Meet the new Navy NeRD

[Onkel Neal]

I contacted the company that makes the Navy's new e-reader to discuss setting up some kind of donation system where Subsim enthusiasts could help add titles to their library, sort of like a care package, for active Navy personnel. The current version is so secure, it comes with a fixed number of title (300). But, the company rep I spoke with said that might change in the next version. I offered to donate the Submarine Almanacs Vols I & II for their use, and hopefully they will allow the expansion for additional titles such as Das Boot, Wahoo, Run Silent, Run Deep and other naval titles.

I also suggested exploring the donation of more NeRD tablets paid for by civilians and groups.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/08/tech/gaming-gadgets/navy-nerd-e-reader/

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140508104431-navy-e-reader-story-top.jpg

For cybersecurity reasons, sailors on U.S. Navy vessels can't always use smartphones and tablets. And in the cramped quarters of a submarine, there's little room for shelves full of books.

So how is a bookworm sailor supposed to pass the time during those long hours at sea?

The Navy has a solution: The Navy eReader Device, or "NeRD" for short, a custom-made, secure e-reader that comes preloaded with a library of 300 titles. The device has no cellular connectivity or Wi-Fi, so there are no signals to betray its location or tempt enemy hackers.

Yes, that NeRD name may stigmatize reading for some seamen and women. But the Navy is hoping the new gadget will be a welcome companion for bored sailors.

"I know the paperbacks (on Navy ships) get passed back and forth until they fall apart," said Nilya Carrato, program assistant for the Navy General Library Program. "We're hoping the NeRD holds up a little better."

The Navy will start by distributing five devices to each of the submarines in its active fleet, Carrato told CNN. Eventually, it plans to send NeRDs to all Navy vessels.

[nikimcbee]

Subsim almanac 2007 for the win.:up:

[Jimbuna]

Great idea Neal :sunny:

[TarJak]

Great stuff. Getting behind this.:up:

[Onkel Neal]

How about suggestions for Submarine/Naval books that we could also help get on the next edition of the NeRD?

I suggested:

Nonfiction U-boat titles:
Das Boot - Lothar-Günther Buchheim
Iron Coffins - Herbert A. Werner
Teddy Suhren, Ace of Aces: Memoirs of a U-Boat Rebel - Teddy Suhren
U-boat Commander: A Periscope View of the Battle of the Atlantic - Peter Cremer

US Pacific submarines:
Clear the Bridge! The War Patrols of the USS Tang - Richard O’Kane
Wahoo: The Patrols of America's Most Famous World War II submarine - Richard O’Kane
Death at a Distance: The Loss of the Legendary USS Harder - Michael Sturma
War in the Boats , My WW II Submarine Battles - Capt. William J. Ruhe
Submarine Commander , A story of WW II and Korea - Paul R. Schratz

Compilations
United States Submarines by David R. Hinkle
Submarine Almanac Vol I & II – Subsim
The Navy - W.J. Holland

Fiction:
Run Silent, Run Deep – Ned Beach
The Hunt for Red October – Tom Clancy
Voyage of the Devilfish - Michael DiMercurio
To Kill the Potemkin - Mark Joseph

I also told them I own the copyright to both Submarine Almanac Vol I & II books, and I would be glad to donate their use for the NeRD tablets to be used aboard US naval vessels.

[Jimbuna]

How about the Clay Blair books Hitler's U-boat War vols 1 and 2 and Silent Victory?

[Pioneer]

How is it that we never came up with this idea?

[aanker]

WW II & Submarines:

Edward L. Beach, "Run Silent, Run Deep"

James Calvert, "Silent Running"

Eugene Fluckey, "Thunder Below!"

Pearl Harbor attack:

Bill McWilliams, "Sunday In Hell: Pearl Harbor Minute By Minute"

If open to classics of literature, the sky is the limit... Submariners that I have met seem to enjoy reading so many things other than submarines, including poetry.

This project is a great idea : )

[smolfri]

I find it kinda funny it took them this long to come up with a low tech e-reader lol. I think it was a great idea to contact the manufacturer of the device and offer up title suggestions as well as your submarine almanacs.

[Admiral Halsey]

WW II & Submarines:

Edward L. Beach, "Run Silent, Run Deep"

James Calvert, "Silent Running"

Eugene Fluckey, "Thunder Below!"

Pearl Harbor attack:

Bill McWilliams, "Sunday In Hell: Pearl Harbor Minute By Minute"

If open to classics of literature, the sky is the limit... Submariners that I have met seem to enjoy reading so many things other than submarines, including poetry.

This project is a great idea : )
If you plan on giving them a book about the Pearl attack you can't go wrong with At Dawn We Slept by Gordon Prange.

[Red October1984]

I liked Rites of War by C.A. Mobley and you can't forget Blind Man's Bluff (still haven't read more than 3 chapters though)

I really really liked War in the Boats: My WW2 Submarine Battles so I'll second that suggestion....and there's always Red Storm Rising....

[smolfri]

I would suggest the Hornblower series by C.S.Foster

[aanker]

If you plan on giving them a book about the Pearl attack you can't go wrong with At Dawn We Slept by Gordon Prange.
Great selection : )

..... I almost wish - (not really though) there was a 'like button' because:

The Hornblower series by C. S. Forester is wonderful

[Onkel Neal]

I would suggest the Hornblower series by C.S.Foster

Very good idea! And the Master & Commander series.

[smolfri]

Very good idea! And the Master & Commander series.

Thank you Neal! the Master and Commander series are fantastic as well. Lots of books totaling thousands of pages which would make for lots of reading on those eendless months under the polar ice cap.

[Sinkmore]

I find it kinda funny it took them this long to come up with a low tech e-reader lol.

I bet they cost $9000 apiece. They could've "downgraded" a $40 kindle with a pointy stick applied to the wireless gear, sigh. They look cool though!

As for titles... It seems to me a person on a sub for 6 months might want to read about -not- submarines!

[Jimbuna]

Hunt and Kill by Theodore P. Savas

[Oleander]

I'm surprised no one has suggested "The Odyssey of a U-Boat Commander: The Recollections of Erich Topp"

Might be able to get a discount from Amazon if you tell them what its for. The Kindle version is about $10 cheaper than the hardback.

[Jimbuna]

Secrets Of The Conqueror by Stuart Prebble

[Admiral8Q]

I think there should also be some technical and historic books about submarines and surface ships. :hmmm:

[Onkel Neal]

I bet they cost $9000 apiece. They could've "downgraded" a $40 kindle with a pointy stick applied to the wireless gear, sigh. They look cool though!

As for titles... It seems to me a person on a sub for 6 months might want to read about -not- submarines!

Lol, you are close. I read today that the cost of the e-reader and 300 books is $3000. Not sure how much of the cost is hardware vs software, but wow, not cheap.

Update: For now, the Navy has ordered 385 NeRDs. They cost $3,000 a piece, but most of that pays for the book titles. The Navy says the devices’ costs are minimal.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/navy-sailors-get-e-reader-called-nerd

[fastbikkel]

3000?
That cannot be right.
How many titles are included? Was that mentioned?