Stealth Boat: Fighting the Cold War in a Fast Attack Submarine | 
 enlarge | Author: Gannon Mchale
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.47
You Save: $12.48 (50%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 13283
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 1591145023
Dewey Decimal Number: 359.933092
EAN: 9781591145028
ASIN: 1591145023
Publication Date: October 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
The mission of the U.S. Navy's fast attack submarines during the Cold War was a closely guarded secret for many years, but this look back at the period and the part played by those submarines in winning the war gives readers a close-up view of life in one of those subs, USS Sturgeon (SSN637). McHale's memoir covers the years from 1967 to 1970, when as a teenager he was assigned to the nuclear submarine. Readers come to understand how those years profoundly affected the way he lived the rest of his life. The book focuses on McHale's experiences and those of other men with whom he served who have remained his lifelong friends.
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| Customer Reviews:
Deep And Silent At Its Best November 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Stealth Boat is Gannon McHale's crowning achievement as a Submariner. His writing has a rhythm that carried me through the night. I expected to read a few pages before bed, and surfaced on the last page at just before four, thinking it must be after midnight. His characters are bold and salty, and he captures these men of the sea with the joy and humor that pulls them through the long months of submerged operations, and long nights of liberty in strange ports.
It has been said that submarine patrols are extended periods of extreme boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror. Stealth Boat beautifully shreds the illusion of boredom - there is never time for a Submariner to become bored. He has qualifications to complete, and then new guys to mold into shipmates and Submariners.
Deep water sailors are a strange breed. And the smaller the ship, the tighter is the crew. There is something about weathering a storm or a seawater leak that draws a crew together. An instant of carelessness, or a second of hesitation when the water finds its way in, can send you to the bottom. You realize suddenly that everyone must rely on each shipmate for their very lives, and your own qualification takes on new meaning.
If you know a Submariner, you need to read this book. If you have wondered about their confident good humor and systematic approach to problems, their zany escapades, this is the book for you. If you've been astonished by their head-snapping instant reaction to an emergency, Gannon McHale's Stealth Boat explains it.
Stealth Boat is a tale of shipmates, and a journey to manhood. The Brotherhood of Submariners has a new storyteller. If you rode the boats and need another look at your youth, read this book. But don't think you are going to read a few pages and put it down.
Stealth Boat November 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In his new book, Stealth Boat, Gannon McHale does a superb job of bringing the reader along with him on his life's most interesting adventure. As a qualified submariner, he's served as an integral part of one of the Navy's newest and quietest nuclear powered fast attack submarines, the USS Sturgeon (SSN 637). Wearing dolphins, the insignia of the Submarine Force isn't an automatic; it's the culmination of a long and arduous process as McHale skillfully explains. If you'd like an insider's view of the way submarine sailors dealt with the challenges that Cold War operations of the 1960s placed upon them, both at sea and ashore, you'll want to read this book. You'll come away from this experience with a new appreciation for the remarkable job these bright young men did, and others continue to do to this day, as they go to sea aboard these complex weapons platforms where their ship's stealth and their smarts and initiative are daily put to the true test. It's funny, it's instructive and most importantly, it's all true.
 A Truthful account during a not so truthful time November 14, 2008
This book is a great chronicle during a time that has very few honest moments. This book is for people who love good storytelling and want to know what the actual life of a seaman would have been like during the late 1960's. This book lets you know not only what was happening during the authors life but keeps you up to date on everything in america that was influencing the actions of society and the government.
While reading this book it felt as though I had sat down with the author and a some other members of the crew and asked...."What was it really like?". I feel that Gannon McHale has done a wonderful job of being so honest in his storytelling that you can see why so many crew members trusted him with their lives and their stories.
A thrilling non-fiction book, with laugh out loud moments. ! October 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Mr. McHale's laughter filled, suspense thriller is a great read, I highly recommend to all, readers of non-fiction and fiction. I was born in 1964 and got a real kick out of Mr. McHale's setting up of the wider culture, what was going on outside of the sub, very evocative. However the real blast is the one-two punch of feeling like I got to know these guys, their funny quirks, pranks, and their dedication to doing a difficult job, with the most complex machine of their time, at the highest levels of achievement.
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