Das Boot
Author: Lothar-Günther Buchheim

Das Boot is noted for its relentlessly vivid and realistic depiction of what it's like to be locked away in a stinky metal tube for weeks on end, with a good chance of being suddenly drowned. Das Boot is certainly the roughest, most grueling, and most claustrophobic submarine novel ever written. Not much is actually left to the reader's imagination; you can almost smell the horrid stench rising up from the bilge, feel the condensation running down the bulkheads, and grow numb from the endless hammering of the diesels.

Incredible Cross Sections: Man-Of-War
Author: Richard Platt (Illustrated by Stephen Biesty)

The subject of this book is a British 100-gun first-rate ship-of-the-line of the late 18th Century, a virtual replica in all but name of Horatio Nelson’s famous HMS Victory. The author slices the ship into 10 vertical sections from fore to aft, each slice depicting a different aspect of life onboard, including health and medicine, sleeping, resupplying in port, battle, and working at sea. Each spread includes a large transverse section through the ship with important features labeled and described, and summaries covering subjects ranging from how cannons were fired, the tools used by the surgeon, and what the crew ate.

Midway: Dauntless Victory
Author: Peter C. Smith

Dauntless Victory is very much a “grognard” book, packed with seemingly obscure details whose inclusion in the main text often isn’t immediately obvious until later in the book. It’s packed with interviews with surviving principals, tables, flight crew rosters, discussions of naval tactics and equipment, and mini-biographies of every major player. Uniquely, Dauntless Victory is written by a British historian, rather than Japanese or American writer like most books on the subject.

Cold War Submarines
Authors:  Norman Polmar and Kenneth Moore

Between August 1945 and December 1991, the United States and Soviet Union built 936 submarines, 401 of which were nuclear powered. Of this total, the Soviets built more than 650, building at least 50 identifiable classes in all. In Western intelligence reports, speculation prevailed regarding the true capabilities of Russia's underwater warships. Since the early 90's, submarine buffs have eagerly awaited a definitive book on the design and construction of submarines during the Cold War.

Russian Submarines: An Illustrated View
Author:  Wayne Frey

If a naval enthusiast wishes to study pictures of Russian subs, he simply does a Google image search. You've seen the stock images that litter the web but nothing like that will prepare you for the motherload of detailed and highly sensitive images contained in Wayne Frey's Russian Submarines. This 125-page book is filled with close-ups of Akulas, Alfas, and Typhoons, at sea, under construction, and from unique--and previously classified--angles. This book would have created an international stir just a decade past.

Anatomy of the Ship Heavy Cruiser Takao
Author:  Janusz Skulski

Takao had a long, rather interesting career. Having participated in almost every major campaign of the Second World War, Takao was almost sunk by two torpedoes fired from the submarine Darter during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Towed to Singapore, she was deemed too heavily damaged to be repaired, and spent the rest of the war as a floating anti-aircraft battery.  After the war, the Allied occupation forces used Takao as a communication, repair, and accommodation base, eventually scuttling the ship in the Malacca Straight on October 27, 1946.

Tales from a Tin Can
Author:  Michael Keith Olsen

In March, 1943, while patrolling off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, a task force consisting of two US cruisers and Dale ambushed what they thought were three Japanese transports. The battle quickly took a deadly turn for Dale--the transports were escorted by faster and more powerfully armed Japanese heavy cruisers, in attendance with two IJN light cruisers and four destroyers, kicking off a terrifying two-day naval engagement.

Scorpion Down
Author:  Ed Offley

No one has ever been able to determine what happened to the Scorpion. Had one of the torpedoes "gone hot" and exploded while still inside it's tube? Could the Trash Disposal Unit have failed? Did the diving planes jam themselves in full down position, sending the submarine into an out of control dive? A small percentage believed that foul play on the part of Soviet Navy had caused the destruction of the Scorpion. Most of these theories have been pretty thoroughly debunked, but that didn't stop Ed Offley from writing Scorpion Down.

War at Sea
Author:  Ronald H. Spector

The evolution of naval warfare in a nutshell? In the Napoleonic era, two opposing fleets might have five hours to plan a battle strategy. By World War I, that time had dropped to as little as five minutes. In the era of radar, guided missiles, and sophisticated electronic countermeasures, a commander might have five seconds to react to an incoming missile or torpedo. Surely, the unstoppable march of technological advancement can't be the only reason for these breathtaking advances. What about the men behind the machines?

Sea of Thunder
Author:  Evan Thomas

Halsey was the naval hero that America needed in it's time of crisis. Flaunted by the press as the second coming of Admiral Nelson, Halsey was a chain smoking, no-nonsense kind of guy who refused to eat off of fine China because it was "made in Japan." Halsey's luster began to wear off as his obsession with sinking the Japanese carriers nearly resulted in the destruction of much of the 7th fleet, left behind to guard the San Bernadino Straight between Layte and Samar.

The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems
Author:  Clay Blair

The 2006 edition of The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapon Systems is a $250, seven pound hardcover monster of a book - the most expensive book published by the Naval Institute. Virtually every weapon and electronic system used aboard warships and naval aircraft today is covered in detail. Everything from electro-optical systems, minehunting equipment, combat direction systems, radar, sonar, ECM and ESM systems, mines, countermeasures, guns, fire control systems, missiles, ASW rockets, torpedoes, to sonobuoys, is covered.

Silent Victory
The U.S. Submarine War against Japan
Author:  Clay Blair

Silent Victory is a massive (1,104 pages), multi-layered account of the American submarine war against the Japanese Empire. It covers the submarine war, the "island hopping" campaign, codebreaking, and a number of other related topics. First published in 1975, Silent Victory was widely acclaimed as the most complete submarine history ever published. It was also one of the first books to hint at the massive scale of Allied codebreaking operations, a key element of submarine success in the Pacific.

Ice And Steel
Author:  Don Clayton Meadows

"What-if?" and alternate history novels are usually taken with a grain of salt by serious readers. Granted, there are plenty of alternate history stories out there, but when the actual history is bad, the results are usually disastrous. I approached Of Ice And Steel with a bit of trepidation -- here was a modern day alternate history techno-thriller with a World War II sci-fi twist. It was either going to be an exciting novel, or the dumbest piece of tripe I'd ever read. Thankfully, my doubts were quashed soon enough, and I spent the next three days on the edge of my seat.

Rogue Trident
Author:  John R. Hindinger

Imagine the world's most powerful weapon in the hands of a dying man motivated solely by revenge. An Ohio-class nuclear missile submarine (SSBN), armed with 24 Trident ballistic missiles each with six 475-kiloton nuclear warheads. The world's quietest warship, capable of disappearing without a trace and unleashing the explosive power of 4,500 Hiroshimas on a whim. Sounds like the kind of stuff that might keep people up at night, huh?

Seas of Crisis
Author:  Joe Buff

The action comes early in the novel and immediately engages the reader. Fuller and the Challenger confront a gauntlet of deadly situations in the optimum undersea battlefield--beneath the polar icecap. The main thrust of Seas of Crisis is an assignment the US government gives Fuller that will either bring the war to an immediate end or escalate it to the point where the US can and will pounce on the Axis with the full might of its forces.

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy
Author:  Ian W. Toll

Imagine being a citizen of the United States in the early 1790s. Less than 10 years ago, your country fought a bloody war to free itself from the shackles of British oppression. Congress  allocated the then-colossal sum of $666,666 towards the construction of six powerful new frigates, four 44-gun and two 36-gun - the United States, President, Congress, Constitution, Constellation, and Chesapeake. For those looking for action at sea, Toll doesn’t disappoint.

Run Silent, Run Deep
Author:  Edward Beach

This is where it all began, folks: The origin of every submarine cliche since 1955. Mercifully, the originator of those cliches happened to experience them first-hand, and was a pretty decent writer to boot. The author, Edward Latimer Beach, Jr., graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1939, and served on three submarines during the Second World War. This experience gave Run Silent, Run Deep a greater sense of verisimilitude than the vast majority of submarine novels written before and after it.

Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Authors:  Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully

The Battle of Midway has transcended mere history to become a permanently-engrained part of the modern American mythos. Few would doubt that it was one of the most important naval battles of the 20th Century. The image of Dauntless dive bombers plummeting from the heavens, smashing three Japanese carriers in a matter of minutes, is one of the most evocative of the Second World War. But is the battle really all it’s made out to be? That’s the question authors Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully ask in their fascinating and potentially controversial new book.

Torpedo
Author: Jeff Edwards

A former Chief Petty Officer, the author knows how to work in natural constraints such as gear breaking down and casualties to create tension. The conflicts between the MH-60R helos and the U-boats bear noting. I thoroughly enjoyed how the U-boats employed sub-SAM missiles to take on the air units. The author is at his best when his characters are processing sonar contacts and developing firing solutions, when the ASROCs fly and the CIWS denies incoming Vipers.
 

Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion
Author: Stephen Paul Johnson

On May 22nd 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, the nuclear attack submarine USS Scorpion disappeared without a trace somewhere in the North Atlantic. After the Scorpion failed to arrive in Norfolk on the morning of the 27th, the Navy undertook the largest search operation in it's history. Most material on submarine disasters is rather sterile and distanced, and lacking in human element. Silent Steel stands out from the crowd in that the officers and crew of the Scorpion are actually allowed some development.

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
Author: James D. Hornfischer

Hollywood heroism and real-life heroism are worlds apart. In Hollywood, heroism is defined as "charging into machine gun fire, killing 50 Germans, and getting bruised in the ankle." In real life, heroism is "charging a squadron of Japanese battleships at flank speed in a tiny destroyer escort with two 5-inch guns and three torpedoes." Literally, this is the sort of story that’s too good for Hollywood. I put off reading this book for the longest time, simply because the title turned me off. The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors? It sounded corny beyond belief. Having a voracious appetite for naval literature, I gave in and read it.  I’m glad I did.

Anatomy of the Flower-Class Corvette Agassiz
Authors: John McKay & John Harland

The British designed the Flower-class Corvette as a "stopgap" measure to protect Allied convoys crossing the Atlantic. They were slow, poorly armed, and presumably would have "rolled on wet grass." Nonetheless, they participated in the sinking of at 51 enemy submarines. The book claims  "more than 350 drawings," but the actual number is closer to 550. Literally, almost no bolt goes uncovered.

In Harm's Way
Author: Douglas Stanton

On July 19, 1945 the USS Indianapolis, a Heavy Cruiser of the Portland-class, departed San Francisco on a secret mission to Tinian Island. She arrived at that distant island outpost on July 26th. Unbeknownst to the entire crew, the Indianapolis had delivered the components for the Little Boy atomic bomb. The story of the USS Indianapolis is one of the few naval disasters remembered to this day.

Warrener's Beastie: A Novel of the Deep
Author: William R. Trotter

Warrener finally finds a goal worthy of his ambitions: revealing the legendary Vardinoy Beast of the Faeroes. He mounts a monster hunting expedition with a veteran U-boat hunter, a hack-and-stab film director, his porn star wife, a Jewish journalist, and a lusty Hell’s angel who is convinced he’s a reincarnated Viking berserker. The only thing left is to find the monster. And survive.

Type VII U-boats
Author: Robert C. Stern

The German Type VII U-boat needs no introduction. The one warship that could win or lose the war for Germany, 709 were poured out, and plans were put in place to build twice that number. It has since come to represent the stereotypical image of the World War II-era submarine, appearing in Das Boot and That Other U-boat Movie.

Playing With the Enemy
Author: Gary W. Moore

The U-505 POWs are sent to a remote camp in Louisiana. Not even the Red Cross is notified of their existence. The Navy Baseball team are sent there as guards. The U-505 men are not completely convinced that this “baseball” isn’t a new interroga-tion tactic. In the end, the spirit of competitive sports won out with “the sound of men laughing and yelling in two languages” mixed with the “crack of a wooden bat giving a hardball a ride through the humid Louisiana morning air”.

Back from the Deep
Author: Carl LaVO

On May 23, 1939, the submarine U.S.S. Squalus sank while on a training exercise. A sister sub, the Sculpin, located her and her survivors and stood by during the rescue. The boat was raised and recommissioned as the Sailfish. Four and a half years later, Sailfish sank the Japanese carrier Chuyo, which, unbeknownst to the Americans, was carrying survivors from the Sculpin, lost several days earlier.

Castles of Steel
Author: Robert Massie

Castles of Steel is the newest book by Pulitzer Prize winning historian Robert Massie. It is a history of the naval conflict between Great Britain and Germany during the Great War, focusing on the major surface actions of 1914, 1915, and 1916. It is an effortlessly-written epic, voluminously detailed, and free of the sensationalism and posturing that mars many modern history books.

Rise to Victory
Author: R. Cameron Cooke

Nuke sub vs.  littoral AIP sub, someone's bound to get hurt.  The US captain meets his counterpart, Capt. Peto Triono of the Indonesian Navy. Peto’s German-design Type 214 boat is a stark contrast to the US nuclear sub. Diesel powered with AIP (Air Independent Propulsion, i.e., fuel cells power the electric motors) capabilities—it can cruise silently at 8 knots for 17 days without surfacing or snorkeling.

Operation Drumbeat
Author: Michael Gannon

U-123, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Reinhard Hardegen, serves as the focal point for Gannon’s narrative. In his two Drumbeat patrols, Hardegen sank 19 merchant ships, one of them barely 20 miles from New York City. Gannon recalls 123’s near-sinking at the hands of a Norwegian factory ship, it’s encounter with the Q-Ship Atik, and the infamous torpedoing and shelling of the tanker Gulf America.

The U-Boat War
Author: David Westwood

The U-boat War  skillfully chronicles the logistical issues and technological gains that worked for and against the U-boats. This studied analysis of the tactics, planning, technology, and logistics sheds light on why the war was lost and what events contributed to the defeat of the German U-boat arm.

Rig Ship for Ultra Quiet
Author: Andrew Karam, Ph.D

With a host of Soviet ASW planes, helos, and ships on high alert combing the area looking for American subs, searching diligently for Plunger... she obliges them by deliberating taking the bait and sneaking into their midst, working up fire-control solutions and taking photographs.

Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-boat War in the Atlantic
Author: Theodore P. Savas, ed.

U-505 was the first enemy warship captured by the United States since the War of 1812. Much has been written about how Captain Daniel V. Gallery conceived of and successfully executed the plan that resulted in the capture of U-505. Hunt and Kill, from publisher Savas Beatie, is the first book to describe the complete history of U-505, from its commissioning as a warship in 1941 to its current status as an exhibit in Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.

Red Star Under the Baltic:

"Red Star" was written in the early 1960s, when the events portrayed were still reasonably fresh in the author's mind, and originally published in Russian in 1966 under the title "Reserve of Strength." Presented in the first person, Korzh's superb record details the abysmal life and death conditions Soviet sailors endured on their primitive but stoutly constructed boats.

McIntyre established himself as one of the greats. He captured the number one German U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer (whose Zeiss binoculars he took and used for the rest of the war); in the same battle, he directed the attack that killed the second-scoring ace Joachim Schepke. Later in the war, his ship was torpedoed; before that he nursed a bent-nosed destroyer back to port after ramming a U-boat.

Famed U-boat commander Kapitänleutnant Guenter "the Silent" Kern is called on by Admiral Doenitz to undertake a mission so vital to the Reich’s survival that he is allocated a small flotilla of 15 Type XXI U-boats.

Written with the capable assistance of writer John Vanzo, this book is notable because it is provides a non-officer’s perspective.  Goebeler dutifully kept diaries, notes, mementos, and reminders of his service aboard U-505, which, along with subsequent research and a copy of the ship's log, served as the core for this book.