Final Dive: The Gallant and Tragic Career of the Wwii Submarine Uss Snook [Paperback]

Rick Cline (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: R a Cline Pub; 1st edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096632353X
• ISBN-13: 978-0966323535
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,851,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful Account of the Silent Service, December 9, 2009

By 

C. E. Hughes (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Final Dive: The Gallant and Tragic Career of the Wwii Submarine Uss Snook (Paperback)

I read this book because my uncle, Raymond L. Hughes, was a crew member of the USS Snook on its ninth and final war patrol. The evidence is compelling that the Snook was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine sometime between Midnight, April 8 and 1900 hours, April 9, 1945, and somewhere between the Luzon strait and the Hainan Coast in the South China Sea. The book was particularly moving to me as I read my uncle's name at the end under the heading

Final Crew Roster for USS Snook
On Eternal Patrol.

The book begins with the birth of the USS Snook and brief and interesting background information about submarine warfare, submarine ships, and the "Silent Service" of the U.S. Navy in WWII. About 260 U.S. submarines patrolled the Pacific in WWII, 52 were lost, 48 to hostilities. While comprising a mere 2% of the total tonnage of the U.S. Navy, U.S. submarines accounted for 60% of the damage done to Japanese commercial and military ships. The Silent Service was also the most dangerous of all branches of the military, even the air force, with a greater percentage of total submarine officers and crew being lost, than in any other branch of the United States Military.

Each subsequent chapter of the book is devoted to the nine war patrols of the Snook, with an added chapter about the change in command after Snook's first captain, Charles Triebel, was assigned elsewhere. The chapters read faster and better than many suspense novels, and it is all true. You learn about the commanders of the Snook, Chuck Triebel, one of the Navy's most successful submarine commanders and later a Rear Admiral; George H. Browne; and then John F. Walling, with his disappointing and punishing Polar Circuit Patrol and then the tragic Ninth and final patrol.

The chapters include fascinating vignettes about other famous submarines and commanders, the Harder under Commander Sam Dealy, the Wahoo, and information about the Silent Service's lifeguard service in picking up downed airmen. There is a fine glossary of terms to help the reader understand the fast-paced narrative.

I had not previously read any other books about the Silent Service, but this book was such an exciting and sad read, that it has motivated me to learn much more in other readings.

I have only one criticism and an offer. After about the fifth chapter, the editing took a dive, so to speak, with numerous typographical and sentence structure errors. If the author ever does a reprint, I will give him a heavily-edited copy at no charge. (I have worked as a professional editor for several years.) Just look up Craig Hughes in Salt Lake City. The topic and the men who served deserve a better-edited book.

Despite this weakness, the author is a fine writer. He will hook you in the first few paragraphs. The book is a must read.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Final Dive, By Rick Cline, July 18, 2001

By 

Bill Chamberlain (Chico, Calif.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Final Dive: The Gallant and Tragic Career of the Wwii Submarine Uss Snook (Paperback)

I just finished "Final Dive" By Rick Cline. This is a well written great story of the life and times of the Submariners on the USS Snook. I found it difficult to put down. Orginal letters from sailors on the Snook gave it a personal flavor and a since of what the men went through while at sea. Their thoughts and hopes and dreams of life after the war and during their tours, one going so far to to say that the real heros were the Marines and soldiers that fought in the jungles and in Europe, never once thinking that he too was one of the heros of this war to end all wars. The story of the Snook is a tragic tail of the life of underwater warriors and it gives the readers an insight to life aboard a US submarine and the hell that is war.

Bill Chamberlain Vietnam Vet 68/69 First Infentry Div.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars All of the Adjectives, None of the Maps, April 20, 2010

By 

John W. Dacey (Sherman Oaks, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Final Dive: The Gallant and Tragic Career of the Wwii Submarine Uss Snook (Paperback)

I like Rick Cline, I like his on-line bookstore ([...])and have found and bought some genuine treasures there, he has also bought a book from me (his earlier "Submarine Grayback")I have no axes to grind with the guy. Which brings us to "Final Dive", a book about the valiant crew and their submarine U.S.S.Snook, an account which probably would not have been written except for the industrious efforts of Rick Cline. The story of the Snook, from the laying of the keel to it's mysterious disappearance is laid-out for the reader clearly enough, I just wish it had been better written than it is. The main problem is the overuse of adjectives, it's as though it was written with the aid of an "adjective-a-day" calendar which becomes rather tedious; the usage of adverbs is also abused but not quite to the same extent. I also missed the lack of any maps, there isn't even a general "war patrols of the Snook" map, which is a shame, or maybe it's just me, I'm a certifiable map junkie. The glossary could have used a couple of more entries, specifically, what is an AGSS? This is mentioned in the text but missing from the glossary, also an RBO, ("We closed the island slowly, watching the show and listening to it on the RBO via the SD radar antenna".) no definition given, oh well, there's always "Wikipedia"! There is plenty of interest to armchair submariners such as the inauguration of the "Lifeguard League", of which "Snook" was the first sub to participate; it was likewise enlightening to see how the crew reacted to the shift from aggressively seeking out Japanese shipping to passively waiting to pluck unfortunate "Zoomies" from the "drink" (It seems it was regarded as a waste of time!). Also the advent of U.S. Naval "Wolf-packing" is covered in detail as "Snook" was one of the trailblazers of this enterprise, largely the brainchild of Admiral "Uncle Charlie" Lockwood, Commander of Submarines in the Pacific. The best part of the book is the access the author had to the letters and poetry of one of the crewmen, Thomas William Lamont II, which was emotionally moving and very personal, almost as if you are reading over his shoulder while he is writing to his relatives (these pigboats are cramped!) which really puts a human "face" on the gallant and tragic career of the WWII submarine, the U.S.S. Snook.