An eye-opening submarine account, impressively intelligent and full of insights.
In this final installment of an autobiographical trilogy, a Navy veteran recounts his tenure as the commander of a nuclear submarine during the Cold War.
McLaren was an instructor at the Naval War College in 1969 when he received the momentous news: He was to assume the command of the USS Queenfishat Pearl Harbor, one of 37 Sturgeon-class nuclear attack submarines. With impressive lucidity and exactitude, the author chronicles his tenure as commander until 1973, an extraordinary time that was “still fairly early in a Cold War that was increasing in intensity.” In fact, one mission in which the Queenfishencountered Soviet anti-submarine forces was haunted by a discomfiting ambiguity: “Whatever the case, it was our understanding that before we departed on this mission, the United States would not necessarily come to our assistance, diplomatically or otherwise.” McLaren focuses his remembrance on two historic operations—the first was a high-priority Cold War mission to the Russian Far East that included the surveillance of Soviet nautical maneuvers. In the other, the Queenfishperformed a hydrographic and oceanographic survey of the Siberian continental shelf, something that had never been accomplished by a sub before.
The author limns a remarkably vivid tableau of life on a sub—the extraordinary peril and the relentless discipline it demanded. One might quibble that his inclination toward granular comprehensiveness can become exhausting: Readers are furnished accounts of garbage disposal and periscope techniques, topics unlikely to grab or sustain the attention of a general audience. Nevertheless, this is a unique tour of a little-known world led with great expertise—McLaren ultimately earned the Distinguished Service Medal for his accomplishments. In addition, he provides a thoughtful look at the enormous pressures of submarine life—one of his shipmates who was a cryptologic technician began to hear the voice of his girlfriend emanating from a ventilation outlet. The author concluded: “It had all proved too much for him. I would like to think this mishap could have been prevented, but the truth was that, as far as I knew, there was no effective system at the time for the psychological screening of individual members of special teams before they boarded a Cold War mission submarine.” McLaren’s prose is unfailingly precise and clear; he writes with a self-assured sense of authority but without a hint of condescending hubris. Furthermore, this is not a self-congratulatory work; while the author avoids flights of poetic fancy, he does not dodge opportunities for candid introspection. Moreover, this remembrance should be of special interest to those in search of a deeper understanding of the nature of the Cold War and the abiding hostilities between the United States and its principal rival at the time, the Soviet Union. As the author makes disturbingly clear, this Cold War was often on the cusp of turning hot, and it was a combination of strategic rectitude and good fortune that such an outcome was finally avoided. McLaren’s recollection is as dramatically captivating as it is historically edifying.
An eye-opening submarine account, impressively intelligent and full of insights.Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8173-2092-8
Page Count: 296
Publisher: Univ. of Alabama
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | HISTORY | HISTORY | MODERN | MODERN | MILITARY | MILITARY | GENERAL HISTORY | GENERAL HISTORY
The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist (1900–45) collected his work from WWII in two bestselling volumes, this second published in 1944, a year before Pyle was killed by a sniper’s bullet on Okinawa. In his fine introduction to this new edition, G. Kurt Piehler (History/Univ. of Tennessee at Knoxville) celebrates Pyle’s “dense, descriptive style” and his unusual feel for the quotidian GI experience—a personal and human side to war left out of reporting on generals and their strategies. Though Piehler’s reminder about wartime censorship seems beside the point, his biographical context—Pyle was escaping a troubled marriage—is valuable. Kirkus, at the time, noted the hoopla over Pyle (Pulitzer, hugely popular syndicated column, BOMC hype) and decided it was all worth it: “the book doesn’t let the reader down.” Pyle, of course, captures “the human qualities” of men in combat, but he also provides “an extraordinary sense of the scope of the European war fronts, the variety of services involved, the men and their officers.” Despite Piehler’s current argument that Pyle ignored much of the war (particularly the seamier stuff), Kirkus in 1944 marveled at how much he was able to cover. Back then, we thought, “here’s a book that needs no selling.” Nowadays, a firm push might be needed to renew interest in this classic of modern journalism.
Pub Date: April 26, 2001
ISBN: 0-8032-8768-2
Page Count: 513
Publisher: Univ. of Nebraska
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2001
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.
A highly instructive exploration of “current affairs and…the immediate future of human societies.”
Having produced an international bestseller about human origins (Sapiens, 2015, etc.) and avoided the sophomore jinx writing about our destiny (Homo Deus, 2017), Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) proves that he has not lost his touch, casting a brilliantly insightful eye on today’s myriad crises, from Trump to terrorism, Brexit to big data. As the author emphasizes, “humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better. Every person, group, and nation has its own tales and myths.” Three grand stories once predicted the future. World War II eliminated the fascist story but stimulated communism for a few decades until its collapse. The liberal story—think democracy, free markets, and globalism—reigned supreme for a decade until the 20th-century nasties—dictators, populists, and nationalists—came back in style. They promote jingoism over international cooperation, vilify the opposition, demonize immigrants and rival nations, and then win elections. “A bit like the Soviet elites in the 1980s,” writes Harari, “liberals don’t understand how history deviates from its preordained course, and they lack an alternative prism through which to interpret reality.” The author certainly understands, and in 21 painfully astute essays, he delivers his take on where our increasingly “post-truth” world is headed. Human ingenuity, which enables us to control the outside world, may soon re-engineer our insides, extend life, and guide our thoughts. Science-fiction movies get the future wrong, if only because they have happy endings. Most readers will find Harari’s narrative deliciously reasonable, including his explanation of the stories (not actually true but rational) of those who elect dictators, populists, and nationalists. His remedies for wildly disruptive technology (biotech, infotech) and its consequences (climate change, mass unemployment) ring true, provided nations act with more good sense than they have shown throughout history.
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-51217-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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