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Summary: It matched real life
Review: As someone who lived through the cold war as a teenager and into my early twenties, I was aware of how close the US came to war. At least I thought I was until I read this book. As an avid reader of high-tech military books, I enjoy the stories and technical details. I thought a true story would lack some of the thrill. I was wrong! This book has all of the thrill of a fiction book, but it really happened. My knowledge of it in real life was from friends who served in the military. They would only tell me we were real close to war at times. Now I know some information about why.
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Summary: Fascinating look at the secret world of sub spies
Review: I think reviews are most effective if you compare the book in question to others that most of us have read, so prospective readers have something to measure it against. Blind Man's Bluff could be best described as chock full of action, suspense, and intrigue--with the relentless pace and stunning power of fictional thrillers like The Triumph and the Glory and The Hunt for Red October. But it is history, the events really happened. Truth is stranger than fiction. I would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in military themes.
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Summary: A good read.
Review: I just finished this book and found it to be good but not excellent. The research seems to be pretty good. There's enough live action and just a little of the political behind-the-scenes stuff. If you're into this kind of thing you'll probably enjoy it. If you're very critical then you might not.
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Summary: An Exciting Movie In My Head
Review: Normally I don't read books with "military" subjects or "tales of the sea". I said to myself, "Whats the heck". From page one, I couldn't stop reading it. I lived with the book for many days. You get the feeling you will miss out on something, if you stop reading, even if it is just a book. The writing was breath taking, you want to know what's going to happen next. Will they figure out how to get the sub out of this situation? Was truly amazed with the story of spying, getting so close and almost getting caught. The authors painted a vivid picture of what was going on. Men overboard freezing in the high waves or the President talking in the oval office to Henry Kissinger. The book was a movie in my head.
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Summary: Blind Man's Bluff - From X Nukes' point of view!
Review: I was on one of these nuclear subs, Spadefish SSN-668, from 73 to 77. I thought some of the things WE did were unbelievable, but after I read this book, even I was overwelmed by some the the events that took place while I was kept in the dark (90 days) <grin>, twenty years ago today.
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Summary: Disappointing - not as advertised
Review: I carefully read all the Amazon reviews of this book before finally breaking down and buying it. I guess I don't regret reading it, but it's going into the trade-in stack and not on a bookshelf. Just as many of the reviewers here have stated, the book is short on "espionage" but long on breathless recounting of accidents and incidents. The authors' non-historical background is clearly on display. In their defense, I'm sure they made every effort to check all the stories, and much of the information is still tightly held. This book should be written again in twenty years. Finally, the self-congratulatory afterword could have been left off. I'm sure this book has provided a catharsis for many submarine sailors, but there are hundreds of thousands of us who also served (essentially thanklessly) in the cold war who will never have books written about us.
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Summary: Fascinating information on US Sub forces exploitations.
Review: While my background is aviation, I have spent time on subs and personally know one of the characters mentioned in this fascinating book. He has verified the authenticity of some of the info presented. I found the book difficult to put down and had only one regret: that it wasn't longer and didn't go into even greater technical detail. On the flip side, however, I thought the book was relatively poorly written. I believe it is a symptom of when several people try to write a book -- disjointed at times. Moreover, it seems the authors attempted to make the subjects "macho," which is slightly out of character, I think. I've known many men who were submariners and this just doesn't fit; vocabulary sprinkled with profanity doesn't describe any of the guys I know. Attempting to portray them in this light does not do them justice. Maybe the authors felt this was necessary to sell the book, or maybe, they drew the wrong conclusion. For me, this was a distraction.Regardless, the book is a fine piece, overall. I highly recommend it, especially so that people can read what has been going on for years and years.
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Summary: Great book!
Review: If you have ever had any family who was a submariner, this is a MUST read. The detail and the information is great and the stories shed as much light as they do questions. I know I will be going back and talking to my father, who served on the USS Jack (605), to hear what he has to say.
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Summary: Technically good but politically inaccurate
Review: Excellent account of covert submarine operations during the Cold War and in recent years. Traces the political development and enhanced military capabilities in acquiring classified information including Soviet submarine technology and operations, and leaks within the US intelligence community. Insufficient credit given to the engineers and physicists responsible for developing the instrumentation that allowed covert access to (former) Soviet communications. Most significant shortcoming is the "credit" incorrectly given to Bill Clinton for funding the necessary technology and approving operations. Fact is, Mr. Clinton and his appointees, ,most notably SECNAV John Dalton, were despised by the naval intell community. Dalton was virtually laughed out of a national security meeting of national labs and their contractors when his speech crossed the line into political correctness, foresaking national security. However, the book's bias is to be expected in view of the affiliation of the authors with the New York Times.
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Summary: Too bad we can't write our own books.
Review: It's really too bad we can't write about our submarine experiences, but that's the way it is. Rest assured that we wouldn't give you references to impossible latitudes or meaningless longitudes--and we would make your hair stand on end, too. But we can't, so this book and Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October" and "Red Storm Rising" (with all their flaws) are about the closest the rest of you can get to it. Sorry. .-)
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