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As a member of the military book club I saw an add about this book. As a consumer of over 50 submarine titled books I thought I had pretty much covered it all. But I needed another book to read so I opted for this one.
It was pleasantly different from the books that I had been reading in style. While it gave a short but concise review of the pacific war it also told it from a submariners viewpoint. Here are some of the pages for your review.
It was pleasantly different from the books that I had been reading in style. While it gave a short but concise review of the pacific war it also told it from a submariners viewpoint. Here are some of the pages for your review.
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With regard to writing style I found it most unusual. First the cast of characters were from many different boats and their tales were told as if the whole book was going to be about them. Also the way it jumped around from character to character reminded me of a soap opera that dwells on a couple and their situation then moves on to this lady and her confrontation with her father then on to somebody else. From it I gleaned a lot of information that was new to me. For example, the US submarines had almost no impact on the outcome of the war until after the battle for Midway had been fought, the turning point in the war. It was after this point that problems with torpedoes were improved enough to start approaching an acceptable level of reliability. Also some key leaders of Comsubpac were changed and tactics were changed. Also the oft overlooked atrocities committed by the Japanese troops against the Filipino citizens as well as US soldiers were discussed and why they occurred. It occurred because the Japanese soldier was indoctrinated in the Bushido code. And in it, Honor was considered most important. If anyone allowed themselves to be captured by the enemy his dishonor was so great that he would not be allowed into the afterlife. If an enemy allowed himself to be captured he was considered below dignity and could be treated as one wished. They were therefore targeted and tortured as a form of religious intolerance. Also we have all read many times about the adventures of the Tang, Harder and Archerfish and Batfish. It was therefore a joy to read about the Seal and the Redfish and the Trout. A very good read that I would highly recommend to all.
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