Customer Reviews

Death at a Distance: The Loss of the Legendary USS Harder

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The USS Harder (SS-257) was a Gato class American submarine that became one of the legends of the silent service. He career lasted less than 15 months from the beginning of her first war patrol 7 June 1943 to being sunk by the Japanese on 24 August 1944. During those months she sank a sixteen enemy ships, with a certain fondness for sinking Japanese destroyers -- five of the sixteen ships.

Her skipper, Sam Dealey was known for his agressiveness and a penchant for attacking at very short ranges. He was one of seven submariners awarded the Medal of Honor, and as with many of these medals it was awarded poshumously after he and all of his crew were lost.

Written by the chair of the history program at Murdoch University, in Australia, this is a supurbly researched and written book that serves as a fitting tribute to one of the most significant American submarines.

Well written,the deeds performed by the Harder were very well put together which makes reading easy to understand. My only gripe is the absence of maps to show where events took place.

Well written and researched. Flowed very well. I was surprised to see that this is the only book of its type by Michael Sturma. Compliments to his writing ability. The chapter "Medal of Honor" had information that I've never encountered elsewhere concerning the process that Dealey's award went through. I would consider this the definitive work on the USS Harder, and an excellent insight into the submarine service, and its pressures during the war.

I have read numerous WWII submariner's memoirs and found Sturma's book to be extremely well researched and also inclusive of info contained in those memoirs. The writer's style is easily readable. I would rank this book among the top WWII submarine literature.

Dr Sturma writes in an easy, relaxed way, while demonstrating that his research is of the highest quality. This history of the USS Harder is peppered with fascinating anecdotes and information that make it appear that Dr Sturma is a real insider. Steven Spielberg, get cracking, and make a movie of the Harder's 5th mission; I could not put the book down, and the movie would be a real ripper!! Dr Sturma is now in the final stages of a history of the USS Flier, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

I was looking forward to this book after reading 10-12 others in the genre. Clearly the Harder and her crew were a well-trained, equipped, and cohesive fighting unit with one of the greatest submarine leaders in the fleet - Sam Dealey.

The perspective this book is written from features the western-Australia connection to Pacific theater submarine operations (bases, deployed special-ops units, etc...). No doubt it represents a well-researched and factual account of Harders patrols.

I would recommend reading this book to add knowledge or fill in blanks. However, it is not of the same caliber as say Thunder Below (Flukey) or Clear the Bridge (O'Kane). Nor could it be as there were no survivors of Harders final patrol to report.

One of the few World War II Submarine Books that stands out. Mr. Sturmas writing creativity makes you feel you are on board the USS Harder. Death at a Distance should be made into a movie (attention Hollywood Producers). I am looking forward to seeing more heroic Submarine War Books and the Brave men behind the scenes.

AS I said earlier today while writing reviews, I am an Arm Chair Sub mariner. This is a MUST READ. The adventure and loss of Harder is one of the awesome stories of WWII in the Pacific. Godspeed to them all. MG