Blind Man’s Bluff audiobook

I did time on two submarines during my six year naval enlistment, first in the Atlantic (USS Simon Bolivar) and then the Pacific (USS Ohio). As a nuclear missile technician, MT2/SS, I have a few Cold War stories of my own. Nothing I have though would rival the events Sontag & Drew describe here. Declassification and the Freedom of Information Act cleared the way for public disclosure of these covert, top secret ops. This is Spy vs Spy played out on a global scale, with dire consequences for anyone who makes an error or miscalculation (ref: USS Scorpion). I'm obviously biased, but I found this much more interesting than any fictional scenarios dreamed up in the minds of Tom Clancy or Patrick Robinson.

This book is a fascinating look at the spy missions of American submarines during the Cold War. The authors did a phenomenal amount of research, to ascertain the true nature of the Navy's and the CIA's underwater spy missions. The book briefly describes some of the new technologies that were applied, and goes into depth (is this pun intended?) about the challenges, problems, accidents, and successes encountered during the secret missions. The book delves into problems of conscience, as the officers sometimes knew of the marginal legality--or illegality--of their missions. Often the sailors were unaware of the full nature of their missions ahead of time.Toward the end of the book, the authors describe the effects of international politics on the spy missions, and vice versa. Secret wire-tapping of underwater cables in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Barents Sea brought greater understanding of the Soviet's defense objectives. It took a while before the United States realized that the Soviet Union was preparing for a defensive war, and not a "first-strike" offensive. This realization had an impact on detente and a cooling of the Cold War.Much of the book reads like a spy thriller, but it is so well researched; the book springs one surprise after another. An interesting set of appendices and notes describe the sources, and how the authors obtained the information for the book.

So this one time I was watching The Hunt For Red October on TV, and marveling that this whole submarine espionage was kind of a silly thing. "Yeah?" my dad said. "You should read this book."So I did. It turns out that it wasn't just silly, it was INSANE. The book isn't spectacularly well-written, and it's definitely the kind of thing that makes people look at you like a geek, but wow. This is how the Cold War was run, according to the confidential interviews and investigative journalism of the authors: take an aluminum can. Put a couple hundred chain-smoking men, a few nuclear reactors, and plenty of torpedoes in it and float it around in the ocean for three months. Have it trail other aluminum cans, and hope it doesn't run into anything while maintaining strict radio silence. (If you lose one, you'll have to find it using an awesome combination of game theory and guessing, unless the Russians get there first.) Important: when you send a tin can into Soviet territorial waters to spy, make sure it's the oldest and loudest one you've got. Hide your budgetary outlays in other peoples' appropriations bills, and pay your cryptographers so poorly that they'll sell out to the Soviets for $35,000.You can't make up this kind of stuff. In fact, it turns out the Navy's best defense a lot of the time in covering up these top-secret programs was that NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE WHAT THEY WERE DOING ANYWAY. It covers both the high-politics shenanigans and the day-to-day existence of submariners, and together they make an absolutely incredible story.

When released, this book was a revelation: the first peek into Soviet-American "hide-and-seek" among nucular-armed, nucular-powered "Boomer" submarines. Until Tom Clancy, it was Naval Institute Press's biggest seller. And according to a client, an ex diving officer on an Ohio Class, everything written here was top secret--and true.And suspenseful as hell.

From the Glomar Explorer to tapping into undersea cables, the Cold War under the ocean was full of interesting stories. This book covers them in great detail. I can tell you that the "Cold" War was never really Cold. Lives were lost as both superpowers confronted each other in a myriad of ways. The story of how this unfolded underwater is fascinating.

Submarine espionage is an unusual topic and this book does it justice and in depth pardon the pun

These are some amazing stories. Secretly placing a 6 ton recording device on a Russian underwater cable just off the coast of Russia that can record a years worth of Russian military communications is just crazy. But, it happened.

Many chapters of the Cold War were unseen and unknown to the general public. Among the most secret operations were those conducted undersea by the U.S. Navy’s submarine force. In Blind Man’s Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage, Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew tell tales derived from interviewing submariners that include technological marvels and unparalleled courage. Before reading this book, most have a perception of the submarine force consisting of two main missions, attack subs to find and destroy the enemy at sea, and ballistic missile boats, or “boomers,” that serve as part of America’s Strategic Nuclear Triad. Others may be aware that submarines have been employed to deliver UDTs and are used to transport SEALs and their Seal Delivery Vehicles (SDVs). Blind Man’s Bluff describes missions that were equally secretive, but that focused on intelligence collection, such as USS Halibut deploying saturation divers to tap into Soviet underwater telephone cables, or the secret mission to raise the downed Soviet submarine, K-129 (The latter is documented in detail in Project Azorian: The CIA and the Raising of the K-129 by Norman Polmar and Michael White.). Through each story the reader becomes acutely aware of the dangers, the skill, and the sacrifice and those in the “Silent Service.” Blind Man’s Bluff is an important read for any fan of naval or military history.

I have been fascinated with submarines and submarine operations since as far back as I can remember. It all started with a little game called "Red Storm Rising" (yes, based on the book), which I first played on my Tandy 1000 PC back in 1989...in all its glorious 16 colors!!!Flash forward to my desire to enlist in the US Navy during my senior year of high school, which didn't last - but nearly led to Annapolis and/or Submarine School...Nevertheless, it was amazing to read about covert submarine operations during the Cold War. Divers emerging from specially designed hatches to tap communication cables 500 feet below the surface of the water is terrifying enough...not to mention what it must be like to be on a submarine, a couple of hundred feet underwater when you collide with another submarine. And, I'm terrified of dark, bodies of water...I'd highly recommend this if you are interested in submarines, the Cold War, or the like.

Dr. John Craven was Visiting Professor of Ocean Engineering at MIT during 1969-1971 between some of his U.S. Navy assignments. He arranged an interview for me after I got my OE Master's degree in 1971. As a result of that interview, my next nine years on active duty were the most thrilling of my life. This book relates only a fraction of the amazing ocean technology feats during those years.

Entertaining read of US submarines during the Cold War. Would recommend to any fans of Naval history. It's definitely a bit anecdotal and more in the realm of popular history given the subject matter, however the authors have obviously done a tremendous amount of research to compile the stories they tell. It's always spectacular to understand the details of how these ships operate and grew in their ability to pull off daring feats so deep under our oceans' surface. In that regard this book really shines in shedding light on these achievements and man's ability to push the envelope of what's possible and react to the most daunting of circumstances.

Reading this book reinforces the belief that submariners are a different breed who put up with many things we mere mortals would find intolerable. We owe these brave men much.

The authors masterfully detail the various tales of submarine espionage during the Cold War. Every individual story was as gripping as a Tom Clancy novel. This book is a masterpiece of journalism.

Exceptional and detailed account. Super reading.