New USS Scorpion book sighted

[nikimcbee]

I recived my new Military Book club ads, and the new featured book is: "All Hands Down" The True Story of the Soviet Attack on the USS Scorpion, by Ken Sewell. The premise of the book is the Soviets sank the Scorpion in retaliation of the loss K-129.

Isn't this the second book on the subject in the last two years? I don't know too much about the subject, so what do you guys think?

[Bill Nichols]

Trash attracts more trash... not worth the paper it's printed on.

[nikimcbee]

This from Amazon's description of the book:

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Controversy has steadily shadowed the 1968 sinking of the U.S. nuclear submarine Scorpion. The navy's official version of accidental sinking on a routine mission was challenged by allegations that the Scorpion was in fact torpedoed while shadowing a Soviet task force. Further rumors indict the spy John Walker for providing confidential codes to the Soviets, enabling them to track the submarine. Yet another account purports that the Soviets destroyed the Scorpion in retaliation for the sinking of one of their own subs. The two navies eventually called a truce rather than risk further disrupting relations. Sewell, a submarine veteran, and Preisler, a writer of techno-thrillers, add little new evidence in their version of the story; their new data is unfailingly familiar and they never succeed in making a persuasive case for the conspiracy and cover-up they claim occurred. Instead, Sewell and Preisler devote more time to anecdotes about the Scorpion's crew and their families and little vignettes of the routines on board a nuclear sub. What is undeniably useful is the book's demonstration of the high numbers of accidents between ships and aircrafts that were accepted as routine during much of the Cold War. All Hands Down highlights a truth no less relevant today: international incidents are in good part constructions mutually agreed upon after the event. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"Scrupulously researched, compulsively readable, All Hands Down plunges us back to a dark era of surprise attacks against the United States by devious foreign enemies; of the world at the brink of ruinous warfare; of official cover-up. Fortunately, that era is well in the past. Wait a minute..." -- Ron Powers, coauthor, Flags of Our Fathers; Last Flag Down; and The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle




Wait, I just realized this. This is by the same guy that wrote the Rogue Star book.

[Subnuts]

I'm already seeing copies of Scorpion Down (and we all know how I felt about that book - I heard from a secondary source that my review on this site apparently upset the author! :rotfl showing up at Salvation Army, so I suppose someone has to keep the bandwagon from slowing down, huh?

But seriously folks. Look at the wreck of the Scorpion. The bow is the only part that's still intact, and the rest has suffered massive implosion damage. That basically implies that the bow was completely flooded before the sub passed it's crush depth. Not a single sign of a torpedo impact, or the Jumbotron-sized hole you'd expect from 250 to 500 kilograms of high explosive going off against the hull.

But why let facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory?

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

I'm already seeing copies of Scorpion Down (and we all know how I felt about that book - I heard from a secondary source that my review on this site apparently upset the author! :rotfl showing up at Salvation Army, so I suppose someone has to keep the bandwagon from slowing down, huh?

But seriously folks. Look at the wreck of the Scorpion. The bow is the only part that's still intact, and the rest has suffered massive implosion damage. That basically implies that the bow was completely flooded before the sub passed it's crush depth. Not a single sign of a torpedo impact, or the Jumbotron-sized hole you'd expect from 250 to 500 kilograms of high explosive going off against the hull.

But why let facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory?

I kept looking for your review at his website:
http://www.scorpiondown.com/index.html

I didn't see it:rotfl:

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

I kept looking for your review at his website:
http://www.scorpiondown.com/index.html

I didn't see it:rotfl:

Well, he did provide a link to a website showing photos of the wreck... none of which actually show any evidence of a torpedo impact!

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

I'm already seeing copies of Scorpion Down (and we all know how I felt about that book - I heard from a secondary source that my review on this site apparently upset the author! :rotfl showing up at Salvation Army, so I suppose someone has to keep the bandwagon from slowing down, huh?

But seriously folks. Look at the wreck of the Scorpion. The bow is the only part that's still intact, and the rest has suffered massive implosion damage. That basically implies that the bow was completely flooded before the sub passed it's crush depth. Not a single sign of a torpedo impact, or the Jumbotron-sized hole you'd expect from 250 to 500 kilograms of high explosive going off against the hull.

But why let facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory?

I agree. The public's obsession with conspiracy theories just depresses me to no end. Why can't they just accept that something mundane may have caused the tragedy? Instead, people want something involving massive coverups, UFO's, Elvis, JFK - you get the idea.

nikimcbee, for a good non-conspiratorial account of the sinking, try "Silent Steel", by Stephen Johnson. If I'm not mistaken his theory is that the sub flooded through a faulty garbage disposal unit and lost buoyancy. Aside from the book, Johnson wrote a biting article about how conspiracy theorists have spun the sinking (unfortunately I don't have the link).

[nikimcbee]

I've heard of the silent steel book. I haven't read it though.

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

Aside from the book, Johnson wrote a biting article about how conspiracy theorists have spun the sinking (unfortunately I don't have the link).

I found it:

http://www.terratol.com/sitebuilderc..._The_Myths.pdf