Customer Reviews

Russian Submarines: Guardians of the Motherland

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

 

 

This is a very impressive collection of photographs of these four Russian submarines. I gigged the book a star based on the lackluster paper quality which makes some of the detail on the photos quite difficult to make out. However, for someone who has been interested in Soviet/Russian submarines for two and a half decades, this book is a treasure-trove. I had no idea of the fine ridges and what have you on the Akula's props, for instance, which show some real attention to minimizing cavitation. The clear photos of the cut-outs and masts in the sail is something that the DoD would have killed for 15 years ago.

I also think the choice of subs was a good one. The Typhoon SSBN and Akula and Alph SSN's are probably the most known of the Russian subs and thus will probably attract the most interest. The Mike is an odd choice but does show the development of Soviet ideas of submarine design.

The text is sparse, but the photos are amazing. In this day and age with the internet one can usually find better walkarounds on the net for free than what you'd get by buying a book. This one is a clear exception as there are photos of details on these subs that I have never been able to find in hours of Googling.

This book was better than others I have bought. It's obviously put together by someone who knows quite a bit about Cold War Soviet boats. Lots of pix that any free-world person involved in the ASW arena of the Cold War would appreciate.

Good thing the text in this book is very limited... as the author and editor seem unable to form full sentences or find spell check. Photos are good, but the small amount of explanatory captions assumes the reader knows what the author is thinking. C'mon... even spelling "angles" as "angeles" on the back cover. Really, is that the best they can do?

Includes a silly warning about copyright infringement in the forward. Capped off by a ridiculous photo of the author dressed in some sort of mock naval uniform. Aside from the photos, the package is sophomoric at best.

Really disappointed in the lack of professionalism.

Amazing images of what was once so secret. Bit disappointed that many of the images are not really clear. Not sure if this is due to the photos themselves or the printing of same. Still and all, it is a fine addition to any collection.

This work is monumental is scope and daring. For the student of post World War Two history this is a must. The pictures are indeed a treasure trove to hobbist and students of Russian and Soviet Naval forces. Many once forbidden questions will be answered not in word but in excewllent and rare photos. A great Book! D. Claton Meadows Author of OF ICE AND STEEL

This book is a must read for any avid Russian submarine enthusiast. The pictures are great and numerous except for a few which are low-resolution quality. The book covers three submarine classes: the Alfa, Akula and mighty Typhoon. Each submarine class is shown in full detail with each sub shown in drydock. Heavily illustrated, the book shows a different view of what most people see of these subs in other books. A magnificent book of Russian submarines that deserves a serious consideration. A must have book for the naval afficianado.

I found this book absolutely fascinating. Being somewhat of a Naval historian, I found these pictures to be a treasure of information never before seen in the West. The Author spent a tremendous amount of time compiling these photos. Realizing that pictures of classified Soviet Naval subjects during the cold war era are extremely hard to come by in any color makes the book all the more realistic. Being an engineer, I am always curious as to how the Soviets were able to do what they did at that point in time faced with the technically superior Western Navies. I am hoping that the author, Mr. Frey, will release another similar text with more technical details and even more photos...An excellent find!

This book could have seriously used an editor. At times the text is non-sensical and reads as though english was a second language to the author though Wayne is an Northeast Louisiana Univ. graduate and U.S. citizen as I understand it. From that standpoint the book is horribly frustrating as it is very much incomplete. Outside of the awkward prose, the book's only saving grace are the unique photos though their reproduction leaves something to be desired. Some of the images appear to originally be in color yet they are reproduced in B&W. Understandable from a book production cost perspective I suppose but a detratction nonetheless. Overall this book would rate much higher despite some of the production gaffs if the text wasn't so utterly useless. Naturally most won't buy it for the writing being lured in by the exclusive photos, but as the author made an attempt to piece thoughts together let me offer a suggestion: next time don't make it an afterthought.

I find it amusing to think how much Naval Intelligence would have paid to see these pictures a few years ago. Some of the picturs show screens erected over the subs so that satellites couldn't snap a picture of them which gives an indication of just how secret the Soviet Navy regarded these boats. These pictures would have been worth millions. But peace has broken out and now these are just old boats.

I found the pictures to be absolutely fascinating. Here's more information about the Alfa, Akula and Typhoon than I ever imagined to see. Here's the photographic proof of Clancy's descriptions from his early books.

The addition of the Beluga, the Russian equivalent of the Albacore, was also fascinating. Like us they had to build an experimental boat to check out these radical ideas about how to streamline a submarine. Too bad she was scrapped. We at least saved the Albacore - she's in a park right beside the freeway in CT.

One negative comment. I'd have paid more for better paper/printing that showed the same pictures in even more detail.

I have purchased this book with expectations to find something in-depth about Russian boomers of the Cold War era, maybe previously unreleased photos, technical information and "near-precise" pennant list as well as keel laying/commissioning/decommissioning/ dates. I found none. Most of the photos are of low quality. They may look well on an enthusiast web site, but together with the very poor printing quality, most of them hardly reveal any details. Image descriptions look like pseude-BabelFish translations and most of them describe almost nothing. A very disappointing work.. I wouldn't suggest this book; maybe except for hardcore collectors - researchers who were lost deep in submarine technology and Cold War Era, and again just to look good in their book shelves...