Product Description

"I am just one of many who experienced life on a submarine during World War II. Silent Running is a story sincerely told--free of any revisionism or cynicism--and I commend Vice Admiral Calvert for sharing this dramatic personal account of that difficult and exciting time." --President George Bush

"Hardened old sub vet that I am, I still felt the need for two weeks R&R after reliving Jim's only too realistic war patrolling adventures." --C. W. Nimitz, Jr., Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.)

"I believe it is the best personal account yet written on U.S. submarine operations in the Second World War. [Calvert] writes with lucidity and a rare candor. We get an extraordinary sense of what it was like, feeling the tensions and emotions, sharing the successes and disappointments, ... This is a true story with teal people, always gripping and sometimes tender. It is exciting to read and hard to put down. --J. L. Holloway, Admiral, USN (Ret.) President, Naval Historical Society, Chief of Naval Operations, 1974-1978.

"I knew Jim Calvert Throughout the war, and in this book he has told the submarine story in a way that catches the flavor and tang of the real thing. This is the way it really was." --Frederick B. Warder, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.) Legendary W.W. II skipper of the Seawolf.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #313700 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 9.30" h x .90" w x 6.20" l, .99 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In nine war patrols, the USS Jack sank 15 Japanese ships and ranked ninth in tonnage sunk by the end of the war. The author of this exciting memoir served as Torpedo Data Computer operator aboard the Jack (he was the one who aimed the torpedoes) and later as its executive officer. Calvert's book ranks with Edward Beach's Run Silent, Run Deep as an accurate, detailed, suspenseful account of submarine operations in the Pacific: the tracking and sinking of tankers, ammunition ships and a transport with a regiment of Japanese troops on board. One convoy commander whose ships crossed paths with the Jack radioed his superiors in Tokyo that he was under attack by a "wolf pack." Calvert also recalls his experiences ashore between patrols, including an unconsummated romance-he was married-with an Australian woman. The memoir climaxes with an unusual account of his unauthorized tour of Tokyo immediately after the Japanese surrender, when he nearly scuttled his naval career by violating occupation rules. Calvert (Surface at the Pole) later served as superintendent of the Naval Academy, Annapolis. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Another in the recent group of books dealing with wartime memoirs (Point Man, LJ 7/93; Tin Can Man, LJ 2/1/93; Code Name: Copperhead, LJ 6/1/94), this is the story of James Calvert, who was stationed aboard the U.S. Navy attack submarine USS Jack from 1943 to the end of World War II. In a page-turner as good as any war novel, Calvert recounts the history of the eight war patrols that the Jack completed. He also describes the training involved, as well as overcoming problems like faulty torpedoes that hampered early submarine operations against the Japanese. Finally, Calvert tells about an unauthorized sightseeing trip to Tokyo that almost cost him his career. He went on to command the nuclear submarine USS Skate and become superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. Calvert's memoir should be at home in any type of library.
Terry L. Wirick, Erie Cty. Lib. System, Pa.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Calvert tells the story of his service under the Pacific during WWII. He was the torpedo officer aboard the U.S.S. Jack during eight combat cruises and had a reputation for being a real "crack shot." Patrick's reading is easy to understand and a fine match for the text. He convincingly expresses the many emotions that a crew experiences during a combat cruise--the thrill of the chase, the excitement of the captain's descriptions of torpedo hits and sinking ships, and the tension of the officers' discussions. The reading of how Calvert was able to avoid having an affair while on leave is done with sensitivity. Unlike many memoir writers who mainly brag and boast, Calvert is gracious in regarding the faults of others, candid in telling his own, and humble in noting his deeds. Patrick's admirable contribution to this fine work is in bringing out this humility. M.T.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine