Customer Reviews

Run Silent, Run Deep

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Run Silent, Run Deep" is the first in a series of novel by Edward L. Beach concerning Captain Richardson and his crew, and their exploits through the ages of naval warfare. This book starts at the begging of World War Two, with the training of Richardson's crew, and takes the reader up to the defeat of an infamous Japanese destroyer commander nicknamed Bungo Pete. Any potential reader of this book should note that the only resembleance to the movie of the same title is the names of the ships and charactors. This, in my opinion, is because Hollywood was not ready, in the pre-Vietnam era, to end a movie the way this book ended.

Beach's writing style probably influenced Tom Clancy, in that there is a lot of technical discussion, as well as strong charactorization and motivation. When one reads the early part of the book, when Richardson and co. are training up, one feels that one could get on a Gato class submarine and help the fire control party fire torpedos. But, the best part is the end, which I won't give away. As Richardson hears of his friends and people he has trained dying at the hands of Bungo Pete, it can only lead to his actions in the final battle. Read it and see.

Edward L. Beach, Jr. rolled aspects of several real Navy officers into "Rich" Richardson, the central character in Run Silent, Run Deep, including "Swede" Momsen, "Mush" Morton, Howard Gilmore, "Dusty" Dornin, George Street and, of course, Beach himself. In the same way, the three fleet boats Beach served in, Trigger, Tirante and Piper, provided models for some scenes in the story.

If you've seen the movie, but never read the book, you're in for a surprise. The book covers a much longer period, from late December 1941 until the end of the war. And, while Richardson has two wartime commands in the book, just as in the movie, he is ashore nursing a broken leg, and standing in for Momsen solving the torpedo exploder problem, when Walrus is lost. The conflict with Bledsoe starts much earlier, in the old S-16, when Richardson feels compelled to withdraw his recommendation that Bledsoe get his own command after Bledsoe fouls up and nearly gets the boat sunk during a qualification test. The little detail that both of them are in love with the same girl adds to the conflict. Of course, a major difference is that Richardson survives, though that becomes fairly obvious from the opening words of the novel, which is told in the first person.

There are aspects of the undersea battle in the World War II Pacific that get less attention than they might today. Richardson is telling the story from his own viewpoint, so obviously he can't relate anything he doesn't see. Also, these old fleet subs were still primary fleet components when this book was first published in 1955, and many of the details were still classified. Beach provides as much detail as he can, but some processes remain deliberately obscure.

Of Beach's three Richardson novels (Run Silent, Run Deep; Dust on the Sea; and Cold is the Sea) this is the first and the best, though I will add that all are excellent.

The Naval Institute Press edition also includes an Introduction by Edward P. Stafford.

This is the best example of WWII undersea adventure ever written. More compelling and believable than anything I have ever read, the writing takes the reader into the minds, souls, and terror of the crew of a submarine at war. You will come to understand them, the function of a conventional submarine and the perils and terrors of warfare.

Predating the Tom Clancy novels and later offerings in this genre, Captain Beach fills each page with excitement, humanity and the apprehension of battle only a warrior can depict accurately.

A must read for undersea warfare buffs, you will learn much about the tactics of current day submariners and glean where many of today's writers of this category of literature originated their styles and interest in undersea warfare.

From beginning to climatic end, this is a must read.

This thriller was hard to put down; I read it in record time. Captain (then Commander) Beach grabs the reader's attention early in the novel and holds it tight right up to the end. One is almost sorry that the book is over, and I plan to look for the sequels and Captain Beach's other work.

It even has a love interest, but a rather demure, reserved, discreet, indirect, and tepid one by the standards of 1990s popular culture.

The climax is shocking.

It hadn't occurred to me, but other reviewers' speculation seems apt that Tom Clancy probably read this book before he wrote Hunt for Red October.

It's hard to imagine a such a pleasant gentleman, then an officer on active service, not yet forty years old, with a wife and children, banging out such a compelling yarn in his spare time. One has to admire him.

I regret having waited 45 years to read this book, though I think I remember my parents reading it much sooner. If you have an interest in the Navy, in submarines, in WWII's Pacific war, or just a spellbinding war story, then you should read and enjoy Run Silent Run Deep.

Based loosely on Edward L. Beach's actual experiences in WWII, this is the best example of a submarine warfare novel I've ever had the pleasure to read. Captain Beach was a master of the military thriller before the term had even been invented. If you've read Run Silent Run Deep, it's probably time to read it again. If you've never read it, you're in for a treat!

Jeff Edwards, Author of "Torpedo: A Surface Warfare Thriller"

Run Silent, Run Deep is an exciting book based on the real life exploits of auther Edward L. Beach. Starting with training at sub school, this book lets us see through the eyes of submarine Captain Richardson as he trains his crew and takes them to war with the Japanese.

The submarine warefare sections are excellently written and extremely atmospheric, even in the training sections. Each time the story hit another naval combat section, I found myself unconciously reading quicker and quicker just through the excitement of it all.

The only criticism I could level at the book was that is was a little bit anti-climactic. As the story progresses, there are numerous references to the great Japanese sub-sinker called Bungo Pete. Predictably, the climax of the story is when Richardson himself is sent out to duel with Bungo Pete for one last cat and mouse duel. However, the duel is a little disappointing compared to some of the other naval encounters witnissed in the book, leaving the end a little unfulfilling.

Overall, an excellent book which I heartily recommend for anyone who wants to read a quick paced, action novel about submarine warfare.

I first read Run Silent Run Deep when I was a college senior and a midshipman who had been selected to be interviewed by Admiral Rickover. It is more than a story, more than a novel to us. We went to classes in Submarine School in Groton, in buildings called Morton Hall and Cromwell Hall. Mush Morton was Ned Beach's CO on the Wahoo. Mush Morton had sailed out of the Submarine Base in Groton, and we saw pictures of him on the walls of the school. We read books like "Run Silent Run Deep" and "Silent Victory" in Submarine School and on the boats because we felt that we had to read them to somehow find the courage to make the kind of sacrifices in defense of the United States that Mush Morton had made in the South Pacific.

When I read Run Silent Run Deep, I can remember standing watch on the bridge of an attack submarine, smell the diesel fuel, and hear the pings of active sonar on the hull. It doesn't get any more real than this.

The Triumph and the Glory is the only war novel in recent years that I've read that can compare to this terrific book. Run Silent, Run Deep is the best submarine yarn ever written, although Das Boot was very good as well. Suspenseful, exceptional in recreating the confined conditions and emotional stress of undersea combat. Five stars!

When you read Run Silent, Run Deep you will realize that the book is so well written it feels like you are on a sub in WWII. If I'm not mistaken, Beach served on the boats so he writes in a very accurate, yet engaging style.

Besides just being a genuinely good read, Run Silent Run Deep is a snapshot of submarine technology during the 1940's. You'll learn about submarine operation, construction, and tactics. One of the big problems for the U.S. submarine fleet was dud torpedoes. Beach covers this topic also. Tokyo Rose is even brought up in this fast moving book about submarine warfare. All in all, it's very historical and educational.

At one time or another, I've read just about every book in print about the U.S. fleet submarines in WWII. Although this book is fiction, you'll learn a lot about what life must have been like in the silent service during the Pacific war. I've read it three times. It's that good.

I've read many nonfiction books on submarine exploits during WWII and can say without a doubt that this book of fiction has all the gripping suspense and realism of those others, plus a very compelling list of characters and a story that carries you through until the very end. The author did a very good job of building the story to a pleasing climax, as well as creating a novel with depth. Buy it and read it--you'll love it.