Escape from the Deep: A True Story of Courage and Survival During World War II

by Alex Kershaw

Overview

"Their submarine was dead, one hundred and eighty feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Somehow they survived. They were tortured and beaten. Somehow they survived. Alex Kershaw has done it again as he brings to life World War II's greatest submarine survival adventure." --James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys

In the early morning hours of October 24, 1944, the legendary U.S. Navy submarine Tang was hit by one of its own faulty torpedoes. The survivors of the explosion struggled to stay alive one hundred-eighty feet beneath the surface, while the Japanese dropped deadly depth charges. As the air ran out, some of the crew made a daring ascent through the escape hatch. In the end, just nine of the original eighty-man crew survived.

But the survivors were beginning a far greater ordeal. After being picked up by the Japanese, they were sent to an interrogation camp known as the “Torture Farm.” When they were liberated in 1945, they were close to death, but they had revealed nothing to the Japanese, including the greatest secret of World War II.

With the same heart-pounding narrative drive that made The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter national bestsellers, Alex Kershaw brings to life this incredible story of survival and endurance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306817632
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	04/14/2009
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	282,948
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Alex Kershaw is the author of the widely acclaimed bestsellers The Bedford Boys, The Longest Winter, The Few, and Escape from the Deep, among others. He lives in Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Map of the Pacific, 1944 xiii

Part 1 The Last Patrol

1 Thunder Below 3

2 The Bravest Man 15

3 The Most Dangerous Mission 29

4 The Greatest Patrol 41

5 Battle Royal 55

Part 2 Escape From the Deep

6 The Deep 65

7 The Terrible Hours 83

8 Blow and Go 107

9 The Last Attempt 117

Part 3 Captivity

10 Guests of the Japanese 137

11 Torture Farm 151

12 The Coldest Winter 165

13 The Last Stretch 173

14 Liberation 179

Part 4 Back From The Deep

15 Back from the Deep 193

16 To the Last Man 203

The Survivors of the USS Tang 217

USS Tang 219

Notes 221

Bibliography 249

Index 255

Editorial Reviews

American Profile Magazine, 5/24/09
“A tale of courage, survival and heroism beyond what most of us can even imagine, it's got the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. So read it now and be ready to tell everyone, ‘Oh, the movie was good—but the book was better!

From the Publisher