Submarine Technology for the 21st Century [Paperback]

Stan Zimmerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2006

Today's combat submarine holds a crew of less than 200 men, equal to a company of infantry. Yet these few submariners can command a sea or destroy a civilization. Never has so much combat power been wielded by so few warriors. This concentration of power is made possible by innovative use of technologies, including rocketry, acoustics, hydrodynamics, nuclear power, advanced chemistry, unique materials and a host of others.

Unlike other 20th century military innovations - the tank, the airplane and nuclear explosives - the submarine remains shrouded in secrecy, a truly "silent service." This book surveys the state of submarine technology worldwide, and examines research advances that will shape the second century of submarines.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stan Zimmerman served in the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1973, earning the basic parachute badge, German parachute wings and qualifying as a jumpmaster while serving in a special operations unit. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, and a Master of Arts in Journalism and Public Affairs from the American University in Washington, D.C.

He has reported for radio and television stations, newspapers and newsletters. His essays have appeared in the Almanac of Seapower, and the Naval Institute Proceedings. He was editor of Navy News & Undersea Technology between 1988 and 1994. During that period, he was elected chairman of the Washington Maritime and Naval Correspondents Circle, and secretary of the Congressional Periodical Press Gallery.

He has won awards for his writing and broadcasting from the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Club, and the U.S. Naval Institute. He is author of the first edition of this book, as well as Submarine Design for the 21st Century. He lives with his wife and son in Sarasota, Fla. An avid sailor, he also serves on the Southwest Florida Regional Harbor Board, and can be reached on Email at [e-mail]

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing; 2 edition (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552123308
• ISBN-13: 978-1552123300
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #998,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Stuff, July 24, 2001

By 

Sheldon Teitelbaum (Agoura Hills, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Submarine Technology for the 21st Century (Paperback)

You could, I suppose,go to Groton and do a stint in sub school, or, failing that, attend a high-price seminar on the state of undersea warfare. And subscriptions to Janes Fighting Ships and the Submarine Review wouldn't hurt. Or you could sit down with this very managable, up-to-date account written by a non-tech journalist for the lay reader that will set you dreaming, each nigh as you lay it by your bedside, of air-independent diesel engines, accoustic cladding, and some trending information that sometimes seems to cross the line into science fiction. I've read 'em all, and this one ranks alongside the Waller and Sontag & Drew sub books as best of the best.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neat Small Book, May 23, 2007

By 

Charles Talleyrand (Marquette, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Submarine Technology for the 21st Century (Paperback)

This book was wonderful, if a bit small. It has sections on Air Independent Propulsion, Nuclear Propulsion and it's problems, new hull designs, better sonar, additional quieting, better weapons, and a summary. Each section both reviewed things I already knew and offered new data.

My only problem is that the book is a bit small. I wish it were larger and covered either more topics or more depth. As it is I finished the book in two easy days.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars update out of date, July 22, 2009

By 

Alexander T. Gafford "alex" (Midland, Ga United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Submarine Technology for the 21st Century (Paperback)

The strength of this book is the breadth of coverage. Starting with chapters on propulsion, nuclear, air-independent combustion, and fuel cells, the author then covers hydrodynamics, acoustics, weapons, sensors and then tries to wrap up the overall outlook for the next few decades. The weakness of this book is that it reads like a collection of magazine articles dated about 12 years ago. Since the author was editor of Navy News & Undersea Technology from 1988 to 1994 this is not suprising. Although a lot of information is presented, much of it is in the form of extensive quotations from folk trying to sell one technology or another. This is not wholly bad, but there is little or no attempt to set up a framework for independent judgement about the technical alternatives being considered. No real mathematics is used in description and actual data is, perhaps unsuprisingly, sparse and sketchy. Each chapter reads a bit like a collection of articles rather than a structured essay, but if you read a lot of defence magazines it will seem familiar.

A redeeming merit of the book is that the extensive attributed quotations are trackable and accessible and there is a useful appendix of related websites. To some extent I agree with another reviewer that more information can be found from current open web sources than in this book, but it is a fair introduction in one short volume. There are some small editing glitches typical of on-demand publishing but they do not get in the way of the content.