Big Red; Three Months on Board a Trident Nuclear Submarine

New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/very good. xiii, [3], 336 pages. Illustrations. Source Notes. Appendix. Index. Slight wear to DJ edges. Some slight edge soiling. Signed by the author. Douglas C. Waller is an author, lecturer, and former correspondent for Time magazine and Newsweek. Waller describes himself as a veteran correspondent, author and lecturer. From 1994 to 2007, Waller served in TIME Magazine's Washington Bureau, where he covered foreign affairs as a diplomatic correspondent. He came to TIME in 1994 from Newsweek, where he reported on major military conflicts. Waller joined Newsweek in 1988, after serving as a legislative assistant on the staffs of Senator William Proxmire and Representative Edward J. Markey. Derived from a Kirkus review: A correspondent for Time magazine depicts a US nuclear sub and the demands made on its crew. Waller patrolled the Atlantic for three months aboard the Trident submarine Nebraska (hence the nickname Big Red) with a crew ready on command to launch nuclear missiles against an enemy. Life aboard is anything but a waiting game. Constant drills keep the crew on alert. Tensions are relieved with movies, games, and a halfway party on the 39th day that features videos from wives and children. Waller also examines the motives and the morale of the men aboard, some driven by patriotism, others by the opportunity to have the Navy pay for a college education or to extend their experience with state-of-the-art technology. Some scenes capture the pressure and anxiety as the crew prepares-on orders from the commander-in-chief-to push the button. Military buffs and would-be submariners will thrill with patriotic pride.