War Beneath the Waves: A True Story of Courage and Leadership Aboard a World War II Submarine - Softcover

Keith, Don

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451232321 ISBN 13: 9780451232328

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2011

Synopsis

A gripping true account of submarine heroism, War Beneath the Waves is an inspiring tale of one young naval officer’s leadership and courage under fire under some of the most dangerous waters of World War II.

In November 1943, while on war patrol in enemy waters, the submarine U.S.S. Billfish was spotted by the Japanese, who launched a vicious depth charge attack. Explosions wracked the sub for twelve straight hours. With senior officers incapacitated, diving officer Charlie Rush boldly assumed command and led key members of the crew in a heroic effort to keep their vessel intact as they tried to escape. What followed is one of the most improbable and dramatic stories of the Pacific War. Told in harrowing detail, War Beneath the Waves is a pulse-pounding story of a submarine crew’s valiant fight to save their boat—and one man’s astonishing bravery and coolness in the face of seemingly certain death.

About this title

About the Author

Don Keith is the award-winning author of War Beneath the Waves, The Ship That Wouldn’t Die, Undersea Warrior, In the Course of Duty, The Ice Diaries, and other nonfiction works on American naval heroism. He is also the coauthor, with George Wallace, of the submarine thrillers Final Bearing and Firing Point.

From AudioFile

Listeners can expect to survive a fifteen-hour depth-charge attack upon a U.S. submarine by the Japanese. Cruising enemy waters in WWII's Pacific campaign, the boat came under such a severe bombardment that three officers, including the captain, stopped functioning mentally. The diving officer and the chief of the boat assumed command, saving the submarine. Narrator Stephen Hoye keeps himself from becoming subsumed in the characters and remains the storyteller. He separates sentences with a slight pause without causing discontinuity. The technique prevents him from racing through the technically difficult descriptions that are so important to the story. In capturing the terror of the situation, Hoye credibly portrays how men under such pressure can find themselves unable to think. Today we would recognize the condition as traumatic stress disorder. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0451232321
• ISBN 13: 9780451232328
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 312