Stalking the Red Bear: The True Story of a U.S. Cold War Submarine's Covert Operations Against the Soviet Union

As a subvet, who served during the times in this book i find it fascinating to read that what we did made such a significant impact. While i cannot confirm any details in this book i can tell you that for most of us who were in our 20's and 30's, we were under a lot of pressure to perform but as a member of an elite group of men we covered each others back and performed like a well oiled machine. The only discouragement is that not all of returned from the depths of the sea.

I recently stumbled across this book by Peter Sasgen - STALKING THE RED BEAR. It has been out for a while, Copyright © 2009, so many may have already read it. If not I highly recommend if for nothing other than a pleasant walk down memory lane for SSN and Smoke Boat veterans, a glimpse into some different experiences for FBM only sailors and very suitable for anyone not familiar with Cold War submarine operations. Many of us still plod though reluctance to discuss specifics due not knowing what has been declassified. I can recall when SOSUS was one of the most heavily guarded Top Secrets of the Cold War. All-in-all a good, easy read for anyone interested in submarine operations.Bob Gerle, Sr. Plank Owner SSBN-627/COB SSN-583.

As many reviewers have stated this is about the Cold War history of submarine data gathering both visual and electronic. Fact based with some liberties taken for conversational fluidity, it is a good and quick read. The quick is my major issue with this work. While the book lists as 330 pages, only about 2/3 are part of the direct story. The last 1/3 is 3 Appendix that generally rehash 3 WW2 sub commander missions breifly discussed in the main text. There is also an extensive glossary, and a very extensive bibliography. A lot of this seems to be to fill out the length of the book.Some of my other issues with the books is the disjointedness of some of the descriptions. For example, one sub commander's debrief says that he moved his submarine under a Russian surfaced submarine. No reasons was given until later in the book when it was noted that there was a desire to get images of the hull of Russsian ships and submarines to understand the extent of their technology. So, while I was left wondering until late in the book why a sub captain would risk his crew, career, boat, and an international incident for something that seemed more like counting coup.

A good read on cold war era submarine patrols. The author does a good job laying the groundwork for the book up front covering all the basics, then goes into a lot of detail on one patrol or mission. You need to keep in mind that subs operating in this timeframe were not sent out to shoot torpedoes and sink ships as in WWII, but to gather intelligence of all types. The author does a good job describing all of the Intel gathering that was done on this one mission, including test launches, Russian torpedo drills, Russian submarine surveillance, and more. I know a lot of the information from this time period is still classified, but it would have been nice to include a second patrol. This is a good book to read after reading Blind Mans Bluff.

Just wish it was twice as long! I didn’t put it down until I was done with it

Having served on both Permit (Thresher) class and Sturgeon class boats, this sure brought back my West-Pac memories! The locations are different (Atlantic vs Pacific) but the story is so identical. My patrol was 81 days out of Pearl and we did get periscope liberty to look at Russia. Peter Sasgen did an excellent job of telling the story of life on patrol. Sturgeon class boats are still some of the finest boats the US has ever placed in service. This book will truly give the reader a very accurate view of life on the boat. Being enlisted, I did not have it as good as the officers and CO but we also had a fantastic skipper and he demanded the highest level of performance from all of us. If you are curious about submarines and their roll in our national defense, do yourself a favor and read Stalking the Red Bear!

My first impression... Is that this book is amazingly authentic: the author (or his advisor) seems to be a deep expert on this topic and its description of life aboard submarines is accurate and complete.He is keen on illustrating both technical matters and emotional situations using well written and knowledgeable narrations.In order to do this, he has to sacrifice the thrilling part. Sometimes there are many interruptions to flow of the story, which are necessary for a better understanding but they endanger the thrilling.I would recommend this book only for submarine-stuff eagers. For these, the book is likely to be a well deserved 5 star.For people wishing for a quick to read book, it is a little boring.

This book is frustrating. The title mentions multiple operations against the former Soviet Union but in reality, this book covers a SINGLE patrol of a U.S. submarine. Yet, during that single patrol, the U.S. submarine engaged in some truly amazing activities.Unfortunately, getting to the "good stuff" required slogging through filler and non-essential rubbish that seriously taxed my interest. For example, the author includes chapters on some fictitious Soviet Navy activity that he claims he found on the Internet and in Soviet Navy journals. We also got history lessons in the submarine torpedo, the WWII exploits of the U.S. and German submarine captains, and a full 30% of the book dedicated to a bloated appendix.So, 40% of the book is filler, 30% is an appendix, and you get the idea of how much actual content is in this book.I mentioned a few gems. They include observing a Soviet SLBM missile launch in the Barents, maneuvering the U.S. sub underneath a Soviet sub for a visual inspection of the Soviet sub's hull, and the explanations about quieting features built into a U.S. submarine.One thing that really, really stuck out was the author's comment about a Soviet submarine returning to base to conserve its "nuclear fuel."Overall, this book was disappointing.

I found this book very interesting but written from a very pro-American view point. It seemed to suggest that the cat and mouse games played by the Soviet and US were completely one sided almost to the point of no contest. Never the less I did enjoy the book and It encouraged me to seek other books on this subject written from the opposite view point and also a more neutral one.

A bit long and drawn out not very exciting

Wonderfull account of the silent service.Any ex Royal Navy will know how well this book has been researched and well explained.This book gives an excellent account of what went on during the cold war era and puts into context how dangerous these missions where in order to keep worldwide peace.Anyone who reads this book will be gripped with the intreague and nerve racking missions that these submariners set out on maybe never to return.These are true facts and just the tip of the iceberg.

very good read

It does what it sais on the tin!Very interesting account of the cold war spying which went on by both sides.