View source for The Taking of K-129: The Most Daring Covert Operation in History by Josh Dean

{{infobox
|title=The Taking of K-129: The Most Daring Covert Operation in History
|sort=Taking of K-129: The Most Daring Covert Operation in History
|author=Josh Dean
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=History
|summary=The story of the attempt to recover K-129 told in a way which would restore your faith in thrillers - but it's rigorously-written non-fiction.  Highly recommended.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=440
|publisher=Amberley Publishing
|date=September 2017
|isbn=978-1445674742
|website=https://twitter.com/joshdean66?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445674742</amazonuk>
}}

In February 1968 the Soviet nuclear missile submarine K-129 left the port of Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka peninsula with a crew of 98 submariners. The captain and executive officers were experienced: the only factor giving cause for concern was that the crew had only recently returned to base and were expecting a longer break and were only back at sea because two sister ships had experienced mechanical problems and were unfit for combat patrols. The Division Commander complained that the decision was cruel and potentially reckless.  He would be proved right - but not publicly - as K-129 went down with all hands in March 1968.  It was a while before the sSoviet navy realised that it had lost one of its submarines and despite an extensive search they couldn't find it.
 
The US Navy could locate it though - but it was three miles down in an area of  the Pacific ocean northwest of Hawaii with notoriously rough seas for most of the year.  How could the US maximise the intelligence potential at the height of the cold war and how could it be done without the Soviets finding out what was happening?  ''The Taking of K-129'' is the story of the most daring covert operation in history and Josh Dean's telling of the story is as close to perfection as it's possible to get.
 
At a depth of 16,500 feet very few people would think that any sort of retrieval was possible, but in the US there were people who were prepared to believe that retrieving the  ''whole submarine'' was possible.  To this end a ship - the ''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' was commissioned and built at a cost of $35m, and built in two years.  What's more its ''purpose'' was kept secret for five years despite a rising number of people being aware of the full story and the eventual recovery attempt taking place under the eyes of the Soviets.
 
I've given you a very brief overview of what happened, but Dean takes the reader step by step through the process, giving us just enough detail about the individuals involved in the mission to ensure that you invest in them, want them to succeed.  He's exceptionally good at explaining technical details: I have no relevant background knowledge on which to draw, but fully understood what was happening every step of the way.
 
I kept thinking that this was the sort of book which restored your faith in thrillers - and then had to remind myself that this in a ''non-fiction'' book, with every effort having been made to verify statements of fact.  The standards applied are rigorous: normally this results in a very dry read (the 'this isn't pleasant, but it's doing me good' feeling) but that's not the case here.  There's a gentle sense of humour running through the book and I lost count of the number of snippets I read out to anyone who was around.  There's also excellent dramatic pacing: short chapters kept me reading late into the night to find out what happened next.  It's a brilliant, exciting read and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
 
If this book appeals you might also enjoy [[The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis by David G Coleman]].

{{amazontext|amazon=1445674742}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=1445674742}}

{{commenthead}}