Final Patrol

September 1, 2006
Keith readably tells the stories of the 17 American and 1 German submarines preserved from World War II. They are scattered all over the U.S., and besides the preponderance on the two coasts and in the Great Lakes, one is in Oklahoma, another in Arkansas. Their careers range in distinction from those of " Silversides," the third-highest tonnage-sunk scorer, and " Cavalla," which sank a Japanese fleet carrier, to that of " Requin," which was finished building too late to make a war patrol but was first commanded by a wartime ace, Slade D.Cutter. The German boat is, of course, " U-505." Keith's introduction depicts the life and times of a WWII fleet-boat sailor, the experience of which is rapidly slipping out of living memory but was crucial to the postwar development of the U.S. submarine service.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)