Escape from the Deep: The Epic Story of a Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series),   ISBN:9781410410627

Customer Rating: 

The book was shipped on time and the condition as described. I would gladly use this seller again in the future.

Customer Rating: 

If you haven't read any books recently on action in World War II, this should be your next book to read. This is the story of the USS Tang, one of the most highly decorated submarines of the war. Near the end of her fifth patrol under command of Capt. Richard O'Kane, she was struck by an errant torpedo and sunk in the Formosa Straits. Only nine crewmen survived, including five who had to escape from the sunken sub as it rested on the bottom in 180 feet of water. Unfortunately for the survivors, this was only the beginning of their ordeal. They were to face over 10 months as prisoners in Japanese POW camps. After repeated beatings, torture and malnutrition, many returned home only to face broken homes, flashbacks of their months of torture, and recurring feelings of guilt that they had survived the cruel deaths of the rest of their crew. The book is well researched and includes much material gleaned from personal interviews with the survivors and many of the families of the crew. A fascinating true story that relates very well to all of us who owe so much to the members of our armed forces who served in the past and those who continue to protect us now. Also by this author: The Few: The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Save Britain in the Summer of 1940, The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice

Customer Rating: 

Outstanding book about "The Silent Service"; service from the seller excellent and wll order from them again! John

Customer Rating: 

Escape from the Deep
The Epic Story of a Legendary Submarine and her Courageous Crew
By Alex Kershaw
* 288 pages
* Pictures
* Publisher: Da Capo Press
* ISBN-13: 978-0306815195



I could sum up the story a of WW II submarine the USS Tang by saying it gets sunk by its own torpedoes a few survive the sinking. The survivors are then captured by the Japanese and then held as POW for the rest of the war and then released. However, I would be doing a gross injustice to the memory of the crewman of the USS Tang.

The story of Escape from the Deep is very engrossing and I felt I have come to know the crew of the USS Tang and experience its sinking. There is chapter in the book that tells how some of the crewmen escaped to the surface. I can imagine I was in the Pacific Ocean and seeing a fellow crewman starting to drown and there is nothing I could do to save him. I am sure that memory haunted the survivors to their end of their lives.
The Tang was sunk by its own torpedo which was fired out of its tube and turned in a circle and struck her when was on the surface. Lieutenant Commander Kane was blown over board with some other sailors. The rest of the crew was still in the submarine as it was sinking from the destructive hit of the torpedo.


The Japanese did not treat submariners well in fact they were considered special prisoners and the American Red Cross was not notified of their capture. The wives and families of the crew of USS Tang were notified that all were presumed Missing in Action. The Japanese made sure that the crew was told this in the hopes they could break the sailors. One person who helped the crew survived the barbaric and heinous treatment that the Japanese inflicted them in captivity was a Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington. He was the famous commander of the Black Sheep squadron and also was a Japanese prisoner

It took me awhile to read the book because when you read about the horrific treatment on the crew was inflicted by the Japanese it made me angry. I have toured a sister ship , USS Ling now docked in Hackensack, NJ and can attest to the cramp quarters and can only wonder how any one managed to escape from 180 feet below the surface. I have come to appreciate the Silent Service and their selfless service to the United States. I highly recommend this book.

MAJ (ret) Eric Shuler NJARNG

Customer Rating: 

If you like Submarine books and or story's you'll like this one. You can't put it down once you start reading it. I read O'Kane's own book, " Clear the Bridge " and this book isn't like his. O'Kane's book was very good but in the end you wonder how did some of his crew escape from the Sub, well now you'll find out. What people do or act under pressure is an answer we would all like to know at some point in our lives.