submarine Force is being forgotten as the veterans of that force pass into history.

To preserve their heroic tales of war beneath the sea, critically acclaimed author and military historian Flint Whitlock, in collaboration with decorated WWII submarine veteran Ron Smith, set out on a journey of more than two years to interview submariners and to record their stories before the memories of their endeavors are lost forever. Here, those stories are chronicled in honor of those who gave their all for their country.

Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship

by Tom Clancy

Synopsis:

Only the author of The Hunt for Red October could capture the reality of life aboard a nuclear submarine. Only a writer of Mr. Clancy's magnitude could obtain security clearance for information, diagrams, and photographs never before available to the public. Now, every civilian can enter this top secret world...the weapons, the procedures, the people themselves...the startling facts behind the fiction that made Tom Clancy a #1 bestselling author.

Heroes Beneath the Waves

by Mary Nida Smith (no photo)

Synopsis:

The unbelievable stories of the heroic men who sailed under the sea.

In Heroes Beneath the Waves, many brave men who rode submarines to great depths and across the oceans into unknown territory share their experiences, fears, and thoughts. They allow us to travel back in time through their memories. Trained for years to keep silent—for “loose lips sink ships”—many still believe what they know to be classified and refuse to disclose even the minutest of recollections. Others, however, want to leave a legacy of reminiscences for people to learn and live by—to know that freedom is not free.

Some stories will never be told. Held within the secret confines of their souls, these deep sea veterans block them out for self-perseverance. Yet, there are others who will never escape their own minds; they relive their underwater experiences over and over with eyes open or shut.

Heroes Beneath the Waves is about teenage boys who left farms, small towns, and inner cities to defend the United States and democracy worldwide. Signing up for United States Navy submarine duty was an adventure of a lifetime during the early 1940s. Dreams of torpedoing Japanese and German ships and subs consumed their thoughts. Those who returned home as young men were older and wiser. Heroes Beneath the Waves was written to honor these men—gallant heroes—who served and are serving today on submarines.

PE - we need to have books that are published in English posted to the site - it is fine if they have other translations world wide. We have no problem with that. But it makes it difficult to follow for some folks.

Could you make sure to edit your post and follow our citation rules and guidelines - we are here to help you along the way.

by Alexandre Sheldon-Duplaix (no photo)

We do not mind occasionally a book to be posted in another language which has an English translation below - but since there have been quite a few posts like this - we have to request that you post only books that have an English version for the benefits of the group since you appear to be posting so many foreign language books. Thank you for your cooperation in advance.

@ Bentley : Given this work is only available in French currently, I have removed the entire post.