Crash Dive

Book excerpt: They are the ultimate unseen deterrent in modern warfare. Thousands of tons of steel, missiles, torpedoes, and men lurking silently hundreds of feet underwater, able to lie off any coastline and unleash a devastating hail of destruction with pinpoint accuracy. They are the true masters of the oceans, striking swift and unseen before slipping away, ready to do it all over again at a moment's notice. Submarines and their crews have long held a revered place in the military, with a special place of honor reserved for those men who willingly seal themselves in what could amount to a nuclear-powered coffin for months on end. Although the submarine is a relatively recent development in the field of warfare, many of the men who live and fight in these steel fish have already become legends. Edited by bestselling author Larry Bond,Crash Divecollects the best nonfiction writing about these near-silent killers of the deep and their crews. From the toughGatoclass boats that harassed the Japanese Navy during World War II to the cat-and-mouse games played by U.S. and Soviet submarines during the Cold War,Crash Divewill take you inside the deep and deadly world of the military submarine.