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kanejim57's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I liked, and cringed, at the human story told in this book. The images of survival were powerful and unforgettable.
lekakis's review against another edition
3.0
This is an interesting book, summarizing the life and times of 3 WW2 submarines (Drum, Tang, SilverSides). The first 3/4 of the book focus on the missions and skippers of these 3 submarines. The last fourth of the book is dedicated to the life of American submariners (from Tang) as war prisoners in Japan.
I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book because I haven't read any other books about the subject. However, the last forth is similar things to "Unbroken" and the story of Louis Zamperini. So not much new stuff there. That makes me believe that if you read books like "Clear the bridge" and "Wahoo" probably the first chapters of the book would be just a repetition of these books.
Anyway it was a pleasant read, but yeah probably there are better things to read on submarines, or the life as a war prisoner in WWII Japan.
I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book because I haven't read any other books about the subject. However, the last forth is similar things to "Unbroken" and the story of Louis Zamperini. So not much new stuff there. That makes me believe that if you read books like "Clear the bridge" and "Wahoo" probably the first chapters of the book would be just a repetition of these books.
Anyway it was a pleasant read, but yeah probably there are better things to read on submarines, or the life as a war prisoner in WWII Japan.
sleepyboi2988's review against another edition
5.0
Excellently written, the author weaves the stories of 3 US WWII submarines, their crew, skippers, and war on Japan's shipping. Excellently researched, gives unique insight into the 'War Under the Pacific'.
nelsta's review against another edition
2.0
I didn’t begin this book with high expectations, but I still felt disappointed while reading it. The sections on the submarines are good and the writer’s prose is good, but the author, for some reason, felt the need to include long passages that were only peripherally related to the submarines’ stories.
I suspect the author included these passages to provide context for the undersea operations, but the passages were very long and rarely (if ever) tied it back to the submarine storylines. At first I grew impatient to return to the submarines. But later, I found that the distractions were more entertaining than the actual subject.
This book didn’t capture my attention like I had hoped. I learned a fair bit about American submarine warfare, and it was interesting to get to know the lives of some of the skippers, but I wouldn’t describe this book as a whole as interesting.
I suspect the author included these passages to provide context for the undersea operations, but the passages were very long and rarely (if ever) tied it back to the submarine storylines. At first I grew impatient to return to the submarines. But later, I found that the distractions were more entertaining than the actual subject.
This book didn’t capture my attention like I had hoped. I learned a fair bit about American submarine warfare, and it was interesting to get to know the lives of some of the skippers, but I wouldn’t describe this book as a whole as interesting.
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