Run Silent, Run Deep

by Edward L. Beach

Commander Edward Richardson and his exec, Jim Bledsoe, are bound together by wartime duty, divided by jealousy, pride and love for one beautiful woman. Their home is the USS Walrus, part of the "silent service" engaged in a crucial drive to destroy the Japanese navy in the dark days of WW II.

In an heroic undersea mission, Richardson, Bledsoe, and their crew--the hunters and the hunted--confront their most formidable opponent in the vicious battle to survive and control the seas.

"If ever a book has a ring of reality, this is it...combat passages rank with the most exciting writing about any branch of service." (The New York Times)

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, War, Military Fiction, World War II, Thriller, Classics

275 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1955

About the author

Edward Latimer Beach, Jr. was a highly-decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author.

During World War II, he participated in the Battle of Midway and 12 combat patrols, earning 10 decorations for gallantry, including the Navy Cross. After the war, he served as the naval aide to the President of the United States and commanded the first submerged circumnavigation.

After World War II, Beach wrote extensively in his spare time following in the footsteps of his father, who was also a career naval officer and author. His first book Submarine! (1952) was a compilation of accounts of several wartime patrols made by his own as well as other submarines.

In all, Beach published thirteen books, but is best known for his first novel, Run Silent, Run Deep (1955), which appeared on The New York Times Book Review bestseller list for several months. A movie of the same name, based loosely on the novel and starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster, was released by United Artists in 1958. Beach penned two sequels to Run Silent, Run Deep: Dust on the Sea (1972), relating in detail a war patrol by Eel leading a wolfpack, and Cold is the Sea (1978), set in 1961 aboard a nuclear submarine.

In addition to Submarine!, Beach wrote several more books on naval history, including The Wreck of the Memphis (1966); United States Navy: 200 Years (1986), a general history of the Navy; Scapegoats: A Defense of Kimmel and Short at Pearl Harbor (1995); and Salt and Steel: Reflections of a Submariner (1999).

Keepers of the Sea (1983) is a pictorial record of the modern navy with photography by Fred J. Maroon. For a number of years Beach was co-editor of Naval Terms Dictionary as that standard reference work passed through several editions. His last work, completed shortly before his death, was to prepare for publication his father's manuscript of his own distinguished service in the navy. That book, From Annapolis to Scapa Flow: The Autobiography of Edward L. Beach, Sr (2003), is Captain Beach, Sr.'s personal account of the navy from the age of sail to the age of steam.

In addition to his books, Beach was a prolific author of articles and book reviews for periodicals ranging from Blue Book Magazine to National Geographic, and Naval History to American Heritage.

Reviews

[Colin Birge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before there was Tom Clancy, there was Commander Edward L. Beach, Jr. If Clancy had studied hard, he might have qualified to change the ink in Beach's pen. Run Silent Run Deep is a classic novel of World War II Pacific theatre submarine warfare. Beach was a WWII submarine veteran himself, and wrote a gripping, plausible thriller about life under the sea and the perils of making war there.

It's a book of its time: women are nearly invisible, the Japanese are insulted when they're not feared, and the hero is such a 40s American White Man you can practically see the starch in his collar and the pants belted around his chest. You can't ignore any of that, but if you set the book in context, it stands up as a classic thriller.

My copy, incidentally, is the one that my late grandfather owned. He himself was a proud World War II Navy vet, though he'd served on the shore. He thought Beach's novel was one of the best adventure stories ever written. Who am I to argue?

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember watching the 1958 movie version of this 1955 maritime novel starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster on TV as a kid. The claustrophobic confines of life aboard a submarine intrigued me. I finally got around to reading the novel all these years later. It was a humdinger for me. Rousing battle scenes, lots of technical details about diesel-powered submarines, and even a sprinkling of romance. The time period of the 1940s and World War Two appeals to me. The novel has a few things (stilted prose, lots of exclamation marks, etc.) I didn't prefer, but they didn't dilute my reading enjoyment. Just go along with the sweeping adventure and ride the subs into battle and on patrol. It's one of the better books I've read this year.

[W]

I watched this movie on youtube and it was great. The presence of Burt Lancaster helped too and Clark Gable is there as well.

Gable plays the captain and Lancaster the executive officer of a submarine.Both are in conflict because the captain first denies the executive officer his shot at command and then recklessly pursues a dangerous,almost suicidal mission disobeying orders from the high command.

Great action sequences of war at sea.It's been compared to the German submarine film,Das Boot.I think it's better.

Great entertainment.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Das Boot: The Boat a while back (and watched the film), a gripping epic of life on a U-boat. Run Silent, Run Deep tells the tale of an American submarine captain in WWII; you might call it the American version of Das Boot. That stated, Run Silent reads more like a historical thriller and lacks the details of the German version. In Das Boot, you felt the ship, smelled it, lived it. Here, the story chronicles the adventures of the captain, one Richardson, who starts the novel in 1941 getting an old WWI sub refitted. We know from the prologue memo that Richardson will eventually be awarded a Medal of Honor.

Beach paced this as a thriller, following Richardson through training and then as an active captain on two different subs from just before Pearl Harbor to the end of the war. Besides mentioning some discomfort via the heat and close atmosphere on the submarine, Beach basically just gives us a blow by blow account of several active patrols. The American submarines in the Pacific largely targeted Japan's merchant marine and most of the action sequences take place off the coast of Japan. Perhaps because it was penned by Commander Beach, a navy vet, the tale possesses lots of rah rahs, unlike Das Boot, where the U-boat captain became increasingly critical of the German brass. I loved the critical aspect there and that is missing here, except for some complaints about defective torpedoes and such. A good read, and something of a classic these days, but definitely second tier to Das Boot. 3.5 submarines, rounding down for the cheesy romance.

[Bob Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic in the vein of Das Boot, but not quite as good.

The mindset of different military people fascinates me. Navy people think Army people are strange for sleeping the mud while Army people think Navy people are weird for being on ships.

But submariners are a breed apart. One of the scariest things I did in Special Ops was a submarine lock-out. I commanded a maritime operations team, which meant we'd all graduated the Royal Danish Navy's combat swim school. Surface swimming and infiltration and exfiltration but NOT scuba. So when we went in the escape hatch to do a lock out, the entry hatch was locked behind us. We had to hold our breaths as the hatch filled. Then wait until pressure equalized and someone inside the sub opened the outer hatch. Those moments when both hatches are locked and the compartment is full of water is a bit nerve-wracking.

My hats off to all who prowled the deeps.

[Dwayne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent stories from the perspective of a WWII American submarine commander

[Richard Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in high school. ( A L-o-n-g time ago ) This book started it all....the exploits of Sam Dealey, Morton, Gano, O'Kane.....the ships, Trigger, Wahoo, Harder. From this book forward, I was hooked on warships. First were the subs, after that came the Battleships..then cruisers, and finally ending up with DesRon23 and Arleigh Burke. I was the only kid at my high school who could rattle of the entire fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor! While that may be a dubious distinction, the love of ships that began with this book, grew and stood with me throughout my life. I think this book is probably a classic by now. It certainly should be.
Captain Beach takes us through the inner workings of the older pre-war S-boat submarines. By the time he takes command of his new construction sub, Walrus, the reader has a good working knowledge of what a submarine IS. Throughout the book, the reader is submerged in the world of submarines, and submarine warfare. The tale he weaves is one that the reader can dive into and enjoy, from Cmdr Richardsons first encounter with Bungo Pete, his enforced shore duty, finally being given command of Eel. The reader is swept along through encounter after encounter, and can't help but feel the loss when Richardsons former exec, Jim Bledsoe, is given command of Walrus, enters the Bungo Straits, and is lost.
Richardson begs to be let into Area 7, the Bungo Suido, and destroy Bungo Pete himself. He succeeds, and the war ends shortly afterwards, Eel making only three more patrols.
The rest is the story of what happens in Washington D.C.....
There is no pornographic imagery in the writing, and the language is written in the style of the late '40s, early '50s, so no problem for the younger generation.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves ships, submarines and action!!

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shallow characterizations, superficial war perspective, average writing. Lots of -"Make heading 70 degrees" -"70 degrees, aye" dialog. Kind of fun, and an interesting storyline, but of the WW2 US navy books I've been reading this is not the best.

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

16 Jan. 2019 - I just saw a friend list this in his read list and it brought back some good memories. I think I read it one summer when I was Jr. High or High School (in the late 60s or early 70s) age.

I remember liking it very much, since it was about war, which was a totally fascinating subject to me at the time. I could not get enough of war stories from watching Combat, Rat Patrol and The Gallant Men on TV, to movies such as The Longest Day, The Great Escape, Stalag 13, Patton, Sink the Bismark, etc. I certainly grew out of that stage and have developed a major antipathy to war.

But the feelings of what it was like to command a submarine in Japanese waters during WWII still are in my mind from this book: the constant tension, the fear, the claustrophobia, and the exhilaration or at least release, when one major danger was vanquished, before others could build.

[Bill Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite war stories. It was a major best seller when it came out, ten years after World War II. It has a level of authenticity you seldom find in military fiction. It is a submarine book which reads as if it were written by someone who had commanded a submarine in wartime, for an extraordinary reason: It was.

So why isn't this book more widely available? I couldn't find a current paperback or ebook edition at all. The edition I show here is the only one I found. It may still be available new, but my copy is an ex-library copy, used of course, purchased through the mail.

As pointed out in the introduction of this edition, not only had Edward L. Beach Jr. served as executive officer and then captain of American submarines in the Pacific in World War II, at the time he wrote this book he was still a serving naval officer. This is an amazing piece of work for somebody to have knocked out in their spare time from a job which had them on call 24 hours a day.

It reads as authentic, not only in the detailed and correct description of operating a combat submarine, but in the horror of a campaign marked by savagery on both sides. I will not speak of war crimes as I don't want to moralize here. I will just say that there was little quarter asked or given by either side in the Pacific War. Most military fiction sanitizes this, in a one-sided manner more often than not. In its small way Run Silent, Run Deep does not. That makes it rare and special in this genre.

I have read complaints that certain characters such as Laura, Commander Richardson's love interest, aren't well realized. This doesn't particularly bother me. If she is an ideal seen only from a distance, that reflects the reality of the situation of men aboard a submarine thousands of miles from those they loved. To them home and family are dreams, not a real presence. The lack of development of a character barely seen and almost unknown is realistic. If anything about this is not realistic, it is that Richardson would fall in love so quickly with someone he had met so seldom.

I first read this book a long time ago. I'm pleased to find it holds up well to my memory of it.

[Leila · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw this title I was excited as I thought it was the book version of a movie I have always placed as a favourite among World War II tales re submarines versus destroyers. Perhaps not the usual taste for an elderly lady to enjoy, but then I have always had a weakness for sea stories, perhaps because I was born at the start of World War II and saw many video clips of military action at sea in the cinema way back in the 1940s. I was however disappointed to find this was not what I thought. It is a very detailed account of the life of an American submarine captain and the running of his Sub.. I confess I did skip it pretty often as I made my way through it. I wouldn't read it again.

[Ken Lindholm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Run Silent Run Deep served as the basis for a classic WWII movie, starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. When I saw a paperback copy in a neighborhood book sharing site, I was happy to take it. (Afterwards, I learned it appears to be out of print and somewhat hard to find.) So, I’ve decided to read it before passing it along again.

Author Commander Edward Beach was a WWII submariner, and this book should please readers who like accurate, technical detail. I focused primarily on the story, and this felt like a throwback to books and films I enjoyed in my youth. Of course, I had to draw comparisons to the film, especially because Commander Beach reportedly did not care for the film version, but I viewed each as separate works. (A while ago I had a similar experience reading The Searchers, a novel that was significantly modified in becoming the basis for the classic John Ford western.)

Although the main story line is fairly consistent in the book and film version of Run Silent, the main characters (who retain the same names) are changed. The book’s main character is the narrator Captain Rich Richardson - those that have seen the film will quickly realize that, as the narrator, the story will have to be different. The novel takes some time getting started, beginning with training exercises in Connecticut, but when the war begins, it shifts into a into a captivating description of submarine warfare in the Pacific.

While the changes in the film successfully heighten the drama, and make for a compelling and entertaining story, those who like detail and technical accuracy will be well served by the novel.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

[Numidica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been meaning to read this for about forty years; I think I first became aware of it as a pre-teen. The author was a submarine captain in WW2, so, like Herman Wouk in The Caine Mutiny, he knows his material. The book is a page-turner, if not great literature, but it gives a sense of the spirit that inhabited the men and women of that time.

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in High school and found it interesting.
The idea of living in a small space like sardines.
The constant fear of Depth Charges.
The failure of torpedoes to explode on contact.
No news from home. Isolation, dirty, Little or no fresh air.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel about the World War II submarine service. Commander Edward Richardson and the crew of the Waldrus are operating in Japanese waters with its dangers when they become the hunted.

[Jeffo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, ultimate suspense, very realistic,I cannot say anymore.

[Tom Vetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Read this in submarine school in 1972, and got my copy autographed by Ned Beach way back then. One more reason why I wanted to write someday too!

[Tom Stamper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel puts you inside a World War II submarine and inside the mind of a man in charge of such a vessel. The intimacy of the skipper's thoughts and his inner conflicts round out the realities of such responsibilities in a way that straight history wouldn't capture. The story encompasses the whole war from fitting a ship in Connecticut to fighting the Japanese in the Pacific theater. What the book does well is capture the mix of boredom of waiting for something to happen followed by the terror of being in the middle of battle. Now this is the captain's story from start to finish. You don't know what the radio man thinks or the torpedo loader thinks or what the cook worries about. But you do come away with an idea of the great burdens of leadership in a time of war.

The downside is that there are certain choices such as giving the captain the longing for a love interest that seem a little tacked on to make it more novelistic. There is also a lot of navy and sub lingo here that the layman reader has to decipher or just read past. I got a bit bogged down in the middle of the story and had to put it away for a few weeks before returning. The effort is worth it if you are interested in World War II and military history and submarines especially. If you are looking for a more general interest approach to World War II then something like Herman Wouk's the Winds of War is probably a better match.

Like many I came to the novel having seen the 1958 film with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. Although it borrows a few plot points it's a much different story. Gable is way too old to be playing the Commander and Lancaster is too mature to be the number 2 man. And the movie also borrows its main conflict from The Caine Mutiny for some reason. I wouldn't say the book was better. I would suggest you watch the movie first to get the feel of the claustrophobia of submarine life and then go back and read the novel to understand the intricacies of being a commander.

[Andy Seals · Rating 4 out of 5]

Run Silent Run Deep Review

This is a very good book. Beach is obviously an expert in the field he choose to write about which is consistently displayed throughout the book. The book also expertly fills space with proper historical context. The S-16 and the Free polish Navy were an interesting thread. The issues investigated with the Mark 14 Torpedo are also interesting in the broader historical context. The complex moral dilemma that Cmdr. Richardson puts himself in is an interesting one, He undoubtably commits a horrid act when he rams the life boats carrying Bungo Pete's crew but he made that choice in the broader context of trying to keep more American submariners alive (or did he? he was fueled by emotion after Bledsoe died so the argument could be made that he choose to ram the life boats for a personal reason).

Jim Bledsoe is easily the most complex character in this book. He is unfaithful to his wife, he is an emotional XO, he acts boldly and stupidly, but somehow he is an effective Captain of the Walrus.

My biggest criticism of the book is that the direction of the narrative and story telling is very stereotypical and Beach is (a little) obsessed with providing the audience with almost to much information relating to what is happening to the ships while at sea.

(4π/3)

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Every grave on land and in that ocean is a tomb to an ideal. Some of the ideals are wrong, some right. But the graves are never wrong—they are monuments to the heroic men of either side who sleep there. For who has the right to say to the men who bear the brunt of the battle, ‘This was wrong, this was worthless to die for?’ Is not the warrior the purest and most heroic of all, because he dies for his beliefs? It is the men who send the warriors on their quests who must answer to that question.”

A surprisingly dark and cynical WW2 submarine book. Highly technical and very claustrophobic. You can tell it's written by someone with experience in these situations.

[Nancy Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful classic of World War 2 submarine warfare in the Pacific. One of the best ever written, better than the movie, of course, although the movie is terrific, too. Since early childhood I've been fascinated by warships, especially those involved in WW2, with a particular love for submarines. This book makes you feel as if you were there, which is not surprising since it's based on the author's personal experiences and knowledge.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book you hate to see come to an end. Like any good book, the author conveys character and motivations superbly. The main character, Rich, is a man with superb leadership ability and uncommon humility and dignity. The choice he makes near the end to ensure future U.S. ships will not be destroyed by a certain Japanese captain is a testament to his integrity. He was willing to lose his sense of integrity for the sake of saving others down the line. Reading this story reminds me that it is no wonder this generation is called the Greatest Generation.

[Candace Simar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of submariners in WW2 is fascinating and this book tells it well.

[Perrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Run Silent Run Deep by Edward L. Beach is a book about a submarine commanded by Edward Richardson in World War Two. The book follows the crew from pre-war training into combat. This book shows you everything from docking to torpedo attacks.
I loved this book because I love naval combat and know how submarine warfare works. This is a book for the Navy nerd. It may be difficult for the average person to read because of all the submarine terms. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars. I loved this book and enjoyed every page of it.

[Sully Augustine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a library hardbound over the past few evenings. I'm surprised I never read it before. The beginning is a bit choppy, but once it gets going the story is gripping, although it's probably not for someone not interested in WW2 or Naval type matters.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this because I liked the movie so much. As it turned out it was pretty hard to find a copy. No library I could find had it and very few used book sellers had it. I did buy a former library copy now withdrawn only to find myself disappointed as I read the first third to half, wishing I hadn't wasted the $14 on it. However, the book picks up in the last half and becomes quite the page-turner. I found it hard to put down. The characterization becomes better (although that's certainly not the strength of the book), but what really captured my attention was the descriptions of submarine warfare. (The author was a submarine commander in WWII.) The love interest was shallow and predictable but it doesn't constitute a major portion of the book. So, if you're interested in the Pacific theater of WWII and particularly submarine warfare, and if you see it at some used book store, it makes a very engaging read.

[MuffinManNick Lemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this story an american captian of a submarine tells his story of how he got the medal of honnor. The main charaters are Rich(the captian), Jim, and the other officers and crew of the submarine. In this story they are sent to area seven on patrol off the Japanese coast and are told to sink all merchant ships.

Im not going to ruin this story so the last thing Ill say is that the main enemy besides Japan in the book is a Japanese destroyer captian who seems to know the names of all the subs he attacks and is an extremely good sub hunter. His name is Bungo Pete and he patrols area seven hunting for subs.

This book is a very good, supenceful, action book.

[Malek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book, mostly because of the way he brought home the experience of a submariner in WWII. The captain is not an overly heroic figure, makes mistakes, has weaknesses, and gets hurt several times. But overall he is competent, makes good decisions, and makes his mark in a tough war. So I found it fairly balanced. The transition from nitty-gritty to romantic prose and back is sometimes not that smooth, but otherwise well written. The author was an actual WWII sub skipper and so the book is almost autobiographical. This book really gives you a sense of how close WWII was at times as well, the Japanese really wreaked havoc on the US Navy.

[John Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was certainly skeptical of a submarine story written by a skimmer, but Beach makes up for it in great writing. He uses the knowledge of a fiction writer about his world to add great detail and motivation to his story. I was especially impressed as to how well he captured the feel of qualification board, even if we do them a little different today.

Still read Thunder Below (by RADM Gene Fluckey, commander of the Barb and Medal of Honor recipient) first. Then Wake of the Wahoo for an enlisted man's view. But this book, even as fiction, is a great addition to submarine literature.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best submarine movies ever made is based on this book, yet the book is completely different, and, of course, much better than the movie. Detailed explanations of the methods of firing torpedoes in WWII combined with riveting action make this book equal or better than anything Tom Clancy ever wrote. As for the movie, pre Vietnam Hollywood wasn't ready for the shocking ending of this book.