Shadow Divers Exposed: The Real Saga of the U-869

by Gary Gentile

The U-869 was one of more than 1,200 U-boats that were constructed for the Nazi war machine. It was sunk off the American eastern seaboard by a combination hedgehog and depth-charge attack. There were no survivors to tell the tragic tale. Now, for the first time, the real saga of the U-869 can be told in full. Archival documents have established that the U-boat was sunk by two American destroyer escorts. Seven crewmembers of those aggressive warships have supplemented the official record with their personal recollections. Shadow Divers Exposed works on a multitude of levels. It presents the actual circumstances that surrounded the loss of the U-869. It puts the discovery of the U-869 into perspective with other U-boats that have been found in American waters. It provides an overview of the U-boat war through accounts of other U-boat losses. And it corrects some of the gross errors, wild exaggerations, and deliberate distortions that filled the pages of Shadow Divers. The author interviewed a number of witnesses whose testimony contradicted the theatrical plot and boastful embellishments that formed the essential ingredients of Shadow Divers. Some of these witnesses actually performed the deeds for which the chosen protagonists of Shadow Divers were given credit. These witnesses disputed many of the fictitious elements that ran rampant through the pages of Shadow Divers. By means of forensic analyses of shipwreck collapse, torpedo mechanics, and U-boat survivors' accounts, the present volume explains why the U-869 could not have been sunk by a circular run of its own torpedo - as Shadow Divers had its uninformed readers believe.

Genres: Nonfiction

380 pages, Paperback

First published May 29, 2006

Reviews

[Alma Angotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating true story.

[SkipO · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that tells the supposedly true facts about the book SHADOW DIVERS.
When I read SHADOW DIVERS I thought it was a very good factual read.
However, after reading SHADOW DIVERS EXPOSED Im going to re-rate the other book.
Mr Gentile points out page after page of inconsistencies, untrue statements ad nauseum.
This is an excellent book

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gary Gentile writes a good book showing the errors in Shadow Divers. I feel he repeats over and over on many points that could just as easy been shown once. The follow up on additional submarine patrols and sinkings was interesting.

[Dennis Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very critical of Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, the author, because he took what divers John Chatteton and Richie Kohler at face value and told the material given him as a "true story." According to Gary Gentile, a diver and the author of this book, much of what is in Kurson's book is false and gives Chatterton and Kohler credit for things that are not true. Gentile argues that Chatterton and Kohler did the diving for their own gain and benefit, often shutting other divers out and/or telling stories that are not true.
Gentile goes to great lengths to tell what is actually true and then goes on to share a lot about where the U boats are located and the conditions in which they were found. Gentile has done a lot of diving himself and shares much of what he and his trusted fellow divers have found.

[Kelly Kress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books like these make me want to be a history buff- a hidden history buff! If you take the first book for what it is, a fabricated story based on a real life adventure, it is extremely enjoyable. I think that this book also deserves a place in this world. His passion regarding the subject and the other dives involved is extremely admirable. I would love to sit down with each of these divers for dinner one evening!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurson An account of two divers and their crew who discover and explore, over 5 year period, a WWII German submarine off the coast of New Jersey in 1991. It is an unaccounted for submarine. Part of the story of the book is not only exploring the submarine but also trying to figure out which one it is. Each submarine the Germans launched had a number. There are some that are still unaccounted for. I was impressed with the respect the divers had for the dead whose bones were still in the sub, which sat about 260 feet below sea level. I learned some things about U-Boats, deep diving, and character. After the sub was identified for sure, one of the divers went to Germany to meet with some of the family members who were still alive. The captain of the sub was 27 years old and the first mate was around 22. Most of the crew members were under age twenty. What a waste of youth. The sub was sunk in 1945 just before the war ended unknown by whom but it is thought that they were sunk by one of their own torpedoes, because there were no reported anti sub activity in the area and time where it was found. No U.S. boats had encountered a sub in that area. There was lots of detective work on the surface where the divers searched through various records to try and find what sub they had found. Very interesting story told almost like a novel about the people involved and their conversations. There is peppering of 4 letter words in their dialogues. I don’t like it but I try to skip past them.

[Meg]

So I actually read Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, but since it's apparently not on Goodreads, I logged it as the closest name.