16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed results at best...., May 22, 2008
This review is from: The Depths of Courage: American Submariners at War with Japan, 1941-1945 (Hardcover)
I was eager to see how this book portrayed the US submarine effort in the Pacific, and how it would stack up against what has to be the Gold Standard, Clay Blair's "Silent Victory". One of the authors, Ron Smith, was himself a submariner during WWII, and Flint Whitlock is an experienced author. Basically, I wanted to like this book, but in my opinion, it just came up short.
The book takes an interesting tack; interspersed with descriptions of the submarine actions during the course of the war, the authors also describe highlights of the Pacific campaign itself. Intertwined with the historical descriptions, we also follow Ron Smith as he enters the Navy, and his somewhat circuitous route to submarine school, via aerial torpedo training. The author ends up aboard one of the older submarines, the USS Seal, one of the mid-1930's designs on the road to the definitive fleet submarine design, epitomized in Gato. We get a parallel narrative which details the problems with torpedoes, and covers many of the early key exploits and losses (such as Howard Gilmore and Mush Morton's Wahoo). If you have never read a history of WWII US submarine action, these will be new to you. However, for those familiar with the historical record from reading "Silent Victory" or a number of other prior histories, these will be rehashes. Nothing new added to these already well know tales. The stories that revolve around Smith himself are certainly very interesting and make for worthwhile reading, Smith is assigned to the base torpedo shop at Pearl in 1943 and then transferred stateside as an instructor. He more or less exits the story at that point, making minor appearances later in the book.
The story continues, with the alternating submarine warfare and the Pacific "island hopping" campaign. Surface fleet battles are described, along with submarine roles in these engagements. In terms of the personal focus, the latter part of the book relates the tragic story of Richard O'Kane's Tang. Tang was sunk off the Chinese coast when, in a surface attack, one of her torpedoes made a circular run and struck the stern of the submarine, rapidly sinking it. This is told with the spotlight on Clay Decker, one of the crew members who escaped from Tang, and imprisoned in Japanese POW camps along with a handful of other crew members (including O'Kane) who escaped Tang. Again, this makes a very good human interest story, and the suffering they experienced at the hands of their captors is truly disturbing. This part of the story is interspersed with later war history, such as the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the exploits of Gene Fluckey in Barb, and George Street's action with Tirante.
And speaking of history, several "facts" presented in the book are inaccurate. Submarines were never painted in a mottled camouflage pattern of "blue and gray splotches". Barb was not greeted at the pier by Nimitz, MacArthur and Roosevelt after her 11th war patrol (for which Fluckey received the Medal of Honor). Fluckey met the President and the two commanders privately after the 9th patrol. Also, afterwards he was not making his 12th patrol as captain of Barb, it was his fifth. Barb had gone out under other captains in earlier patrols. Finally, Admiral Halsey did not die in Pasadena, California, but rather on Fisher's Island, off the coast of Connecticut. If you're going to write history, check your facts!
In the end, I think the authors attempted to take on too much in a 386 page book. The entire scope of the Pacific War, the US submarine force role, and two very interesting human stories is too much to do more than sketch out in a book that long. While I would not discourage anyone from reading the book, I don't feel particularly strong about it either. It wouldn't be the first book I would recommend to someone interested in WWII submarine history.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A history and a great story-a 2-for-one book, December 6, 2007
This review is from: The Depths of Courage: American Submariners at War with Japan, 1941-1945 (Hardcover)
This is Ron Smith's 2nd book and it adds a lot that wasn't in the "Torpedoman." It tells of his growing up and becoming a submarine sailor. But it does so in a unique way. Every other chapter is written by his co-author, Flint Whitlock, who is a major military writer in his own right. Flint marches across the Pacific and time with his story of the submarine service while Ron tells of his tribulations and his life from a young man wanting to be an aviator to becoming a Torpedoman. The near death experiences aboard a WWII submarine are very dramatic and will give the reader an appreciation of the horror these men faced.
A great read from two established writers.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written, always interesting... a real page turner!, January 12, 2008
This review is from: The Depths of Courage: American Submariners at War with Japan, 1941-1945 (Hardcover)
I just finished reading this book and I have to say, it's one of the best I have run across in a long while. This book now only talks about the experience of Ron Smith, it also does a good job illustrating the struggles America faced in War World II. It's starts in Pearl and ends with the official surrender of Japan and details the battles fought, along with all the important events that happened elsewhere in the war.
The book also has many illustration, photos and maps that are placed in pages where they relate, not in the middle of the book, like most other books are done.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
