Clay Blair's "Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan"

:)

Nothing like some light reading huh?

I finally got both volumes of his Hitler's U-Boat War or whatever it's called (too lazy to walk to the bookshelf :O:) - picked them up in hardback from third party sellers at Amazon for a cool $30 total (minus a $25 gift certie! :yeah:). Really happy about that.

Used, natch, but upon their arrival I was pleasantly surprised to find both volumes were in virtually new condition. AND THEY ARE FREAKIN' HUGE.

I mean, I knew it was a "big read" but crikey! I've had to officially expand the u-boat section to a second shelf just to make room for them!

You lucky girl! I haven't checked lately but it seems they're pretty proud of the second volume.

I got a used copy of the first volume a while back that was in ok condition. I'm going to check again now after seeing your screaming deal on Amazon.

Light reading, they're not. The u-boat ones are full of statistics and he comes up with some interesting conclusions, especially about tanker production and losses. I came away from the first book with the impression that things weren't quite as touch and go in England as many books lead you to believe as far as the effectiveness of the u-boats were at starving England.

I'm still early into his "Silent Victory" (Pearl Harbor has just been attacked). The book doesn't seem to be as full of statistics. I'm curious about what conclusions he comes up with.

:)

Vol 1: The Hunters was $9.81 from these guys:

http://www.amazon.com/shops/harvestbooks

Fulfilled by Amazon, plus I have Amazon Prime so 2-day shipping was free.

Vol 2: The Hunted I got for $16.97 + 3.99 shipping from here:

http://www.amazon.com/shops/travelingems

Not fulfilled by Amazon, thus the shipping charge for Standard Shipping; but I still had it in less than a week, and in truly excellent condition.

I always buy used books I can't physically examine with a little caution, expecting them to be a little less pristine than advertised, and consider the prices accordingly. But in this case both books could have been advertised as brand new and I would've been completely satisfied with what I got. :yeah:

I've gotten so many great deals on good quality books, used and new, from third party sellers there that I almost never buy anything now without looking at all the different formats available and I always check the "also available from these sellers" info to see if there's a really good deal available.

I've had great results buying used books from Amazon as well. I've gotten books marked "Used-Very Good Condition" for as little as a penny with $4 shipping that looked brand new. I've only gotten a couple of books that maybe stretched the limits of "very good condition".
I got a photography book listed as very good condition that looked like it had been dropped in the bath tub.:nope: It was readable and did its job, but I sometimes take the descriptions of the condition with a grain of salt.

:)

Still waiting for Vol II to come out in the kindle form. Still pondering why the would make Vol I in kindle, but not Vol II.......

Just finished The Diary of a U-boat commander (http://www.amazon.com/Commander-Intr...7547191&sr=8-1). Free as a Kindle book. You can get a kindle app for your PC free too, so there is no outlay at all for this one. It's set in WWI, and reads very much like "u-46 puts to sea again", for those familiar with Laughing Swordfish's work in the SH3 Forum.

Here's what I got when I accessed this link:

Still pondering buying one them new fangled Kindle contraptions. :hmmm:

Call me an old geezer, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger though. Something about the tactile feel of a book that I think I'll miss too much.

I think I may be wearing down though. I came pretty close at the beginning of the year. I had some Amazon gift cards from Christmas and I really considered it but just couldn't. Got a Blu-ray player instead. :D

No need to buy a kindle just yet (they have dropped in price though). Get the Kindle for the PC app, start a small library. If you have a smart phone, they have kindle apps for most of them. That's where I do most of my reading. We have a kindle itself, but we both just use our phones.

And the fact that I can share a book with somebody around the world is nice too. Most books have a 2 week loan option.

Just started this:

http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Versu...8370301&sr=8-4

Aircraft versus Submarines. Currently reading about airships in WW1 :)

I just started a book I haven't read in many years. I've forgotten what most of it was about. It is Stephen Coonts' Flight of the Intruder.

Cold War Submarines
 

Im reading "Cold War Submarines" by Norman Polmar and K.J. Moore. The author displaces a few assumptions I held, that I found very revelatory.

1. That the U.S. held a large technological advantage over the Soviets at the end of the Cold war. False.
2. Incredible data in regards to the development of the U.S and Soviet/Russian 4th generation nuclear submarines. I thought the Seawolf was conceived in unison. Quite the opposite. It was the most controversial submarine in U.S. history. A very interesting chapter in the book.
3. The author hints that Admiral Rickover was more of an obstacle than a help, in the latter days of U.S. submarine develpment & doctrine.


There are many other very informative & interesting facts & figures, plus great photos & diagrams. Its more of a reference type of book. I highly recommend it for any serious submarine enthusiast.

Indy's Books
 

Books about WW II US Submarines

War in the Boats by Capt. Williams J. Ruhe
In the course of Duty. Don Keith
Maru Killer by Dave Bouslog
Gunfish a fleet sub goes to war Claude M. Pearson
We were Pirates by Robert Schultz and James Shell
Silent Running My years in a World War II Attack Submarine
By James F. Calvert
Silent Victory The U.S. Submarine War against Japan by Clay Blair Jr.
Submarine! by Edward L. Beach
Spadefish by Stephen L. Moore
Clear the Bridge! Richard H. O'Kane
Steel Shark in the Pacific USS Pampanito by Capt. Walter E. Jaffee
Nothing Friendly in the Vicinity by Claude C. Conner
Wahoo by Richard H. O'Kane
The Galloping Ghost by Carl LaVo
The Rescue by Steven Trent Smith
The Depths of Courage by Flint Whitlock and Ron Smith
Cruisers for Breakfast by John G. Mansfield
US Submarines 1941-45 Jim Christley and Illustrated by Tony Bryan
Thunder Below by Eugene B. Fluckey
Run Silent Run Deep by Edward L. Beach
War beneath the waves by Don Keith
Pigboat 39 goes to war by Bobette Gugliotta
Red Scorpion by Peter T. Sasgen


Books about WWII German U-Boats

Neither Shark Nor Wolves by Timothy P. Mulligan
Uboat Ace by Jordan Vause, the story of Wolfgang Luth
Uboat Commander by Peter Cremer
Uboat War Patrol by Lawrence Paterson
The Hunters and the Hunted by Jochen Brennecke
Iron Coffins by Herbert A. Werner

Cold War
Blind Mans Bluff by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew with Annette Lawrence Drew
Red Star Rogue by Kenneth Sewell with Clint Richmond


If you guys can think of any more nonfiction books, please PM me and let me know Thanks Indy:salute:

Having nothing whatsoever to do with submarines is Adam Nicholson's Seize the Fire: Herosim, Duty and the Battle of Trafalgar.

On the surface Nicholson has taken a page out of such Victor Davis Hanson works as Carnage and Culture or Ripples of Battle but without much of the Western jingoistic metaphysical hyperbole. Still, this cultural history of Trafalgar is a superior piece of history and well worth a look by anybody with even a remote interest of the Royal Navy's greatest triumph.

This is a very well researched, highly readable book that goes far to explain how the RN in combat out killed its enemies by better than a 10:1 ratio throughout the wars of the period. By this measure Trafalgar was a very hard fought battle as the kill ratio was a meer 6:1 for the English fleet. By the end of the book you can well believe Nicholson's early contention that virtually every participant on both sides that October morning knew that the catastophic defeat of the Combined Fleet was a foregone conclusion even before the first broadside was fired.

Buy it through the Amazon link and support SubSim at the same time!