Dust on the Sea (Bluejacket Books) [Paperback]

Edward Latimer Beach (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bluejacket Books | Publication Date: September 2004

In 1972, following the huge success of Run Silent, Run Deep, Edward L. Beach's second novel of submarine warfare was published to great acclaim. Like its predecessor, Dust on the Sea was lauded for its authentic portrayal of what it meant to be a submariner during the desperate years of World War II. Tense, dramatic and rich in technical and tactical detail, the book draws on Beach's experience as a submariner in the US Navy to describe the commander and crew of the fictitious USS Eel as they battle overwhelming odds to destroy Japanese ships and save American lives. With no margin for error, the men withstand storms, depth charges and even hand-to-hand combat to defend their boat and themselves. Mistakes, as the title reminds us, result in the debris which serves as a brief grave maker for sunken ships: dust on the sea.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591140579
• ISBN-13: 978-1591140573
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,069,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars sequel to "Run Silent, Run Deep", November 14, 2002

By 

Rottenberg's rotten book review (nyc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dust on the Sea (Paperback)

Forget the movie "Run Silent" from 1958 - "Dust" is a sequel to the very original book, faithful to everything about it not kept in the film. In the book (which follows Ed "Rich" Richardson throughout his career in the early days of WWII, rather than on a single cruise), Rich avenges himself on "Bungo Pete", a near-mythical IJN officer whose mastery of the science of subhunting has dearly cost the USN. one of the victims is Jim Bledsoe (played by Burt Lancaster in the film, but otherwise sharing no resemblence to Beach's creation) "Run" ends with Richardson executing the crew of Pete's ship - presumbly including Pete himself, knowing that Pete will remain a danger as long as he's alive. "Dust" opens where "Run" left off - with Rich returning to Pearl, with conflicting emotions over the morality of his act. It's the inner moral dilemma that haunts Rich throughout the book, even as the story - which returns Rich to the battle-waters of the South Pacific - has little to do with it. Instead, in "Dust", Rich has his ship essentially commandeered by his commodore and joined to others in an experiment in "wolfpacking" the Japanese. Rich's superior quickly shows signs that he's got his own problems, but Rich's demons (which also include a burgeoning love for Jim Bledsoe's widow even as he romances another woman in Hawaii, a lapse that will come back to Haunt Rich in "Cold is the Sea".) prevent him from thinking or acting forcefully against the commodore. There's a gratuitous subplot involving Rich's capture by a brutal Japanese naval commander on a lower order than Bungo Pete - it doesn't do much for the plot, while the character's unrelieved meanness makes it clear that the story needed some idiot to kick around. Getting back to the war, Beach artfully and magnificently mixes on-board intrigue with the sea battle going on around Rich's sub. Beach's flaws (characters are on the whole just decent people, making the imperfect ones look unnneccessarily unlikable; rather than dialog, Beach has his characters speak in large, unbroken paragraphs, so instead of conversations, Beach's officers engage in miniature briefings; that made sense in "Run" which had a first person narrative, but doesn't work in "Dust" which reverts to 3rd person) are outbalanced by his expertise, even for those unfamiliar with the science of submarine warfare, and easily so for those who know a thing or two.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dust on the Sea: Edward L. Beach, December 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Dust on the Sea (Paperback)

This is the definitive work of fiction set in WWII aboard an American submarine. Beach's character development does, however, while improved since Run Silent, Run Deep, is a reflection of his actually commanding submarines and not investing a lifetime as a professional fiction writer. The plot is a hoot, but some readers should remember that this book was written several years ago by a man who fought the Japanese. Beach's depiction of the Japanese is not as sensitive to the unique Japanese culture as is currently popularized by some. Beach wrote this book as an adventure story and not to pursue an agenda. Oh, the Bungo Suido is not in the Yellow Sea.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dust on the Sea: Edward L. Beach, December 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Dust on the Sea (Paperback)

This is the definitive work of fiction set in WWII aboard an American submarine. Beach's character development does, however, while improved since Run Silent, Run Deep, is a reflection of his actually commanding submarines and not investing a lifetime as a professional fiction writer. The plot is a hoot, but some readers should remember that this book was written several years ago by a man who fought the Japanese. Beach's depiction of the Japanese is not as sensitive to the unique Japanese culture as is currently popularized by some. Beach wrote this book as an adventure story and not to pursue an agenda. Oh, and the Bungo Suido is not in the Yellow Sea.