Red November: Inside the Secret U.S.-Soviet Submarine War

I really enjoyed and appreciated this book because it filled in a lot of gaps for me regarding the source of leads regarding possible Russian sub contacts we received. Like the author, I too was an Fire Control Technician trained in the Mk 113 Fire Control System, was the boat's photographer, and deployed on a nuclear fast attack sub in the area of Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk with spooks aboard (we called them "Gum Shoes"). I read this book as an anecdotal history with all historical accounts filtered through the author's personal history and contacts. I've read most of the published books regarding the Seawolf and K-129 and did not take the author's analysis as settled gospel.

Another submarine true-story book? Really? Isn't the market glutted here with good stuff already? Still, it has a catchy title and looks interesting, doesn't it. So I plonk some dollars down, and in the end have no regrets.This is largely a personal memoir of Mr Reed and his father, with various other viewpoints (including a few old Soviet boat-drivers) appearing from time to time. The story is always told from an up-close personal perspective, with lots of dialogue recalled 30-50 years after the fact. This is both a strength and a weakness of the book: you do get a feel for the intimacy and danger of submarine life, but the bigger picture remains tantalisingly out of reach. Its not an in-depth analysis of the Cold War under the waves, but it is reminiscent of real-life Tom Clancy style action. I don't think the book was called "Red November" by accident.We start out looking at the Cuban Missile Crisis from a number of angles, including that of Mr Reed's father as an NSA technician and some naval personnel - all up this is about 1/3rd of the book. This is really interesting and quite sobering. There is then a look at the loss of K-129 and the USS Scorpion, and the deep-ocean recovery mission Operation Jennifer/Azorian: if you believe this, then the US knows - and has known for a long time - that the Sovs sank the Scorpion, and also that Operation Jennifer was not the failure it was said to be. Still, when the book opens with a Churchill quote that "truth is so precious she must always be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies" then you never can be sure what is true and what is deep misinformation. All that you can say is that this work is a tribute to a lot of brave men.Finally, we move on to the adventures of the author - and others - as Navy divers undertaking classified work, including "Ivy Bells", monitoring Soviet cable traffic during the Cold War by means of physically tapping those cables on the sea bed. This would be a hazardous enough job off a friendly coast; in the middle of a Russian harbour its frightening to think about.Lastly, I should note that as at December 2011, the PC-kindle version is riddled with errors I would not tolerate in a real book. The main offenders appear to be a problem with "pi lots" and "ca rib be an", but there were a few other howlers too. I'm not docking the poor author's rating for it, but it is worth singling out for a little disapproval

Very detailed and informative book about Cold War submarine warfare. Well written by and about the warriors who were there. Extremely credible.

This review of Red November is based upon my enjoyment of the book. Having served a career as a Navy Deep Sea Diver, 16 yrs as a Saturation Diver, with tours on a couple Submarine Rescue Ships, SUBDEVGRU One, instructor a Naval School of Deep Diving Systems, etc. I found the book a very enjoyable read. Exciting, interesting, humorous and filled with many back stories that fill in gaps in my understanding of events. IMHO, The most enjoyable book on the subject since `Blind Man's Bluff'. To those "experts" that are annoyed by typos or claimed inaccuracies in a specific portion of the book, I appreciate the information they provided, but it doesn't diminish my satisfaction with the book overall. Trying to get new, accurate details, from old sailors, about events from many years ago, can be challenging at best. I found the reference portion at the back to be especially interesting, not having seen such in other books. (Though, I don't claim to be a prolific reader) I have purchased extra copies to give to my shipmates and family. From the Son of a Son of a Sailor, Good job and Bravo Zulu to Author, W. Craig Reed.

Sure, there are some technical errors. Also the writing is a bit florid and channel’s Michael Lewis’s over-heated style. Still, I enjoyed this book. I knew some of the men he mentions and his description of them rings true. A good read, if you understand the author had a limited view into the works he describes.

I'm a Navy Nuc submariner from years back. I thoroughly enjoyed Craig's book and found myself having a hard time putting it down. The information associated with the events and technologies that were in play during the Cuban Missile Crisis brought back great memories of the dedication of people, and the Divine inspiration that was often given, to see us through a crisis.Craig's portrayal of the nuclear propulsion aspect was a bit off the mark, but, that area of the submarine was a mystery to most folks (with exception of damage control aspects that all submariners had to know). But, I certainly enjoyed finding out more about the "spook" aspect of submarine espionage, as most of the crew was not privy to this information at the time.So, if you're into great books about submarine life and military life back in the 60's and 70's...you'll love this book. I highly recommend it to any sailor or anyone involved in military communications.

As an ex-submariner, the book was somewhat of a let down. After "Blind Man's Bluff" the escapades of "spy" boats during the coal war all of these books seem to be repeats. In addition, there was some glorification of the author and his dad. I don't mean for this review to seem harsh and "trash" the book altogether. The chapters on the Cuban Crisis were great and well written.

Great book-well written and full of interesting historical info

O livro traz um enfoque sobre a guerra fria muito detalhado e claro. Para que se interessa pelo tema, é uma leitura obrigatoria.

THIS IS A REAL 5 STAR READ FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTO THE TECHNOLOGY OF ESPIONAGE AND SECRET ADVENTURES. HOWEVER THIS STORY IS ALL REAL AND IT WAS AMAZING TO READ ABOUT WHAT KIND OF THINGS THE SUPER POWERS GOT UP TO IN THE COLD WAR PERIOD, ESPECIALLY UNDERWATER!! THIS BOOK HOWEVER MAY BE TOO TECHNICAL FOR THE AVERAGE READER, AS THE AUTHOR TAKES THE READER THROUGH ALL THE THEORY ABOUT SONAR AND RADIO COMMUNICATIONS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT DURING THESE YEARS. wHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE MODERN ADVANCES IN COMMUNICATIONS TODAY, IT IS HAD TO BELIEVE HOW BASIC AND UNRELIABABLE THE EQUIPMENT WAS DURING THE EARLY 50s AND 60s. MANY OF THE VARIOUS MISSIONS ARE STILL SHROUDED IN SECRECY, SOME WERE QUITE AUDIATIOUS - STRAIGHT OUT OF JAMES BOND!! SOME HAVE BEEN MADE INTO DOCUMENTARIES WHICH REVEAL MORE DETAIL.THE AUTHOR WRITE WITH AUTHORITY, MAINLY BECAUSE HIS FATHER WAS INVOLVED IN THIS WORK AND SO WAS HE LATER ON. MOST OF THE NARRATIVE IS FROM FIRST PERSON INTERVIEWS WITH THE PEOPLE INVOLVED. THERE IS A HUGE REFERENCE SECTION FOR FURTHER STUDY AND THE WORK IS WELL REFERENCED. IF THIS BOOK DOESN'T ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, THERE ARE MANY LINKS TO FIND OUT MORE. AN AMAZING ACCOUNT OF REAL ADVENTURES BY REAL PEOPLE!!

Le livre est beaucoup plus intéressant que le film.Ces hommes méritent toute notre admiration. Ils ont tout accompli sans chercher la gloire,.

This book certainly delivers on its promise of a detailed and insightful look inside the Cold War US/Soviet submarine activities. You will not be disappointed.However, i once read that knowing what detail to leave out of a book is as important as what it include. Advice the author could have benefited from. This book does deliver a truly interesting set of stories about the Cold War. Unfortunately you must wade through large sections that simply don’t need to be there; that don’t enrich the book in any way.For example, the first third of the book focusses on the authors' fathers role in the Cold War. And it would seem that he played a crucial role in saving the world. But it should have been split out into a separate biography. Additionally, the level of detail you are immersed into regarding the communication technology involved can only be of interest to radio engineers.Finally, be aware that large portions of the book are written in novellesque form; 'his hand trembled over the firing switch' kind of stuff. Not badly written, but perhaps distracting if you are seeing a purely factual account of the war.Overall, a good read, but not 5/5 for me.