FATHOMS DEEP

This purports to do for the submarine service what Monsarrat's books do for destroyers. And up to a point, it succeeds. One gets a very real feel of what it is like, -- the crowding, the close proximity of fellows of the crew, the periods of boredom and the activities, the sense of oneness with the ship and her parts, the planning for shore leave, the thoughts of women -- of food and drink and smokes, and the yearning for action, no matter what the outcome. Michael Dawson obviously knows whereof he writes -- and cross sections his men -- and their stories; but his romance is thin spun, and the story limps a bit, though one gets a sense of the uncertainties of life at home -- waiting -- even as one does at sea, on patrol, scouting, convoying, attacking.