The Submarine: A History

In THE SUBMARINE: A HISTORY, Thomas Parrish aims essentially to provide a history of the 20th century, told through the "periscope" lens of the submarine and its impact on world events. Of course, his history briefly dips back into the sixteenth century, jumps forward to the Civil War, and finally discusses the two innovators, Holland and Lake, in submarine design and technology. But the meat of submarine history occurs during the two World Wars and Parrish wisely decides to spend most of his time exploring these waters. I decided to pick up this book primarily because I have been fascinated by submarines ever since I was kid, stemming from the fact that my grandfather served on the USS Apogon (a Balao class) during WWII. I figured it was high time I learn a bit more about them. I am no submarine historian, nor am I an avid reader of war histories. Therefore, I think that I provide a fairly objective viewpoint when I say that I enjoyed reading Parrish's text. It is extremely digestible and Parrish seems to have done his homework. Indeed, he provides quite an extensive bibliography for further reading. I can only fault the book on two points. First, I believe that Parrish gets so caught-up in re-telling the wars and the surrounding context that he forgets to tell us what we are really interested in: the submarines. Naturally, it is nice to have a sense of the landscape before going deep into the bush, but I would have enjoyed spending more time "under the waves" rather than riding around on the surface. In short, I would have liked more detail and stories from the actual submarine tours and less abstract text about "the submarine" as a naval unit. Secondly, given that Parrish does spend so much time dealing with the politics and abstract developments of submarine warfare, I believe that Parrish overestimates the role of the submarine in his history. No one is going to doubt the powerful impact that submarines have had on modern warfare, but there are other aspects of warfare (indeed, even of naval warfare) that have played an equally important, if not more important, role. Let us not, for instance, forget the powerful importance of the aircraft carrier. Parrish is forced at several points to deal with the difficulties and failures surrounding the development and performance of the submarine. In essence, he brushes these events aside, telling the story as if the submarine was destined for perfection, but was simply unrealized at various points in history. The story, quite frankly, appears to be much more complex than that. Of course, this slanted view of the submarine arises from the fact that THE SUBMARINE: A HISTORY is told from the viewpoint of the submarine. It is bound to be a little glowing in its treatment. Overall, I found this text quite entertaining and informative. I have always been fascinated by submarines and it was nice to finally learn more about the history of these amazing machines.

Tom Parrish's "The Submarine" chronicles the history of the submarine from the early beginnings in the 19th century to its critical role in World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Parrish has written "The Influrence of Seapower upon the History of the 20th Century", a worthy sequel to Admiral Mahan's classic studies. He skillfully interweaves political, technological, and military developments, with a fascinating cast of characters, brilliant historical insights, and dramatic stories of sailors under water when depth charges go off. A wonderful book!

Parrish covers the history of submarines from ancient times right up to the present. Naturally enough, he concentrates on 20th Century submarine development and employment, though earlier attempts at creating a functional submarine are also mentioned. As in any general history, the author has to compromise. There are places where you might wish for a bit more detail. Just the coverage of submarine operations, both Axis and Allied, in World War II could easily fill two or three books of this size. Still, he does a fine job. This is a good book for anyone who thinks he might be interested in the general use and development of the submarine as a weapon. The bibliography lists plenty of other books that will allow him to expand his knowledge.

Thomas Parrish's weighty coverage in The Submarine: A History revolves around three key themes: the functional operations of submarines, their history, and their personnel. Add a focus on how the submarine affected the history of the world, from early invention to modern times, and you have a history which covers both the submarine in particular and water navigation in general.

Review: "The Submarine" by Thomas ParrishViking-2004-576 pages including notes and large bibliography Over the past ten years, many submarine books have passed by my reading chair. There has been a fair mix of fiction and non-fiction. The fictional books are needed to keep a level of interest and fun going through the much tougher reading non-fiction works. Some of the fictional books are keepers. All of the non-fiction works have lasting value and are keepers. Some of these later genre of books are ingrained in my mind as worthy of greater accolades than they receive in that brief period before and after the publishing date. In my opinion, "The Submarine" falls into that more worthy class. There are two books that are recent that tell the whole story of submarines and retain the readers interest throughout. "The Navy Times Book of Submarines" and "The Submarine" are those two works. Certainly you must say that Clay Blair's works and Norman Friedman's technical works are very important but in ways that handle a specific time frame or the more technological advances in submarine building. Parrish does a superior job of research and his bibliography of 10 pages indicates his devotion to detail and accuracy. Yet the book is full of anecdotes and facts that were new to me and added great interest. The book traces early developmental history to the Holland versus Lake early days through the battles with Admiral Rickover and Electric Boat and Congress., I never tire of hearing tales of the wily Rickover or of the work done by "Red" Raborn in the early Polaris missile program. All areas are covered from the Turtle through the USS Virginia SSN 774. The books should be included in every serious submarine historian's library and referred to often. Although my library now resides in storage and is waiting it's placement as the cornerstone of a planned museum's library, this book will stay here and join my retained works that form the core of my knowledge. Those being Silent Victory, Thunder Below, Submarine Operations in WWII, Friedman's 2-volume work, United States Submarines, Admiral Lockwood's books, Blind Man's Bluff, Hitler's U-Boat Wars and a few others. My thanks to Thomas Parrish for his devotion and for helping me fulfill the Creed of U.S. Submariner Veterans, which is to "perpetuate the memory of our shipmates."(...)