Against the Tide

Rickover's Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy

By: Rear Adm. Dave Oliver USN - Ret.

Narrated by: Joel Richards

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Against the Tide is a leadership book that illustrates how Adm. Hyman Rickover made a unique impact on American and Navy culture.

Dave Oliver is the first former nuclear submarine commander who sailed for the venerable admiral to write about Rickover's management techniques. Oliver draws upon a wealth of untold stories to show how one man changed American and Navy culture while altering the course of history.

The driving force behind America's nuclear submarine navy, Rickover revolutionized naval warfare while concurrently proving to be a wellspring of innovation that drove American technology in the latter half of the 20th-century. As a testament to his success, Rickover's single-minded focus on safety protected both American citizens and sailors from nuclear contamination, a record that is in stark contrast to the dozens of nuclear reactor accidents suffered by the Russians.

While Rickover has been the subject of a number of biographies, little has been written about his unique management practices that changed the culture of a 200-year-old institution and affected the outcome of the Cold War.

©2014 Dave Oliver (P)2018 Tantor

Great flow of the book and principles

Excellent blend of history and leadership lessons. Strongly recommend this book. It truly is enjoyable and easy listening

In line with my experience

I was a Navy nuke for a little over 20 years, all of them after Admiral Rickover's death, hence after the Coldwar had been won, and I can say that much of what is detailed here was still true of how the program was being run when I left.

A very easy lesson about a very interesting man

I blew through this book quickly… It is well paced, well written, and well narrated. It’s unfortunate that ADM Rickover never wrote an autobiography or memoir, but this is a good primer on how the man helped to make the modern US submarine service into the vaunted and unmatched force it is today.

A new appreciation for the first Naval Reactors and his management style

As a Nuke myself, My early adult life was quite literally submerged in his culture. This gives me a renewed appreciation his morality and his the quality he instilled in the young men and women in his programs.

Great portrait of Admiral Rickover

This is a compelling discussion of Rickover’s management philosophy and the results he achieved with the nuclear Navy.

different perspective

I’ve long known that Rickover was a brilliant and innovative engineer, but this fascinating perspective on what an amazing manager he was has never come across my field of view before. I like and appreciate it tremendously.

I wish they would get better narrators for books like this. The first fifth or so, of this book, was read as though the expected audience would be not-terribly-bright children, despite the carefully thought out, intelligent, and deep understanding perspective that the author brings to the subject. Also, I am continually irritated by narrators who cannot pronounce (River) Thames correctly, and producers who fail to catch and correct such poorly educated errors.

third time listening to this

I've listened to this three times in the past two years; I'm still amazed how the determination of one individual can impact the world.

Author Who Knows

Oliver's firsthand experience working with Rickover makes him the perfect person for this biography/leadership book. Get ready to take some notes because this one has some great nuggets.

Another Perspective on Leadership

A good review on how Rickover approached leadership. Shows how Rickover was able to effectively create a high risk organization that remains free from signficant incident.

Give me a Break

Rickenbacker was no more than a man. That's what you must remember with this book, as the author thinks of him as a quasi-god.
I remember being on Nautilus and kept asking myself, why it was not a beefier boat, being nuclear, but this book answers that question, as it really surprised me when I found out it was pieces and parts put together by the old salt, so he had to be a darn good engineer. He could never have survived today's Navy though, as he served in the years where his personality would be tolerated. He was no leader of men despite what the author portrays him, as his way or the highway ruined many a good man. I will leave it there, but I think a boat should have his name on it.