11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Informative if perhaps unimpressive, September 26, 2003
Submarine: A Guided Tour of a Nuclear Warship, first published in 1993 but recently updated, is the lead book in a seven-volume non-fiction series which examines many of the weapons systems and/or units that appear in Tom Clancy's fiction.
Written with the assistance of defense analyst John D. Gresham, Submarine is an interesting look at one of the most fascinating yet least seen warships in the United States Navy, the Improved Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine. While steering clear of revealing such closely guarded secrets as true maximum speed, diving depth, and the layout of the nuclear power plant, Clancy and Gresham manage to give the reader an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at "the boat," its weapons, and more importantly, its officers and crew. For, as Clancy has often pointed out in both his novels and op-ed columns, it's not the machine or weapon that determines success in battle; it's the operator and his/her training and morale that matter on the battlefield.
Supplementing the section on USS Miami -- the boat Clancy and Gresham closely examine -- is a section devoted to the Royal Navy's smaller but still-impressive nuclear sub force. Clancy examines not only the workings and weapons of HMS Triumph, a Trafalgar-class attack sub, but he also delves into the differences in training between American and British SSN skippers. His comments may raise eyebrows among some American readers unaccustomed to even constructive criticism of the U.S. Navy, but at least Clancy is honest and doesn't shy away from speaking his mind about a branch of our military that he is otherwise very fond of.
The new edition leaves the original text as it appeared in 1993: there are no updates on the featured officers (namely, the skippers and execs of USS Miami and HMS Triumph) and their subsequent careers. However, Submarine does have a new section covering the entry into service of two new classes of SSN into Navy service, and the section on Other People's Boats has also been updated.
A word about the quality of this book. I like it enough to have both editions, true. It's informative (up to a point), but it's not exactly impressive, either. As an introduction to the topic of nuclear attack subs, it works. But is it as good as Clancy's depictions of SSNs in his novels The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising? Perhaps, perhaps not.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining but not for serious collectors, November 20, 1998
Actually I would give this book 3 and half stars. This book represents an effort to give a comprehensive introduction to modern nuclear attack submarine. This effort itself is respectful. But just like most other military technical books you find in an average bookstore, Clancy's work is filled with technical inacurracies. One obvious example: the side view of Kilo sub at the end of the book is totally out of proportion. And Clancy's USA-always-No.-1 arrogance is a bit annoying. In his tatical senarios, which are entertaining to read, he just assumes too little of the enemies' intelligence in blunt statement such as "the captain of the Russian boat tries the same evasion tactics as his American opponent, but they are probably not as effective." At another occasion he calls the Soviet Union a "babarian country."
In short, this book is adequate in providing amateur knowledge on attack submarine and is entertaining as a leisure reading. But maybe it's just not worth the money of serious collectors. The easily accessible accurate info. could be found in the menu of Jane's game 688I, Hunter/Killer (although it's quite dry to read), or US Submarines since 1945: an Illustrated Design History by Friedman and Chritley.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This book needs to be updated, December 27, 1998
By A Customer
After reading about the submarine-launched cruise missiles used during Operation Desert Fox and hearing about the submarines, American and others, that have been commissioned and retired, I thought this book should be revised. The book has a copyright date of 1993 and much has taken place since then in terms of fleets, technology and weapons, for example. Clancy should also discuss Operation Desert Fox and other recent actions and exercises involving submarines. I also believe that this book could use an index to help submarine buffs such as myself find info on various topics pertaining to submarines. Even with all the errors that have been pointed out by the other reviewers and even with much of the information being out of date, Clancy's book is still a wonderful introduction to the silent service.
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