Red November

Inside the Secret U.S.-Soviet Submarine War

By: W. Craig Reed

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Red November is filled with hair-raising, behind-the-scenes stories that take you deep beneath the surface and into the action of the Cold War.

Few know how close the world has come to annihilation better than the warriors who served America during the tense, 45-year struggle known as the Cold War. Yet for decades, their work has remained shrouded in secrecy. Now, in this riveting new history, W. Craig Reed, a former navy diver and fast-attack submariner, provides an eye-opening, pulse-pounding narrative of the underwater struggles and espionage operations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. that brought us to the brink of nuclear war more than once.

Red November is filled with hair-raising, behind-the-scenes stories that take you deep beneath the surface and into the action during the entire Cold War period from 1946 through 1992. Reed served aboard submarines involved in espionage operations, and his father was a top military intelligence specialist intimately involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Reed is one of the first authors to obtain so many in-depth interviews with dozens of navy divers, espionage operatives, submariners, and government officials on both sides (including several Soviet submarine captains) about the most daring and decorated missions of the conflict, including top-secret Ivy Bells, Boresight, Bulls Eye, and Holystone operations.

Transcending traditional submarine, espionage, and Cold War accounts, Red November is an up-close examination of one of the most dangerous times in world history and an intimate look at the men and women who participated in our country’s longest and most expensive underwater war.

©2010 W. Craig Reed (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“If Tom Clancy had turned The Hunt for Red October into a nonfiction thriller, W. Craig Reed’s Red November might be the result. Here is the full-throttle and riveting story of espionage, secret missions, and the never-before-told tales of submariners on the front lines of a clandestine war. Not to be missed!” (James Rollins)

Former a Former CSDG-1 submariner

As a former CSDG-1 member having served on many of the boat in the book and some others for a total of 6 boats and 2 sub-tenders. I made some spec-op including the Big One. Story done pretty well.

Good book for students of the topic.

What did you love best about Red November?

The detailed description of the development of technology that went into signals analysis in order to track the Russian Subs, as well as the details of several specific missions and situations.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Red November?

Three memorable moments come to mind (and they are all extensive parts of the book): the development of Project Boresight; the implementation of Project Boresight during the Cuban Missle Crisis; the wire tapping operations in the Sea of Okhotsk.

What about Tom Weiner’s performance did you like?

The narrarator did fine. When a single narrorator attempts to change his voice to sound like multiple characters, it gets a bit comical. But the narration was well read, easy to listen to, and very clear.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were a few points that were frustrating because the author's research seemed a bit off on some points. Particularly with regard to the Russian submarine K-129. I strongly recommend Red Star Rouge for a detailed history of that submarine and the US recover of the submarine. Other history books (some of them autobiography's by individuals actually involved in different aspects) have confirmed that some of Red November's information on the K-129 was not entirely accurate (e.g., in From The Shadows, Robert Gates himself writes that he presented the Russians with the bell from the conning tower of the K-129. Gates could not have done that unless the US had gotten more of the sub than Red November indicates the US recovered.)

Excellent read !

I looked forward to my drive each day just knowing that I would be listening to this book.

Fantastic Stories!

Loved this book. As a Cold War Veteran I enjoyed the stories of those who served.

Excellent Audio Book!

Loved this book. Was well worth purchasing. Very informative and filled with great stories of the Cold War Era with the Soviets. I suspect the sequel will be our experiences with the new cold war with the Chinese.

Staccato like reading performance…

Staccato like reading performance is becoming increasingly annoying and makes it hard to follow the story.

The book is well written with lots of interesting stories, but some of those stories are getting too technical and long winded which caused me to lose interest.

Good tech read

I enjoyed the book but potential readers should know it is very technical. I enjoyed this aspect but some might not care for it.

Outstanding!

A great historical account which keeps your attention. I truly enjoyed this audible book . It was nice to hear the whole story which the public never had access to at the time.

loved it.

loved it.
Similar to Blind Man's Bluff, but goes into more technical detail. The author is knowledgeable of the subject matter not only from personal experience, but also from his father's experience.

Generally, Very Interesting

Definitely a very interesting history. It was very informative and generally factual.

If you can overlook some obvious embellishments, that the author seems to want to use to spice up the story, it is a nice history of a very trying time.