Time to Die the Kursk Disaster [Paperback]

Robert Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2003

At 11.30 a.m. on Saturday 12 August 2000, two massive explosions roared through the shallow Arctic waters of the Barents Sea. The Kursk, pride of the Northern Fleet and the largest attack submarine in the world, was hurtling towards the ocean floor. In A Time to Die, award-winning television journalist Robert Moore vividly recreates this disaster minute by minute. Venturing into a covert world where the Cold War continues out of sight, Moore investigates the military and political background to the tragedy. But above all, he tells the nail-bitingly poignant human story of the families waiting ashore, of the desperate efforts of British, Norwegian and Russian rescuers, and of the Kursk sailors, trapped in the aft compartnemt, waiting for rescue, as a horrified world followed their battle to stay alive ...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In August 2000, explosions rocked the Russian nuclear submarine the Kursk, killing most crewmembers instantly and leaving the sub stranded in the Barents Sea where the remaining personnel would also soon perish. When the story was reported worldwide, it was met with considerably more questions than answers: What caused the explosion? Could the men be rescued? And why was the Russian military being so secretive about the incident? Journalist Robert Moore has gathered extensive information regarding the incident to answer those and numerous other questions in this exhaustive account. Moore pieces together a harrowing narrative of the events leading to the two on-board explosions that instantly killed 88 men while sparing, temporarily, 23 others. Soon, the story spreads beyond the Arctic Circle as the book offers tales of frightened families searching for information, international rescue teams attempting to reach the crew in time, a Russian government whose disorganization or obfuscation may have hampered those efforts, and American submarine crews poised just outside Russian waters. Where the book succeeds most is in the details: the fact that the rubber-wrapped Kursk was nearly impossible to detect on sonar, the speculation that the tapping noises often reported may have been tales invented by the Northern Fleet to add urgency to the rescue efforts, and the transcripts of notes left by the surviving crew members after the explosions had already occurred. --John Moe --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Late in the morning of August 12, 2000, two massive explosions proved fatal to the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk. The destruction was caused by a torpedo leaking a highly volatile liquid, destroying the forward compartments of the doomed ship and killing most of its crew. Incredibly, 23 men remained alive and trapped in compartment number nine, located near the rear of the sub. Moore, chief U.S. correspondent for the British ITN News, whose book has already climbed onto bestseller lists overseas, will now reach an eager American readership with this gripping account of the Kursk's death. Russian officers at first delayed in searching for the sub, and then, when it was finally located a hundred meters below the icy waters of the Barents Sea, decided to try to rescue the survivors themselves, despite hopelessly antiquated technology. The Russians finally assented to international aid, and a team of British and Norwegian experts was finally assembled, with two ships anchored near the hulk of the Kursk, but the Russians again delayed while protocol was worked out. Finally, when the escape hatch was opened and a camera inserted, it was apparent that all survivors were dead. Moore, who interviewed families of some of the crew as well as anonymous naval officers, has compiled an hour-by-hour account of this tragedy, highlighting Russian bureaucratic delays, pride that prevented asking for help, and the desire of some officials to protect the nuclear secrets of the ship rather than concentrate on rescuing the crew. Moore also highlights the stormy reception given to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin by families of the crew. The eventual salvage of the submarine and the removal of the bodies also makes compelling reading. Although some questions remain to be answered, Moore's incisive journalistic approach to the Kursk tragedy will remain the best English-language account of this event for some time.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 329 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553813854
• ISBN-13: 978-0553813852
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,769,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Details - Full Story, January 9, 2003

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy (Hardcover)

I was a little concerned when I bought this book that it would be a script for a made for TV cheesy drama with nothing but irony dripping dialog and stories of love affairs. Thank goodness it turned out that there was none of that drama queen stuff. This is a book written like an investigative report. The author pulled together just a ton of details that I had not seen before in the media and laid out the full disaster in a tight chronological fashion. It is a very interesting story and a sad one at that given the opportunities that were wasted that could have rescued the trapped men. The book also speaks volumes about the current state of affairs of the Russian military or at least the navy.

If pressed the only complaint I would have is that the author did not also cover the salvage operation. He does a great job with the events leading up to the sinking, the actual event and the rescue operation. He then skips the salvage to go to the results of the dry dock investigation of the salvaged boat. Maybe he is going to put out a second book on the salvage operation. Overall this was a great book that read very fast. If you are interested in this event then you will just tear through this book in no time.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent General Account of the Sinking of the 'Kursk', December 17, 2003

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy (Hardcover)

As a work for non specialists, "A Time to Die" is an excellent, well written, and thoroughly explained piece of journalism. It is written for laymen, yet does not condescend to people without a background in submarine operations. The K-141 'Kursk' sank on August 12, 2000 off northern Russia during a training exercise after an aged torpedo exploded in the bow of the boat, sinking the ship rapidly to the 350 foot deep seabed. 28 men survived in the aft of the ship and lived in a cold and dark environment for several days before being killed by a rapid flash fire.

The elements that led to the tragedy are compelling. The Russian navy was (and is) in utter disrepair after the breakup of the USSR, and rescue submersibles were among the first budget cuts made. Only several days after the 'Kursk' sank was help from England and Norway solicited, due largely to national pride (and fear of espionage). The entire debacle happened only a few months into the Putin administration and proved to be a watershed in Russian politics.

Moore tells the story from the viewpoint of the survivors, the would-be rescuers and the victim's families, with special emphasis on deteriorating Russian capabilities (and the preventable nature of the disaster) and the political forces that doomed the survivors to a sure death. Overall it is a superb telling of the salient points of the tragedy, its investigation, and aftermath. The photographs alone are worth the price of the book, particularly the pictures of 'Kursk' in drydock after the accident. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a general treatment of the technical side of the disaster and an in-depth covering of the political machinations involved.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Sad Story of Preventable Disaster, March 13, 2003

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy (Hardcover)

Author Robert Moore's "A Time to Die" is a straightforward account of the tragedy that occurred aboard the Russian submarine Kursk, which sank to the bottom of the Barrents Sea after a horrific explosion in August 2000. Making the disaster even more gruesome was the fact that 23 of the crew survived the initial explosion only to die a excruiating death from slow suffocation followed by flash fire. And the worst part is that had it not been for the sad state of the Russian Navy and the country's continued suspicion of the West, the 23 survivors might have all been rescued alive.

Moore has done a tremendous job of getting to the facts considering the obstacles he must have faced. He describes the bleak life of those assigned to Russia subartic, super secret naval bases and the deterioration of the Russian Navy since the cold war in vivid and unflinching terms. He also humanizes his narrative by telling the vicitims personal stories. Moore then shows how Russian military paranoia contributed to the disaster, first by preventing its detection for twelve crucial hours, then by refusing to acknowledge that anything unusual had occurred and lastly by initially refusing help from British and Norwegian diving experts even when it became apparent that the breakdown in their own infastructure was hampering their rescue attempts.

The overall picture that emerges is that of a preventable tragedy compounded by multiple human errors. The only silver lining is that because Russia is now ostensibly a democracy, the military couldn't cover up its mistakes like it had in the past. The families of the victims were able to pressure the Russian leadership for answers, and ultimately receive monetary compensation for their loss. Also, for the first time, Russiaan military commanders were held accountable for loss of lives under their command. Moore might not be quite as deft a storyteller as he could be, but his unflinching account is complete and compelling.

Overall, an excellent work of book length journalism.