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svetyas4's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
alidottie's review
3.0
3 and a half stars. This is one of the books I read while I was recovering from pneumonia--I can still imagine lying on that bedroom couch endlessly, bathed in sweat or freezing with my bottled water within reach--alone, alone, alone. I think this book with its title was particularly appropriate for that time period in my life!
narzack's review
4.0
Pretty great stuff. Swede Momsen was a once-in-an-era guy. Kinda got me all jacked up to read more about submarine life.
jhalloran99's review
4.0
Great story, but drags on too long after the rescue. I was not invested in salvaging the sub or the future of the navy's fleet.
hemloc's review
4.0
Four reasons to read The Terrible Hours: The Greatest Submarine Rescue in History:
1) This reconstruction of the rescue of the USS Squalus is awe-inspiring and thrilling. Even knowing the ending, I grumbled every time I was called away from this book. The suspense and tension build with every new obstacle, as does the sense of admiration owed to the people involved.
2) The author has a simple and efficient way of explaining complex things using examples and similes. I now have a working understanding of submarines, deep sea diving, and Navy bureaucracy that I didn't have before.
3) Everything in this book has been painstakingly researched. The amount of detail is incredible.
4) I enjoyed the flashbacks showing Charles "Swede" Momsen's journey and the exceptional perseverance he possessed. He deserved the recognition this book gives him.
Two drawbacks to The Terrible Hours: The Greatest Submarine Rescue in History:
1) The first chapter or two had me feeling as though English weren't my first language. I knew all of the words, but the sentences simply were not making sense. A lot of technical information is shared in a short timespan – a lot of names, too – and trying to keep track of everything was not pleasant. It got easier as I got used to it, but the inclusion of pictures and maps would have made things better.
2) The final parts of the book, those dealing with the salvage mission, are much less interesting. Although things still go wrong and the process of getting the submarine back to Portsmouth is arduous, the events are recounted in a way devoid of tension. Throughout the book, information is relayed in a dry manner. There's so little emotion in how it's written that there's no connection with the people involved, so without lives on the line, the book loses a lot of its previous energy.
1) This reconstruction of the rescue of the USS Squalus is awe-inspiring and thrilling. Even knowing the ending, I grumbled every time I was called away from this book. The suspense and tension build with every new obstacle, as does the sense of admiration owed to the people involved.
2) The author has a simple and efficient way of explaining complex things using examples and similes. I now have a working understanding of submarines, deep sea diving, and Navy bureaucracy that I didn't have before.
3) Everything in this book has been painstakingly researched. The amount of detail is incredible.
4) I enjoyed the flashbacks showing Charles "Swede" Momsen's journey and the exceptional perseverance he possessed. He deserved the recognition this book gives him.
Two drawbacks to The Terrible Hours: The Greatest Submarine Rescue in History:
1) The first chapter or two had me feeling as though English weren't my first language. I knew all of the words, but the sentences simply were not making sense. A lot of technical information is shared in a short timespan – a lot of names, too – and trying to keep track of everything was not pleasant. It got easier as I got used to it, but the inclusion of pictures and maps would have made things better.
2) The final parts of the book, those dealing with the salvage mission, are much less interesting. Although things still go wrong and the process of getting the submarine back to Portsmouth is arduous, the events are recounted in a way devoid of tension. Throughout the book, information is relayed in a dry manner. There's so little emotion in how it's written that there's no connection with the people involved, so without lives on the line, the book loses a lot of its previous energy.
revenant_tomato's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.0