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Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story Of American Submarine Espionage
Over the course of five years, investigative reporters Sherry Sontag and Chris Drew interviewed hundreds of men who had never spoken about their underwater livesnot even to their wives and children. They uncovered a wealth of classified information: the tapping of undersea Soviet telephone cables, the stealing of Soviet weapons, the tragic collisions of enemy submarines. T...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
October 19th 1998
by PublicAffairs
(first published 1998)
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Emily
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
cold war/history/politics geeks
Shelves:
non-fiction
So this one time I was watching The Hunt For Red October on TV, and marveling that this whole submarine espionage was kind of a silly thing. "Yeah?" my dad said. "You should read this book."
So I did. It turns out that it wasn't just silly, it was INSANE. The book isn't spectacularly well-written, and it's definitely the kind of thing that makes people look at you like a geek, but wow. This is how the Cold War was run, according to the confidential interviews ...more
So I did. It turns out that it wasn't just silly, it was INSANE. The book isn't spectacularly well-written, and it's definitely the kind of thing that makes people look at you like a geek, but wow. This is how the Cold War was run, according to the confidential interviews ...more
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Excellent narrative of submarine warfar with a Tom Clancy touch. An early sub, Cochino, that went down in ’49 from a fire from the batteries. 10 men were lost from Sub Tusk in rescue attempt. The sub world is filled with games of tag and chicken that were incredibly dangerous for the crews and world peace. In 1958, the first US sub Gudgeon was forced to surface from being caught by the soviets in their traditional areas. Much of the book is about the Navies tapping of Soviet communication ...more
Non-fiction, very well researched. It is not dry and is a page turner. The book is able to explain the nature of the brotherhood of the submariners through stories where our submariners are caught up in the loss of Soviet subs... it matters not the politics, it matters that respected submariners are lost.
The development of the US and Soviet fleets is tracked as are the accidents, incidents, and tragedies. The researchers have done a phenomenol job of digging deeply into the storie...more
The development of the US and Soviet fleets is tracked as are the accidents, incidents, and tragedies. The researchers have done a phenomenol job of digging deeply into the storie...more
Well researched tales of the "silent service" of submarine espionage during the Cold War. In a sense, the U.S. and Russia played a decades long cat and mouse game undersea, carefully testing the enemy and the limits of its own developing technologies. The book tells a series of narratives, divided by chapter, of mainly U.S. exploits beginning with the initial use of passive sonar (I can hear but you can't hear me). Among the most interesting stories are the tentative first tries at tap...more
Account of American spying on the Russians using nuclear armed submarines. This books outlines how close the two superpowers came to armed confrontations during the cold war. It is full of fantastical accounts of the CIA, NSA and other bodies trying to listen to Soviet communications. One of the most interesting is of course the attempt to raise a sunken Soviet submarine off the ocean floor using a specially built (by Howard Hughes) ship!
I find the story interesting having lived through some aspects of it long ago as a submariner. Nice to know what might have been going on in the forward section of the boat while I spent my time in the after section in engineering. However, I'm taking some of these stories with a grain of salt since it appears that some of them have been "peached" up according to some Amazon reviewers.
As to the fate of the Scorpion, the authors leave us baffled regarding the causes; first they re...more
As to the fate of the Scorpion, the authors leave us baffled regarding the causes; first they re...more
Blind Man’s Bluff by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew is one of the most captivating books I have ever read. This book is a compilation of short stories from the submarine fleet from the cold war. In the beginning of the book diesel submarines are the most complex the navy has. These boats can submerge only shortly before requiring air and having to resurface. As the book progresses nuclear submarines are developed with greater capabilities. This led to more daring and suspenseful spy missions...more
Great reading in the blend between technical and story-telling. At the time add this to my 'Good Reads' list, the discovery of the remains of the Air France jet that was lost in the storm coming from Brazil is approx. 2 months and the section of this book dealign with the lost submarine the 'Scorpion' gives you reasonable imagination as to how they might have finally found that Air France aircraft - that is how informative this book was.
Even if you do not enjoy military reading but ha...more
Even if you do not enjoy military reading but ha...more
Wow this book was very engrossing. I had no idea how close our country was to war with Russia. This book is a fascinating look at the previously classified role the US submarine force has in our country. The book is a work of investigative journalism using declassified documents and interviews from those who were involved with the submarine program. I loved the movie "The Hunt for Red October." I never realized how real much of that movie was. Both my husband and I found that this was ...more
Where to start...
This isn't a history book, this is a New York Times Bestselling Anecdote book. The anecdotes are a collection of amusing, horrifying, blood pumping, low grade jingoist bar room stories. And taken as that, it is a very enjoyable read and why it doesn't get only one star.
I think that without the Prologue and Afterword I could taken the book for what it is. Unfortunately, the Prologue proclaims that after years and years of hard research the authors can f...more
This isn't a history book, this is a New York Times Bestselling Anecdote book. The anecdotes are a collection of amusing, horrifying, blood pumping, low grade jingoist bar room stories. And taken as that, it is a very enjoyable read and why it doesn't get only one star.
I think that without the Prologue and Afterword I could taken the book for what it is. Unfortunately, the Prologue proclaims that after years and years of hard research the authors can f...more
Not many people truley understand the impact that the submarine has made to warfare. Still fewer people realise the critical role submarines played in spying on the Soviet Union during the cold war. If you enjoyed the Hunt for the Red October then you will enjoy this, because it is real history.
The book follows the progression of the covert submarine operations from the end of the Second World War till now. It gives great insight into the men that crewed these boast as well as the me...more
The book follows the progression of the covert submarine operations from the end of the Second World War till now. It gives great insight into the men that crewed these boast as well as the me...more
I served a couple of years in missile submarines (SAM HOUSTON, HENRY L STIMSON) in the mid-1960's. At the time, and for most of the many years since, I could say practically nil about the fascinating technology we worked with, and the (often all-too-) exciting tactical situations we got involved in. This book presents an accurate, objective picture of the submarine Cold War of those days. A young radioman once came to me, troubled by the thought of unleashing Armageddon if the day ever came. ...more
The story of the submarine navy during the cold war. The Navy used submarines for spying on the Soviets.The book is a series of stories about various incidents that happened between 1945 and 1990. The most interesting is the story of the submarine cable tapping operations. The submarines located and placed taps on a number of Soviet communications cables under the Okhotsk and Barents Seas. These provided incredibly valuable intelligence.
This is good. I never considered how subs came about and the trials and errors associated with learning to build nuclear submarines. Plus not to mention stories we did not hear of in the 70's that occurred between the USA and USSR back then. The author shows what happened when governmental agencies wanted to cash in on the Navies activities in the ocean and how bureaucracy played in part too.
It's worth listening to and reading for that matter.
It's worth listening to and reading for that matter.
This book was recommended to me by a colleague. I can see where readers from the right generation would enjoy reading this book. It's a little too technical for my taste when reading for fun. If I grew up in the timeframe the stories take place during, I bet I'd enjoy it much more. It's been a slow read so far but I intend on finishing it.
Didn't quite finish it - just couldn't stay focused enough. Got most of the way through though.
Didn't quite finish it - just couldn't stay focused enough. Got most of the way through though.
Linda
rated it
Recommends it for:
anyone willing to step out of their reading comfort zone in the interest of a gripping narrative
Shelves:
history,
non-fiction
I read this book when it first came out -- I actually bought it as a Christmas gift for my dad (right up his alley) and ended up reading it entire, much to my surprise, before putting it under the tree!
I never would have thought I would have gotten into this book, as I was not too into non-fiction in general at the time, and certainly not navy or submarine history! But, as a Russian/East European Area Studies kinda gal, I started leafing through it, and before I knew it, I was compl...more
I never would have thought I would have gotten into this book, as I was not too into non-fiction in general at the time, and certainly not navy or submarine history! But, as a Russian/East European Area Studies kinda gal, I started leafing through it, and before I knew it, I was compl...more
Fantastic book that goes into a lot of detail of what can't be talked about officially. The stories of Rickover's eccentricities and all the cool missions the US did was neat to learn about. It shows the courage, tenacity, and resourcefulness of the submariners and I look forward to being counted among them in the future.
Really interesting book on the cold war and the U.S. - U.S.S.R submarine service. One thing of note was the personal respect the crews of both sides had for one another. Fascinating read. Anyone that has served in the Navy will find this most interesting, as well as anyone interested in the cold war.
This book is informative and often amusing. My favorite story was how in the 1950s and 1960s we (the United States) were tapping phone lines from the Soviet Union to the islands that they held east of their territory. The US deployed submarines to install wire taps on the phone cables. Years later, I belive it was the author who saw one of these taps in a Soviet museum. Clearly written on the side of the barrel was "property of United States Government".
A former CIA, submarine guy I know recommended thisto me. Surprising how many times during the cold war we really pushed our luck by hanging out in Russian waters, colliding with a Russian sub, and generally not helping the whole detente thing. Interesting read if you like spy thrillers, this is the real thing. After a while it is a lot of sub guys with big egos doing really stupid things, but all "necessary" in the destruction of communism.
This book reads like an espionage thriller, but it's the true story of America's efforts to spy on the Soviets at sea during the Cold War. From divers scouring the bottom of the Sea of Okhotsk for pieces of Soviet military hardware to ingenious attempts to tap into Soviet communications, this book is full of remarkable stories, including the ambitious effort to raise an entire Soviet missile sub from the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in Col...more
This book is a must read for anyone interested in Col...more
Great book! Another that I read every two to three years. Some of the amazing things our military has done over the years trying to keep us safe. I think Tom Clancy got a lot of his ideas for his novels from the events explained in this book!
fascinating book - I have read it three times since I bought it many years ago. The stories are just amazing, and a must read for anyone who is a fan of the cold war (not like, you enjoyed the cold war, but that you enjoy reading true spy stories.)
I thought this was an interesting book. I learned a lot about the history of U.S. submarines (which I think is the point) and reconfirmed that I never ever want to go on a submarine. I started this book, probably more than a year ago and had to put it down for several months until I was able to refocus on it. For me, this book took more brain cells to read than for a pleasure book. I would recommend this book to others as it was a fairly painless way to learn about history (I do not enjoy histor...more
A very interesting description of the cold war espionage conducted by the Navy Intelligence services. Not terribly well-written but the description of the dangers faced by the submariners was very interesting.
Great for anyone in the Navy, or with family members who were in the Navy on Submariners (those people are called Submariners mar-in-ers, not marine-ers).
It taught me quite a bit about what we put those guys through.
It taught me quite a bit about what we put those guys through.
This book was a great glimpse into US submarine history and cold-war interactions. It wasn't remarkably written, but instead is a great compilation of a lot of difficult-to-find stories that were previously classified.
I miss the Cold War. The good ole Soviets and their secrecy, and us trying to spy on them. Reading this book makes it sound like fun, and maybe that's what it was, just a big game between superpowers..
Far better than The Ice Diaries. "It reads like a spy thriller-except everything in it is true." You'll be amazed by what you never knew was happening while you slept peacefully in your bed.
One of the most interesting books I have read. If you ever thought the Cold War was not real or threatening, this will change your mind. Makes you wondered how we survived the 60s, 70s and 80s.
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| Blind Man's Bluff/Move Over Clancy | 1 | 13 | Dec 20, 2009 02:27pm |
