Brilliant.

What did you like most about Thunder Below!?

Right from the first chapter you are kept riveted by this incredible journey into the life of a WW2 Submarine Commander.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Thunder Below!?

When Eugene Fluckey takes you to the point where they have to rescue the Australian and British troops on board Japanese ships that had just been torpedoed. Its a dramatic and incredible rescue, testament to the determination of the troops to help each other stay alive for as long as possible in order to be saved. Its also incredible just how far Eugene and his men strived to rescue them. A wonderful moment that lives in Fluckey's memory.

Have you listened to any of Corey Snow’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Corey Snow gets right into the naritive. At some points you can believe that this is the voice of Eugene Fluckey, he brings the Commander and his Submarine alive.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the submariners start to pull the survivors aboard their Sub and Eugene says he shed tears as they thanked him. The description of the survivor's alone moves the listener.

Any additional comments?

A first class listen. Every chapter a story in its own right.

5 people found this helpful

Run Silent, Run Deep But Also Give 'Em Hell!

This is a fascinating account of the various war patrols of the USS Barb under the command of Eugene Flucky. As someone with a keen interest in submarines, this was a book that gripped me from start to finish. However, I would hasten to add that you do not have to be a person with any particular interest in naval warfare to appreciate the amazing stories of daring deeds and near escapes at the hands of the Japanese during the second world war as skilfully detailed in this book. "Thunder Below" is a non stop series of incredible and sometimes funny stories under the most difficult of circumstances. What I found almost glib though, was how the author seemed to relish the dangerous missions and taking the fight right to the enemy. At times the flavour of the writing did appear to be lifted direct from a classic 50's Hollywood war time movie script that did make it seem that the enemy were pretty inept and left openings to those like Eugene Flucky to take full advantage of.

Although "Thunder Below" is a truly riveting read and shows the almost casual courage exhibited during combat, I did feel that the telling of this story lacked a certain visceral grit regarding the fear that any human must experience when being depth charged by a determined enemy. This is the only aspect of this otherwise superb book where I felt that something was lacking. In order to fully appreciate the bravery of the men living in this tin can for weeks on end, it would also have been interesting to have the author describe the terror experienced too. Only one minor incident with a junior crew member feeling the effects of being depth charged was alluded to. Other than this, it was almost as if undergoing such assaults by the enemy was more of a bother than a nightmare. Perhaps this mindset is partially driven by the fact that the U.S submariner generally had far better conditions and facilities onboard his boat than his German counterparts. In addition, the target rich environment of the Pacific prior to 1945 made for easier hunting I suspect. Given that the crew had cakes baked, ice cream on tap and cases of beer available in an air conditioned submarine is at odds with the much harsher environment of the U-Boats prowling the Atlantic in their much smaller and far less comfortable vessels. having toured the USS Pampanito myself, I can attest to the notion that if I were going to serve aboard a world war 2 submarine, then it would be aboard a U.S fleet boat such as these that I would do so. I would recommend "Steel Boat, Iron Heart" now available on Audible to read of somewhat more difficult conditions and the excellent "Iron Coffins" not yet on Audible to my knowledge which both tell the story of submarine warfare during the second world war from the German perspective.

At times it was difficult to visualize many of the locations mentioned in relation to land, inlets etc and I wonder if the paper version of this title has accompanying maps to better illustrate where things were taking place. Also, it would have been perhaps useful to give a little lesson to the reader in how firing solutions are gained for torpedo attacks. There's a bit of naval technical speak going on here which may lose some readers.

Apart from the minor caveats mentioned above, this is an overall excellent read and certainly a story worth a Hollywood movie. Narration was top notch too with Corey Snow's reading fluid and competent and as pacey as the book itself.

There is an interesting cross reference mentioned here with respect to the treatment of allied prisoners held by the Japanese. POW's were rescued by the Barb which were survivors from the USS Houston and HAMS Perth amongst others and an incident describing a short Japanese prison guard trying to strike a tall Australian is actually covered in the superb "Ship of Ghosts" book available on Audible which tells the harrowing story of these survivors and is abook amazing story you might want to consider.

Whether you have a particular interest in naval warfare or not, this book is an excellent and enthralling insight into the courage and fighting determination of an intelligent and very brave submarine commander.

Highly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

Brilliant Listen

This is not the normal type of book that I would normally listen to, but I could not put my IPod down, Luck Fluckey was a true natural born leader who men followed and the reason the allied forces won the second world war, I highly recommend it to everyone to give it a go you won't be disappointed, believe me.
Mark H

1 person found this helpful

Incredible stories by a captivating author

A captivating recollection of the incredible adventures of the Barb and her crew. I struggled to get into it at first due to the somewhat dry narration, but I warmed to it after a few chapters. It also took some time getting used to the naval terminology - the author assumes a basic understanding of submarine operation from the listener. But for submarine enthusiasts, this is an absolute joy to listen to!

Don't miss this wonderful book

Absolutely fantastic book.
What a legend, the Sub, Captain and Crew.
Should make a TV Series.

100% head cinema. Will recommend it to everyone

I could feel the tension througout the book as if i'd been an actual crewmember of the Barb. Fantastic !!!

Outstanding

One of the best autobiographical audio books I have ever listened to. I am now going to struggle to find another listen to match it.

Recommended by Smarter every day

Absolutely loved this book, a remarkable story of a truly remarkable man, crew and ship. I couldn't wait to get back to the narration. I felt as though I was actually there, gripping, exciting at times frightening, an astounding tale of what well trained and motivated men are capable of and all told with humility. strongly recommend.

Riveting story

The true story of Captain Eugene B. Fluckey and his crew on the submarine "Barb" during the war in the Pacific is impossible to put down. He's a great storyteller and you really end up feeling the personality and emotions of all the crewmembers as they battle the Japanese forces and try out some new tactics. It's not just a book with endless kills and victories even if Fluckey was credited with sinking the greatest tonnage of enemy shipping in WW II's Pacific theater.

couldn't understand it

the terminology used requires a degree in naval science.
I was really lookimg forward to this after hearing about it from get smarter everyday but was very disappointed as I cant understand it!