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)

wow! this is the best narration I've ever heard

I haven't finished the book yet, but I love listening to the story between the Russians and the US during such a tense time. The narrator really brings the people to life by giving characters their own voices and accents. I'm about half way through and am loving it!

Interesting view of history

Fascinating look at the real stories of how the submarine war is fought every day during the Cold War.

Good listen

Interesting listen about the Cold War Submarine activity.
Narration is well done.
The story line (at least the part I took part in) is mostly accurate. The facts are there, just the order is out of whack in a couple of places.
I started this wondering if I would be able to finish it before I got disgusted and quit. To my surprise, I finished it in two days.

Where was the editor??

I purchased this book to learn more about the topic of submarines and their part in the Cold War. To that extent the book stays on topic but I am left with serious questions as to it's accuracy. There are so many errors in minor areas, i.e. while riding to meet with President Kennedy the author refers to "a dark, lowering sky in Washington, DC", but while meeting with the President he refers to rays of sunshine streaming into the White House windows?!!

The above minor error is indicative of at least a couple of dozen other similar errors though out the story. The problem with them is that it makes the technical and historical accuracy of the book questionable. I have absolutely no knowledge of submarines, their operation, or of the technology used to track them. I'm also in the dark with reference to the historical events involving submarines in the Cuban Missile crisis. My main reason for listening to this book was to gain ACCURATE knowledge in those areas, at the end I'm left with as many questions as answers.

The reviews of this book published in Amazon.com's website delve into technical difficulties in great detail. If you are listening to this book as a learning experience I urge you to read through those reviews.

All said, the book is interesting, held my attention, and stimulated further interest. So it certainly isn't all bad. Tom Weiner does a good job reading the book, especially since the writing style doesn't necessarily flow easily.

Important, surprising, chilling history.

As a child I lived through the Cuban missile crisis and thought I had learned a lot about it. Yet when you read how close we came to nuclear conflagration, it is just absolutely chilling. It could've gone the other way so easily, launched by the Soviet submarines.In a couple of cases very brave men stood in the way and stopped captains from launching missiles that would've destroyed a good chunk of the American fleet And most likely prompted the launch of American and Soviet missiles that may very well have destroyed the entire planet. I wish I was exaggerating. This is very important history to know.

Submarines

I really enjoyed this book. The world of submarines has been very enlightening. The book never lost my interest. A pleasure listening

Blind Man's Bluff meets Cuban Missile Crisis

This 2 part book really is in two parts. The first part covers the beginning of the nuclear age, and covers some, though not nearly all, of the espionage stories detailed more completely in Sherry Sontag's excellent "Blind Man's Bluff". There is an interesting and significant portion of this that talks about how we figured out how to track the Soviet subs by their transmissions.

Then the second part segues into how subs helped the American side during the Cuban Missile crisis and the Cold War, including the Jennifer Project. There are some excellent stories, and a few gripping moments, but mostly it isn't a compelling, edge of your seat read. If you want to be informed, get this book. If you are looking to be entertained, there are better ones.

Very Good Listen

I enjoyed this book very much. The author talks about history that is years old but is just now available for the public to read. I enjoyed the technical terms and all the explanations.

Another unique submarine book

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

It is fascinating, and I do not know of any books on the primary subject, which is radio direction finding of Russian submarines in the Cold War and the effect on the Cuban Missile crisis. The story from the Soviet side matches well with RISING TIDE, which is based on interviews with the Russian skippers. I would recommend this book to my submarine qualified friends. It is pretty technical, and not dumbed down, which I consider a strength. The only criticism is that as a conner he should steer clear of engine room issues and also theories about SCORPION that are unprovable.

How could the performance have been better?

If you are in the Navy or wear Dolphins, be prepared for some very weird pronunciations, for instance "Mar-eh" Island instead of Mare Island (like the horse), and "g'dunk" instead of gee dunk. I blame this entirely on the reader for not picking up the phone and asking about an unfamiliar word.

Great collection of sea stories

Good stories, well researched. I really enjoyed the read. small note: the stories were a bit disjointed, some told 3rd person, some 1st, some switched without a smooth transition. Maybe a paper read would have made the blending better.