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Mutiny: The True Events That Inspired The Hunt For Red October - From the Soviet Naval Hero Who Was There
In 1984, Tom Clancy released his blockbuster novel, The Hunt for Red October, an edge-of-your seat thriller that skyrocketed him into international notoriety. The inspiration for that novel came from an obscure report by a US naval officer of a mutiny aboard a Soviet warship in the Baltic Sea. The Hunt for Red October actually happened, and Boris Gindin lived through every minute of it. After decades of silence and fear, Gindin has finally come forward to tell the entire story of the mutiny aboard the FFG Storozhevoy, the real-life Red October.
It was the fall of 1975, and the tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States were climbing. It seemed the two nations were headed for thermonuclear war, and it was that fear that caused most of the crewman of the FFG Storozhevoy to mutiny. Their goal was to send a message to the Soviet people that the Communist government was corrupt and major changes were needed. That message never reached a single person. Within hours the orders came from on high to destroy the Storozhevoy and its crew members. And this would have happened if it weren't for Gindin and few others whose heroism saved many lives.
Now, with the help of USA Today bestselling author David Hagberg, Gindin relives every minute of that harrowing event. From the danger aboard the ship to the threats of death from the KGB to the fear that forced him to flee the Soviet Union for the United States, Mutiny reveals the real-life story behind The Hunt for Red October and offers an eye-opening look at the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War.
380 pages, Hardcover
First published May 13, 2008
15 people are currently reading
215 people want to read
About the author
David Hagberg
80 books137 followersaka David Bannerman, Sean Flannery, David James, Robert Pell, Eric Ramsey
David Hagberg is a former Air Force cryptographer who has traveled extensively in Europe, the Arctic, and the Caribbean and has spoken at CIA functions. He has published more than twenty novels of suspense, including the bestselling High Flight, Assassin, and Joshua's Hammer.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidh...
David Hagberg is a former Air Force cryptographer who has traveled extensively in Europe, the Arctic, and the Caribbean and has spoken at CIA functions. He has published more than twenty novels of suspense, including the bestselling High Flight, Assassin, and Joshua's Hammer.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidh...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 30, 2014
Mutiny chronicles the story of the ship Storozhevoy and the mutiny that took place on it in 1975. The ship's political officer declares himself in command of the ship, and after rallying the crew, begins sailing to Leningrad where he and the mutineers plan to start a revolt against the Russian government. Boris Gindin, the co-author of the book was a higher ranking officer on the ship, who refused to mutiny (despite his own issues with the government) like many other sailors, and was subsequently thrown into the bottom of the ship and left there for the duration of the ordeal. The Russian government quickly moves into action against the ship, and begins to chase it across the northern Atlantic. Will they slip away? Will the Russian government catch them? What would the government to do them if they were captured? Would they even attempt to capture them, or instead simply kill them?
I quite enjoyed this book, but it did have some issues which I found detracted from the rest of the story. Overall I still think it is a good book, and for me, the positives outweigh the negatives.
Things that I liked about the book:
I liked how the author examined Russian culture and politics in what was essentially a preface to the mutiny. He set up the mutiny in a very insightful way, having Gindin tell about his family life, as it mirrored the lives of many Russians at the time, as well as the orchestrator of the mutiny, who was seeking to change Russian opinion on its own government. In reality, the mutiny was entirely covered up by the Russian government and the KGB. It's a shame really, as the crew members really just wanted to make a statement, but instead were quietly, but violently suppressed. As for the issues with the government, Gindin said that the government spent far too much time and money on military research and equipment, while their domestic problems were commonly ignored. In all honesty, I see the same thing with many world governments. The author did a good job of analyzing the causes of the mutiny. At the same time, the authors came off as pretty biased about the whole thing, but I doubt the bias of someone who witnessed the events could really be taken away from the book.
The way Hagberg structured the book was both odd and appealing. The author spent surprisingly little detailing the actual mutiny compared to how long he spent explaining other parts of the book, such as a detailing of the mutiny on a ship called the Bounty during the 1800s and
Spoiler Alert:
how the orchestrator of the mutiny was executed, oddly detailing the Russian technique of firing one shot into the top of the skull. It was a little creepy to be honest. I still liked how different it was from typical technique, a little scattered, but not too scattered, if that makes sense. He also commonly broke the timeline, and jumped around considerably. I could easily understand if this put anyone off from the book, as it was admittedly weird, but sometimes I like weird.
A few problems I had with the book:
A lot of the scenes were mostly made up. Though the events in the book actually happened, the author had to create possible dialogue that could have occurred. I do, however, suppose he only had to do this as his main source and co-author Boris Gindin was locked in the hold of the ship for much of the mutiny. It felt a little too dramatized and fake for my taste. I think I would have preferred an entirely factual retelling of the story rather than being told something that I found hard to believe. The author did mention that he would be using some invented dialogue in his introduction, and I appreciated being told that at the beginning of the book. It still felt wrong and sensationalized though. The author seemed like he both wanted to make the book like an action novel, but also as an accurate historical piece. I'm pretty sure there isn't much room for overlap between those categories. It would have been better if the author didn't try to parallel The Hunt for the Red October.
I quite enjoyed this book, but it did have some issues which I found detracted from the rest of the story. Overall I still think it is a good book, and for me, the positives outweigh the negatives.
Things that I liked about the book:
I liked how the author examined Russian culture and politics in what was essentially a preface to the mutiny. He set up the mutiny in a very insightful way, having Gindin tell about his family life, as it mirrored the lives of many Russians at the time, as well as the orchestrator of the mutiny, who was seeking to change Russian opinion on its own government. In reality, the mutiny was entirely covered up by the Russian government and the KGB. It's a shame really, as the crew members really just wanted to make a statement, but instead were quietly, but violently suppressed. As for the issues with the government, Gindin said that the government spent far too much time and money on military research and equipment, while their domestic problems were commonly ignored. In all honesty, I see the same thing with many world governments. The author did a good job of analyzing the causes of the mutiny. At the same time, the authors came off as pretty biased about the whole thing, but I doubt the bias of someone who witnessed the events could really be taken away from the book.
The way Hagberg structured the book was both odd and appealing. The author spent surprisingly little detailing the actual mutiny compared to how long he spent explaining other parts of the book, such as a detailing of the mutiny on a ship called the Bounty during the 1800s and
Spoiler Alert:
how the orchestrator of the mutiny was executed, oddly detailing the Russian technique of firing one shot into the top of the skull. It was a little creepy to be honest. I still liked how different it was from typical technique, a little scattered, but not too scattered, if that makes sense. He also commonly broke the timeline, and jumped around considerably. I could easily understand if this put anyone off from the book, as it was admittedly weird, but sometimes I like weird.
A few problems I had with the book:
A lot of the scenes were mostly made up. Though the events in the book actually happened, the author had to create possible dialogue that could have occurred. I do, however, suppose he only had to do this as his main source and co-author Boris Gindin was locked in the hold of the ship for much of the mutiny. It felt a little too dramatized and fake for my taste. I think I would have preferred an entirely factual retelling of the story rather than being told something that I found hard to believe. The author did mention that he would be using some invented dialogue in his introduction, and I appreciated being told that at the beginning of the book. It still felt wrong and sensationalized though. The author seemed like he both wanted to make the book like an action novel, but also as an accurate historical piece. I'm pretty sure there isn't much room for overlap between those categories. It would have been better if the author didn't try to parallel The Hunt for the Red October.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2025
Great book on the real Hunt for Red October
Want to read
April 27, 2021In 1975, naval (political) officer Sablin Mikhailovich was 32; he had two degrees and was disappointed with soviet Brezhnev’s performance; and the Party corruption.
Один российский герой
While stationed in Riga, he decided (and a few others) to take over frigate Storozhevoy . It was a vessel equipped with top-secret military hardware, especially designed to fight US Polaris submarines. In his mind, Sablin wanted to take the frigate from Riga to Leningrad, up north; and from there to broadcast his political views. He was not a defector but a true revolutionary.
He managed to depart (radar-off) from Riga, and to reach international waters (gulf of Riga); then, due to fog conditions he had to turn the radar on: that was fatal; he was immediately targeted and bombed by the soviet airplanes. However, he managed to survive but got arrested.
Mutiny was severely punished under the Soviet regime.
What happened was majorly a cover-up. Many men were sent home, after signing “pledges of secrecy”; some sent to prison, like Sablin friend Alexander Shein, who said about the revolutionary: he was a “decent man”.
Another mutiny peer, called Viktor Borodoi, spoke about “the stupidity going on (in the Soviet Union) yet people were ready for change”. It came only in 1989.
Sablin, most likely, got a bullet on the back of his neck.
Boris Gindin thinks it was a “suicidal mutiny”.
Just a note: why the Swedes didn’t say much about that? They witnessed the persecution and kept radar-records. Well, neutrality has its costs. And their technology had been purchased from the yankees.
Один российский герой
While stationed in Riga, he decided (and a few others) to take over frigate Storozhevoy . It was a vessel equipped with top-secret military hardware, especially designed to fight US Polaris submarines. In his mind, Sablin wanted to take the frigate from Riga to Leningrad, up north; and from there to broadcast his political views. He was not a defector but a true revolutionary.
He managed to depart (radar-off) from Riga, and to reach international waters (gulf of Riga); then, due to fog conditions he had to turn the radar on: that was fatal; he was immediately targeted and bombed by the soviet airplanes. However, he managed to survive but got arrested.
Mutiny was severely punished under the Soviet regime.
What happened was majorly a cover-up. Many men were sent home, after signing “pledges of secrecy”; some sent to prison, like Sablin friend Alexander Shein, who said about the revolutionary: he was a “decent man”.
Another mutiny peer, called Viktor Borodoi, spoke about “the stupidity going on (in the Soviet Union) yet people were ready for change”. It came only in 1989.
Sablin, most likely, got a bullet on the back of his neck.
Boris Gindin thinks it was a “suicidal mutiny”.
Just a note: why the Swedes didn’t say much about that? They witnessed the persecution and kept radar-records. Well, neutrality has its costs. And their technology had been purchased from the yankees.
November 7, 2011
After reading Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, I was excited to find Mutiny: The True Events that Inspired the Hunt for Red October. This is the story of Boris Gindin's experience as an officer aboard a Russian naval ship whose captain and several officers (including Gindin) were overthrown in a mutiny led by the ship's zampolit, or political officer. I enjoyed this story and appreciated Mr. Gindin's courage to share it.
I learned a great deal about Russia, the KGB and the Russian people through this book. The book does include some details about torture practices that might not be for the weak of stomach.
Mutiny was disappointing in other ways, though. The story was told in a combination with some history about Russia--it's government, people, navy and brainwashing. All of this I appreciated and learned a great deal from; however, I could not believe how full of style errors this book was. The constant switching between past and present tense in combination with the present-day journalistic quotes from Gindin thinking back to his time in Russia was distracting and made for an unpleasant reading experience. I kept finding other errors such as fragments and run-on sentences that were clearly errors--not used for emphasis or for other reasons authors typically embrace such "incorrect" writing.
David Hagberg has written a number of other fiction books about Russia. I would be anxious to read them if it weren't for my disappointments in the style of this book. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has read his other works.
I learned a great deal about Russia, the KGB and the Russian people through this book. The book does include some details about torture practices that might not be for the weak of stomach.
Mutiny was disappointing in other ways, though. The story was told in a combination with some history about Russia--it's government, people, navy and brainwashing. All of this I appreciated and learned a great deal from; however, I could not believe how full of style errors this book was. The constant switching between past and present tense in combination with the present-day journalistic quotes from Gindin thinking back to his time in Russia was distracting and made for an unpleasant reading experience. I kept finding other errors such as fragments and run-on sentences that were clearly errors--not used for emphasis or for other reasons authors typically embrace such "incorrect" writing.
David Hagberg has written a number of other fiction books about Russia. I would be anxious to read them if it weren't for my disappointments in the style of this book. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has read his other works.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2011
I had high hopes that this would be an exciting page-turner, but the first half of the book was both disorganized and dull. The authors alternated between the present and the past with each chapter, presumably to provide some backstory, but the only result was a jarring interruption to the narrative. Meanwhile, that narrative started to seem more and more repetitive (Yes, the ship’s zampolit is supposed to be a strong believer in party doctrine and a supporter of the Communist government, but how many times do the authors think I need to hear that before I recognize the irony inherent in his role in the mutiny?). The second half of the book, which ran more or less in chronological order, was a little more exciting. Some of the subject matter was interesting, but I have to question how much I actually learned from this book. The authors seem to have referenced only one major primary resource (Gindin himself), and “Wikipedia” turns up way too often in the bibliography for my taste. Some pictures, maps, or diagrams would also have been appreciated. Disappointing overall.
June 4, 2018
This gripping story of the November 1975 mutiny aboard the then-Soviet warship "Storozhevoy" delivers on all counts. It's about the mutiny, naturally, but it's also about life in Soviet Navy during the Cold War, and about Russian society as whole. "Mutiny" even does a fine job of briefly explaining relevant episodes from Russsian history.
What Boris Gindin was involved with turned out to be a career-maker for Tom Clancy when it inspired his breakout novel, but the authors realize that the only mutiny that many western readers are vaguely familiar with is likely to be the one on the HMS Bounty. Consequently, they do a good job of explaining parallels between that and what later happened aboard the Storozhevoy, and of psychoanalyzing the Russian soul every once in awhile.
The book would have benefited from an illustration of the ship and a map of the Baltic Sea, neither of which it has, but those are minor flaws. While I am not an avid fan of stories steeped in seawater, this memoir held my attention throughout, and I expect it will do the same for other people, too.
What Boris Gindin was involved with turned out to be a career-maker for Tom Clancy when it inspired his breakout novel, but the authors realize that the only mutiny that many western readers are vaguely familiar with is likely to be the one on the HMS Bounty. Consequently, they do a good job of explaining parallels between that and what later happened aboard the Storozhevoy, and of psychoanalyzing the Russian soul every once in awhile.
The book would have benefited from an illustration of the ship and a map of the Baltic Sea, neither of which it has, but those are minor flaws. While I am not an avid fan of stories steeped in seawater, this memoir held my attention throughout, and I expect it will do the same for other people, too.
April 26, 2009
This was interesting. In the middle of the book I got a little bored, but all in all it was interesting. It's really amazing that most of the crew really made it out alive & well, considering how the Russian government felt towards anyone who was involved intentionally or unintentionally in a mutiny.
September 3, 2013
Tough book to write, I also agree it was necessary to divulge long-kept secrets and the government corruption and cover-ups that affected so many people.
Boring at times, I had to skip through but I got the gist of it; not lacking in details. Definitely written by the "naval hero who was there."
Boring at times, I had to skip through but I got the gist of it; not lacking in details. Definitely written by the "naval hero who was there."
September 24, 2008
Too poorly sourced to finish. I mean, come on ... Wikipedia?!
May 18, 2011
An okay book. This is Boris' version of a mutiny on a Soviet ship. It is a fascinating story, just a little dry at times. You can tell he is very proud of his Navy and the ships.
April 10, 2013
An interesting story in serious need of a good editor. Construction, grammar, and spelling all needed help.
January 24, 2016
Interesting story of the mutiny aboard a Soviet anti-submarine warship and the misguided zampolit that orchestrated it.
June 28, 2018
The account of the mutiny itself was unfortunately padded out. I found most interesting the background portions on the history and culture of the Russo-Soviet Navy.
November 23, 2019
Ļoti daudz faktu, kas izskaidro padomju flotes darbību. Plaši vēstīts par katra personisko motivāciju un padomju sabiedrību. Tas noteikti daudziem lasītājiem dod plašu zināšanu devu. Par to zvaigznes.
Bet ir mīnusi. Tas viss lasās smagi. Tiek vilkta vienādības zīme starp krieviem un padomju pilsoņiem - grāmata rada priekšstatu, ka PSRS dzīvoja krievi un daži ebreji. Viss notiek Rīgā un top skaidri redzams, ka stāstnieks pat neiedomājas par cilvēkiem, kas dzīvo Daugavas krastos, un viņu vēsturi; latviešu te nav tāpat kā citu tautu šajā tautu cietumā.
Bet ir mīnusi. Tas viss lasās smagi. Tiek vilkta vienādības zīme starp krieviem un padomju pilsoņiem - grāmata rada priekšstatu, ka PSRS dzīvoja krievi un daži ebreji. Viss notiek Rīgā un top skaidri redzams, ka stāstnieks pat neiedomājas par cilvēkiem, kas dzīvo Daugavas krastos, un viņu vēsturi; latviešu te nav tāpat kā citu tautu šajā tautu cietumā.
July 24, 2018
This factual reading was an eye opener. I found at the time that the people involved with the mutiny and their escape was a magnificent piece of work by the CIA and other secret agencies of the government. After reading the fact based book and then seeing "The Hunt for Red October" you can see behind the many rumors and know some are real and some even more so. This was an excellent read for the genre.DEHS
April 26, 2021
The first thirty percent of this is history of Russian Navy and the main character. At the half-way mark the take over happens and the new captain makes a mad dash sown a river towards open water. News gets to the top and the leader is actually scared. (GOOD!) He says the ship needs to be sunk and does not care about the crew that declined to partake.
A horrible list of violence against Russian people. Insightful. Swearing.
A horrible list of violence against Russian people. Insightful. Swearing.
January 13, 2019
Very gripping read! I really enjoyed the background information and the main story. It puts you in the middle of the action, with the tension building until it's almost unbearable. It really opened my eyes to what life was like in Russia during the Cold War.
December 15, 2022
The history aside chapters were barely literate garbage, the others not much better. Clearly the author skimped on research, and the whole thing was as badly edited as I've ever read. Yikes.
December 31, 2008
The true events that inspired Tom Clancy's Hunt for Red October!
“Mutiny”
A Cold War Thriller
This was David's first venture into the non-fiction world, with all the action, drama and intrigue it reads like one of his bestselling novels. With his Air Force background and understanding of terrorism, David Hagberg captured the history, frustrations and naval culture of the Soviet Union, and the events of it's officers leading up to the cold war mutiny.
Aboard the antisubmarine warship the FFG Storozhevoy in the fall of 1975, Mutiny is a firsthand account that anyone interested in the Soviet system or life aboard one of its ships should read. Written with senior lieutenant Boris Gindin whose offering is insightful, heartwarming, and heroic, triggers questions of how his life in the USA compares to his years in the Soviet Union.
The story itself, is the life of Boris Gindin who at the age of seventeen in 1967, enters the St. Petersburg Military Engineering Academy to build a career in the soviet navy, and rises through the ranks to become a senior officer when most of the crew of the Storozhevoy mutiny. Life in Russia is bleak, harsh and difficult, but Hagberg and Gindin bring it to life as they build the the events of this important story. There is a rewarding account of the most famous mutiny in naval history aboard the HMS Bounty in 1789, where David summarizes the events concisely in just a few pages.
Confined belowdeck, the captain, officers and Gindin survive the attack of the soviet navy and air force who are ordered to hunt down and kill the warship. In the end the KGB execute the officer who was behind the mutiny, arrest everyone, even the officers who opposed the mutiny, and are forced to swear secrecy on pain of death if they told their story.
Thirty-two years later Boris Gindin and David Hagberg tell the truth, the record has been set straight.
DAVID HAGBERG has published more than seventy novels of suspense, including the bestselling JOSHUA'S HAMMER, SOLDIER of GOD, and ALLAH'S SCORPION.
Visit David Hagberg at www.david-hagberg.com
“Mutiny”
A Cold War Thriller
This was David's first venture into the non-fiction world, with all the action, drama and intrigue it reads like one of his bestselling novels. With his Air Force background and understanding of terrorism, David Hagberg captured the history, frustrations and naval culture of the Soviet Union, and the events of it's officers leading up to the cold war mutiny.
Aboard the antisubmarine warship the FFG Storozhevoy in the fall of 1975, Mutiny is a firsthand account that anyone interested in the Soviet system or life aboard one of its ships should read. Written with senior lieutenant Boris Gindin whose offering is insightful, heartwarming, and heroic, triggers questions of how his life in the USA compares to his years in the Soviet Union.
The story itself, is the life of Boris Gindin who at the age of seventeen in 1967, enters the St. Petersburg Military Engineering Academy to build a career in the soviet navy, and rises through the ranks to become a senior officer when most of the crew of the Storozhevoy mutiny. Life in Russia is bleak, harsh and difficult, but Hagberg and Gindin bring it to life as they build the the events of this important story. There is a rewarding account of the most famous mutiny in naval history aboard the HMS Bounty in 1789, where David summarizes the events concisely in just a few pages.
Confined belowdeck, the captain, officers and Gindin survive the attack of the soviet navy and air force who are ordered to hunt down and kill the warship. In the end the KGB execute the officer who was behind the mutiny, arrest everyone, even the officers who opposed the mutiny, and are forced to swear secrecy on pain of death if they told their story.
Thirty-two years later Boris Gindin and David Hagberg tell the truth, the record has been set straight.
DAVID HAGBERG has published more than seventy novels of suspense, including the bestselling JOSHUA'S HAMMER, SOLDIER of GOD, and ALLAH'S SCORPION.
Visit David Hagberg at www.david-hagberg.com
May 29, 2012
I'm a huge of Tom Clancy. I've ready Red October at least three times and Red Storm Rising at least five. I head all of the Jack Ryan series when they came out and then a few years ago I reread them in chonological order. With that said I when excited to learn that the incident that The Hunt for Red October was based on was its own book. I could not keep myself from think about Red October as I was reading this. Overall it was a good book and I would recommend it for anyone who is a military history buff.
****SPOILER ALERT****
The book starts out kind of slow, laying the ground work of the people, life in the Soviet Union at the time along with bits and pieces of history. There is a chapter dedicated to the mutiny on the Bounty. While tedious at times it does serve the purpose of laying the ground work for what is about to happen. One mutiny starts it reads just like a Clancy action novel. For me once the action started it was hard to put down.
My only real disappointment with the book is towards the end. The officers have retaken the ship and surrendered to the KGB. The next chapter after that is several months later and the author is posted to a dead end assignment as punishment. What happened in between? The last few chapters are about the author's leaving the Soviet Union and arriving in the US. I think the ending of the books was weak and lacking. For me reading about the Soviet Navy's and KGB's reaction to the mutiny was a critical part of understanding of the story and life in the Soviet Union. To leave that portion out was a let down.
****SPOILER ALERT****
The book starts out kind of slow, laying the ground work of the people, life in the Soviet Union at the time along with bits and pieces of history. There is a chapter dedicated to the mutiny on the Bounty. While tedious at times it does serve the purpose of laying the ground work for what is about to happen. One mutiny starts it reads just like a Clancy action novel. For me once the action started it was hard to put down.
My only real disappointment with the book is towards the end. The officers have retaken the ship and surrendered to the KGB. The next chapter after that is several months later and the author is posted to a dead end assignment as punishment. What happened in between? The last few chapters are about the author's leaving the Soviet Union and arriving in the US. I think the ending of the books was weak and lacking. For me reading about the Soviet Navy's and KGB's reaction to the mutiny was a critical part of understanding of the story and life in the Soviet Union. To leave that portion out was a let down.
January 11, 2016
Interesting book! Although the story is much different than the events outlined by Tom Clancy, it was a very good read. Great background on the historic Russian mindset and how the country viewed themselves as a military power. The story itself reads like a suspense novel. A great deal of information is given about the Cold War Russian military, particularly the Navy. The book also compares the differences of modern Russia versus the Revolutionary Russia as envisioned by Lenin. It also details the ruthlessness of the KGB. A great deal of information about Russia that I did not read when I went through Air War College. I recommend it to anyone interested in military history!
May 6, 2025
This a story of a Soviet naval mutiny that supposedly inspired Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for the Red October". This mutiny was staged by a zampolit, political officer, who falsely and naively believed the Soviet people would rise up and reform the broken Soviet system because he commandeered Soviet warship and broadcast his personal manifesto. Unfortunately, his radioman broadcast it in code so only other naval and military assets could understand the broadcast.
Mutiny tells the story through the perspective of Warrant Officer Gindin, the ship's engineering officer, an individual who refused to participate in Sablin's scheme.
Mutiny tells the story through the perspective of Warrant Officer Gindin, the ship's engineering officer, an individual who refused to participate in Sablin's scheme.
March 26, 2015
Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October is one of my all time favorite books; consequently, I was interested in this book.
The author provides some of the inside details from a Soviet sailor (not actually a hero) who participated in a mutiny aboard a frigate.
What the author does well is go into the Cold War and Soviet navy backgrounds that are essential to the story.
What the author failed to do was explain that Clancy pulled together several real life dramas into the bestseller that launched his career.
The author provides some of the inside details from a Soviet sailor (not actually a hero) who participated in a mutiny aboard a frigate.
What the author does well is go into the Cold War and Soviet navy backgrounds that are essential to the story.
What the author failed to do was explain that Clancy pulled together several real life dramas into the bestseller that launched his career.
November 15, 2015
A fascinating story that relays true life with the pace and action of a great thriller. The story is filled will historical context that allows the reader to have a greater understanding of the driving forces behind the characters action. For anyone interested in the Cold War, revolution, international politics, or military history this is an excellent book. It is also fascinating to see what details of this event Tom Clancy took and massaged to create the basis for Hunt for Red October.
November 1, 2008
Written by an officer from the ship during mutiny. Tom Clancy got his big break by building a fiction around this true story. Takes you inside Soviet navy of 1975 & the cold war. Author managed to get out of Soviet Union & settle in US to tell the story. Brezhnev had ordered the sinking of his own naval vessel & all hands to cover up the mutiny.
March 12, 2015
The book does a great job of telling the story of the mutiny of the Storozhevoy and about the social, political, and economic climate in authoritarian Russia that led the men involved to do the things that they did. It does get a little pro-capitalism at times, but in general it is a balanced and quite exciting read.
March 21, 2012
A fascinating study of life under Communism during the Cold War, and a one man revolt against the Soviet leadership. Writer maintains the tension of the event throughout the book. This book would be a useful high school student introduction to the Cold War Era.
April 23, 2016
Interesting account. A lot of Soviet naval history as well as general Soviet political history seemed to fill parts of the book needlessly. I think this book would've been much better with less of the naval and political history and just told the story of the mutiny.
October 11, 2011
A little repetitive in writing style but probably expected for a first time writer telling the story of this mutiny. A very fast read and intersting to anyone with a maritime military background.
November 3, 2011
Heard much about it, am about to read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews