War in the Boats: My World War II Submarine Battles

Submarine duty in World War II was extraordinarily dangerous: nearly 22 percent of all American submariners who fought lost their lives. What kind of man could face these odds day after day in a cramped leaky vessel hundreds of feet below the surface? Bill Ruhe was one of them. A twenty-six-year-old ensign just three years out of the Naval Academy he kept a journal on eight action-filled patrols against the Japanese in the South Pacific. Based on his colorful and meticulous notes War in the Boats vividly describes a unique form of combat and the courageous individuals who could withstand its extreme pressures. The authors combat operations ran the gamut of submarine actions in the Pacific war. His battles were fought in the three main types of American submarines or "boats" as submariners called them. Because his experiences were so extensive his book is one of the most inclusive descriptions of the undersea war against Japan. Moreover War in the Boats is not the dry work of a professional historian. It is a young observant officers impressions of the conflicts effect on a tightly knit and interdependent group of men. A compelling and exciting true story that reads like the best naval fiction it will earn a place with Run Silent Run Deep Das Boot and The Hunt for Red October.