Escape from the Deep: A Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: battle royal, greatest patrol, escape trunk, Bill Leibold, Floyd Caverly, Dick O'Kane (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Popular historian Kershaw (The Bedford Boys) chronicles the extraordinary WWII heroism of the crew of the USS Tang, the deadliest submarine operating in the Pacific, in this spellbinding saga. The Tang's captain, Cmdr. Richard O'Kane, was a celebrated maverick whose contempt for the enemy was absolute. He was offered the opportunity to operate alone in the dangerous Formosa Strait, and the boat's crew sank 13 ships on one of the most destructive patrols of the war. But the last torpedo malfunctioned and boomeranged on the Tang, killing half the crew instantly and sinking the sub. The explosion threw O'Kane and several others into the ocean, but most of the rest were trapped below; only nine of 87 survived. They were picked up by a Japanese patrol boat and taken to a POW camp, tortured and starved. O'Kane, who earned the Medal of Honor, weighed only 88 pounds when liberated. Relying on interviews with survivors and oral histories, and writing with his customary verve, Kershaw delivers another memorable tale of uncommon courage. 16 pages of b&w photos. 100,000 first printing; 10-city author tour.(May)
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From Booklist

An expert in the history of small military units (e.g., The Bedford Boys, 2003) tackles his smallest unit yet: the nine survivors of the USS Tang, a submarine sunk off the China coast in 1944 by a circular run of her own last torpedo. The survivors included both those, among them Captain Richard O’Kane, who were washed off the bridge when she sank and those who swam up from 180 feet down to join their comrades in surviving until morning. Picked up by the Japanese and subjected to nearly a year of exceptionally brutal treatment, all nine lived to return home and resume their lives, despite physical and psychological scars. Kershaw has researched exhaustively, including interviewing the last two living survivors, and written compactly the portrait of nine Americans who rose to heroism and of a ship that well deserved its status—it was the most successful combat sub in the Pacific theater—as a legend in the naval history of World War II. --Roland Green

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Book Club edition (April 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306815192
• ISBN-13: 978-0306815195
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #168,364 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kershaw strikes again! True heroic human story., June 7, 2008

By	Mannie Liscum (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews

There is an old adage that states: 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it'. Sage advice for author/historian Alex Kershaw who has again turned out another 'page-turner' with his recent DaCapo Press release, "Escape From the Deep: The Epic Story of a Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew". While a great many artists struggle to find their muse Kershaw has certainly found his. One could even say that Kershaw's books have a certain 'formula'. For instance, compare his previous Longest Winter and his current book "Escape From the Deep": First, both books have at their heart a story about a small group of soldiers who achieved something remarkable in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Second, units at the heart of both books received considerable after action accolade in terms of individual and unit citations (although in the former case this took many years). Lastly, the overall story in both books can be broken roughly into three parts: 1) combat action; 2) captivity; and 3) after war life. In these, as well as Kershaw's other books (e.g., The Bedford Boys and The Few), what makes these works popular and enjoyable reads is the human story that Kershaw so expertly captures.

"Escape From the Deep" is a book that anyone can read quickly because the reader will not want to put it down. The basic story revolves around the USS Tang, one of the most celebrated submarines to operate in the Pacific Theatre during World War II, and her crew. During her fifth and final combat tour the Tang sank a large tonnage of Japanese shipping (>100,000 tons) in just 14 days (10 Oct-24 Oct 1944) before she was sunk in the Formosa Strait by one of her own torpedoes, an errant final shot of her illustrious career. What makes her story compelling is not simply what she accomplished in battle, but how nine of her crew managed to escape the near certain death of downed submariners, their capture and ultimate survival in captivity on the notorious POW camp, the 'Torture Farm'. As he has done in his previous books, but even more so here, Kershaw presents the coldness and brutality of mechanized warfare while capturing the humanity that is essential to appreciate the impact the Second World War had on shaping our modern world. Kershaw is a master of conveying the human element of war; few authors come close to his abilities to engage the reader to empathize with the combatants. Readers will not only get to know each of the nine men (and a few of the unfortunates who did not survive the war) central to the story, but feel personally connected to each. "Escape From the Deep" is an engaging story that anyone with even a passing interest in WWII will enjoy. Five stars!!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harrowing Story of U.S.S. Tang's Last Cruise!, May 8, 2008

By	Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The U.S.S. Tang and its skipper, Dick O'Kane, were a legend in their time. A protege of the equally renowned Mush Morton, O'Kane blazed a trail at the helm of SS-306, sinking some 93,000 tons of Japanese shipping in five cruises and earning Tang two Presidential Unit Citations. Himself awarded the Medal of Honor, O'Kane was one of only nine survivors when Tang was accidentally destroyed by its own malfunctioning torpedo. Tang's exciting story is told in fine fashion in this latest book by BEDFORD BOYS' author Alex Kershaw.

SS-306 and its skipper have been the subject of several previous books, including one by O'Kane himself. So, when I picked up ESCAPE FROM THE DEEP, my initial thought was "What, another book on the Tang?" However, after sampling the first few pages, I was hooked yet again. Kershaw is a fine writer and this book is one great read.

About two-thirds of the book is given over to Tang's sinking and the subsequent ordeal of the surviving crew. Kershaw's recounting of the desperate efforts to survive by the Tang crewmen already in the water and others trapped onboard the sunken sub are downright harrowing. Though O'Kane and eight others were pulled from the water by the Japanese, their subsequent imprisonment was equally horrendous.

ESCAPE FROM THE DEEP will get to you. Reading of the final moments in the forward torpedo room as some men escape the doomed submarine while others lay back to await death will touch your heart. What I found especially poignant was a reminsicence from O'Kane's daughter. In his final years O'Kane suffered from Alzheimer's. On walks along the beach with his daughter, the sound of foghorns would suddenly transform the man cited as "the bravest of the brave." He would try and pull his daughter toward the water, calling out "We have to go...We have to go save them."

A wonderful tribute to some of America's finest, ESCAPE FROM THE DEEP gets my highest recommendation.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a Movie, April 18, 2008

By	Lee W. Loerch - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Reads like a movie"

Alex Kershaw's earlier books are all page turners, but Escape from the Deep takes Kershaw's considerable narrative skills to a new level. This gripping true account of the sinking of the WWII submarine Tang and the subsequent desperate--and mostly futile--efforts of the trapped crew to escape death at 180 feet underwater is so intense and involving that a reader cannot help but be a part of that crew. Description of submarine life and the emotional and psychological experiences of the crew members during and after the sinking is particularly involving, and Kershaw's signature short background vignettes of seamen and officers serves his purpose especially well in this book, making survival or death particularly poignant. Irony abounds, and Kershaw nails it without hammering it to death. Personal ethics, survival, mental toughness, fate, luck--they're all out there, and Kershaw's story brings them home in spades.

Escape from the Deep is another Kershaw tribute to a group of true American heroes, written to appeal not only to WWII aficionados but also to a generation of readers too young to remember the sacrifices of their forbears.

It's also a great read that feels like a movie.