In his latest book, Red November: Inside the Secret U.S. - Soviet Submarine War, W. Craig Reed has unleashed a story so powerful that New York Times bestselling Author James Rollins says, "If Tom Clancy had turned The Hunt for Red October into a nonfiction thriller, W. Craig Reed's Red November might be the result. Here is the full-throttle and riveting story of espionage, secret missions, and the never-before-told tales of submariners on the front lines of a clandestine war. Not to be missed."
In the tradition of the bestselling Blind Man's Bluff (Public Affairs 1998), which sold over two million copies worldwide, W. Craig Reed, a former navy diver and fast-attack submariner, delivers a riveting non-fiction thriller narrative about the secret underwater struggle between the US and the USSR, and reveals previously undisclosed details about the most dangerous, daring and decorated missions of the Cold War.
Red November is fulled with hair-raising personal stories and "behind the scenes" information that fans of military narratives and techno-thrillers will love. Reed served aboard two submarines involved in Cold War espionage operations. His father spearheaded the deployment of a top secret submarine detection system that played a pivotal role in preventing four Soviet submarines from firing nuclear torpedoes on U.S. Ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Today, we know a lot more about the detection of missiles on land in Cuba, but not the underwater drama that almost resulted in the firing of nuclear weapons and the start of World War III in October 1962.
I caught up with Craig a few days ago and had a chance to ask him some questions.
Is there anything special you'd like to tell us about Red November?
In 1998, the book Blind Man's Bluff, "broke the story" about top secret espionage operations conducted by US submarines during the Cold War. Sworn to secrecy, few submariners offered firsthand accounts for that book, and the authors relied mostly on third-hand information. Red November is the first book to reveal the harrowing firsthand accounts told by "bubblehead" submariners, "spook" intelligence operatives, and "hero" saturation navy divers who conducted the most dangerous, daring, and decorated missions of the Cold War. I wrote Red November to honor these veterans, who sacrificed so much to ensure that our world did not end by fire and fallout.
Did any particular event inspire the plot?
I interviewed almost 200 submariners, intelligence operatives, cryptanalysts, government officials, navy divers and SEALs and only a handful of the most riveting stories made it in to the book. The event that inspired me to write this book was my own personal experience as a submariner and navy diver involved in a serious collision between my boat and a Soviet submarine inside a Russian harbor. After barely surviving the accident, we were chased and harassed for days and came within a breath of not coming home.
What are you doing to promote your book?
Harper Collins is helping me with a marketing campaign, a six-week book signing tour, radio and TV interviews, in-store promotions and more. But mostly I'm connecting with former veterans and fans of espionage, military and technical non-fiction thrillers.
What's next?
I'm working on a thriller, this time a novel, with a working title of Hunting the 98 that combines the political intrigue of Ice Station Zebra with the military suspense of the Hunt for Red October, but with lots of interesting dimensions that take it well beyond your typical submarine book.
When you're not writing, what are you doing (hobbies, family, etc.)?
I love mountain biking, hiking and nature, but also still do a little consulting in technology marketing for clients like Apple, HP, SAP, and Symantec.
What didn't I ask you that I should have?
Why should someone read this book? To know the truth. The world has come close to nuclear annihilation not once, but several times. In most cases, these incident involved US and Soviet submarines. How many of us know that Soviet submarines carrying nuclear torpedoes came within seconds of firing and starting WW III during the Cuban Missile Crisis? That a navy Ensign, my father, helped invent and deploy a top secret technology to find those subs, and briefed President Kennedy at the White House? That Kennedy used this trump card to help back down Khrushchev? That a navy traitor sold secrets to the Soviets that setup the loss of a Soviet sub that prompted the Soviets to sink the USS Scorpion, again almost propelling us into a nuclear war? That saturation divers spent weeks inside tiny chambers at 700 feet deep to wiretap Soviet cables, and that the information gained helped end the Cold War? That the USS Drum, a sub I was on, slammed into a Soviet Victor III submarine a mile from the shore in Vladivostok harbor, and that the navy has covered up the incident to this day? Who wouldn't like to read firsthand accounts about these events? Red November is the first book to deliver all of this and much more.
Thanks so much, Craig. Good luck with Red November. I look forward to reading it.
During Don Helin's career in the military, he spent three tours in the Pentagon, then worked as a lobbyist for industry. These two "Washington Insider" careers have provided him ample material for his thriller novels.
