Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage - Softcover

Sontag, Sherry; Drew, Christopher; Drew, Annette Lawrence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006097771X ISBN 13: 9780060977719

Publisher: Avon A, 2000

Synopsis

For decades American submarines have roamed the depths in a dangerous battle for information and advantage in missions known only to a select few. Now, after six years of research, those missions are told in Blind Man's Bluff, a magnificent achievement in investigative reporting. It reads like a spy thriller -- except everything in it is true. This is an epic of adventure, ingenuity, courage, and disaster beneath the sea, a story filled with unforgettable characters who engineered daring missions to tap the enemy's underwater communications cables and to shadow Soviet submarines. It is a story of heroes and spies, of bravery and tragedy.

About this title

Review

Little is known--and less has been published--about American submarine espionage during the Cold War. These submerged sentinels silently monitored the Soviet Union's harbours, shadowed its subs, watched its missile tests, eavesdropped on its conversations and even retrieved top-secret debris from the bottom of the sea. In an engaging mix of first-rate journalism and historical narrative, Sherry Sontag, Christopher Drew and Annette Lawrence Drew describe what went on.

"Most of the stories in Blind Man's Bluff have never been told publicly," they write, "and none have ever been told in this level of detail." Among their revelations is the most complete accounting to date of the 1968 disappearance of the U.S.S. Scorpion; the story of how the Navy located a live hydrogen bomb lost by the Air Force; and a plot by the CIA and Howard Hughes to steal a Soviet sub. The most interesting chapter reveals how an American sub secretly tapped Soviet communications cables beneath the waves. Blind Man's Bluff is a compelling book about the courage, ingenuity and patriotism of America's underwater spies. --John J. Miller, Amazon.com

Review

"Brilliant . . . Full of hair-raising stories of men in peril under the sea."-- "Wall Street Journal""With materials combed from newspaper reports, American and Soviet archives, and the testimonies of officers and servicemen that could come forward only with the end of the Cold War, "Blind Man's Bluff" looks at one of the hottest theaters of that era--the ocean depths, and how submarines have been used by both the navy and the CIA to gather intelligence and launch covert operations . . ." -- "Kirkus Reviews, " starred review"A compelling study of magnificent men and spying machines."-- "New York Times Book Review""A long overdue, well deserved tribute to those unsung heroes of the U.S. Navy's ?silent service' with whom I was privileged to serve."-- Lt. Cmdr. Roy H. Boehm, USN (ret.), creator of the U.S. Navy Seal Teams and author of "First Seal""A real-life "Hunt For Red October.""-- "New York Times""From page one, it reads like a novel. How they uncovered all this stuff is remarkable."-- Don Imus"The most comprehensive look at the work of these intrepid sailors . . . A celebration of their ingenuity and valor."-- "Baltimore Sun"Reads like an adventure novel, but it's all to real."-- Seyour M. Hersh, author of "The Dark Side of Camelot"The veterans of the 'Silent Service' are silent no more."-- John Lehman, former Secretary of the Navy, "Wall Street Journal

Edition details

• Publisher: Avon A
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 006097771X
• ISBN 13: 9780060977719
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 406