Silversides

by Robert Trumbull

Silversides by Robert Trumbull. 1945 hardcover published by Henry Holt and Company, New York. "A great submarine story of the Pacific war..."

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1945

Reviews

[Wadhah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This earliest published book about an American submarine during World War II, columnist Robert Trumbull does a great job telling the story of the Silversides' first six war patrols under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Creed Burlingame and his officers and crew. Written in 1943, while the war was ongoing, Trumbull was forced to withhold publication until after the war (deemed necessary by Admiral King to protect intelligence about his "silence service" from assisting the enemy). Consequently, this means that the technical details of submarine technology, and patrol area locations and dates were censored, and would not be declassified until 15-20 years after the book's publication. Also, the book's narrative ends after the Silversides' six war patrol, which would continue on to fight valiantly through the war and survive to the end (and become a museum ship that is preserved to this day). Despite all these limitations, the prose is very easy to read and entertaining. Chapters often end in hilarious one liners of a crew member. This book serves as an important early account of a brave crew and its legendary captain. Of the details that was able to pass the censors, most appear to be authentic and accurate; I only noticed one error where the dive alarm was indicated as "three shattering blasts of the klaxon" when diving would only have two blasts, not three (three blasts of the klaxon signifies surfacing). This track record is reasonable for an author who himself wasn't a submariner.

[Janis Durelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best writing but a very good insight as to life on a submarine during WWII.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because my grandfather served on the Silversides, although not these patrols. It was a quick fun read, and I felt like I was there.