The Death of the U.S.S. Thresher: The Story Behind History's Deadliest Submarine Disaster [Hardcover]

Norman Polmar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

On the morning of April 10, 1963, the world's most advanced submarine was on a test dive off the New England coast when she sent a message to a support ship a thousand feet above her on the surface: experiencing minor problem . . . have positive angle . . . attempting to blow . . Then came the sounds of air under pressure and a garbled message: . . test depth . . Last came the eerie sounds that experienced navy men knew from World War II: the sounds of a submarine breaking up and compartments collapsing. When she first went to sea in April of 1961, the U.S. nuclear submarine Thresher was the most advanced submarine at sea, built specifically to hunt and kill Soviet submarines. In The Death of the USS Thresher, renowned naval and intelligence consultant Norman Polmar recounts the dramatic circumstances surrounding her implosion, which killed all 129 men on board, in history's first loss of a nuclear submarine. This revised edition of Polmar's 1964 classic is based on interviews with the Thresher's first command officer, other submarine officers, and the designers of the submarine. Polmar provides recently declassified information about the submarine, and relates the loss to subsequent U.S. and Soviet nuclear submarine sinkings, as well as to the escape and rescue systems developed by the Navy in the aftermath of the disaster. The Death of the USS Thresher is a must-read for the legions of fans who enjoyed the late Peter Maas's New York Times best-seller The Terrible Hours. (5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 208 pages, b&w photos)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

On the morning of April 10, 1963, the world's most advanced submarine was on a test dive off the New England coast when she sent a message to a support ship a thousand feet above her on the surface: experiencing minor problem . . . have positive angle . . . attempting to blow . . Then came the sounds of air under pressure and a garbled message: . . test depth . . Last came the eerie sounds that experienced navy men knew from World War II: the sounds of a submarine breaking up and compartments collapsing.When she first went to sea in April of 1961, the U.S. nuclear submarine Thresher was the most advanced submarine at sea, built specifically to hunt and kill Soviet submarines. In The Death of the USS Thresher, renowned naval and intelligence consultant Norman Polmar recounts the dramatic circumstances surrounding her implosion, which killed all 129 men on board, in history's first loss of a nuclear submarine.This revised edition of Polmar's 1964 classic is based on interviews with the Thresher's first command officer, other submarine officers, and the designers of the submarine. Polmar provides recently declassified information about the submarine, and relates the loss to subsequent U.S. and Soviet nuclear submarine sinkings, as well as to the escape and rescue systems developed by the Navy in the aftermath of the disaster. The Death of the USS Thresher is a must-read for the legions of fans who enjoyed the late Peter Maas's New York Times best-seller The Terrible Hours. (5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 208 pages, b&w photos)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585743488
• ISBN-13: 978-1585743483
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,944,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars accurate and interesting, April 4, 2003

By 

"ganjes" (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of the U.S.S. Thresher: The Story Behind History's Deadliest Submarine Disaster (Hardcover)

I served on a submarine in the Thresher class (renamed Permit class after the Thresher was lost). We had mandatory annual training on the causes of the Thresher accident and what we learned from it. I was surprised to find that Polmar was aware of a very large number of accurate facts about this accident, including much of what I had thought was classified. There are, as another reviewer notes, some minor errors, but they are unimportant to the overall story. I found this book to be very well-written and well-researched. Reading it took me back to my "Thresher training" and reminded me of all the drills and actual problems on my own boat. I recommend this book highly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, Interesting Book, September 10, 2003

By 

"genej919" (Layton, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of the U.S.S. Thresher: The Story Behind History's Deadliest Submarine Disaster (Hardcover)

While in the US Navy, I served aboard aircraft carriers so I have no specific knowledge of submarines. What I do know comes from numerous conversations with my father in law who served aboard submarines in the 50's, 60's and 70's. It's interesting to see the antithetical reviews of the two submariners.

I read the book to find out what exactly is known (and not known) about the Thresher tragedy. I believe Polmar presents the facts and suppositions regarding the Thresher accident extremely well. Depending on which submariner is to be believed, I've either been tragically misinformed or I've learned something.

I highly recommend this book to those interested in learning what there is to know about the Thresher loss.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Insult to Injury, May 12, 2003

By 

William H.A. Newport (Windsor, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of the U.S.S. Thresher: The Story Behind History's Deadliest Submarine Disaster (Hardcover)

This rehashing by Norman Polmar of his 1964 publication has improved little with the passage of time and revision. The book offers little in the way of new insights- little was known about what transpired that tragic morning then, and little is known now. Neither the quality of the 1964 book nor any new information provide a compelling reason for a new edition.

Most of the book has a superficial feel to it and deteriorates the further Polmar strays from the world he knows. He obviously never served on submarines and would have benefitted from having his book read prior to publication by someone who has. Speculation is obviouly necessary when examing what occurred on the Thresher that morning, but reading his explanations of submarine systems, I find it hard to believe Polmar has any engineering background at all.

When talking about life and work aboard submarines, Polmar is at his weakest. His vignettes ring false and his understanding of the motivations, inner thoughts and daily life of submarine sailors is speculative and uninformed. Many left me rolling my eyes and physically uncomfortable they were so bad (nearly as much as the movie Crimson Tide.)

The loss of the Thresher was a major event by any measure (one felt well into the 1980s when I served as a Reactor Operator on an SSN.) It had a major impact on submarine construction, training and operations (similar to the impact Three Mile Island had on the way the commercial nuclear industry trained and operated.) Far from dying in vain, Thresher's crew made future submarines safer. The event also touched the national psyche so deeply at the time that Phil Ochs wrote a song about it ("The Thresher" on "All the News That's Fit to Sing"-1964.) The sense of loss expressed by the public was similar to that felt later upon the loss of Apollo 1 or shuttles Challenger or Columbia. Sadly Polmar fails to conveys a sense of a historic, defining event unfolding.

Perhaps it is impossible to construct a satisfying narrative with the information we know about Thresher, but there is no excuse for the poor quality of this one. This weakly constructed story is best avoided.