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Crash Dive: True Stories of Submarine Combat
They are the ultimate unseen deterrent in modern warfare. Thousands of tons of steel, missiles, torpedoes, and men, lurking silently hundreds of feet underwater, able to lie off any coastline and unleash a devastating hail of destruction with pinpoint accuracy. They are the true masters of the oceans, bringing hostile military sea traffic to a standstill, striking swift and unseen, and slipping away in an instant, ready to do it all over again at a moment’s notice. Edited by best-selling author Larry Bond, Crash Dive collects the best non-fiction excerpts about the mighty submarines and the crews that man them. From the tough Gato- class boats that harassed the Japanese Navy during World War II to the cat-and-mouse games played by U.S. and Soviet submarines during the Cold War, Crash Dive will take you inside the silent but deadly world of the military submarine.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
23 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Larry Bond
76 books412 followersLarry Bond is the author of several bestselling military thrillers, including Crash Dive, Cold Choices, Dangerous Ground, Red Phoenix and the Larry Bond’s First Team and Larry Bond’s Red Dragon Rising series. He was a naval officer for six years, serving four on a destroyer and two on shore duty in the Washington DC area. He's also worked as a warfare analyst and antisubmarine technology expert, and he now writes and designs computer games, including Harpoon and Command at Sea. He makes his home in Springfield, Virginia.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/larrybond
http://us.macmillan.com/author/larrybond
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 28, 2022
Dec 27, 635pm ~~ I usually enjoy submarine books, but this one was very up and down for me (sorry). Some of the pieces were quite gripping, others were harder to get interested in.
Of course there were incidents I had no idea about (American subs sinking Japanese ships that were carrying Allied POWs, for one thing) but a couple of the chapters were familiar to me because I have the books they were taken from.
I guess I expect different things from a submarine book than this one ended up offering. I was bored at times, disgusted at others, and very seldom held my breath during any of the action. Some of the authors had a surprising way of portraying their commanding officers as close to incompetent while of course they themselves knew just what to do.
I am giving this just two stars because for me that's all it was as a whole.....just okay.
Of course there were incidents I had no idea about (American subs sinking Japanese ships that were carrying Allied POWs, for one thing) but a couple of the chapters were familiar to me because I have the books they were taken from.
I guess I expect different things from a submarine book than this one ended up offering. I was bored at times, disgusted at others, and very seldom held my breath during any of the action. Some of the authors had a surprising way of portraying their commanding officers as close to incompetent while of course they themselves knew just what to do.
I am giving this just two stars because for me that's all it was as a whole.....just okay.
September 17, 2023
Great selection of stories which lack much in the way of context. The stories are presented in roughly chronological order with World War two (WWII) ones at the start and Cold war and beyond afterwards. However the order of presentation within these broad categories is anachronistic so unless you have pre-existing knowledge of the era(s) it is very confusing as to what is going on with regards to the broader strategic picture, technological and tactical advances. There is also very little explanation of what each submarine type is besides what is provided in the texts themselves. This is pretty disappointing considering that the story choices are great at illustrating the various capabilities of submarines and is a missed opportunity to add a bit of value to the book as history text.
The selected stories are all worth while. Generally well written to excellent and there is a variety of different viewpoints and situations presented. These clearly show Bond's interest in submarine literature and his knowledge of the subject.
The selected stories are all worth while. Generally well written to excellent and there is a variety of different viewpoints and situations presented. These clearly show Bond's interest in submarine literature and his knowledge of the subject.
May 29, 2019
A basic read with decent story telling. Some good some average of less.
Took a try in this genre and found it not up to WWII stories.
Nice to read other 's issues at sea.
JM
Took a try in this genre and found it not up to WWII stories.
Nice to read other 's issues at sea.
JM
January 11, 2020
Very good collection of submarine yarns. I have enjoyed reading sub stories since I was a kid.
August 19, 2012
Crash Dive: True Stories of Submarine Combat
by Larry Bond contains riveting submarine action taken from fifteen books written by submariners. As such, the majority of these excerpts are told in first person with an insider's view of the hardships, victories, and horrors of 20th Century submarine service.
Along with familiar submarine warfare writers such as Americans Edward L. Beach and Edward Young, Bond has also selected British, German, and Russian writers to help describe submarine combat during WW II in the Pacific and Mediterranean, the British attack on the Argentinean cruiser General Belgrano, and the calamitous fire aboard the Soviet nuclear submarine K-219. These excellent accounts provide a depth of detail and insight that only the men who lived through these events could tell.
I particularly enjoyed "First Blood," taken from Pigboat 39: An American Submarine Goes to War , by Bobette Gugliotta. The wife of submariner Guy Gugliotta, who served aboard the S-39, Bobette Gugliotta vividly captures life in Manilla and on the homefront during the opening days of WWII. She describes the harrowing first attacks by the S-39's crew against Japanese merchant ships that pitted the obsolete worn out US sub against the might of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the high water mark of its power.
Crash Dive will encourage you to seek out the books from which these accounts are taken. If nothing else it will give you a greater appreciation for the courage, self-discipline, and joy of life that all submariners regardless of their nationality seen to share.
Along with familiar submarine warfare writers such as Americans Edward L. Beach and Edward Young, Bond has also selected British, German, and Russian writers to help describe submarine combat during WW II in the Pacific and Mediterranean, the British attack on the Argentinean cruiser General Belgrano, and the calamitous fire aboard the Soviet nuclear submarine K-219. These excellent accounts provide a depth of detail and insight that only the men who lived through these events could tell.
I particularly enjoyed "First Blood," taken from Pigboat 39: An American Submarine Goes to War , by Bobette Gugliotta. The wife of submariner Guy Gugliotta, who served aboard the S-39, Bobette Gugliotta vividly captures life in Manilla and on the homefront during the opening days of WWII. She describes the harrowing first attacks by the S-39's crew against Japanese merchant ships that pitted the obsolete worn out US sub against the might of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the high water mark of its power.
Crash Dive will encourage you to seek out the books from which these accounts are taken. If nothing else it will give you a greater appreciation for the courage, self-discipline, and joy of life that all submariners regardless of their nationality seen to share.
December 29, 2012
Crash Dive is a collection of previously published submarine combat stories. The stories range from WWII encounters through harrowing Cold War adventures. The stories are engaging despite the book's length and they go quickly.
My favorite story in the book is Accident on K-219, where in October 1986 a Soviet nuclear submarine carrying 15-16 missiles equipped with 34 nuclear warheads experienced an explosion and fire in one of its missile tubes while on patrol near Bermuda. K-219's twin nuclear reactors had to be shut down, but when automatic systems failed 20 year old enlisted seaman Sergei Preminin physically entered the reactor compartment and shut down the last one manually, sacrificing his life to prevent a reactor meltdown and saving untold numbers of lives.
I like submarines, and read the excellent book Das Boot prior to this one. Das Boot really brought out the day to day difficulties of a submarine crew, and its hyper realistic portrayal of WWII submarine combat probably colored my view somewhat of many of the testosterone-fueled chest thumping stories contained in Crash Dive. There was a time when I would have eaten these stories up, but after Das Boot I know better. Things are much more complicated and difficult for submarines and submariners than many of these stories suggest.
The submarine tactics contained in the stories in Crash Dive are interesting, and the account in Accident on K-219 is particularly riveting, but too many of the stories here are of the chest thumping victor-writes-the-history variety that skirt realism in favor of glory. I prefer realism.
My favorite story in the book is Accident on K-219, where in October 1986 a Soviet nuclear submarine carrying 15-16 missiles equipped with 34 nuclear warheads experienced an explosion and fire in one of its missile tubes while on patrol near Bermuda. K-219's twin nuclear reactors had to be shut down, but when automatic systems failed 20 year old enlisted seaman Sergei Preminin physically entered the reactor compartment and shut down the last one manually, sacrificing his life to prevent a reactor meltdown and saving untold numbers of lives.
I like submarines, and read the excellent book Das Boot prior to this one. Das Boot really brought out the day to day difficulties of a submarine crew, and its hyper realistic portrayal of WWII submarine combat probably colored my view somewhat of many of the testosterone-fueled chest thumping stories contained in Crash Dive. There was a time when I would have eaten these stories up, but after Das Boot I know better. Things are much more complicated and difficult for submarines and submariners than many of these stories suggest.
The submarine tactics contained in the stories in Crash Dive are interesting, and the account in Accident on K-219 is particularly riveting, but too many of the stories here are of the chest thumping victor-writes-the-history variety that skirt realism in favor of glory. I prefer realism.
June 5, 2010
Crash Dive by Larry Bond
This is a collection of short stories about submarine warfare. The stories were, for the most part, penned by the men who lived them. The statistics showing the loss of boats and lives were daunting. The stories show the character and courage of the sailors that were courageous enough to fight our countries enemies from beneath the sea.
I didn’t know that submariners were all volunteers nor did I realize how much submarine action took place on the surface of the sea rather then beneath the waves. I toured a WWII submarine one time. I’m over 6 feet tall and I know I would never have survived in a sub. Between cracking my head and my shins I felt lucky to survive a walking tour let alone a cruise in war time. The people that staff submarines are a special breed. They are better educated and more accomplished than the rest of the navy. They may be working on a nuclear reactor or peeling potatoes but they do it underneath the waves. If a ship springs a leak there is a high likelihood that no one will be injured. If a sub springs a leak while submerged there is a high likelihood no one will survive. T
These stories are illustrative of the finer attributes of the warriors willing to put their life on the line for their country.
I recommend the book.
This is a collection of short stories about submarine warfare. The stories were, for the most part, penned by the men who lived them. The statistics showing the loss of boats and lives were daunting. The stories show the character and courage of the sailors that were courageous enough to fight our countries enemies from beneath the sea.
I didn’t know that submariners were all volunteers nor did I realize how much submarine action took place on the surface of the sea rather then beneath the waves. I toured a WWII submarine one time. I’m over 6 feet tall and I know I would never have survived in a sub. Between cracking my head and my shins I felt lucky to survive a walking tour let alone a cruise in war time. The people that staff submarines are a special breed. They are better educated and more accomplished than the rest of the navy. They may be working on a nuclear reactor or peeling potatoes but they do it underneath the waves. If a ship springs a leak there is a high likelihood that no one will be injured. If a sub springs a leak while submerged there is a high likelihood no one will survive. T
These stories are illustrative of the finer attributes of the warriors willing to put their life on the line for their country.
I recommend the book.
May 1, 2013
Crash Dive: True Stories of Submarine Combat
By Larry Bond
Publisher: Forge
Published In: New York, NY
Date: 2010
Pgs: 379
Summary:
Submariners and submarine warfare. Ready at a moment’s notice. Lurking unseen, silent, ready to unleash their torpedos on the enemy. World War 2 and the Cold War vignettes.
Genre:
war
Main Character:
N/A or submarines in general
Favorite Character:
N/A
Least Favorite Character:
N/A
Favorite Scene:
In the final story in the book, when the USSR put Captain Shevchenko’s plan into motion.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
N/A
Last Page Sound:
A deep sigh. I expected more. The tension of undersea combat isn’t communicated well in the shorts within this collection.
Author Assessment:
I’ve enjoyed other stuff with Larry Bond’s name attached.
Disposition of Book:
Half Price Book stack
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
Individually and with a lot of expansion, these could probably be movies. Maybe. Afraid too many of them would end up as love stories pining for the homefront instead of war story/action adventure stuff.
Casting call:
None really stand out to me
By Larry Bond
Publisher: Forge
Published In: New York, NY
Date: 2010
Pgs: 379
Summary:
Submariners and submarine warfare. Ready at a moment’s notice. Lurking unseen, silent, ready to unleash their torpedos on the enemy. World War 2 and the Cold War vignettes.
Genre:
war
Main Character:
N/A or submarines in general
Favorite Character:
N/A
Least Favorite Character:
N/A
Favorite Scene:
In the final story in the book, when the USSR put Captain Shevchenko’s plan into motion.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
N/A
Last Page Sound:
A deep sigh. I expected more. The tension of undersea combat isn’t communicated well in the shorts within this collection.
Author Assessment:
I’ve enjoyed other stuff with Larry Bond’s name attached.
Disposition of Book:
Half Price Book stack
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
Individually and with a lot of expansion, these could probably be movies. Maybe. Afraid too many of them would end up as love stories pining for the homefront instead of war story/action adventure stuff.
Casting call:
None really stand out to me
July 31, 2016
3.5, rounded up to four. Submarines aren't really one of my interests, but this one does a good job of being interesting. The stories included cover a variety of situations, time periods, and even participants – from Americans to Germans to British to Russians to Australians. Most of the stories do a good job of talking about events in layman's terms, though some of them use a fair amount of submarine abbreviation-speak that I couldn't puzzle out. I found the later stories in the collection less dense, which rather suited my mood, submarine-wise. Definitely a good choice for people with only a passing interest in the subject, or those who are just discovering the submariner's literary niche.
I received a free copy through FirstReads in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy through FirstReads in exchange for an honest review.
August 20, 2011
I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I picked this book up. What I got was a bunch of excerpted stories from other books detailing multiple experiences of submarine combat, operations, and life. Having grown up during the Cold War, the entries written by Soviet submarine commanders were especially interesting. While providing a good introduction to the genre, the book mainly succeeded in making me want to seek out some of the books that its stories were drawn from.
If you're looking for a cohesive submarine story, you will not find that here. What you will find, however, are several new books and authors that you will want to read.
If you're looking for a cohesive submarine story, you will not find that here. What you will find, however, are several new books and authors that you will want to read.
July 29, 2014
If you want an overview of submarine service throughout history, this is an excellent "sampler" introduction. I never thought I'd be interested in submarines, but the stories are incredible. Many of the included stories are first-hand accounts, and they span a wide range of time, experience, and countries. All of the chapters are excerpted from larger works, so it's a great way to generate a longer reading list and figure out where you may want to explore further. My only complaint is that some of the excerpts do not include explanations of who all the people are, which could have been helped by a little more editing.
June 14, 2010
I received my copy of Crash Dive from FirstReads, it came at the beginning of Spring when life gets really busy and I read less.
The book is a collection of 15 true submarine stories from WWII to the cold war and accounts of exploring to the North Pole. The stories put you in the submarine privy to some of the stresses, tactics, and conditions experienced by the crew members. Some of the stories are from the perspective of the Nazi's or the Soviet Union.
The book includes a short biography on each of the story tellers, and a list of books on submarines for further reading.
The book is a collection of 15 true submarine stories from WWII to the cold war and accounts of exploring to the North Pole. The stories put you in the submarine privy to some of the stresses, tactics, and conditions experienced by the crew members. Some of the stories are from the perspective of the Nazi's or the Soviet Union.
The book includes a short biography on each of the story tellers, and a list of books on submarines for further reading.
September 4, 2011
This book is various stories from submarine sailors, all of which are true. Stories range from WWII to the Cold War era. The majority of the WWII stories consist of shooting torpedos and then hoping they hit. Bond could have cut several stories that felt like deja vu from the one before it.. Otherwise some decent stories.
September 6, 2010
Excellent read. I would read this again in the future and I will be reading a bunch of the books mentioned in this one
July 6, 2011
Pretty good. Small bites of books written by submariners. Might look up a few of the complete works one day.
October 6, 2013
In most of the vignettes in this anthology, a lot of interesting, important things almost happen - and then don't quite.
December 23, 2014
Very nice assortment of samples of various well known and lesser known Submariners and other Naval officers and historians from around the world.
April 12, 2012
good read.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews