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Hostile Waters Hardcover – January 1, 1997

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 59 ratings

The true story of sixty Russians who gave their lives to defuse an aging Soviet ballistic missile submarine off the coast of North Carolina in 1986 is the basis of an HBO movie due to air in July 1997. TV tie-in.
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

During the Cold War, Soviet nuclear submarines tirelessly patrolled the Atlantic. Their missiles took aim at Washington, New York, and other major American cities. But they were also fairly low-tech contraptions, at least in comparison to the sophisticated U.S. subs that quietly tracked them. In 1986, one of these Soviet vessels nearly suffered a meltdown not far from Bermuda in what might have been a worse-than-Chernobyl accident. Hostile Waters tells this story more like a novel than a textbook, but also makes good use of declassified material and personal interviews. In his brief foreword, Tom Clancy calls it "one of the most fascinating true submarine stores I have ever encountered"--high praise from the man who brought us The Hunt for Red October.

From Booklist

A U.S. naval officer, a Russian naval officer, and a thriller writer joined forces to produce this dramatic account of the 1986 fire aboard K-219, a Soviet ballistic missile submarine, and its sinking off Bermuda. Those events have received some previous coverage, but the book goes into far more detail, depicting a classic battle of men against the sea in which a young engineer sacrificed his life to prevent a seagoing Chernobyl and the Soviet captain scuttled the submarine rather than have his crew ordered back aboard. In the best Hunt for Red October manner, the U.S. Navy is depicted as endangering the survivors in an effort to acquire K-219, and, indeed, the Soviets receive most of the book's attention and sympathy. The book's novel-like form raises the question, How much has been fictionalized or at least reconstructed to make it read--immensely successfully--like a thriller? Enough, at any rate, to entice HBO into making a TV movie of it, premiering this summer. Roland Green

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St Martins Pr; First Edition (January 1, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 303 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312169280
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312169282
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.23 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 59 ratings

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4.4 out of 5 stars
59 global ratings

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Customers find the book readable and engaging. They describe the story as a true-life thriller with nonstop action. The author is described as an excellent storyteller.

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5 customers mention "Readability"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say it's a good companion to the movie.

"...The book is definitely worth reading if you liked the movie...." Read more

"truly a good read!..." Read more

"I enjoyed the book almost as much as the movie. But I'm not much of a reader. I recommend it." Read more

"Great price in great condition. Good book to go with the m o vie." Read more

5 customers mention "Story quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the engaging story. They find it a true-life thriller with nonstop action and a detailed account of what was going on in the 1980s under the surface.

"...The action in this true story is nonstop as the book keeps the reader on a razor's edge between the nearly unsolvable problem that must be fixed..." Read more

"...tale is way more exciting than The Hunt For Red October and it's a true story. If you like exciting sea stories you will want to read it...." Read more

"Very detailed account of what was going on in the 80s under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Forget the blip-blip-blip of old movies...." Read more

"A true life thriller if ever there was one! Huchthausen is an excellent story teller!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2016
    I remember watching the made for cable movie on HBO about this story. It was very well made considering the fact it was HBO and was not a major motion picture release for movie theaters. The movie actually had a great cast with Rutger Hauer as Capt. Britanov and Martin Sheen as the skipper of the American hunter-killer sub. I've always wanted to buy the movie but being that it was made for cable released by HBO, I didn't think it would be easy to find a DVD of this movie. It is being sold on Amazon but I have yet to justify the cost for paying it to watch the movie again.

    But upon reviewing more about the movie, I found out that there was the book that the movie was supposedly based on. So I ordered the book, which was cheap enough that I didn't even hesitate to order. The book is definitely worth reading if you liked the movie.

    As to whether or not the American sub actually hit the K-219 in which the ensuing story of the missile silo disaster unfolds... you'll have to read the book. I am asking myself the same question...
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2010
    truly a good read! if you are interested in historical events with real life drama involved,then "hostile waters by Peter Huchhausen,Igor Kurdin & R.Alan White" is the kind of book that grips the reader,with unfolding events that you will find it hard to put down.the story brings to the reader the desperation and feelings of isolation for the crew of an antiquated russian submarine,when disaster strikes their vesel on patrol not far off the North American coast.with events on board quickly spinning out of control some crew dead,others badly injured,the reader is drawn into the heroism and self sacrafice by the captain and members of his crew as they battle insurmountable odds to save the world from yet another nuclear calamity (this story takes place in 1986,the same year as the chernobyl disarster in the USSR). it also opens to the reader the dramatic changes that where taking place in a cash strapped soviet navy,trying to keep up with the technological advances of the western navy's and of a soviet government that was struggling to re-invent itself from old despotic ways into the uncharted territory of glasnost & peristroyker.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2007
    As one of the authors of Hostile Waters, I skim through now and again to read comments left by readers. I was very surprised to see D. Epstein's odd claim that the book was "technically inaccurate." This book was researched long, hard and very well, using both Russian and US sources, including first-person accounts and the testimony of survivors. Epstein alleges that we goofed by claiming the USS AUGUSTA collided with K-219 and yet, somehow, did not sink. Epstein says that US boats are single hulled (true) and have but one internal compartment (not true...there are two, or even three if you count the sonar sphere). He claims that a flooding casualty anywhere aboard the AUGUSTA woould have doomed her, thus, could not have happened.

    Yet nowhere in the book do we claim, ever, that AUGUSTA collided with K-219. AUGUSTA did suffer a glancing collision with a second Soviet unit in the vicinity, and limped home to Groton for repairs. The angle, speed and energy state of the two boats dictated the results. The inherent toughness of US SSN design saved the day, as it did recently when the USS SAN FRANCISCO slammed head-on into a seamount, crushing the bow, Yet she did not go down; a testament to our design philosophy, and the training of our crews.

    Epstein claims he found a second error: that when K-219 struck the bottom she did not implode "because she was already flooded." Actually, she was mostly filled with water, but two compartments retained their pressure to the very end and resisted the sea all the way down. One of them trapped a sailor, who could not overcome the pressure to make good his escape. The clanky old K-219 retained enough structural integrity to make a subsequent salavage visit quite difficult: the muzzle hatches on her silos were down and locked, and required a great deal of effort to pry open.

    Soviet submarines were built to a high strength margin. But they were filled with second and third-rate systems, and contained designed-in traps that would, again and again, prove lethal to their crews.

    Perhaps Epstein is remembering the movie, Hostile Waters, and not the book?
    12 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2006
    An explosion on a Russian nuclear submarine carrying fifteen rockets with thirty thermonuclear warheads too close to the shores of the United States could have the worst of consequences despite the valiant struggles of the sub's captain and crew. The action in this true story is nonstop as the book keeps the reader on a razor's edge between the nearly unsolvable problem that must be fixed even at the cost of lives and careers and the unthinkable option of a global catastrophe. First find a comfortable chair then kick back because you aren't going to be able to put this one down until the very end.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2018
    This tale is way more exciting than The Hunt For Red October and it's a true story. If you like exciting sea stories you will want to read it. I couldn't put it down. Sub stories don't get any more exciting than this.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2019
    Glad the public didn't know what was going on. Sure glad I wasn't in the Russian Navy. Thank goodness for the level headed sub commander and a few of his staff.

Top reviews from other countries

  • David J. Boggis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding characters in a nail-biting disaster.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2020
    This is Robin A. White at his best. True-life drama in a nail-biting disaster situation, with added authenticity and strength lent by many outstanding characterisations.
  • David
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2016
    A truly brilliant book.