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Rating: 
Summary: accurate and interesting
Review: I served on a submarine in the Thresher class (renamed Permit class after the Thresher was lost). We had mandatory annual training on the causes of the Thresher accident and what we learned from it. I was surprised to find that Polmar was aware of a very large number of accurate facts about this accident, including much of what I had thought was classified. There are, as another reviewer notes, some minor errors, but they are unimportant to the overall story. I found this book to be very well-written and well-researched. Reading it took me back to my "Thresher training" and reminded me of all the drills and actual problems on my own boat. I recommend this book highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Insult to Injury
Review: This rehashing by Norman Polmar of his 1964 publication has improved little with the passage of time and revision. The book offers little in the way of new insights- little was known about what transpired that tragic morning then, and little is known now. Neither the quality of the 1964 book nor any new information provide a compelling reason for a new edition.Most of the book has a superficial feel to it and deteriorates the further Polmar strays from the world he knows. He obviously never served on submarines and would have benefitted from having his book read prior to publication by someone who has. Speculation is obviouly necessary when examing what occurred on the Thresher that morning, but reading his explanations of submarine systems, I find it hard to believe Polmar has any engineering background at all.
When talking about life and work aboard submarines, Polmar is at his weakest. His vignettes ring false and his understanding of the motivations, inner thoughts and daily life of submarine sailors is speculative and uninformed. Many left me rolling my eyes and physically uncomfortable they were so bad (nearly as much as the movie Crimson Tide.) The loss of the Thresher was a major event by any measure (one felt well into the 1980s when I served as a Reactor Operator on an SSN.) It had a major impact on submarine construction, training and operations (similar to the impact Three Mile Island had on the way the commercial nuclear industry trained and operated.) Far from dying in vain, Thresher's crew made future submarines safer. The event also touched the national psyche so deeply at the time that Phil Ochs wrote a song about it ("The Thresher" on "All the News That's Fit to Sing"-1964.) The sense of loss expressed by the public was similar to that felt later upon the loss of Apollo 1 or shuttles Challenger or Columbia. Sadly Polmar fails to conveys a sense of a historic, defining event unfolding. Perhaps it is impossible to construct a satisfying narrative with the information we know about Thresher, but there is no excuse for the poor quality of this one. This weakly constructed story is best avoided.
Rating: 
Summary: The life and death of a U. S. nuclear submarine.
Review: Unlike the previous reviewer, I found this book a good read for those interested in submarine life. There were some typos in the book, but the reader could figure out what Polmar is trying to say. This book was originally written in the sixties, and was brought up to date with other submarine accidents. What is covered is one of the most tragic U.S. Navy accidents. Polmar covers the short life of this nuclear submarine, and why she may have went down.
By now, most people have heard about the Russian submarine Kursk and her fate. The U.S. Navy suffered a similar tragedy in 1963 with the loss of 129 men and the U.S.S. Thresher. What is interesting is the way Admiral Rickover (Jimmy Carter's mentor) is pictured in this book. It seems Rickover tried to cover up for any failure of the nuclear powerplant in the Thresher. Polmar does an alright job in making the technical data interesting.
Rating:
Summary: The life and death of a U. S. nuclear submarine.
Review: Unlike the previous reviewer, I found this book a good read for those interested in submarine life. There were some typos in the book, but the reader could figure out what Polmar is trying to say. This book was originally written in the sixties, and was brought up to date with other submarine accidents. What is covered is one of the most tragic U.S. Navy accidents. Polmar covers the short life of this nuclear submarine, and why she may have went down.
By now, most people have heard about the Russian submarine Kursk and her fate. The U.S. Navy suffered a similar tragedy in 1963 with the loss of 129 men and the U.S.S. Thresher. What is interesting is the way Admiral Rickover (Jimmy Carter's mentor) is pictured in this book. It seems Rickover tried to cover up for any failure of the nuclear powerplant in the Thresher. Polmar does an alright job in making the technical data interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Makes Me Nervous...
Review: when reading non-fiction to find both sloppy errors (p. 152 has Wilhelm Bauer working on a submarine in 1851 and building another in 1955) and questionable scholarship (a check of the Swedish submarine website re: Bauer). Can we trust the information in the rest of the book especially since there are no footnotes much less references?
Rating:
Summary: Good, Interesting Book
Review: While in the US Navy, I served aboard aircraft carriers so I have no specific knowledge of submarines. What I do know comes from numerous conversations with my father in law who served aboard submarines in the 50's, 60's and 70's. It's interesting to see the antithetical reviews of the two submariners. I read the book to find out what exactly is known (and not known) about the Thresher tragedy. I believe Polmar presents the facts and suppositions regarding the Thresher accident extremely well. Depending on which submariner is to be believed, I've either been tragically misinformed or I've learned something. I highly recommend this book to those interested in learning what there is to know about the Thresher loss.
Rating:
Summary: Good, Interesting Book
Review: While in the US Navy, I served aboard aircraft carriers so I have no specific knowledge of submarines. What I do know comes from numerous conversations with my father in law who served aboard submarines in the 50's, 60's and 70's. It's interesting to see the antithetical reviews of the two submariners. I read the book to find out what exactly is known (and not known) about the Thresher tragedy. I believe Polmar presents the facts and suppositions regarding the Thresher accident extremely well. Depending on which submariner is to be believed, I've either been tragically misinformed or I've learned something. I highly recommend this book to those interested in learning what there is to know about the Thresher loss.
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