Peter Maas' tale of the Squalus and of Navy hero Charles 'Swede' Momsen. Reads like an edge of your seat thriller made even more emotionally resonant since it is a true story.

Share/Like this Review?

The man behind the greatest submarine rescue in history.

The true story of the rescue of the crew of 'S-192' the Navy's newest submarine, the USS Squalus.

This has got to be one of the best,.on the edge of your seat readings that I have experienced in a long time. History, real history, action, real action, death around the next page, what's going to happen, how's it going to happen, time is running out . . .

A very, very good read.

Share/Like this Review?

This is Swede Momsens' story. A real hero.

Share/Like this Review?

Exciting narrative of a submarine disaster and ultimate rescue of most of the crew in 1939 off Portsmouth NH. The book also is an insightful telling of the career of Swede Momsen as he struggled to experiment and find ways to bring people back from the deep; resulting in safety devices mandatory on subs to this day. Not familiar with submarine layout, I did find the descriptions of the various rooms within the submarine hard to follow, and a line drawing would certainly have clarified that for the reader. A couple of little geographic nitpicks from a local, too: The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is not in Portsmouth NH, it is really in Kittery, ME ... and Campobello Island is not in Maine, it is in nearby New Brunswick, Canada. But those are minor points. The book is excellent and kept me reading long after bedtime.

Share/Like this Review?

A thrilling narrative of heroism and terror when a submarine plunges to the bottom of the sea and is unable to surface.

Share/Like this Review?

Very good account of Naval Officer Momson, and his ideas and work to develop ways to rescue people trapped in submarines. Book is very hard to put down. Highly recommend.

Share/Like this Review?

On the eve of World War II, the Squalus, America's newest submarine, plunged to the bottom of the North Atlantic. Miraculously, 39 crew members still survived. While their loved ones waited in unbearable tension on shore, their ultimate fate would depend upon one man, US Navy officer Charles "Swede" Momsen - an extraordinary combination of visionary, scientist, and man of action. In this thrilling true account, prize winning author Peter Maas vividly re-creates a moment-by-moment accoutn of the disaster and the man at its center. Could he actually pluck those men from a watery grave? Or had all his pioneering work been in vain?

Share/Like this Review?

Great book. True story of some larger than life American heroes.

Share/Like this Review?