Thunder Below!: The USS *Barb* Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II,   ISBN:9780252066702

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Incrediable reading of the actions accomplished by the greatest generation. Every page gripped me and made me continue to read. The innovation of these men made the stories come alive and touch the heart.

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The exploits of Commander Fluckey and his many crews in the USS Barb are over whelming and excellently recorded in this narration. For those of us that enjoy reading about WWII events, this is very worth while reading. I was capitaved from start to finish.

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I am fond of lengthy scholarly histories. Those books are never exciting or transporting, but the carefully judged statements of academic historians, backed up by footnotes, is reassuring as to accuracy.

Fluckey's book is entirely different. His history is part auto-biography, and so the suspicion ought to arise that some statements will be self-serving. Moreover, Fluckey has elected to use the classical Greek technique of writing dialogue for himself and his crew, with no footnote to tell you which speeches are documented word-for-word and which speeches are approximated. By rights I ought to feel that parts of the story are suspect.

None of it matters. Fluckey is obviously such an innovator that it would be uncharacteristic for him to use the techniques of conventional history, and so he has almost reinvented the art, dispensing with all the dusty methodology but clearly expending every effort to give you the fullest possible account of five brilliant war patrols, and the extraordinary leadership that produced them. In the long run, believability of a history depends on the trustworthiness of the sources. Fluckey throws his story at you and, like the great leader he is, demands that the you believe him and trust him to be as precise and accurate as possible. And I do.

Customer Rating: 

This account of Barb's War Patrols under Adm Gene Fluckey make for an excellent source of WW2 history and the submarine activity during the war. What is of particular interest is that his reasons for certain decisions make the book so much better than those written by historians who have no insite into the "whys".

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who served on a diesel submarine or those interested in WW2 naval historly.

Customer Rating: 

This book is outstanding if you have an intrest in US Navy submarines during WWII "Thunder Below" is a book that you must read.Gene Fluckely who was the skipper of the USS Barb a Gato class submarine writes the story of his time in command very well you really feel like you are right there with him.When I read this book I could see that Gene Fluckley was the type of commanding officer that a service member can trust fully. Fluckley was a foward thinking and agressive skipper yet at the same time he cared for the sailors under him.Fluckely writes so well even a lay person can understand what tactis he was using during many of his daring attacks including one on a harbor on the coast of China that left the Japanese military beliving that it had been anything but a lone submarine.A great read for any military history buff.Tom Cancy could not have come up with better fiction than the true story told in "Thunder Below".