“Their submarine was dead, one hundred and eighty feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Somehow they survived. They were tortured and beaten. Somehow they survived. Alex Kershaw has done it again as he brings to life World War II's greatest submarine survival adventure.”

— James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers, Flyboys, and The Imperial Cruise

“Alex Kershaw’s quicksilver storytelling skills have never been better deployed... This is one of the most powerful stories of the Pacific war, poignant, gripping, and all of it true. Kershaw tells it beautifully.”

— Jim Hornfischer, author of The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

"Kershaw (The Few, 2006, etc.) fashions a gripping, novelistic account of the U.S. submarine Tang’s tragic final patrol. By August 1944, the Tang, a state-of-the-art torpedo-laden vessel under the guidance of Commander Richard O’Kane, had proven itself a formidable hunter of Japanese shipping. The tide was turning against the Japanese in the Pacific, as effective American technology allowed submarines to sink far below the surface to evade depth charges.

"In just four patrols, the cocky, ambitious, New Hampshire-born O’Kane had engineered the sinking of 17 ships. He was eager to embark on his fifth patrol, to the perilous enemy-lined Formosa Strait. By early October, the Tang had weathered an ominous typhoon, as well as a fall by the commander that left him with a broken foot. Once in the strait, the submarine successfully sank a convoy of Japanese cargo ships, emptying most of its torpedoes.

"Incredibly, the last torpedo, Number 24, boomeranged and headed straight back to strike the Tang. Half of the 87-member crew were killed instantly.

"When the fatally wounded submarine hit bottom, a handful of men miraculously escaped to the surface through the torpedo tubes. (They were equipped with Momsen Lungs, which took carbon dioxide from the air they exhaled, enriched it with oxygen and recycled it.) After floating for hours in the water, nine survivors, including O’Kane, were picked up by Japanese lifeboats.

"Surprisingly, the vengeful Japanese did not kill them outright, though they endured a harrowing period of captivity, subjected to interrogation, torture and starvation. On August 28, 1945, 19 days after the U.S. atomic bomb destroyed Nagasaki, the men were rescued by a U.S. destroyer.

"Stitched together from first-person accounts, Kershaw’s action-packed, character-driven narrative of this extraordinary crew’s exploits concludes with a poignant wrap-up of the survivors’ later years. Reads like the best suspense fiction."

– Kirkus Reviews

"Popular historian Kershaw (The Bedford Boys) chronicles the extraordinary WWII heroism of the crew of the USS Tang, 'the deadliest submarine operating in the Pacific,' in this spellbinding saga.

"The Tang’s captain, Cmdr. Richard O’Kane, was a celebrated maverick whose 'contempt for the enemy was absolute.' He was offered the opportunity to operate alone in the dangerous Formosa Strait, and the boat’s crew sank 13 ships on 'one of the most destructive patrols of the war.' But the last torpedo malfunctioned and boomeranged on the Tang, killing half the crew instantly and sinking the sub.

"The explosion threw O’Kane and several others into the ocean, but most of the rest were trapped below; only nine of 87 survived. They were picked up by a Japanese patrol boat and taken to a POW camp, tortured and starved. O’Kane, who earned the Medal of Honor, weighed only 88 pounds when liberated.

"Relying on interviews with survivors and oral histories, and writing with his customary verve, Kershaw delivers another memorable tale of uncommon courage."

— Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Kershaw’s vivid account of heroism and survival is so riveting, it can only be so long before Hollywood scoops it up to adapt for the big screen.”

— Entertainment Weekly

“This tremendous read…shouldn’t be missed.”

— Boston Herald

“This harrowing story of one sub's deadly fate is an eloquent tribute to the extraordinary courage of the sailors of the silent service.”

— Military.com

“Kershaw’s account reveals, with nail-biting tension, how the Navy sub was sunk by its own torpedo on its final mission, forcing a handful of survivors into a bold and terrifying escape.”

— Kirkus Big Books Issue

“Escape From The Deep showcases the human spirit, proving us a better understanding of the perils these submariners faced in defense of our country.”

— Manitowic Times Reporter (WI)

“Escape from the Deep is a must read for any submariner.”

— SubmarineResearch.com

“Alex Kershaw's latest page-turner tells the riveting story of the maverick skipper, courageous crew and destiny of the USS Tang, arguably the Navy's most legendary WWII sub. From the first page, the book pulls readers into the deep end of harrowing drama as the Tang patrols the waters off Japan's coast to sink more enemy ships than any other Allied sub…. Damn-the-torpedo’s storytelling.”

— USA Today

“[A] Gripping submarine saga…Told in action adventure prose…Alex Kershaw's Escape from the Deep: A Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew moves crisply from scene to scene, shifting points of view and time sequences to keep the survival narrative front and center… Kershaw does a good job of honoring an interesting subsection of the Greatest Generation.”

— Portland Oregonian

“A stirring story of the human spirit”

— Rocky Mountain News