Submarine Admiral: From Battlewagons To Ballistic Missiles

Submarine Admiral: From Battlewagons to Ballistic Missiles

From Booklist Galantin has already written in detail of his distinguished World War II career in the Pacific, commanding the submarine Halibut, in Take Her Deep! (1987). Now, he covers his whole naval career, from entering Annapolis in 1929 through retirement as a four-star admiral in 1970. In so doing, he presents both a gripping panorama of the navy's transformation over two generations and three wars (plus the cold war) and a record of his personal role in the process. The pleasures and burdens of command, the never -dull task of dealing with Admiral Rickover, an insider's account of the development of the ballistic missile submarine, and a lifelong love affair with submarines all figure in his readable, literate, insightful prose. Both as a primary source for the modern U.S. Navy and as a sheer delight for naval buffs' casual reading, highly recommended. Roland Green In this engaging personal memoir, Admiral I. J. Galantin tells the story of the amazing evolution of the submarine, from its earliest days in the American Revolution to today's post-cold war nuclear subs. From 1929, his plebe year at Annapolis, until 1970, when he retired, Galantin saw the U.S. Navy change from a moribund floating bureaucracy to the best fighting machine ever to sail the high seas.In waters from Japan to the Philippines, Galantin skippered his boat Halibut, barely escaping countless Japanese depth charges, and mines. For his wartime valor, the young officer collected the Navy Cross, three Silver Stars; and the Navy Unit Commendation, surviving to serve in the peacetime Navy.It was there that Galantin learned that opponents could be every bit as dangerous, yet impossible to find on a radar screen. The maze of Pentagon corridors hid seasoned warriors fighting over slashed budgets and building bureaucratic baronies.Galantin's story of his forty-one years before the mast is filled with adventure - the first passage under the North Pole - and heartbreak - the disappearance of Thresher with all hands. Throughout Galantin tells his personal story with a "you-are-there" immediacy. And, in his Epilogue, he advises how we can improve still further the greatest Navy the world has ever known. From Publishers Weekly In this memoir of his 41-year military career, from midshipman to four-star rank, mostly in the submarine service, Galantin provides an authoritative overview of the evolution of the sub and its role in the U.S. Navy. A distinguished combat veteran of WWII, he saw postwar service as head of the Navy Department's submarine branch; and, as director of the Navy's Special Projects Office, he had a leading role in developing the Polaris missile system for subs. Galantin recalls the loss of the Thresher at sea in 1963 and explains how that tragedy?and the mystery of its cause?led to a comprehensive examination of submarine design, construction and operation. Long involved in high-level planning and policy-making in the Pentagon, he gives a good account of how the Navy met the Soviet challenge at sea as well as the submarine's role in the post-Cold War era. Our nuclear subs, he argues, remain the chief deterrent to global strategic aggression. His Pentagon insider's view includes much interesting information about intra-Navy and interservice turf wars. Galantin retired in 1970. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.