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Red Star Rogue: The Untold Story of a Soviet Submarine’s Nuclear Strike Attempt on the U.S. Audiobook
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(3.13) - 159 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
On March 7th, 1968, a Soviet nuclear armed submarine blew up and sank 400 miles off the coast of Hawaii, killing the entire crew and setting in motion one of the most gripping and bizarre series of events of the entire cold war.
In "Red Star Rogue", authors Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond assemble an impressive array of first hand evidence on an event that brought the world closer to nuclear armageddon than even the Cuban missile crisis, but which remains largely unknown. Despite being fact, "Red Star Rogue" reads like a thriller in the best traditions of Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy, and we learn, among many other fascinating details, the truth about what Howard Hughes' ship, the Glomar Explorer really recovered on its' top secret salvage mission to the wreck.
From Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev to George H.W. Bush and Howard Hughes, the list of major figures involved in both the plot behind the subs' loss and the program to recover it reads like a "who's who" of the political world of the 1960s and 1970s.
Kenneth Sewell is a U.S. Navy veteran and nuclear engineer who spent 5 years aboard the fast attack submarine USS Parche, the U.S. Navys' most decorated ship. A holder of security clearances at both the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy,Mr Sewell had access to recently declassified intelligence files in both the U.S. and Soviet military archives.
Clint Richmond is a veteran journalist based in Austin, Texas and is the author of the #1 best seller "Selena!", about the murder of the legendary Tejana singer.
"Wow!!! In spite of many small errors, it was a well organized book detailing an AMAZING series of events. A ficticious version couldn't have been more dramatic! This should be required reading for every diplomat, politician, and military officer in all countries so that it doesn't happen again."
— Elmira (5 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
One of the great secrets of the Cold War, hidden for decades, is revealed at last. Early in 1968, a nuclear-armed Soviet submarine sank in the waters off Hawaii, hundreds of miles closer to American shores than it should have been. Compelling evidence strongly suggests that the sub sank while attempting to fire a nuclear missile.
We now know that the Soviets had lost track of the sub; it had become a rogue. The Nixon administration launched a clandestine, half-billion-dollar project to recover the sunken K-129. The successful recovery effort helped forge new relations between the US and the Soviets, even as it revealed a treacherous plan to provoke war between the US and China—a plan that, had it succeeded, would have had devastating consequences.
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Quotes
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“Frightening…As exciting as any novel.”
— Associated Press -
“Reads like the latest Tom Clancy thriller…Fascinating…frightening.”
— Flint Journal -
“A remarkable account [from] a veteran submariner.”
— Bookspan
Red Star Rogue Listener Reviews
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" This is a chilling (and apparently true!) story of a near-disaster in 1968. It was hard for me to put this book down. "
— Bob, 1/9/2014 -
" Talk about your "what if" scenarios. What if the Russians had nuked Honolulu and made it seem the Chinese had done it? During the Vietnam war? He says its true and makes a fascinating case for it. "
— Andy, 8/5/2013 -
" A fascinating read, and a quite plausible theory about how a Soviet ballistic missile submarine may have been lost while attempting a rogue nuclear strike against the US. "
— Paul, 12/13/2012 -
" I had a hard time putting this book down once I started it. It has the feel of a fictional spy thriller, but only small details of the story are currently unverifiable and probably always will be. The apparent shake-up at the Kremlin says enough for me. "
— Lon, 7/20/2011 -
" story of how author pieced together top-secret story of 1968 rogue soviet sub attempt to launch nuclear missile at Pearl Harbor. Way too detailed and repetitive, but many interesting tidbits of the era along the way. "
— Adam, 7/8/2011 -
" This book is an extremely interesting and frightening story of how the world came to within seconds of destruction. The data collected was thorough and concise, and supported the story very well. This is a must-read for cold war buffs and submarine warfare enthusiasts. "
— Gabriel, 6/6/2011 -
" An intriguing story, but not very well written. A better author could have brought this up to four or five stars for me. "
— Elizabeth, 12/7/2010 -
" really cool book for History buffs or Military Buffs. "
— Michael, 2/27/2010 -
" really cool book for History buffs or Military Buffs. "
— Michael, 11/13/2009 -
" story of how author pieced together top-secret story of 1968 rogue soviet sub attempt to launch nuclear missile at Pearl Harbor. Way too detailed and repetitive, but many interesting tidbits of the era along the way. "
— Adam, 6/23/2009 -
" I had a hard time putting this book down once I started it. It has the feel of a fictional spy thriller, but only small details of the story are currently unverifiable and probably always will be. The apparent shake-up at the Kremlin says enough for me. "
— Lon, 2/3/2009 -
" This book is an extremely interesting and frightening story of how the world came to within seconds of destruction. The data collected was thorough and concise, and supported the story very well. This is a must-read for cold war buffs and submarine warfare enthusiasts. "
— Gabriel, 1/12/2009 -
" Talk about your "what if" scenarios. What if the Russians had nuked Honolulu and made it seem the Chinese had done it? During the Vietnam war? He says its true and makes a fascinating case for it. "
— Andy, 9/7/2008 -
" A convincing account of a rogue Soviet sub that launched a nuclear missle at Hawaii in 1968. A failsafe devise destroyed the sub at the time of the launch. The CIA later recovered the sub. <br/> <br/>With non fiction like this, why read fiction? "
— Don, 7/16/2008 -
" A fascinating read, and a quite plausible theory about how a Soviet ballistic missile submarine may have been lost while attempting a rogue nuclear strike against the US. "
— Paul, 2/11/2008 -
" This is a chilling (and apparently true!) story of a near-disaster in 1968. It was hard for me to put this book down. "
— Bob, 11/13/2007
About Kenneth Sewell
Kenneth Sewell is the author of Red Star Rogue.
About Brian Emerson
Brian Emerson is an actor and technical director with a long career in the Washington, DC, and Baltimore areas.