"Reads like a movie"

Alex Kershaw's earlier books are all page turners, but Escape from the Deep takes Kershaw's considerable narrative skills to a new level. This gripping true account of the sinking of the WWII submarine Tang and the subsequent desperate--and mostly futile--efforts of the trapped crew to escape death at 180 feet underwater is so intense and involving that a reader cannot help but be a part of that crew. Description of submarine life and the emotional and psychological experiences of the crew members during and after the sinking is particularly involving, and Kershaw's signature short background vignettes of seamen and officers serves his purpose especially well in this book, making survival or death particularly poignant. Irony abounds, and Kershaw nails it without hammering it to death. Personal ethics, survival, mental toughness, fate, luck--they're all out there, and Kershaw's story brings them home in spades.

Escape from the Deep is another Kershaw tribute to a group of true American heroes, written to appeal not only to WWII aficionados but also to a generation of readers too young to remember the sacrifices of their forbears.

It's also a great read that feels like a movie.