Book Comparision

[Buck_O]

Hi all

I recently bought "Cold War Submarines" by Norman Polmar. Its a great book, however I was also thinking of buying "U.S. Submarines since 1945" by Norman Friedman.

Do any of you know if such a purchase would be redundant? If not what book do you prefer? The book by Friedman is no longer for sale, so I would have to buy a used copy...not cheap either...77.00 USD..

[Sailor Steve]

Norman Friedman is a physiscist who has worked for the defense industry and for the US Navy as an anylist. He has published many books on naval history and more specifically on the inner workings and development of different types of ships. His books are considered to be the best on the subject, period.
http://www.afcea.org/events/west/10/...nNormanbio.pdf
http://www.allbookstores.com/author/..._Friedman.html

[Buck_O]

Thank you Sailor Steve, Can you tell me if you think this particular book will ever be printed again?

It seem all that are available are used versions with a steep price...77 USD is the lowest I find. One copy that is brand new is listing for almost 1thousand USD!!

I'm just wondering if I should wait for a re-printing, or should I nab it before there gone forever..

[Sailor Steve]

Good question. It may be reprinted again sometime, but I wouldn't count on it. I doubt it will disappear forever, and the price may come down someday, but in both cases I could be wrong.

If you decide to buy it, and use Amazon.com, be sure to use the link on the top right of this page so Subsim gets a cut. In fact that's true of anything you buy from Amazon.

Me, I'm still wishing I had $400 for R.A. Burt's British Battleships of World War One.

Hey Buck O,

I've had that book since 1997 and let me tell ya @ USD $45.00 I thought it expensive back then. But I have gone back to it over and over as a reference. It is pretty technical in nature as to be expected from Friedman. I ususally have to read it a number of times and refer to the diagrams on occasion. It is well footnoted and sourced.

There are also some interesting antecdotal stories included.

A former Scorpion officer recalled an encounter with Task Group Bravo, in which his CO waited for the destroyers, then deliberately raised his RADAR to radiate. As two pouncers ran down the line of bearing toward the RADAR, he lowered masts, turned, and dove at full speed, leaving a prominent "knuckle" in the water. A magnificient SONAR target, it fully occupied the destroyers while Scorpion ran back towards the carrier. She soon came back up to periscope deapth and deliberately raised her masts to create a visible "feather". By the time the closer-in escorts could react, Scorpion had retracted her masts and moved out of the way. Once the ships of the task group had become thoroughly confused, Scorpion closed in for the attack. Pgs 130-131

Try to justify the price.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

... Me, I'm still wishing I had $400 for R.A. Burt's British Battleships of World War One.

@Sailor Steve
You might do better with Oscar Parkes' British Battleships 1860-1950 if you don't already have it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=all

I prefer Parkes to Burt but then I own a copy of Parkes and have only read Burt.

[Buck_O]

I ended up buying the Norman Friedman book too, glad I did. Can any of you tell me about this title?

Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 18th Edition

Im thinking about getting it, but I don't want to if there is a new edition comming out soon (19th edition). The 18th came out in 2005. I read somewhere that he puts out 3 editions per decade. Seems a new edition would have been out some time ago if that were true.

[Buck_O]

Well, I bought it

Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 18th Edition It will be here early this week. Hard to say no to a naval book Speaking of which, can any of you suggest good books on the technical end of German U-boats, all of them, from the early stages to the end of WW2. Also a good book that tells of the more personal side of serving in these boats. I'm looking hard at
Iron coffins: A personal account of the German U-boat battles of World War II

And Im looking at getting a simular book about american submariners

Wahoo: The Patrols of America's Most Famous World War II Submarine

and

Thunder Below!: The USS Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II

Can any of you know recommend a book that would be good dealing with British subs, & Russian subs of this era (WWII).

Ive been hard pressed to discover any good books dealing with modern day British subs. anyone?

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Buck_O

can any of you suggest good books on the technical end of German U-boats, all of them, from the early stages to the end of WW2.

The Encyclopedia of U Boats by Eberhard Moller

There are two very good "Anatomy of the Ship" on U Boats, one for the Type VII and one for the Type XXI (Plus one for the Submarine HMS Alliance). I highly recommend the Anatomy of the Ship books, great if you are trying to build one.

Osprey should also have a WWII U Boat book, their WWI U Boat book was good.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Buck_O

Speaking of which, can any of you suggest good books on the technical end of German U-boats, all of them, from the early stages to the end of WW2.

Although it is hard to find, I can highly recommend

The U-Boat: The evolution and technical history of German submarines
by Eberhard Rossler The edition I have is the translated version by Harold Erenberg. It is published by the Naval Institute Press. It was published in 1975 (German) and 1981 (English)

It covers the development of German Submarines from before WWI until 1974. It covers the Walter Boat developments as well as the many special purpose submarines developed near the end of WWII.

It is not an easy book to read as it is for hard-core submarine geeks like us.

But if you want to geek out on German Submarines, this is the book to get.... if you can get it. It ain't cheap. But if anyone can get a copy, grab it as it is one of the best references out there IMO.