Edward L. Beach (1918–2002)

In December, 1941, when the Japanese launched their attack against the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, both the naval and air bases were hit hard. We're almost all aware of the fact that much of the pride of the Navy -- its battleships, heavy cruisers and other great ships of the line were either completely destroyed or so badly damaged that it would be months before they would be seaworthy.

However, despite all the damage done that day, the Japanese neglected to hit a small area of show more Pearl. This negligence would haunt them for the next few years, and help to win the War for the Americans.

Huh?

Yes, that's right my reader friends. A little, tiny part of Pearl Harbor was completely untouched, and the boats harbored there were able to wend their way through the wreckage at the Harbor's entry to wreak very serious damage on the Japanese fleet, gather important intelligence from very sensitive areas of the Japanese mainland, and ride roughshod over millions of tonnage of vital supplies that the enemy thought would allow them to conquer the entire Pacific before the U,S, could get into the War.

That area was the Submarine base.

Captain Ned Beach was a very junior officer when World War II began, but he had already chosen the Silent Service to be where he would make his contribution. He would be there to watch and record the exploits of a small corps of brave, gutsy men who kept the enemy at bay until there was, once again, a complete Navy, Army and Air Force in the Pacific.

I got interested in submarines because of a very silly science fiction series called "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." As with every other thing I've been interested in, I went crazy and learned as much as I possibly could about both the history and the science of subs. And this book was a very important part of my education.

Beach was a great writer. He was engaging, funny, and able to take the dullest facts a bout subs and make them interesting. He was also one of Admiral Hyman Rickover's (together with a peanut farmer from Georgia named Jimmy Carter) original group of nuclear submariners. Highly decorated for his service, with two Bronze and two Silver Stars as well as the Navy Cross, there was little this man did not know about his profession and the Silent Service.

If you have any interest in learning how the US gained enough time to rebuild the Pacific Fleet and take the war to Japan, you should read this book. If you simply like great stories, then this book will still be fascinating.

Oh! And if you've ever seen Cary Grant's film "Operation Pettticoat" and remember the letter written to the supply depot requesting toilet paper? Read the real story of that letter here, too. show less

This story of a submarine commander’s exploits in the Pacific campaign of WW2 was very well told . Clearly the author knows his stuff. But by the time I reached the end, I’d forgotten that the story was being told in the first person because it was a transcription of an interview or statement of some kind… not sure that that narrative device worked for me. The vivid first-person narration was sufficient. I was also glad to find this interesting because I’ve been very burned out on show more WW2 literature; perhaps the novelty of the Pacific campaign or the submarines was what kept me going. show less

Very suspenseful. Arctic ice pack. (Somehow my tag got entered as a review.)

Review:
Edward Beach is one of the outstanding writers of submarine naval fiction. This book brings back the characters first met in Run Silent, Run Deep. It is many years later. The war is over, the Cold War has begun. Our heroes are older, and wiser, and now in command of nuclear subs. Under the Arctic ice pack they encounter an enemy determined to stop them from relaying information about a secret installation. show more It's a page-turner, getting more and more suspenseful as the climactic ending nears.. show less

This was an excellent read, and totally unlike the movie of which I am extremely fond!

The author was obviously a veteran of military service, as there is a convincing ring of authenticity throughout this book. However, it was never boring, never dry, or even sensational, just factual. I liked the characters, and the brief yet interesting descriptions of the equipment and duties of the men assigned to the submarine service. It's also not a "gung ho!" pro-military perspective, nor show more anti-military, it just IS.

I stayed up past 1:00am in order to finish it, and I don't give up my sleep for just any book. Highly recommended. show less