Customer Reviews

Submarine!

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
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"Submarine!", by Edward L. Beach, tells the story of several submarines of the United States Navy during World War II. The overarching narrative begins in 1942, with narrator Beach "fresh out of Submarine School." We watch Beach rise up the ranks as we learn of his fellow submariners and their ships.

Beach treats the subs as characters themselves; he notes, "All ships have souls, and all sailors know it" early in the book. He develops this theme throughout the book. The interwoven stories of the subs are arranged as chapters, each focusing on one or two ships.

Beach's prose at its best is exciting and action-packed, at times reminding me of an old-fashioned motion picture adventure serial. Yet at times he also attains an epic gravitas, and ultimately the book is quite moving. The one criticism I will make is that at times the book felt like it could have used a more judicious editorial hand; I believe that the book's 354 pages might have been reshaped into a leaner and more efficient text without sacrificing the essentials of the narrative.

I found "Submarine!" especially fascinating for the wealth of technical and tactical details that are interwoven into the adventure; it's a virtual encyclopedia of submarine information. Among the many topics covered are test diving, the use of a sub to plant a minefield, dealing with defective torpedoes, how two subs can work together to attack a target, the uses of the periscope, "silent running," and much more.

Within the book are certain chapters that really stand out, and can even stand alone as self-contained mini-epics. Among these is the story of the encounter between the U.S. sub _Archerfish_ and the Japanese supercarrier _Shinano_, a behemoth 50 times as massive as the sub. This section contains some of the book's best writing. "Submarine!" is an important and entertaining contribution to the canon of American war literature.

It has been over 30 years since I read this book, yet it is still fresh in my mind. The book is basically the personal war diary of Edward Latimer Beach as he served on various American submarines in the Pacific in World War II. He had the distinction of serving under Dick "Killer" O'Kane, one of the leading American submarine aces of the war. He was also fortunate to be transferred off the USS Trigger before she was sunk, and ended the war with his own sub (the first member of the 1939 Naval Academy Class to receive a command). The book is extremely well written, which is unusual for an "I was there" type war history. Highly recommended, and once you start reading it you will not want to put it down.

This book alternates chapters between the author's personal experiences, starting as a junior officer on the Trigger, and the classic patrols of "boats" such as Wahoo, Tang, Seawolf, Batfish and a host of others. Riveting reading from someone who knows of what of he speaks!

I regret that I ignored the rich history of the Silent Service for the 4 years I served on a submarine. I was in the "nuclear world" and didn't care much about the small, "inferior" subs of WWII. If I had only read this book back then, I would have seen how wrong I was. This book highlights the glory days of the US Submarine. I was amazed at how intense and exciting the world of fleet boats was. CAPT Beach does an excellent job of telling the technical details without sounding like a boring training manual, and telling the exciting tales of sinking ships and withstanding depth charges without sounding like a cheesy Hollywood movie. I like how the chapters jump back and forth: Every other chapter is written in the first person from CAPT Beach's own experiences (mostly on the Trigger), then the in-between chapters are a 3rd person telling of another submarine's story. After having read this, I have a newfound respect for the WWII submariner... a respect that I could have benefitted from 10 years ago.

My only gripe about this book is the cover art. It is a complete slap-in-the-face to the very men the book is about. The most glaring thing is the Navy SEAL trident right in the middle. This book is about WWII submarines. The SEALs didn't even exist until much later and have nothing to do with this story. The submariner's insignia known as the "dolphins" should be there instead. The other mistake is the photo, which is of the USS Nautilus, the Navy's first nuclear-powered submarine, which also didn't exist until several years after WWII and was completely different than the submarines discussed in the book. It should be a photo of the USS Trigger, since that's what the majority of the book is about, or one of the other legendary submarines in the book. I still rate the book 5 stars because of the content, but the cover designer should be fired.

I was first introduced to Ned Beach through his classic, "Run Silent, Run Deep." Since that book was a naval masterpiece, I had high hopes for "Submarine", an earlier book of his. Attempting to read it at first hurt my brain. It's an odd mix of present and future tense with a little past tense thrown in, and it jumps from one sub to the next all over the place. It reads more like a dissertation on submarine fleet deployment, at least at first. Ned picks up his stride about a third of the way into the book, and from that point on it's incredible. If you're going to read it, make sure you can read the first third of the book in peace and quiet without interruption, otherwise you'll be like me and simply set the book down for a month before coming back to it.

I sent this to my grandson so he would have an idea of what sacrifices were made to keep us free.

Edward L. Beach is easily one of the top five most fascinating people I've ever had the opportunity to know. A friend of my father's, he would keep me on the edge of my seat during lunches and later, as I got to know him better, at Navy functions I would arrange for him.

Even so, I wish I could say he was a man of singular bravery and heroism, but as I've gotten more involved in the submarine community, I've come to realize that he was but one among many of dedicated men who served in the "silent service." Sadly, there are many like him who didn't make it through the war, and their bodies were claimed by the great deep, which was their home.

This book is a written legacy of times past, of men who lived, fought and died in the depths of the sea. Ned Beach was a man who, though he is gone, left his story for future generations if they will but read. When he served in the Eisenhower Administration, Beach would return home each night and, using a pad of paper and a clipboard, write at least one page. The story he wrote was the best selling RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP. He was criticized by the Navy at the time because they saw it as a self aggrandizing work, something he wrote on the job. They were wrong on both counts. Beach drew on what he knew and had experienced, and his work paved the way for future submarine thrillers, some great and many more not so great.

SUBMARINE! is like listening to Captain Beach relating the story of his life aboard subs. From the first time he saw TRIGGER moored at the docks, and he found himself wondering if it might be his coffin, to the time he learned of her loss with all hands on board, the story is one of love, honor and the tragedy of war. I can't recommend it highly enough.

CAPT Beach's first book - excellent first person narrative, keeps your attention, points out the bravery of these Navy personnel under the most trying conditions - less than 1% of the Navy holding the line against the Japanese in WWII. This book was my inspiration for my career in the submarine service.
CAPT James E. Collins, USN

I consider myself a WW2 buff, I never really got into Submarines until as another reviewer pointed out, til I got the Silent Hunter 4 PC Game or simulation.Submarine life in WW2 must have been rough to say the least.
I wanted to educate myself further as to what these men went thru in WW2 and the Submarines they dedicated there lives too.
Submarine by Captain Beach was a great start as he introduces its readers his own Adventures aboard Trigger,Trante and the Piper. Throughout the book in different chapters he tells it readers about the Great WW2 American Subs such as the Wahoo, Tang Etc.
It set the stage for me at least to continue reading the books dedicated to each boat such as the Wahoo, Batfish, Tang..
Nothing but respect for these fine men that Served.

I picked up this book after seeing a recommendation over at the SubSim gaming forums. Being a fan of the Silent Hunter 4 submarine simulation game, I wanted to learn more about how submarine warfare really was in World War 2. Needless to say, hearing the stories from someone who was really there is incredible.

Edward Beach does a great job of describing life on a submarine. Everything from the utter boredom of fruitless patrols to the sheer terror of being depth charged by multiple enemy destroyers is here. I particularly like how the book is divided up. Every other chapter talks about a particular ship's triumphs or tragedies, while the chapters in between discuss the USS Trigger, a ship on which Mr. Beach spent a great deal of time.

If you like World War 2 history, and you want to learn more about US submarine warfare during that time, this book is for you. It's a book that I found very hard to put down.