Product Description

For devotees of the submarine espionage stories in Blind Man's Bluff, Rising Tide tells the Soviet/Russian side of the most secretive operations of the Cold War. For the first time, seven Soviet admirals, along with leading naval historian Dr. Gary Weir, reveal the successful spying missions, the technological breakthroughs, the confrontations with U. S. forces, and the undersea disasters that killed many hundreds of sailors. With decades of experience on submarines or commanding submarine fleets, these seven senior admirals, many highly decorated, give us the inside stories. They detail the undersea successes such as the blockade of the U. S. submarine base in Bangor, Washington, and the innovative surveillance techniques they developed to trail the U. S. Sixth fleet in the Mediterranean. They reveal the development of the first nuclear submarines, profiling Dr. Peregudov, the father of the Soviet nuclear submarine and the internecine battles among Soviet bureaucrats that led to the deaths of many Russian sailors. And they give first hand accounts of deadly confrontations, such as the sinking of K-219, off Bermuda and the collision of USS Taurog and the Soviet K-108, including unpublished photos of the incident's aftermath. Rising Tide also reveals the many catastrophes and the occasional heroic rescues, and answers many questions surrounding the sensational loss of the Kursk, the most advanced vessel in the Russian fleet. Covering submarines from the first advanced diesel subs in the 1950s to the Kursk in 2000, with the authority only senior naval officials could deliver, Rising Tide is the complete story of the Soviet side of the gripping, secret life of the submariners in the Cold War.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #332518 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Customer Reviews

Brief, but quite comprehensive from the Russian point of view.
Beginning with a descritpion of Stalin's vision about the post-war Soviet Navy and fulfilled with former Russian submariners' personal accounts, this book gives us a good deal of the submarine technology and the safety problems emerged throughout the Cold War era in the Soviet submarine fleet.

It is quite clear that although the Soviet technology was quite comparable to the one in the West, the Soviet doctrine and bureaucracy held the submariners from performing at 100% of their true capabilities.

Quite sad that it had to be a political, rather than a military matter the deployment of a new submarine type, a new technology or a new weapon. Most important was the fear of failure that existed in the ranks of every man in this service. From commanding officers to the very last enlisted person, they all had to cope with the rigidity of the Soviet state, apart from any other potential danger regarding weather conditions, poor material quality etc.

The part where it is mentioned that some crew members did not reveal serious problems in a submarine, because of that rigidity and the fear of punishment, is quite frightening for all of us who happened to live the latest years of the Cold War era. Who knows what could have happened?

As for the last chapter, describing the loss of the Kursk, well... I'm afraid that this mystery will remain unsolved... At least for a decade more, even though the authors present a bundle of evidence and personal accounts from truly experienced people in the Russian Navy (and many others).

In cocnlusion, a truly nice book, easy to read and comprehend, and above all, a first hand account of the conditions inside a Russian nuclear submarine (both attack and ballistic).
May those people's sacrifice be the last one, and may, through these pages, some other people understand and appreciate the wonder of life.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review. I hope it was a useful one.