Thank you NetGalley,author,Tom Calvin and publisher,St.Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read the arc ebook of the non-fiction story,Running Deep. I had never read more than one or two nf books about any U.S. military wars before, and I am so happy that I didn’t pass up reading this one.It was so informative,exciting,written like a good novel,easy to understand,even some of the more technical info,too.
The gist of the story is about the Silent Service( the name given to the Navy’s submarine branch of the US military) and it’s most honored submarine,the USS Tang,serving in the Pacific during WW2. It’s brave and somewhat unorthodox Commander,Dick O’Kane along with his crew of sailors worked together as an expert team during the most horrendous times torpedoing the Japanese ships.Dick O’Kane was the highest decorated military person along with Audie Murphy(army). The last third of the book was about O’Kane and other survivors being held POW under horrible conditions in two different Japanese camps.It’s so hard to believe what pain humans can inflict on fellow humans! Please don’t hesitate to read this book,you won’t be disappointed.
On sale October 02,2025

During WWII, submarine commander Dick O’Kane, led the USS Tang to a record number of enemy craft sinkings. He was so successful that the Japanese thought an entire squadron of submarines were stalking their fleet. This book outlines the history of submarine use in the United States, and highlights a number of commanders and men. It follows the USS TAng through its building, commission, and eventual sinking by its own torpedo.

This was a very interesting and enjoyable read. It was brilliant storytelling with facts woven in. The story was well paced and entertaining. Overall, 5 out of 5 stars.

I've lost count on how many books of Tom Clavin's that I have read, but he is on a streak of absolute must reads. His streak does not die with Running Deep.

The setup for this one is simple. The USS Tang was the deadliest submarine of World War II. This was not by accident. What was an accident was how the war ended for the Tang. I'll say no more. If this sounds even slightly interesting, then go read the book.

Clavin is one of my favorites because there is no fluff. Yes, tangents at times, but they all have a purpose whether to tell you about the history of submarines or why torpedoes were the scourge of even the ships that fired them. Clavin doesn't give you page after page of musings on why Captain O'Kane was aggressive. Instead he tells the story. The action will tell you exactly who people are.

It's another winner. Go give it a read.

(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by St. Martin's Press.)

Read my written and published review at Publishers Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/9781250374479

By World War II’s end, fifty-two American submarines had been lost. And 5,206 officers and enlisted men were killed—more than one out of five submariners died in action. The most prolific submarine, the Tang was one of the lost, struck by its own malfunctioning torpedo. This book gives a complete look at life aboard a sub.
From the blurb, I expected the book to be about the Tang only. It’s about a lot more. The history of submarines, torpedoes, and escape chambers are thoroughly covered. There are brief biographies of the inventors like Robert Fulton, other submariners who at one time worked with Tang captain Dick O’Kane, and even Louis Zamperini and Greg Boyington, POWs whom the Tang survivors met in captivity.
One odd comment I disagree with. In discussing Midway and the Pan Am refueling base before the war, the author says the Clipper seaplanes were nicknamed “goonies.” They were not. Pan Am’s Gooneyville Lodge was so named because of the albatrosses which populated the island. They were the goonie birds.

This is a deep dive into submarine warfare in WWII. It focuses on Commander Dick O'Kane and the USS Tang which set records for ships sunk, including itself when a torpedo malfunctioned and circled back on the submarine. The commanders of the submarine fleet were a special breed: aggressive and patient, stealthy and often foolhardy. They were a small part of the naval forces, but accounted for a majority of Japanese ships destroyed in the war.
The book is detailed and well researched, as all of Clavin's books are. It gets a little slow in the middle as he describes the history of submarine warfare. (It reminded me of reading an unabridged version of Moby Dick that spent what felt like hundreds of pages describing the sperm whale and the whaling industry.) However, it picks up when the action starts.
This book revealed to me the extent to which the submarines were the predators of the Pacific. They wrecked havoc on Japanese shipping and certainly led to a quicker end to the war.

Can a Submarine Shoot Itself Heroically?
Tom Clavin, Running Deep: Bravery, Survival, and the True Story of the Deadliest Submarine in World War II (New York: St. Martin’s Press, October 21, 2025). Hardcover: $30, 352pp. ISBN: 978-1-250374-47-9.
***
“The… deadliest submarine in World War II and the courageous captain who survived torture and imprisonment at the hands of the enemy. There was one submarine that outfought all other boats in the Silent Service in World War II: the USS Tang. Captain Richard Hetherington O’Kane commanded the attack submarine that sunk more tonnage, rescued more downed aviators, and successfully completed more surface attacks than any other American submarine. These undersea predators were the first to lead the offensive rebound against the Japanese, but at great cost: Submariners would have six times the mortality rate as the sailors who manned surface ships. The Tang achieved its greatest success on October 24, 1944, when it took on an entire Japanese convoy and destroyed it. But its 24th and last torpedo boomeranged, returning to strike the Tang.” I had difficulty imagining how this could have happened: it’s explained in chapter “42: Boomerang”. The captain fires for the first time and strikes the Japanese target. Immediately, the captain fired again a second torpedo. Despite “calm water” in the Formosa Strait, “several yards later, instead of following the straight and true path… the torpedo turned sharply left…” It then “suddenly surfaced… just yards in front of the Tang’s bow. The torpedo then dove, but broke the surface again seconds later. An erratic torpedo… surfaced and dove” a few times”, then “veered to port, skipping along the waves”. After watching all this, they finally ordered a maneuver to move out of the way, but it still hit them. It seems that a more likely scenario is that the captain ordered a fire while the ship was in motion and that it ended up being in a position where its own torpedo hit it. There were some other accusations of boomerang self-sinkings: USS Tullibee (March 1944: before this incident), and USS Sargo (1942: blamed on gyroscope not being installed). This boomerang problem was apparently recorded across the testing of this model, in 1942 before the incidents that killed subs in 1944. If the problem was the guidance-system, it seems somebody manipulated this machine to cause self-destructs, or manufacturers were extremely careless is selling products that had this flaw. These engineering problems are not discussed despite this being seemingly the point of this book. Instead, the drama of the slow deaths that followed are the focus. Since everybody theoretically died, nobody survived to have given any details about what happened, so this is just a fiction. “Mortally wounded, the boat sunk, coming to rest on the bottom, 180 feet down. After hours of struggle, nine of the 87 crewmen, including O’Kane, made it to the surface.” Ah, alternatively, O’Kane and these others generated a self-destruct before surrendering to the enemy that had contracted them… And this is their fictional account that frames them as heroes. “Captured by the Japanese, the Tang sailors joined other submariners and flyers—including Louis Zamperini and ‘Pappy’ Boyington—at a ‘torture camp’ whose purpose was to gain vital information from inmates and otherwise let them die from malnutrition, disease, and abuse. A special target was Captain O’Kane after the Japanese learned of the headlines about the Tang. Against all odds, when the camp was liberated in August 1945, O’Kane, at only 90 pounds, still lived.” Perhaps, O’Kane self-reported being this thin to avoid being put on trial for war-crimes… “The following January, Richard O’Kane limped into the White House where President Truman bestowed him with the Medal of Honor.”
I do not believe this account, and many details are troubling and implicating. Those who research war-crimes might want to read this book closely to understand just what it is saying.
--Pennsylvania Literary Journal: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-summer-2025/

Armchair adventure seekers about WWII events will be fascinated about the dangerous duty sailors on submarines took on in the Pacific theater of war. Clavin focuses on two submarines, the Wahoo and the Tang, both which met tragic ends. For the first 100 or so pages there are interesting scenes of submarine development reaching back to the 1700s. The narrative kicks in following the disaster of the Pearl Harbor attack when submarines were the only option to strike back at the Japanese navy. Readers are taken into the subs themselves and feel the cramped quarters and the dangers of leaks from depth charges. Both the Wahoo and Tang were leading subs for sinking Japanese vessels but without giving away too much, the Tang situation is especially harrowing marked with heroic acts and tragic deaths. The last section of the book describes the horrific situation captured sailors experienced in prison camps. At times the writing is clunky as torpedoes are repeatedly called "fish" and the captain says "fire" for every torpedo launch. That said the wrap-up of what happened to these men during the war and after is quite interesting.

Thanks to Tom Clavin, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for access to the Advanced Reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fascinating true story of courage, tragedy, and survival in World War II focusing on the impressive career of Captain Richard O’Kane and the crews of the submarines USS Tang and the USS Wahoo.

Extensively researched and well written, this is a great insight into what life was like for submariners in World War II and the daily challenges they faced. Recommended.

Running Deep is an excellent book. I learned so much about both submarines and WWII. Having a great Uncle who is still listed as MIA from the Pacific theater of WWII I've always been interested in this part of the war.

Tom Calvin presented this aspect in a very readable and engaging way. Thank you. I definitely will be recommending this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is the amazing story of the USS Tang submarine, which was launched in 1943. The USS Tang was the most decorated submarine, sinking more tonnage, rescuing more downed aviators and successfully completing more surface attacks than any other American submarine.
That stellar record ended in 1944 when the USS Tang became a casualty of her own haywire torpedo. 78 brave men lost their lives, and 9 survivors were rescued and taken as prisoners of war.

The story recounts the USS Tang’s successes, its destruction and the aftermath for the survivors as they are beaten and starved, yet courageously still face each day with the hope the war will soon be over and rescue is on the way.

While I think the book is a 3-star based on the writing, which is sometimes unclear, the story of valor deserves more than 5 stars. The story was educational, intense and kept me engaged.

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

Another informative work from Tom Clavin taking the reader into the murky world of WWII submarines and what these men had to face. Let us never forget!

Rom Clavin has given us another winner. This compelling story of the men and the wartime action involving the submarine sevice is both exciting and informative. Written in Mr. Clavin's usual wonderful style, I found this to be a terrific book and a worthy addition to the untold tales surroundng the second world war.

I am so excited I was granted an ARC for Mr. Clavin’s latest offering. I have read several of his books and this one is by far my favorite of them all. This author has a specific type of writing style, and he gives you information, he does not write a book as a normal 1st or 3rd character telling, he gives you all the information from his research on the subject he is writing about. And for this fare, it was the USS Tang submarine WWII and the history of submarine warfare. Oh, how I swallowed up everything he had to write. I loved this book.
When I read about the injustices done in the prisoner of war camps in Japan in WWII, it never ceases to infuriate me. And I am always so impressed with the determination our military prisoners used to stay alive. Captain O’Kane and his crew suffered tremendously, along with the other allied prisoners.
I also love a book that covers the “after” of how the characters continued on with life after the story. I feel that I learned so much, this one comes in with the highest 5 stars I can give. Thank you, Mr. Clavin.
This is my own opinion expressed in this review. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.