THE TERRIBLE HOURS: THE MAN BEHIND THE GREATEST SUBMARINE RESCUE IN HISTORY. by Maas, Peter - 1999

New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 259 pp, large 8vo (9 1/2" H). "On the eve of World War II, America's newest submarine plunged helplessly to the North Atlantic bottom during a test dive. Miraculously, thirty-three crew members survived. While their wives and girlfriends waited in nearly unbearable tension on shore, their ultimate fate would depend on one man. In this thrilling true narrative of terror, heroism and courage in the depths of a malevolent ocean, (the author) brings us in vivid detail a blow-by-blow account of the disaster and its uncertain outcome. The sub was the 'Squalus'. The man was a U.S. Navy officer, Charles 'Swede" Momsen, an extraordinary combination of visionary, scientist and man of action. Until his advent, it was accepted that if a submarine went down, her crew was doomed. But Momsen, in the face of an indifferent, often sneering naval bureaucracy, battling red tape and disbelieving naysayers every step of the way, risked his own life again and again against the unknown in his efforts to invent and pioneer every escape and rescue device, every deep-sea diving technique, to save an entombed crew. With the crippled, partially flooded 'Squalus' lost on the North Atlantic floor, Momsen faced his personal moment of truth: Could he actually pluck those men from a watery grave? Had all his work been in vain?" Remainder dot on bottom of text block. Dust jacket has very minor edge wrinkling, minor rubbing. . Seventh Printing.. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine.