Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Riverdale Electronic Books
Release Date: July 2004
ISBN: 0971220751
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Trade Paperback
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Genre:   Naval adventure - WWII
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Barbara Buhrer
Reviewer Notes:  
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Bacalao
By J T McDaniel

      Lieutenant Lawrence Miller oversaw the building of the submarine USS Bacalao. When the submarine was commissioned Miller and his crew were sent to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii where they were attached to the Pacific Fleet. Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941 and war was declared. Miller and his untried crew were immediately sent into action against the Japanese.

     Their first patrol, an attack on a Japanese troop convoy, was ruined by defective torpedoes. Then the boat was nearly lost, saved by the heroics of members of the crew. Miller was subsequently sent to Australia where he met his future wife, an Australian navy officer. There followed a year in command of an ancient S-boat in the Aleutians. He returned to the Bacalao as her last wartime commander.

     This is the best World War II submarine novel since Edward Beach's Run Silent, Run Deep. McDaniel must join top naval authors such as Edward Beach and Douglas Reeman. His book will certainly occupy a special place on my shelf of naval fiction. His should become a classic of submarine history.

     There is plenty of action. The characters (members of the submarine crew) are believable with the relationship between the captain and the crew loyal and human. The author has paid careful attention to historic and technical detail. The accounts of action are most technically accurate, vividly portrayed to insure the reader's vicarious participation.

     Highly recommended, not just for the naval action, but also for the human interest.