Submarines Under Ice: The U.S. Navy's Polar Operations [Hardcover]

Marion D. Williams (Author), Arleigh A. Burke (Creator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998

This book treats not only Wilkins's Nautilus expedition of 1931 but the diesel- and battery-powered submarine operations of the l94Os and l95Os as well as the era of nuclear-powered boats. It shows how rapid advances in science and technology helped overcome so many obstacles that today the Arctic Ocean is considered the submariner's private sea. Author Marion Williams, a member of the U.S. Navy's submarine service for many years, tells the story from the viewpoint of the submariners themselves. To do so, he consulted countless official and unofficial documents and recently declassified reports, interviewed participants, and drew on his own professional knowledge. He provides dramatic details of every operation and also describes the military and political ramifications of each cruise. The narrative is certain to appeal to readers of all ages who enjoy tales of exploration and discovery. Dozens of photographs, many never before published, help bring the story to life.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Williams, whose 30-year navy career began in 1927 and included submarine service, opens a modest but valuable history of early U.S. polar submarine operations with the trouble-plagued, pioneering 1931 voyage of Sir Hubert Wilkins' U.S. Navy^-surplus Nautilus. He discusses the little-known polar voyages by conventional submarines in the first decade after World War II before arriving at the famous nuclear-powered Nautilus, her famous first voyage to the North Pole, and the almost equally well known surfacing at that pole of the USS Skate. He also covers less famous voyages and the first under-ice maneuvers by Sargo and Seadragon. Williams' plain writing, based on thorough research that includes interviews with many now-departed navy participants, leaves one hoping only that the eventual declassification of Cold War documents will permit a similar study of submarine operations in the polar regions after 1962. Roland Green

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; illustrated edition edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557509433
• ISBN-13: 978-1557509437
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,229,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well told and accurate, January 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Submarines Under Ice: The U.S. Navy's Polar Operations (Hardcover)

Subs Under Ice is well told and very accurate. Don't expect a "Clancy" type of book, however. The author is a retired military and writes in a succinct military fashion. The story of the skill and bravery of these men is long overdue in telling. My uncle served under John Nicholson aboard Sargo on its journey to the pole so I have been especially eager to read about this chapter of submarine history. I can heartily recomemd this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars For those who need no footnotes, February 18, 2005

By 

J. RABINOWITZ (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Submarines Under Ice: The U.S. Navy's Polar Operations (Hardcover)

This book proved entirely opaque to me: there were so many technical matters presented with no clarification for the non-specialist, and these often matters of life and death for the subs discussed, that I set aside the book in bafflement.