Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Crazy Ivan: A True Story of Submarine Espionage by W. Craig Reed, William Reed ISBN: 0-595-26506-5 Publisher: Writers Club Press Pub. Date: March, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.78 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Ah, the memories!
Comment: The Crazy Ivan concept and story line are communicated effectively. The introduction accurately informs readers of the biographical nature of the story. The author's writing style is very effectively communicated. The factual nature of writing lends great authenticity to what is being told. With regard to mechanics, this is one of the best books I've had the privilege of reading. The author has a very good command of the English language, grammar and spelling.
As a retired Navy Master Chief (1973) I found this story quite fascinating and very factual. Early on when the author describes an incident with a wharf rat and his 45, I was taken back to a similar embarrassing incident in 1956 while standing PO of the watch aboard ship in Pearl. From that point on, the book just became more and more interesting.
Another bit of nostalgia involves the USS Parche to which the author was ordered in 1980. The original USS Parche was a Navy Reserve training submarine located in Alameda, CA during the late 50s and early 60s. The skipper at that time was a good friend, an academy football player and now retired Admiral.
Enough reminiscing, I really enjoyed Crazy Ivan.
Rating: 4
Summary: Now this is a Sea Story!
Comment: It was called the Cold War, but it occasionally turned hot in the sometimes deadly hide-and-seek played by American and Soviet submarines.
"Crazy Ivan" offers a true, riveting, you-can-smell-the-fear account of courageous submarine espionage told from the gritty perspective of an enlisted man. It is the gripping first-person story of W. Craig Reed, a decorated submariner, espionage photographer, and Navy diver. The author was assisted by his father, William Reed, a retired Naval Intelligence officer who also is a Cold War veteran.
W. C. Reed makes complex technical details easy to read and understand. One doesn't have to be an ex-submariner to comprehend this sea story. Fans of thrillers and history shouldn't miss it.
Rating: 3
Summary: Crazy Ivan, Lazy Writer
Comment: This is an exasperating book. Author Craig Reed gives the reader just enough details to keep him on the hook, then glosses over other incidents and examples from his career that would have made this book a much bettter read. Rather than tell the whole story, he cuts seeminly at random from anecdote to anecdote.
Towards the end of the book, Reed has left the Navy after an "incident" he was "inadvertently drawn into, which resulted in Captain's mast [discipline]...one that I was eventually cleared of." Well, what happened, Craig? First you've left the Navy, and one chapter later, you're back in, on a better boat, on another spy mission -- what happened in the interim? It's this sort of material that would have given the reader a better look at Navy life, instead of one painted with broad brush strokes.
For a more balanced and far more readable look at submarine life, I recommend Andrew Karam's "Rig Ship for Ultra-Quiet." Reed may be a brave and patriotic Navy diver, but he still could have benefited from a better editor.
 |
Title: Rising Tide: The Untold Story of the Russian Submarines That Fought the Cold War by Gary E. Weir, Walter J. Boyne ISBN: 0465091121 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
 |
Title: Dark Waters: An Insider's Account of the NR-1, the Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub by Lee Vyborny, Don Davis ISBN: 0451207777 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: Rig Ship for Ultra Quiet by Andrew Karam ISBN: 0957870973 Publisher: Sid Harta Publishers Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines by Norman Polmar, Kenneth J. Moore ISBN: 1574885944 Publisher: Brasseys, Inc. Pub. Date: December, 2003 List Price(USD): $60.00 |
 |
Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Submarines by Michael DiMercurio, Michael Benson ISBN: 0028644719 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
