Amazon.com: Big Red: Three Months On Board a Trident Nuclear Submarine: Douglas C. Waller: Books

Amazon.com
Big Red might have been subtitled The Anthropology of a Submarine. On these pages, Time magazine correspondent Douglas C. Waller--granted surprising levels of access by the Pentagon--describes life onboard the USS Nebraska, a Trident nuclear submarine, in compelling detail. Big Red lacks the thrills of Blind Man's Bluff, but it is nonetheless an engrossing book on the routines of the silent service.

The Nebraska is an awesome triumph of military engineering: standing on end, it would be taller than the Washington Monument. And its might is impressive, including missiles that could wipe out Moscow and torpedoes "with three times the explosive power of the 1995 blast that leveled the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City." Readers will gain an intimate understanding of how the Trident works without ever having to set foot on one themselves. Waller has an uncanny sense of what questions to probe, such as why Trident submariners aren't likely to drown in claustrophobic compartments--a staple scene in submarine movies. (Answer: Flooding would cause the sub to sink, and then crushing water pressure would end the ordeal before the air ran out.) And yet movies are more than diversions, writes Waller: "Practically every Trident submariner had seen Crimson Tide and been jarred by it.... Officers still discuss Crimson Tide during private seminars on commanding a ship."

Waller also displays a powerful sense of irony. He describes a Sunday service onboard the Nebraska, and then deadpans, "Their worship over, [the submariners] would now practice how to destroy much of what God created." He also isn't afraid to ask difficult questions, such as whether women and gays should be allowed onboard (currently, neither are), or to note that marital fidelity is a problem for both husbands at port call and the wives they leave back home. It would be wrong to say Big Red reads like a potboiler--there are no Crimson Tide-like moments of near launches or mutiny--but it is exciting in its own way. This is at once an impressive journalistic achievement and an incredibly informative book. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly
The first reporter granted an extended stay aboard a Trident nuclear sub (which has 24 multiple-tipped missiles as its strike force), veteran Time diplomatic correspondent Waller (The Commandos; etc.) brings the reader into the exclusive submariners' club as he details USS Nebraska's weapons, propulsion, communications and on-board electronic gadgets--as well as the lives and careers of the crew. Most of the book focuses on a patrol that began in May 1999, when the "Blue Crew" boarded the USS Nebraska and headed to sea. Everyday events ensue: a near-collision with a buoy, a seaman with an attack of appendicitis, simulated war games with other subs and planes, along with drills designed to keep the crew sharp and test its mettle. Waller closely examines the elaborate safeguards against a spurious nuclear launch, and, less gravely, delves into the sub's relentlessly miniaturized kitchen and meal preparation. Less action-oriented readers will be engrossed by the backstories of the men who pilot her and the intricacies of their interactions with each other in such close quarters. Captain Dave Volonino comes off as a formidable, fiercely and generously intelligent figure, while the 106 officers and seamen interviewed over the three months by Waller show remarkable depth of character. While the sub only "pretend[s] to go to nuclear war," Waller perfectly dramatizes the perils even a routine steer through Connecticut waters can bring and the second-by-second adjustments captain and crew must make. 16-page photo insert not seen by PW. (Mar. 10)Forecast: While many readers won't recognize Waller's name, the idea of three months on a Trident will appeal to (male) readers of all stripes. But the lack of a broadly compelling story beyond the unprecedented access will keep this meticulous chronicle from Red October-like numbers.

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Big Red: Three Months On Board a Trident Nuclear Submarine (Hardcover)

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