U.S.S. MUDSKIPPER

Another of the author's submarine adventure stories, this goes even further than the others in its moral concern about the senseless destructiveness and futility of war. The Mudskipper had prowled unsuccessfully for months off the coast of Japan until its C.O., Tolliver, spots the small train moving punctually along the shore. He is a man close to a crackup, in love with the poetry of death and he becomes fixated with the idea of blowing up the train. Jake Stock is the only submariner aware of the sick compulsion providing the impetus for this unnecessary sabotage. Meanwhile we enter the lives of the Japanese, the train's engineer, the lonely guard and the boy who watches... Dramatically compelling right up to its tragic climax.