How the Americans won the war against Japan

I enjoyed this reading but took the narrative with a pinch of sea salt. The USA did not win the war in the Pacific single handed, other allies were there on land, sea and in the air. Here is a quote from Wikipedia. "The British submarine force expanded its areas of operation in the last months of the war. In late 1944, the 8th Flotilla—with 11 British and Dutch submarines—was transferred to Fremantle and operated in the Java Sea and surrounding areas under the command of the U.S 7th Fleet. The 4th Flotilla and the newly formed 2nd Flotilla remained at Ceylon. By March 1945, British boats had gained control of the Strait of Malacca, preventing any supplies from reaching the Japanese forces in Burma by sea. By this time, there were few large Japanese ships in the region, and the submarines mainly operated against small ships which they attacked with their deck guns." Sorry America, we were in the war for six years - but you did not bad in the four years you fought with us.

2 people found this helpful

Crash Dive. Realistic and emotional.

At first it was a bit slow for me. Then it started to grab my attention. The central character became real and the following episodes more substantial. I enjoyed the pace and realism that the author started to inject into the characters and the effects of life in a submarine that were unusual to me and at times I despaired for characters. Moments of joy and fun were deliciously delivered and the interplay between the ranks were tense, funny, emotional age fearful and all written simply and effectively. I definitely recommend this series. The story teller delivered a believable story line that used the emotional and psychological traits effectively and showed these traits as real with his voice. Great story and great narration. Excellent.

2 people found this helpful

Almost Perfect

Some of the best and most enjoyable books I've listened to on Audible have been those I stumbled across. The Crash Dive series was one such instance of this. One of the emails from Audible featured this title and, as I'm a keen submarine buff, this series looked to fit the bill perfectly. I had never read anything by Craig DiLouie nor had I heard of him, but he is now a firm favourite after reading this superb collection of short stories. The Crash Dive series takes place during the second World war and follows the career of one Charlie Harrison as he progresses up the ranks in the U.S navy submarine service. There have been many books and films depicting real and fictional stories of daring do in the second World war, but very few of them focus on the silent service''s contribution to the war effort. Most writers focus on land campaigns and so do does Hollywood. This is perhaps understandable, yet both the mortality rate and impact on the Pacific war the submarine service had were amongst the highest of any service, so it's surprising to me that there isn't much more fictional material out there dealing with this branch of the military. Anyway, I will go into more detail later, but for those wanting the short version of this review; Crash Dive is a superb series. Craig DiLouie has penned a truly masterful depiction of the U.S Silent Service and life aboard a World war II submarine. DiLouie has to be one of the best character writers I've come across. Each of the characters in his stories are so well defined, credible and developed. You could really believe they are real people. Each one has their own unique traits, strengths and weaknesses - it really is like reading about very real people. To date, I've only come across such character writing from Stephen king. To add to this writing strength, DiLouie is able to grip the reader with pulse quickening action. I recall how brilliantly he would suck me into his vivid prose during battle stations action scenes. I felt like I was there in the thick of it when targets were being tracked and approaches made. In addition, counter attacks by the enemy really came across as completely authentic, with the ability to get my adrenaline going! I've come across so little in this specific genre, it's a wonderful find for me to discover Craig DiLouie's work. To me, it's the American equivalent of the seminal 'Das Boot' and in it's own right worthy of a properly adapted movie or TV mini series, especially considering the material coming out of Hollywood these days. I cannot stress enough just how well written these stories are. Everything about them is credible and characteristic of the Pacific campaign against the Japanese Empire. Craig DiLouie's Crash Dive series is a real oasis in a desert of submarine based fiction. The only other author I can recommend, albeit set in the modern era, is Michael Dimmer curio. Alas, when last I checked, Audible only had a single Dimmer curio title. I've read a Douglas Reeman book which was disappointing and despite Tom Clancy's reputation, apart from the Hunt For Red October, there really isn't anything submarine focused enough to get your teeth into. One thing DiLouie has done that reflects his superb character writing abilities, is to provide us with a post script at the conclusion of the series, in which he details the remainder of the main characters lives. This is done so well, so believably and with the backdrop of six books behind it, that I found myself with a lump in my throat as I listened to the fates of the key players. So, why only almost perfect? For most listeners, the technical details are not that relevant, but to those like me who are submarine enthusiasts, the multitude of incorrect information grates just a little. Especially so as DiLouie has quite clearly worked hard to make these stories accurate from a technical standpoint. yet, he got the hard stuff right and some of the simple stuff wrong! In addition, inconsistencies or continuity errors were present too. For example, Charlie suffers 3 broken ribs by the end of book 1. By the start of book 2, he is recovering from 2 broken ribs! His new submarine mentioned at the end of book 1 is stated as a Tambour class submarine, but then becomes a Gato class in book 2. The Sabre Tooth and Sand Tiger, both Gato class boats, were stated to have 4 screws - the Gato class has only 2 in fact. Strangely, DiLouie corrects this when stating much later in the series that the Sand Tiger has 2 propellers. I puzzled over how a hard left rudder could result in a clockwise turn or why an officer would light a cigarette when oxygen is very low on the submerged submarine. Another thing DiLouie seems to think is that the flooding of torpedo tubes is accomplished by simply opening the outer doors to the tubes! I also noticed that units of measurement appear to be confused as 14.5 Knots was stated as being about 13 mph, when it's more like the other way around. On more than one occasion, DiLouie refers to a ship as being around 6 football fields long. This would be about right if a football field was 100 feet long and not 100 yards long! The Mark 14 torpedo did indeed leave a wake pointing the enemy to where the firing submarine was. However, submarine commanders would routinely turn hard off the track of the torpedo once launched to avoid this, but not done so in this series. In September, 1944, another submarine, the USS harder, is featured with its relief crew. however, this boat was lost with all hands the month before in actual fact, something very easy to find out on Wikipedia. OK, I could go on as there were other things, but anyone still reading this far will have got the point. Despite all that, I very much enjoyd this series as it's otherwise so darn good! :) If you happen to be a sub buff, like me, don't let my picky observations put you off this excellent series. Finally, to complete the quality of this series, the superb R.CBray narrates throughout. He really is one of the best narrators featured on Audible and must, by now, be very much in demand. Bray captures the changing voice of Charlie Harrison toward the end of the series where he is irrevocably changed by his experiences,so a really nice touch. Crash Dive is an overall superb series and one I shall enjoy listening to again .... and again .... :)

5 people found this helpful

Best value for money I've had so far

Brilliant. RC bray? Tick. 6 books for one credit? Tick Deep characters that you can care about? Tick. Don't hesitate - dive dive dive

1 person found this helpful

Great stories brilliantly performed

Really enjoyable, all the way through all 6 books - great characters, excellent performance by the reader bringing it all to life.

1 person found this helpful

awesome!

Just finished this series and it was amazing, got me quite emotional towards the end, would highly recommend it

1 person found this helpful

Loved this book, fantastic easy listening.

Great war book, interesting characters and great events, each book roughly covers 1 patrol. Includes many large historical events.

History That Should Never Be Forgotten

As a person in is 60s I could not stop listening to this book This brought out emotion I didn’t know I had Thank you

high tempo, war drama

Whilst I might struggle to pick out anything exceptional about these books, they do their job very well. They maintain a quick pace, deliver exciting action and believable characters. Each book in the six book series is a little different - especially the last one - whilst keeping to the overall theme. The narrator seems a perfect choice, delivers a suitable range of voices, and sustains the atmosphere.

gripping

Great series hooked from the start epic adventure and one hell of a ride this series is a must, RC Bray really brings you in to the depths as part of the crew . now rig for dive, emergency stations and brace for depth charging. simply awesome