War Beneath the Waves: A True Story of Courage and Leadership Aboard a World War II Submarine by Don Keith

War Beneath the Waves: A True Story of Courage and Leadership Aboard a World War II Submarine Reviews

• 
  Matt

  I have read Don Keith's books before and found them tedious and poorly written, however I read The ice Diaries coauthored by him with William Anderson (CO Nautilus for the famous Under the North Pole voyage) and enjoyed the book. I firmly suspect the majority of the Ice Diaries
  is the work of William Anderson. In fairness to Mr. Keith I gave him another chance with War Beneath the Seas. After reading the book I can only say never again will I read his unsubstantiated and shallow "work". In short this is a must miss (un)popular history like his other books with the lone exception being The Ice Diaries and that the majority of the work on that book belongs to someone else. Mr. Keith does a gross disservice to the historical record with his books because poor writing, a gross misunderstanding or misrepresenting of facts.
  
  His book was poorly written and in dire need of an editor. It was disjointed and often information was repeated. For example he writes about the submarine Billfish's early history on page 200 not when he was describing her commissioning commanding officer taking over in page 50 or so. Another major disconnect is his relating the USS Bowfin as such a major part of the story when she was a minor player. Perhaps Mr. Keith will defend this by saying comparing a good boat with a poorly led boat. Keith does this by relating Lt. Rush's experiences on the USS Thresher, at least fifty pages of this book were unnecessary.
  
  So why the disconnect? It is because the "storyteller" that Keith claims he is can't tell a clear story. He also describes the "fleet submarines" structure in a haphazard manner leaving a reader not used to the submarine confused. He uses great prose and pretty words but unless the pretty prose and words are constructed in a clear and cohesive manner why bother. This is what I kept asking myself while reading the book.
  
  The question kept on coming with not only with the poor writing style but his facts. His facts are often partial and read as if some Public Affairs Officer was handing him the facts. Public Affairs Officers are the public relations experts for the military, they are paid to make the military look good not be the most factual and this goes for any PR representative. For example Keith explains the steps of becoming a Chief Petty Officer. This is a huge step in a sailor's career and one not taken lightly since a CPO is considered to be expert in their field but exhibits leadership skills. Chiefs are the backbone of the sea services (USN and USCG) and becoming a chief is a major accomplishment. Keith describes the process and it is an accurate representation of the modern navy especially when he describes the candidate having to meet with Senior and Master Chiefs. These are pay grades E8 and E9 and were introduced into the Navy in 1958 a full fifteen years AFTER the incident Keith is discussing. Keith wants to be seen as an authority however his knowledge seems to be as deep as a PAO "fact" sheet.
  
  Another example of Keith's shallow and perhaps selective knowledge is his description of Admiral Christie. Keith puts Christie's removal from command on his awards policies which were very disruptive to operational security but it was high level politics as well. Christie's "boss" was Admiral Kinkaid who was the uncle to Commander Manning Kimmel (son to Husband Kimmel of Pearl Harbor). Manning Kimmel and his command USS Robalo was lost to mines in Balbac Strait. The Balbac Strait was dangerous but used by Christie often even though there were safer passages to use. This was what got Christie fired not handing out awards like candy and saying too much.
  
  Keith uses selective information to make his "story" be more dramatic. Keith describes the transit of the Lombok and Makassar straits with great dramatic flair. However his prose looses effectiveness because not all the information is there again showing a shallow knowledge base. What makes the transits so dramatic are not the artillery pieces which would have to be lucky to sink a submarine but the different currents causing the crew to be attentive and that there were significant minefields in shallow waters forcing any transiting vessel to the center of the strait giving the ASW forces a more focused area to search. What made the transit even more dangerous was both side knew it had to be used and that made an effective choke point. That is what got the Billfish trapped on November 11, 1943. After three or four books on submarines Mr. Keith should know that and used that as a critical element in his book. It is absent and it tells a great deal about Mr. Keith's command of facts.
  
  Another example of assumed knowledge was his constant use of submarine slang to make the reader believe Keith is an authority on submarines. One needs only to read any of Edward Beach’s excellent books to read an authority on WWII American submarines. Mr. Keith is not a submarine veteran but has many friends who were. My Father served on early nuclear submarines and I grew up around submariners so apparently I can use the slang as well. Of course not that is just silly and Keith’s constant use of “run” to describe patrols gives the reader a false sense of security and is misleading at best.
  
  Yet another example of drama and lack of knowledge is Keith does not seem at all knowledgeable about a target priority list in the Pacific for submarines. At the time Keith describes the priority targets were tankers, troop ships and capital ships. In the area Billfish was patrolling the majority of prime targets would be tankers then troop ships. Keith gives the reader the impression that troop ships could be sunk if nothing else was in the area. To a reader unaccustomed to this part of history this seems humane but nothing about the Pacific War was humane. By sinking a full troop ship at worst the troops lose their equipment and food but at best that is one less regiment or more that the Imperial Japanese Army can use against the Americans. This type of ship was a prime target not one to overlook.
  
  Perhaps the most confusing part of Keith's book is the lack of sources. Keith makes the claim of two commanding officers being grossly incompetent and one a coward. He names the officer he believes to be a coward but there are no sources no interviews etc to verify his information. In the most damming episode was in the middle of combat Keith says that the main source a then Lt. Rush confronted his commanding officer in combat and forced a "gentleman’s agreement" where the CO would "unvolunteer" from submarine command. There were instances of CO's withdrawing from command because of pressure and no doubt Lt Cmdr. Jacobs of the Billfish showed a great deal of courage by withdrawing from command. However after 60 years of memories fading this episode is called into question and without sources all Keith has done is taint an officer's name that without verification or for that officer to defend himself is a dirty historical work. Keith maybe a storyteller but this accusation that is central to the narrative is inexcusable without any way to independently verify. In short this accusation is indefensible and very poor work indeed. As a Historian I will use this book as an example of how NOT to write History.
  
• 
  Hannah S.

  So I was having some troubles staying interested in this story, I think because it's way out of my usual genres that I read so diving into a nonfiction book was really out of the norm for my brain. The beginning was dragging a bit, and that's why it took me so long to complete (I began in September), but once I got through the beginning few chapters and could allot time to this book, the story just exploded into constant action and intrigue. Action, adventure, drama, and I couldn't believe this was a true story, kept dormant for over sixty years.
  
  I bought this book while touring the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas and I felt compelled to learn more details about World War II, so I was searching through the books in their gift store and the synopsis of this story grabbed my attention. I was not disappointed in the least when completing this book. It was even more than I would expect in a World War II novel, especially in the end.
• 
  Tom Barber

  This is a short book that tells an amazing story. You know it's amazing because at the end, we hear that other submariners were amazed by it. I had a few complaints as I read, mostly because I felt uninformed by the author about how exactly submarines communicated with one another during WWII, how submarines were able to differentiate friends and foes, etc. However, because the author has written several books about submarines, I've decided that it's my responsibility to either read all his books or do a little more research. So, perhaps this shouldn't be your first WWII submarine book, but the story is riveting and, as any reader will agree, needed to be told.
• 
  Sean

  Finally resumed reading this book... Glad these men got their recognition. Books can romanticize the aspects of war. Submariners had 20% casualty in WW II - highest in all services. 52 subs/250+ lost in WW II, with 3630 men on "Eternal Patrol"
  http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/wwii.htm. Great stat at the end of the book about how 2% of the Navy accounted for such an incredibly high percent of enemy maritime losses. This book really helps to understand why so many returning from war tend to be silent - only their comrades can really understand what they really went through. Bravo Zulu
• 
  Stephen Yoder

  Amazing to think of holding secrets for almost six decades, even those involving superior officers being unable to perform their duties, but that is what seems to have happened here. I bought this book for a few dollars at a thrift store. I got the better end of the deal. Incredible story. Great writing.
• 
  Matthew Taggart

  Fantastic! Gripping true story of a WW2 submarine patrol that goes very wrong. Amazing stories of heroism, and compassion for officers who suffered (essentially) shell shock during a brutal depth charge attack. I was moved by how the officers treated those who cracked under pressure, I think we would all do well to follow their examples. This is really great stuff! Excellent read.
• 
  Jill

  I would love to see a movie of this.
  
  **Pet peeve — Americans saying WWII lasted 1347 days. If you want to say the War in the Pacific, or that the US was in WWII for 1347 days, that’s totally cool (and accurate). But let’s not pretend the 2+ years of the British Commonwealth holding back the Nazis and Italians didn’t count.
• 
  Alexander

  Good story. Writing was sometimes all over the shop though.
• 
  Pete Zilla

  Solid book on submarine warfare and leadership during WWII.
• 
  Red

  This book was okay. A lot of it comes down to who do you believe? Reminiscences given decades after events. Men do break down under such stress for sure.
• 
  Dakota

  This was a great book, I really think it was. This was one of the few books I've read and genuinely liked at least in the middle. This was a book I really liked in the middle of it.The one thing about this book is it had like a 80 page epilogue that was boring as heck and a pain in butt to go through. It was a sort of writing I've never experienced in a book. That epilogue was more bland and monotone than a history book. Don't get me wrong I thought it was a great book, so far that I think the middle part overcomes the boring text book like lessons randomly placed everywhere.
  
  So, the beginning starts out with the narrator going through the naval academy and he just so happens to be getting out just in time to get into the submarine division at the beginning of world war 2. It also describes how instead of 4 years they pushed you through in 3 years at the naval academy. It then progresses to how his CO is probably unsuitable for being in a submarine and how he gets replaced. Then fast forward the get stuck between 3 destroyers that know exactly where they are and the destroyers are dropping hundreds of depth charges to kill the sub. After many close calls they finally got away from the subs, resurfaced, repaired and went off to Australia where they were supposed to go for their mission. From their on it gets pretty boring and vague, the story-line being kind of interrupted and slowly being taken over by what seemed like a history text-book like monologue that felt like each second was a year. Basically there was a incident where the sonarman had to take control for the captain and saved the ship and no one talked about it for 60 years. Finally at the end the guy got the silver star for saving the entire ship.
  
  
  So that's it, I thought it was a good book and I now you get to see if you want it. Overall I would rate this 3/5 and I genuinely liked it. And that is it.
  
• 
  Christopher Obert

  This book is the story of an American submarine (and her crew) during World War II. The story is a very human one, dealing with fear and courage, leadership and loyalty, life and death. War is a very dangerous and stressful time and nothing may be more dangerous and stressful than being in a submarine during war. It is a place that can easily kill you under the best of conditions. And when things go wrong, they can go wrong very quickly. This is the story of things going wrong! I found that the story, while very disturbing and difficult, was told with great respect and dignity. After reading this book I have a much greater respect for those that served, and especially those that died, on these unforgettable ships.
• 
  David Glad

  True to the star rating, I did find this book amazing.
  
  Yes, from other books life aboard submarines was much more unpleasant and confined than it is now to the point FDR after touring one gave an executive order permitting crew members hazard pay even when they were not in a war zone. Equally astonishing is the cat-and-mouse game subs had to play against Japanese warships to avoid capture/sinking when they were cornered or detected.
  
  This really was much a page turner as there was a genuine curiosity in how a sub could make it from one ordeal to the next along with skipper Frederick T Lucas just completely losing it and a next in command daring to take control of the situation to save the crew's lives and avoid capture.
  
  Yes, war is hell.
• 
  Leslie Mesmer

  I was a little disappointed in this. It read almost like a history report for class.
  It started off giving background and then covered the actual event on the Billfish and then did a quick update at the end that just came across as rushed.
  It is an easy read though because it isn't overly technical to the point it's boring
  I really don't feel like they did enough to help you relate to people the story was told about.
  I gave it a 3 only because it did give you a little insight into not only submarines at wartime but also about a little known incident that remained hidden for over 60 years.
• 
  Mark

  I'm a huge fan of history books.
  
  This book is more trilling than most action novels I've read that is paired with a great secret.
  
  And before this book, I used to think the 8th Air Force bomber pilots took the worst of the war. Now, I'm utterly convinced the submarine force had it worse off. Not that in the field combat is any picnic.
  
• 
  Steve

  Fast-paced account of American submarine crew's battle experiences in the Pacific. Descriptions of equipment, tactics, weapons and life aboard a sub seem very realistic. Add to that the excellent characterization of individual officers and crew members in dire circumstances and this becomes one of my favorite WWII documentaries.
• 
  Dave Hoff

  Another war story that came to light, almost 70 yrs after the fact A Cain Mutiny type, but non-fiction, story with Jap depth charges, instead of weather related troubles. A junior officer takes command & saves the sub. Author gives a lot of info to cause a non-military reader an understanding of how subs are equipped, their operation and the Navy way.
• 
  Suzanne

  A fast, fascinating read about the USS Billfish and it's 12 hours of depth charging by the Japanese. How some men rise to the occasion and take over the command of a sub whose officers were incapacitated is a story of psychology, war, and strength. It's also a story about honor and why it took 62 years for the story to be told.
• 
  Paul

  The writing is staid, to say the least, but the story is solid. The first couple of chapters left me fearing the book would continue in the worst tradition of tell not show, however once it got into the accounts of actual events it picked up reasonably, and it is a story well worth reading.