Rating: 
Summary: Great Story about True Heroism
Review: Maas has written a thrilling, tightly-written story about one of the great moments of U.S. naval history. It may be curious to consider the rather embarrassing sinking of a brand-new submarine to have any elements of greatness or heroism, but that is the genius of Maas' story. The character of Swede Momsen is so incredible that its difficult to believe he was a real person and not just a fictional creation. Maas takes this man's story and shows the hard, relentless courage it took to overcome bureaucratic inertia and develop entirely new technological systems for the rescue of trapped submariners. This is not the typical stuff of heroic stories, of people running into burning buildings to save children -- this is a different type of heroism, and one that is not often explored in our culture. Its the heroism of seeing that people are dying for no good reason, and deciding that you want to champion their cause. Its the heroism of developing that vision through years of indifference and neglect by your chain of command. After seeing this heroism through Maas' enjoyable and immensely readable story, at the end of the book its hard to tell if you're cheering more for the saved submariners or for Momsen's personal triumph.
Rating: 
Summary: I Wonder How Close To The Krusk Incident This Book is?
Review: This book tells two parallel stories that merge together through out the book. The author is detailing the sinking of the USN submarine Squalus in 1939, and the career of Swede Momsen who worked on underwater devises used to help rescue people from downed submariners. I wanted to read the book for the submarine rescue story, but the story of Momsen's fight with his Navy Department superiors and the ingenious gadgets he came up with were very interesting reading. The author does a great job telling the story of the submarine sinking and the crew that was left to try and be rescued. The author took some time to introduce the reader to the crew. In stead of just a number of sailors we got to know their names and something about them. With this info you really start to get concerned for their lives and the tension grows until the rescue. It reminded me of what we have heard of the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk. The rescue attempt was so slow that the two groups of surviving crew must have felt the same emotions. You even wonder if the same bureaucratic slow pace detailed here about the rescue was the same problem in Russia. The recovery of the Squalus and its remaining life are covered at the end of the book and again this is a riveting account of the process. It is just something that a big hunk of steel that big could be lifted from the bottom of the ocean with 1930's technology. Overall this is a wonderful book that offers the reader a great history lesson and a wonderful, suspenseful and exciting rescue tail. The author put together a well-written book. My only complaint was the lack of photos, maps, and diagrams. If this subject interested you I would suggest you read "Blind Man's Bluff", also a very interesting book of USN submarine stories.
Rating:
Summary: Courage, Determination & Imagination
Review: This story illustrates the benefit of those visionary, courageous individuals who put their ideas into action and make the world a better place. In this case, the story is of Charles "Swede" Momsen and the recovery of the crew of the sub "Squalis" in 1939. That story alone is worth the read, but its also interesting to realize all of the rescue, submarine and simple diving innovations that came from Momsen's efforts. Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: The Terrific Book
Review: Peter Maas' true story of the sunken sub Squalus and the dramatic rescue of her submariners is one of the most entertaining books I've read in a while. Maas has an easy style and paces the story well. Other reviewers have complained about how Maas jumps around, leaving us hanging as the Squalus sits dead at the bottom of the ocean to tell us about Swede Momsen, the legendary submariner, or to take us to the families of the not-so-doomed sailors below. I call this good storytelling. Swede Momsen will live long in your memories. A true hero, Momsen invented many devices that have saved thousands of lives and have allowed us to explore deeper into the oceans. He was a true visionary. Maas tells us much about his good friend. We're lucky Maas found this lost story before we lost Momsen. Sadly, we recently lost Peter Maas as well. I would have given this book five stars but for the lack of photos, maps, and diagrams -- a tremendous shame, as other reviewers have noted. Why not include photos if they're available, especially of Momsen, the crew of the Squalus, and the other subs and ships mentioned in the book? Without a diagram of the sub, I had trouble visualizing just where the crew members were at various times or how the rescue-ship Falcon hooked into the sub to raise it. And without a map (and being too lazy to reach for my atlas) I couldn't quite picture where the drama took place. A terrific book marred by lack of supporting resources.
Rating:
Summary: A tribute to an American Hero
Review: Though ostensibly about the first successful deep water submarine rescue in American History, "The Terrible Hours" is really the heoric story of Swede Momson, the dedicated U.S. Naval officer who overcame reams of red tape and mountains of bureaucratic ineptitude to develop the equipment that allowed the successful operation to take place. His story is an inspiring one for any American. Author Peter Maas first reported on Momsen's story nearly thrity-five years ago, and this project was a labor of love for him. His account of the sailors aboard the trapped submarine is quite harrowing. And the rescue is detailed with the right amount of white knuckle suspense. Overall, this well-written book is an excellent and informative piece of reporting.
Rating:
Summary: Courage, Determination & Imagination
Review: This story illustrates the benefit of those visionary, courageous individuals who put their ideas into action and make the world a better place. In this case, the story is of Charles "Swede" Momsen and the recovery of the crew of the sub "Squalis" in 1939. That story alone is worth the read, but its also interesting to realize all of the rescue, submarine and simple diving innovations that came from Momsen's efforts. Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: An Exceptional Individual Saving Men in Undersea Frontier
Review: After the loss of the Kurst a few years ago, there was an occasional mention of Lt Swede Momsen and all this very rare individual brought to the US Navy. Peter Maas does an excellent job of documenting Swede's contribution in rescuing the sailors from the Squalus in 1939. Momsen was responsible for the Navy's pioneering work with mixed gas deep water breathing, inventing a breathing apparatus for sailor to make free ascendants and developing the diving bell to save men from stranded submarines. Each one of the sailor who got off the Squalus can thank the remainder of the lives for Momsen for not giving up in the face of the Navy bureaucracy. One comes away from this book with an even higher level of respect for all those sailors endured during those terrible hours. An easy read that will keep your attention from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: The Terrible Hours
Review: I like the way that Peter Maas wrote the book cause you feel like you're in it by all the details in the book. But, I thought it was bad for all the men to go down, but I thought it was cool that all but one was rescued in the sub. It was a long time for them and it was not cool that they when down cause of the vents in the Squalas because the Christmas tree board. It was the best rescue under water ever in history. I thought it was a god idea that Momsen came up with the suit but, they didn't use that they used a chamber and brought and got all them men air before so, that they could live longer so, that they could be rescue I thought it was amazing that they got the sub and men back and the sub, back the work just under name Sailfish and not under the Squalas. So, I thought it a 4 Star book for history people to read.
Rating:
Summary: The Terrible Hours a good book
Review: This book by Peter Maas is a good book. It is the true story of the USS Squalas. I think Peter Maas really went in to the true details of the story. He talked about Swede Momsen one of the only people who could perform under water rescues and he came to save the crew of the Squalas. It is a pleasure knowing that this happened in my city. I recommend you read this book because I liked it a lot. It is a cool thing to know that I have been on what is left of the sub on a memorial to it on the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. It is amazing that most of the crew got out alive and that the sub was fixed up and launched again as the USS Sailfish the name was thought of by president Roosevelt him self.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling!
Review: I found this book so interesting I didn't want to put it down. The story was amazing with attention paid to the suspense, the drama, the tragedy and the personal tales of the sailors who were part of it all. I was emotionally involved with the story and would count Swede Momsen as a hero of the Navy and our country. Maas' efforts to acquire for Momsen the recognition he deserves are flawlessly executed as an undercurrent to the story and a prologue. A fantastic read.
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