On the Bottom

The Raising of the Submarine S-51

By: Edward Ellsberg

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

On September 25, 1925, the S-51 tragically sank to the ocean floor, and Edward Ellsberg was the man whose courage and determination brought it back

The sinking of the submarine S-51 was one of the greatest tragedies in American naval history. Due to a miscommunication and subsequent collision between the sub and a passing steamship on a September night, the S-51, including 33 of its crew of 36, sank to the ocean depths. The tragedy of the S-51 captivated the nation, and was a fixture in the pages of American newspapers. The story took on a whole new dimension when the navy decided to take over the salvage of the 1,000-ton behemoth from a civilian company.

Heading the crew tasked with this impossible feat was Edward Ellsberg, at the time a lieutenant commander. On the Bottom is Ellsberg's account of the successes and failures he and his men experienced as they attempted an astonishing feat of engineering and bravery: the first salvage of a submarine from the open ocean.

©1946 Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Doesn't Get Much Better

Adventure, true heroism, lots of stuff about undersea work - what more could you want?

FASCINATING!

An brilliantly written and narrated tale of men improvising and overcoming seemingly impossible conditions and odds.

Great book

Amazing hidden gem of a book. I almost didn’t finish it though because the first 15 chapters the reader sounded like a game show host and it made it very hard to tell the tone and pace of the book. But then like a light switch he changed and sounded a lot better for the remainder of the book.

an on the edge of your seat struggle at sea

I really enjoyed this story, being ex Navy and an ex Diver, I found the story riveting and exciting. A very tense story about a sub that is accidentally sunk and the men of iron will that struggled against all odds to raise her. I wish Audible had a greater selection of nautical stories like this.