Salt and Steel: Reflections of a Submariner

by Edward L. Beach

With characteristic warmth and humor, Beach relates the many highlights of his career as a submariner that began in World War II with the Battle of Midway and included 12 war patrols in the Pacific. Although he wears 10 decorations for gallantry in combat, among them the Navy Cross, his own accomplishments are never the focus of the book. It is instead the Navy as he saw it. Beach was on the personal staff of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Omar Bradley, just in time for the 'Revolt of the Admirals' over the B-36 bomber and other controversies. Always an interested observer, Beach offers a fascinating look at this and other inner-service rows. As the naval aide to President Eisenhower from 1953 to 1957, he enjoyed a close relationship with the legendary World War II leader and later helped to further Adm. Hyman Rickover's nuclear power program. For those who have read Beach's other works, it will come as not surprise that this book is infused with his intense devotion to the Navy and concern for its future. He credits the Navy with bringing his parents His father was the captain of a cruiser sent to quell disturbances in Haiti in 1915, his mother a resident of the island whose family sought his father's protection. He tells of his experiences growing up the son of a naval officer and how that influenced his decision to attend the US Naval Academy--serving as regimental commander before graduating second in the class of 1939. He was first in his class at submarine school in 1941. But in addition to his many accomplishments through the years, Beach encountered disappointments. Among them are his father's court-martial after the wreck of the Memphis and his own failure to be promoted to admiral. But proof of his continuing devotion to the Navy are found in the concluding chapters of the book, where he makes recommendations for the future of the officer corps and ponders the effect of the submarine on naval warfare.

Genres: History, Biography, Military Fiction, Memoir, Naval History

299 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1999

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

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Ned Beach and he was a gracious and honest man. I enjoy his books greatly. He loved the Navy even though he didn't earn his admiral's stars that he deserved. Salt and Steel shows is honesty and his love for the Navy.

[Gary Misch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ned Beach's naval career spanned the period from pre World War II through the age of nuclear propulsion. He has quite a story to tell, having worked for both the legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover and as the aid to President Dwight Eisenhower. He was also the commissioning commanding officer of the second nuclear powered submarine, USS Triton. Triton was an unusual boat, being larger than most destroyers, and the first sub to have two reactors. He took Triton on a non stop circumnavigation of the globe, though he reserves much of that story for his next book, "Around the World Submerged." He's a fine writer, with several novels already under his belt. This autobiography is well worth reading.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great insights by Father and Son.