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  • Fatal Dive

  • Solving the World War II Mystery of the USS Grunion
  • Written by: Peter F. Stevens
  • Narrated by: Robertson Dean
  • Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (11 ratings)

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Fatal Dive cover art

Fatal Dive

Written by: Peter F. Stevens
Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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Publisher's Summary

No radio distress call ever crackled from the submarine USS Grunion. In 1942, under the fog of World War II, the vessel simply vanished without a trace. For nearly sixty-five years, only a dead silence lingered regarding the fate of the sub and its seventy-man crew—until now. Here author Peter F. Stevens reveals the incredible true story of the search for and discovery of the Grunion—as well as the navy’s shocking and willful cover-up of the submarine’s baffling disappearance. The Grunion was discovered in 2006 after a decades-long search by the Abele brothers, whose father commanded the submarine and met his untimely death aboard it, but one question remained: what sank the USS Grunion? Now, for the first time ever, Fatal Dive reveals the answer: one of the Grunion’s own missiles. The navy knowingly sent the Grunion out with faulty torpedoes, and Fatal Dive reveals damning and never-before-published government documents that provide irrefutable evidence of its shameful cover-up. Intriguing and explosive, Fatal Dive finally lays to rest one of World War II’s greatest mysteries.

Peter F. Stevens, news and features editor of the Boston Irish Reporter, is a veteran journalist with a specialty in historical writing. His work is syndicated by the New York Times and has been published in dozens of magazines and newspapers. He is also a two-time winner of the International Regional Magazine Association’s Gold Medal for Feature Writing and the award-winning author of The Voyage of the Catalpa. He lives in Boston.

©2012 Peter F. Stevens (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What the critics say

“Suspenseful…a chilling conclusion.” ( Publishers Weekly)
“After the USS Grunion was lost in perhaps the most hostile environment of the war, the details of the submarine’s sinking off the Aleutian Islands remained a mystery for decades—until the deceased skipper’s sons set out with dogged determination to find out where and how their father died. Stevens manages to build suspense even though the reader knows the ultimate fate of the Gato-class ‘pigboat.’ Fatal Dive is a quick but thoughtful and moving read.” (Jim Defelice, bestselling author of Rangers at Dieppe)
“Peter Stevens unreels a fascinating piece of nautical history. This real-life drama of war, suspense, and human achievement in the face of frightful odds is mesmerizing from start to finish. A book for all.” (Lieutenant General Dave Palmer (Ret.), author of George Washington’s Military Genius)

What listeners say about Fatal Dive

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loved this book

It's a sad book to listen to. 70 men gone in the blink of an eye, however it was very well written and the narrated did an amazing job reading it. I would recommend this book to any avid military history reader or researcher. I will likely listen to this again

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Exceedingly Well-Written

To be honest, the subject matter in this chronicle is pretty boring. Of Course faulty munitions were loaded onto Military platforms. Of Course the Navy would deny that (lawsuits, right?). Contending that there's a scandal here is quite a stretch. That said, journalist Peter F. Stevens punctiliously researches and relates a fascinating search for a lost WWII boat that no-one thought could be found. The story is surprisingly captivating.
The real strength of the book, however, is the method Stevens uses to reveal the story: He jumps from news of the loss in 1942 to the undeniably harrowing discovery of the wreck in 2006 to a biography of Captain Jim Abele to the history of the USS Grunion herself to the dedicated search by Abele's sons after a Japanese blogger uncovered an account of a naval battle. Abandoning a strict chronological matrix for the documentary yields repeatedly refreshed interest.

The narration from Robertson Dean is similarly engrossing - if unspectacular. Yes, Dean reads too slowly (set playback at 1.20X for this one), but diction, timbre, cadence, and especially an obviously interested tone are all creditable. Blackstone Audio Inc. cast this project nicely.

Take in toto, this recording merits 8 stars out of 10. It would be a decent read/listen for anyone interested in relatively little-discussed events from World War II.
Also in it's favor, you could listen to 'Fatal Dive' on a long drive without fear of losing interest (if you're a casual listener, that's not always the case in audiobooks of this genre). If you can get the book for free as part of your subscription (as I did), do not hesitate. It would actually rate a Credit for a motivated listener.

[Incidentally - the man by man biography of all 80 lost crewmen (with anecdotes from their families) at the end of the book is incredibly well-done & appreciated]

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Mystery solved

I don’t read a lot of military history but the lingering questions about this caught my attention. Well written, I learned enough about submarines to go low the story. Tragic, but at least now understood and the lives lost have been honoured.

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Fatal Dive

Stories about the war against the Japanese in the Aleutians is somewhat rare in the realm of WW2 books. The touching search for a long lost father and his ship, combined with carefully collected stories of the crewmen onboard and their families make this a well rounded read with a comforting conclusion.

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