Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A realistic novel of submarine warfare in WW II, September 15, 1997
By A Customer
"Run Silent, Run Deep" is the first in a series of novel by Edward L. Beach concerning Captain Richardson and his crew, and their exploits through the ages of naval warfare. This book starts at the begging of World War Two, with the training of Richardson's crew, and takes the reader up to the defeat of an infamous Japanese destroyer commander nicknamed Bungo Pete. Any potential reader of this book should note that the only resembleance to the movie of the same title is the names of the ships and charactors. This, in my opinion, is because Hollywood was not ready, in the pre-Vietnam era, to end a movie the way this book ended.
Beach's writing style probably influenced Tom Clancy, in that there is a lot of technical discussion, as well as strong charactorization and motivation. When one reads the early part of the book, when Richardson and co. are training up, one feels that one could get on a Gato class submarine and help the fire control party fire torpedos. But, the best part is the end, which I won't give away. As Richardson hears of his friends and people he has trained dying at the hands of Bungo Pete, it can only lead to his actions in the final battle. Read it and see.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Original Undersea Thriller, December 9, 2000
This is the best example of WWII undersea adventure ever written. More compelling and believable than anything I have ever read, the writing takes the reader into the minds, souls, and terror of the crew of a submarine at war. You will come to understand them, the function of a conventional submarine and the perils and terrors of warfare.Predating the Tom Clancy novels and later offerings in this genre, Captain Beach fills each page with excitement, humanity and the apprehension of battle only a warrior can depict accurately. A must read for undersea warfare buffs, you will learn much about the tactics of current day submariners and glean where many of today's writers of this category of literature originated their styles and interest in undersea warfare. From beginning to climatic end, this is a must read.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic Indeed, September 6, 2004
Edward L. Beach, Jr. rolled aspects of several real Navy officers into "Rich" Richardson, the central character in Run Silent, Run Deep, including "Swede" Momsen, "Mush" Morton, Howard Gilmore, "Dusty" Dornin, George Street and, of course, Beach himself. In the same way, the three fleet boats Beach served in, Trigger, Tirante and Piper, provided models for some scenes in the story.
If you've seen the movie, but never read the book, you're in for a surprise. The book covers a much longer period, from late December 1941 until the end of the war. And, while Richardson has two wartime commands in the book, just as in the movie, he is ashore nursing a broken leg, and standing in for Momsen solving the torpedo exploder problem, when Walrus is lost. The conflict with Bledsoe starts much earlier, in the old S-16, when Richardson feels compelled to withdraw his recommendation that Bledsoe get his own command after Bledsoe fouls up and nearly gets the boat sunk during a qualification test. The little detail that both of them are in love with the same girl adds to the conflict. Of course, a major difference is that Richardson survives, though that becomes fairly obvious from the opening words of the novel, which is told in the first person.
There are aspects of the undersea battle in the World War II Pacific that get less attention than they might today. Richardson is telling the story from his own viewpoint, so obviously he can't relate anything he doesn't see. Also, these old fleet subs were still primary fleet components when this book was first published in 1955, and many of the details were still classified. Beach provides as much detail as he can, but some processes remain deliberately obscure.
Of Beach's three Richardson novels (Run Silent, Run Deep; Dust on the Sea; and Cold is the Sea) this is the first and the best, though I will add that all are excellent.
The Naval Institute Press edition also includes an Introduction by Edward P. Stafford.
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