Stealth Boat: Fighting the Cold War in a Fast Attack Submarine [Hardcover]

Gannon McHale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2008

The mission of the U.S. Navy's fast attack submarines during the Cold War was a closely guarded secret for many years, but this look back at the period and the part played by those submarines in winning the war gives readers a close-up view of life in one of those subs, USS Sturgeon (SSN637). McHale's memoir covers the years from 1967 to 1970, when as a teenager he was assigned to the nuclear submarine. Readers come to understand how those years profoundly affected the way he lived the rest of his life. The book focuses on McHale's experiences and those of other men with whom he served who have remained his lifelong friends.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

GANNON McHALE is a New York-based character actor who has appeared on Broadway and in regional theaters across North America, Europe, and Asia during a thirty-year career.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; First Edition, First Printing. edition (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591145023
• ISBN-13: 978-1591145028
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep And Silent At Its Best, November 28, 2008

By 

C. Kotan (Sierra Foothills) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stealth Boat: Fighting the Cold War in a Fast Attack Submarine (Hardcover)

Stealth Boat is Gannon McHale's crowning achievement as a Submariner. His writing has a rhythm that carried me through the night. I expected to read a few pages before bed, and surfaced on the last page at just before four, thinking it must be after midnight. His characters are bold and salty, and he captures these men of the sea with the joy and humor that pulls them through the long months of submerged operations, and long nights of liberty in strange ports.

It has been said that submarine patrols are extended periods of extreme boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror. Stealth Boat beautifully shreds the illusion of boredom - there is never time for a Submariner to become bored. He has qualifications to complete, and then new guys to mold into shipmates and Submariners.

Deep water sailors are a strange breed. And the smaller the ship, the tighter is the crew. There is something about weathering a storm or a seawater leak that draws a crew together. An instant of carelessness, or a second of hesitation when the water finds its way in, can send you to the bottom. You realize suddenly that everyone must rely on each shipmate for their very lives, and your own qualification takes on new meaning.

If you know a Submariner, you need to read this book. If you have wondered about their confident good humor and systematic approach to problems, their zany escapades, this is the book for you. If you've been astonished by their head-snapping instant reaction to an emergency, Gannon McHale's Stealth Boat explains it.

Stealth Boat is a tale of shipmates, and a journey to manhood. The Brotherhood of Submariners has a new storyteller. If you rode the boats and need another look at your youth, read this book. But don't think you are going to read a few pages and put it down.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Way it Really Was, March 5, 2009

By 

William Lee "SubVet" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stealth Boat: Fighting the Cold War in a Fast Attack Submarine (Hardcover)

This is a book that is full of NTINSers and every one is true. (Grin) This definitely is the most fun book I have read about the fast attacks of the mid sixties, but also in many ways this portrays how it was more completely than the rest. Technically I never noticed an error. There might be one in there, but I was having too much fun reading it to note any.
From boot camp, to sub school to qualifying under a crusty old COB and a crew that once they trusted you put as much effort into helping you as you did into learning the boat; this is how I remember my days on the Snook and Scorpion. Standing helms/planes/lookout watches on a ship that reacted even quicker and was faster than the Sturgeon, but much noiser, closing the hatch to the bridge because the waves were going over the top of the sail by 30 feet, then having to hold your breath as you went under for a few seconds in the middle of a hurricane; and then the next time coming up and seeing a million stars while surround by a thousand miles of so beautiful but oh so lonely ocean is what made those times so thrilling to a young man in his early 20s. Gannon's tales of playing tag with the Soviets, taking pictures, giving the spooks a hard time and knowing what was going on, are just as it was with the Scorpion and the Snook. I too remember when the Snook got kicked out of a port because our behaviour didn't quite match the social norms. LOL
Snake ranches, making the last boat back to the ship, carrying aboard shipmates who couldn't stand up as we were getting underway. This is what it was all about and knowing that in port or underway, you didn't have to look for your buddy; he was always there for you. This is a book I'll read over and over to see old friends like Doc Reed and Dennis Blado mentioned, to read more about shipmates like Admiral DeMars.
It brought back a slug of memories, I laughed on all most every page, and cried when they talked about trying to find my ship.
I have for some time been trying to explain to my dearest friend how it was. Now I can just say, go read the book.
Thanks Gannon, you tell a wonderful tale of when we were young and went through something that no one who was not there will every really understand. Oh, and I would call your aphorism on page 34 an alliteration, but enjoyed it and we had a couple of ecdysiasts on the Scorpion and the Snook also.
Viejo

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stealth Boat, February 17, 2009

By 

Leonard D. O. Dell "Leonard D. O'Dell" (Oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stealth Boat: Fighting the Cold War in a Fast Attack Submarine (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book. As a fast-attack sailor on 2 East coast boats in the late 60's early 70's, I relived my early submarine years thru this book. Highly recommended. CWO-4 (7281) Leonard D. O'Dell, USN Retired