On May 22, 1968, the submarine Scorpion exploded and sank 400 miles southeast of the Azores, killing all 99 men aboard. It was a time during the Cold War when the Soviet Navy was expanding and becoming more aggressive. The Navy's top secret court of inquiry, however, theorized that the Scorpion was sunk by its own hot-running torpedo, not an enemy vessel. In this thorough post-mortem, long-time military beat reporter Offley challenges the Navy's official report-including details like when the wreckage was found and what the sub's mission had been-with a succinct charge: "It was all a lie." Offley presents the compelling argument that Scorpion had been torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in retaliation for the suspected involvement of the U.S. in the disappearance 11 weeks earlier of the Soviet submarine K-129 (see Red Star Rogue below). Offley believes that admirals in the U.S and Soviet navies--fearing what could become World War III--agreed to hide the truth of the two sinkings.

Using the USS Pueblo incident of January, 1968, in which key cryptography gear was lost, Offley connects the dots between the Navy, the John Walker spy ring, and Soviet intelligence to conclude that the Russians had access to all of the Navy's most secret communications, allowing them to ambush the Scorpion. Based on 25 years of research, which included investigating declassified navy documents, Offley reveals details of the events that led to the vessel's sinking and the cover-up that followed.

"A searing account of the Scorpion tragedy!"

"Masterful! An action-packed account of the USS Tunny and her crew. Equipped for covert operations, the Tunny slid silently into hostile waters on a mission to infiltrate enemy territory. A stunning account of danger, camaraderie, and sacrafice."
                                                                             --- New York Times Book Review

Power Shift is the first comprehensive account to date of the US Submarine Force's transition from diesel to nuclear power. The diesel to nuke transition - more than just an incredible advance in propulsion technology - represented the biggest, most costly, and disruptive technological change in naval history.

This technological shift and its concomitant cultural shift took place against the backdrop of intense Cold War operations while US submarines were playing a critical role in intelligence gathering and nuclear deterrence. The story of this period is told by the people who were part of the change. From seamen to admirals they tell the stories of how the technological and cultural changes affected them on a personal level, affected the Submarine Force as a whole, and ultimately affected the Navy at large.

This is not a loose collection of sea stories and DBF rantings! Rather, Power Shift is an artful compilation of well-structured interviews that paint a clear and definitive picture of both the immediate and far reaching effects that the technology had upon the men who were and are responsible for taking the nuclear fleet into harm's way.

Power Shift is a piece of cultural history researched and written on the tribal level that is as significant for its historical contribution as it is for its appeal and readability.

 "The conclusions of those who weathered the diesel to nuke transition are startling, in a large measure unexpected, and go a long way to dispelling the mythology that clouds this period of Submarine Force history!"

Tango Charlie tells the story of singer-songwriter and retired Navy Senior Chief Tommy Cox. Cox augmented a twenty-year career as a member of the Naval Security Group, much of it assigned to submarines on Cold War patrols in undisclosed areas, with a second career as the creator of a unique genre of submarine music. In this memoir, Cox recounts about as much of his Navy career as security permits, and gives the words, and background, of 25 of his signature songs. Click Here for Tommy's CDs.

"A delightful combination of memoir and discography!
If you're a fan of Tommy Cox's music, You'll definitely want a copy for your library!"

Find ’Em, Chase ’Em, Sink ’Em is the first book to recount the tragic and mysterious loss of the World War II submarine USS Gudgeon.

In April 1944, the highly decorated submarine USS Gudgeon slipped beneath the waves in one of the most treacherous patrol areas in the most dangerous military service during World War II. Neither the Gudgeon nor the crew was ever seen again. Author Mike Ostlund’s “Uncle Bill,” the operator of a farm implements business, was aboard that ship as a lieutenant junior grade.

Through extensive research of patrol reports in U.S. and Japanese naval archives, interviews with veterans who had served aboard the Gudgeon before its final patrol, and the personal effects of the lost men’s relatives, Ostlund has assembled the most accurate account yet of this remarkably successful submarine’s exploits, of the men aboard from steward to captain, and of what we now know about her demise.

Find ’Em, Chase ’Em, Sink ’Em details the memories and life lessons of the young men who went to sea aboard Gudgeon before its last patrol knowing hardly anything, and coming home having seen too much.

"Well researched, well documented, and above all well written!"

Hang on to your liberty cards, shipmates! Whale's Tales will take you on an irreverent, rip-snorting, four engine run down memory lane that will jar your recollection of the days in the boats like they just happened yesterday!

CDR Schick grew up during World War II, entered the Naval Academy in 1954, graduated in the upper 15% of his class, and after a short stint aboard a destroyer - during which, among other exploits, he sliced his ship's awning in two with his sword during a ceremony - he entered Submarine School in Groton, CT in 1960 and finished his career as Commanding Officer, USS Clamagore (SS 343).

Whale's Tales tells the story of diesel submarines during the cold war from a personal and whimsical viewpoint that gives insight into the daily lives of submariners in the DBF fleet. If you are expecting tactical insight, geo-political intrigue, or details of global spook operations, this just ain't the book for you! However, if you are a submariner of the old school, one who remembers the social and professional bonds developed in our world of underwater warriors, you are in for a real treat!

That CDR Schick is a rag hat trapped in an O-ganger's billet is clear from the very first page of Whale's Tales! This is an extremely well-written memoir detailing the frivolity, mischief, and mayhem that we all remember in the daily life of a submariner. What stands out about Whale's Tales is CDR Schick's pride of membership in the unique tribe of underwater warriors, his honest love of his shipmates, and his gritty, direct delivery which results in this collection of chronological vignettes being delivered in a voice unlike any other of the genre.

There are some shipmates whom you meet and instantly form a bond. Bruce Schick is one of them. From the time you turn the first page, you will feel as if you were sailing with him. If you can read but a single book of the submarine force this year, make it Whale's Tales!

 "This is better than weekend liberty in Olongapo City!"

Capt. Smith served twenty-six years in the US Navy, commanded an attack submarine during the Cold War, and was decorated by the Secretary of the Navy (twice) and the President of the United States

Undersea Stealth details the events of Capt. Smith's career in submarines during the Cold War. This dramatic account chronicles a submerged collision with another submarine, being trapped on the ocean floor, a major onboard fire, and a “hot-running” torpedo. These incidents are offset by happier events, such as the honor of receiving command of a submarine and spending Christmas dinner in Monaco with the royal family.

A former chief of naval operations explains: “[This is] An interesting personal account through the varied tours of a career submarine officer during the challenging years of the Cold War, replete with firsthand experiences and sea stories, and leaving no doubt as to the author’s philosophy and views on often controversial topics and issues.”

For decades, readers have found the drama of submarine stories to be compelling and irresistible: men locked in steel cocoons, fighting the sea, the enemy, even themselves. Sea chases, submarine wolf packs stalking their prey, stunning and numbing depth-charge attacks, survival epics, miraculous rescues, and journeys of exploration. Submarine tales inherently are filled with action, adventure, and vivid portraits of extraordinary skill and courage in the face of agonizing death beneath the waves.

The Greatest Submarine Stories Ever Told brings readers some of the most engaging and illuminating prose ever put to paper about submarines in a single book. These twenty tales are not just about torpedo and depth charge attacks, vivid as those are. They are also about feats of exploration, such as the Nautilus nuclear sub surfacing at the North Pole; exceptional military feats such as the German submarine attack on British ships at Scapa Flow; and the courage and teamwork of submariners carrying out operations when the odds of success and survival seemed nil.

Some of the the works excerpted in this compilation are: Sharks and Little Fish; Nautilus 90 North; Torpedo Junction, Homer Hickam Jr.’s superb account of battles with U-boats off the Atlantic Coast in 1942, A time to Die by Robert Moore, The Enemy Below by D.A. Raynor, and accounts of famous submarine tragedies such as the losses of America’s Thresher and Russia’s K-19.

For readers who like tales brisk of pace and rich with action, The Greatest Submarine Stories Ever Told will be a welcome addition to their library!

A compelling true story of one of the great secrets of the Cold War! Formerly secret Soviet documents recently made public reveal that the K-129 had gone rogue from Soviet naval command.  We now know that the K-129, under the operational command of Soviet hardliners, attempted to mimic a Chinese submarine and execute the launch of a nuclear missile (most likely at Pearl Harbor Naval Base) in order to foment war between the U.S. and China.

Author Kenneth R. Sewell is a nuclear engineer and a US Submarine Force veteran who spent five years as a spook aboard USS Parche, the Navy's most decorated Cold War submarine.

"An incredible demonstration of investigative journalism"
"With reality this exciting, who needs fiction!"

John D. Leonard retired from the US Navy in 1974 as a Commander having commanded two fleet ballistic missile submarines, the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (SSBN 602) and the USS BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (SSBN 640). Until January of 1974 CMDR Leonard's naval career was distinguished by both his performance and by the affection of the officers and men with whom he served. His fellow Commanding Officers and superiors thought highly of him. During Leonard's last patrol as skipper of the FRANKLIN, an incident occurred while transiting the Straits of Gibraltar involving a collision with a Soviet submarine.

The Franklin Incident is the true and unvarnished account of how the skipper and crew of the USS BENJAMIN FRANKLIN continued the mission in the finest traditions of the submarine force but returned to a board of inquiry and fleet command willing to distort and suppress evidence in order to remove Leonard from his command and the subsequent decade-long struggle of CMDR Leonard to clear his name.

" A shocking revelation of politics at the highest levels of command!"