The Bedford Incident

This book is a great re-telling of Moby Dick, set in the 1960's cold war era. The story concerns a destroyer in the North Atlantic whose mission is to seek out Russian submarines, and force them to surface. Once the submarines surface, they are photographed, and the game starts again. The problem occurs when one Russian submarine proves to be too elusive, and the Captain of the American destroyer takes it personally, as his own white whale. If you enjoy Tom Clanncy's techo-thrillers, this is an early example of the genre. If you have any Navy experience, I think you'd enjoy this book.

Excelent cold-war thriller done in a non-Hollywood style. Some might say disaster, or horror thriller. It's about a US destroyer pursuing a Soviet submarine in the Greenland/Arctic region. I say pursuing, it's not doing anything wrong other than veer into US territorial waters; whether it was deliberate or accidental, is anybody really sure? The USS Bedfords skipper is Capt Finlander (Richard Widmark) who is a believable, dislikeable, obsessive control freak. He decides to teach the Soviet sub a lesson by eventually forcing the submarine to surface when the batteries need recharging. This type of brinkmanship is designed to show who is boss! The rules of such game were simple: harass the enemy and try to get one up on them, but under no show more circumstances be the first one to fire! Effects and exterior shots are not an important part of the film. It's the dialogue, tension, camera angles and background noise that create the atmosphere. I must say that this decision did not lead me, the viewer, to feel sorry for the Soviets in 1965. But from this movie's perspective not only are the Americans perceived as being the aggressors but also having the upper hand. I still don't know how realistic this is. I'd probably still fnd this thriller admirable. show less