This book is a real page turner. I couldn't put it down. Calvert really pulls you into the action. I picked up this book after reading "The Terrible hours" and found that I enjoyed reading about submarines. I've also just started playing "Silent Hunter III" and wanted to delve into the WWII submarine environment. This books definitely puts right along-side Calvert. I really enjoyed the growth that the book follows as Calvert graduates from the Naval Academy, gets assigned to a new submarine as it is being contructed. His writing style that takes you from a young green officer to an experienced submarine warrior is a very nice touch. This really portrays the building of his character. After reading about Swede Momsen and James Calvert, I am ready to start building a WWII submarine library.

I'll echo much of what has already been written. This book is an excellent account of one man's experience with WW2 submarine operations. The author made it to the level of executive officer on a sub by the end of the war (and went on to even more interesting events as told in his other book "Surface at the Pole").

The author writes clearly, interestingly, and honestly. The author covers most of his patrols (of nine if I remember correctly) in detail and even some of his personal events while on shore. He covers everything from the horror of being depth charged to the boredom and tedium of patrol.

Overall the author provides an interesting and enlightening account of US Submarine operations and what it was like to serve on a US submarine in WW2.

Great read.

As the only prior reviewer who failed to give it five stars noted , it is written in a very straightforward style. Most of the discussions regarding emotions are off the boat. It is not Tom Clancey but rather an account of real heros, fighting an extremely dangerous war, 8,000 miles from home and often hundreds of miles from any friendly ship.

I found the book captivating but it does require the reader to put himself into the account rather than having the book reach out to the reader with pages of descriptions of fear soaked sweat dripping from frightened sailors.

It is a book about the true meaning of being a warrior at sea, combat leadership, life aboard one of the best attack submarines, wartime love and the emotional conflicts and the technology of the era.

The book is also about the endurance of the men who sailed on the submarines. Although the author does not dwell on the issue, due to the importance of their effort the subs were only allowed to remain in port for the few weeks it took to attend to the most critical reparis and replenishment. Then they returned to a very dangerous mission which began almost as they left port.

It's also a reminder of how much the strategy of submarine warfare has changed as our WW2 subs had very limited range and speed while submerged.

The author's story of their premature entry into Tokyo was great.

He only devotes a few words in the afterword to cover the balance of his distinguished military career which had seemed doomed by their prank trip to Tokyo.

This memoir is particularly well-written. It accomplishes the expected by displaying day-to-day life on a US submarine in WWII, but it does more by really capturing the voice of an innocent young man who still has a lot to learn about the world.

Calvert went on to quite a distinguished career in the Navy, but this book never hints at that, instead it paints a portrait of a very specific period of time in the author's life and doesn't bog the reader down with too much 20/20 hindsight and reflections, instead relaying the feeling of being in your early 20s and being involved in one of the highest-stakes contests ever fought in human history.

If you like memoirs, history, or WWII, this is a very well-told story that will appeal to you.

This memoir is particularly well-written. It accomplishes the expected by displaying day-to-day life on a US submarine in WWII, but it does more by really capturing the voice of an innocent young man who still has a lot to learn about the world.

Calvert went on to quite a distinguished career in the Navy, but this book never hints at that, instead it paints a portrait of a very specific period of time in the author's life and doesn't bog the reader down with too much 20/20 hindsight and reflections, instead relaying the feeling of being in your early 20s and being involved in one of the highest-stakes contests ever fought in human history.

If you like memoirs, history, or WWII, this is a very well-told story that will appeal to you.

This could have easily been a dull and difficult read, but Calvert was not a dull man. To the contrary, this story puts you right in the action. Just like the AAF's B-24 Liberator bombers, the naval subs were often just as dangerous to our soldiers as the enemy was. Especially at the beginning of their service, Calvert shares how the Jack had many problems with its engines, at one point nearly getting stranded with no operable engines. On top of that, they had to endure intense depth charging. With all of this action, it's hard to relax - even while in the comfort of an armchair.

More than just a military tale, however; Silent Running has a real human side. Calvert takes the reader deep into his personality, allowing us to share in his fear and his courage. It is also a story of love and a sailor's struggle to stay faithful to his wife while facing death in a cruel war far from home. As he prevails over all, we are shown the tremendous character and tenacity of the men and women that fought and won the "Greatest War".

If you like this book, you must rent/buy/watch Das Boot (The Boat) directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Although, it is told from the perspective of the German submarine crew, it is a great aid to visualizing the experience of 1930-40's submarine warfare conditions and technology. It is, also, considered one of the greatest WWII movies made to date.

Silent Service was a true page turner for me and I found it difficult to put down in the two days I spent with it. Admiral Calvert does an excellent job in conveying the realities of life aboard a WWII attack submarine; the boring day-to-day routines, various navigational methods, the extraordinarily complex relationship between the submarine and it's crew, the adrenaline charged excitement of an attack, the terrors of a depth charging and the courage of the men who went into this exhausting, claustrophobic, unforgiving world with it's ever present threat of a ghastly death (twenty-five percent of American WWII submariners never returned from their last mission). Calvert's prose is engaging, informative and lucid; The book is divided chronologically into fourteen chapters of roughly twenty pages per, each addressing an aspect of his wartime experiences; from the USS Jack's commissioning in January of 1943 to his (mis)adventure in Tokyo immediately following the surrender. A brief afterword follows up these retrospections. I highly recommend this book to those interested in submarines and/or WWII.

VAdm Calvert's book is simply one of the best WWII submarine books ever written. It is both heartfelt and straight forward and lives up to the one of the defining standards of the men who served on our fleet submarines in the Pacific; honest self criticism. About a war full of hero's, this book lets us get to know some of them better.

I've read many novels that did not capture me as well as this one. The story is amazing. The author's ability to fill the work with that certain quality that makes you wish you were there is perfectly done. Set aside a few quality hours to zip through this book because you won't be able to put it down. Amazing!

This book is excelent. Reading this, I really got a feeling as to what it was like on a submarine in World War II. It includes action sequences that really make it feel like you were there, on the sub. Calvert is a genius. I highly suggest this book for ANYONE who is interested in submarines, WWII history, or Naval History. I really think you will love this book as much as I did.

This was the first book of this genre that I have ever read and I had trouble putting it down. It has everything- harrowing encounters with Japanese convoys; the incredible bravery of submariners who were nearly doomed in the early part of the war by defective torpedoes and engines; powerfully drawn pictures of men in the direst cirumstances. I was brought to tears as Calvert told of the demise of the US Submarine Harder whose daring exploits had earned her the admiration of every submariner in the Pacific. Calvert very deftly prepares the reader for forthcoming terror as he painted the picture of her crew going out to sea for their final, fateful voyage. As I read this passage I felt a knot in my stomach as my mind visualised those bright-faced, confident warriors waving cheerfully and unkowingly to their admiring comrades. Calvert tells a touching love story in the midst of the of this taut thriller. However, what leaps out of these pages is his steadfast character and unwillingness to take the easy way out. I give credit for Calvert for the simplicity and forthrightness of his prose. He lets the events themselves rivet the reader to each page. In addition to the touching love story, there is the telling account of the skipper who selflessly comes to grips with his inability to take the pressure of commanding a submarine in wartime. There is the tragic death of the chief petty officer who is the very incarnation of the spirit of the Jack. We tend to forget that courage is not necessarily over-arching drama played out by over-sized heroes. More often than not its men who quietly weigh the odds, act on their best instincts, and somehow "stolidly and unimaginatively", as Calvert says,not only accomplish their mission but also survive through an unfathomable mix of skill and chance. Read this book.