Submarines Were Instrumental During Both World Wars.

¶ … submarines were instrumental during both World Wars. What is less well-known is the role that submarines played as tools during the Cold War. In Blind Man's Bluff, Sontag and Drew reveal with stunning detail the accounts of American Naval officers who manned submarines during the Cold War. Their mission was unequivocal: gathering intelligence. On espionage missions, Cold War Naval submarines were on extremely dangerous missions that could have threatened not only to end the lives of the officers but also could have escalated Cold War tensions.

Blind Man's Bluff is written in a narrative style accessible by all readers, as engaging as fiction but with all the intensity of history. Summary Blind Man's Bluff is based on the first person accounts of the Navy officers involved in the top-secret intelligence missions. According to the authors in their preface to the body of the book, the officers frequently declined the invitation for an interview.

Many others were contacted first by the Naval Investigative Service, which warned the veterans of their commitment to protecting sensitive data in the interests of national security. Of course, now that the Cold War is over and the Soviet Union is no more, retelling their stories proved cathartic for the people involved, as well as being totally ethical. Names, dates, and other facts were not changed to protect the innocent in this book, making Blind Man's Bluff a critical resource in the historiography of the Cold War.

The authors also note that many of the key players involved in Cold War Naval espionage either could not or would not be contacted, but their roles were too central to omit. Therefore, second hand data was gathered about the many men who took part in these sensitive missions. One of the most notable methodological features of Bind Man's Bluff is the authors' also interviewing the Soviet counterparts to the Americans: Soviet spies working on submarines who were willing to speak about their experiences with their translators.

Overall, the authors' methodology of using first hand face-to-face interview data helps to create a corpus of verifiable and reliable material. The authors are both experienced investigative journalists with a high degree of credibility. Analysis Blind Man's Bluff encompasses several interrelated areas of research regarding Cold War espionage. One is the geopolitical landscape over the course of several decades, as the American Naval submarines were placed at strategic points all over the globe.

A second subject matter discussed in great depth in the book is the technological advancements that occurred throughout the Cold War, and which dramatically altered the ways the espionage submarines worked. This was true for both sides of the Iron Curtain. For example, the narrative opens with a discussion about Cochino, which was outfitted with a revolutionary passive sonar system that enabled it to listen to sonar without emitting its own pings.

Another way Blind Man's Bluff is fascinating is that the investigation lends insight into the psychology of the spies. Many of the men involved in the espionage missions used creative and critical thinking on a daily basis in order to figure out the best way to gather as much quality material as possible, sending it to supervisors undetected. The job was often as messy as it was risky, with many divers conducting dangerous missions and men remaining on board for months on end.

Moreover, many of the submarines used in the early missions ran on diesel, which was dirty and necessitated frequent snorkeling that could have led to the vessels being detected. Strategies used to gather data varied, but often included actually tapping into Russian telephone cables that divers had dutifully traced underwater. Divers inundated themselves into the frigid waters of the Arctic Sea. Specific events and people discussed in the account include the destructions of both the U.S.S. Thresher in 1963 and the U.S.S. Scorpion in 1968.

Hyman Rickover and other submarine luminaries are discussed, of course. Planned missions and submarines that failed are also addressed, revealing some of the potential pitfalls of clandestine missions. For instance, of the most interesting anecdotes involves the attempted hijacking of a Russian submarine, a plan that ultimately failed. Another notable account is that of the mini Cold War brewing at home, as the CIA and the Navy clashed regarding the role and missions of the espionage submarines.

The politics of espionage are tense, and Sontag and Drew do a great job of conveying the emotions felt by all major players. Sontag and Drew include a series of photographic images, gathered painstakingly from a number of different sources including the United States Navy. The Navy was understandably reluctant to work with a couple of investigative reporters bent on unearthing its intelligence secrets. Yet ultimately the.