Red Star Rogue

By: Kenneth Sewell, Clint Richmond

Narrated by: Brian Emerson

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 U.S. and the Soviets, even as it revealed a treacherous plan to provoke war between the U.S. and China, a plan that, had it succeeded, would have had devastating consequences.

©2005 Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Remarkable Research on K-129

This is a book, where once you start listening, there is no pause in the story. The research in bringing this to the final publication of the book... astounding. You won't regret this purchase!

Seriously Repetitious

I had high hopes that this book would shed some new light on the K129 incident. I have read the books “Blind Man’s Bluff” and Dr John Craven’s biography, “The Silent War: The Cold War Battle Beneath the Sea”. Both of these books gave nearly the same information this author did, but in a lot shorter space.

If you were to pull out the repetition from this book, it would probably be 1/2 the length.

There was some good information, especially regarding the extra crew members. But it still didn’t add enough to the story, in my view, to warrant the book.

Was the book entertaining? Yes. Would I highly recommend it? Not to anyone serious about learning about Cold War issues. But for a general story, it is worth the read.

Not convinced

It seems to me that the authors struggle to understand the Soviet mindset and have disregarded the fact that the Russians were the best at playing the espionage and deceipt game. The authors take things said and done at face value, not seeing that these were often Soviet leadership tactics to hide their true intentions (or sometimes their confusion). In the last part of the book, it seems that every political decision from 1972 onward was because of that incident and the authors cite the contents of classified meetings as though they were there. They have no evidence to support their outlandish claims and I soon grew tired of their babbling speculation.

Awesome story, credible conclusion

In the tradition of Tom Clancy, a great spy story is pitched. Whether it is true or not may never be known, but the theory fits the available facts. In my experience, the story rings true, and presented some additional new information on a key event of the cold war. Red Star Rogue is a compelling read.

Detailed

The book is detailed and explains evidence for a conjecture regarding a rogue sub crew. I enjoyed listening to the new information that I had not heard before. Also, I have taken a liking to Mr. Emerson’s narration style.

Interesting and Compelling Argument

The story is very interesting. The difficult issue is actually in the reader, Brian Emerson. Unfortunately, Mr. Emerson keeps adding emphasis at odd places almost as if he is not paying attention to the story. His pronunciation of some place names is also off, at least to my ear. Sadly, Mr. Emerson created an unnecessary distraction to this story.

Word in Cuba.

The word in Cuba, after the misil crisis, was that Castro was really mad because he never have control of the missiles. He really wants to push that button.

Fantastic--But True

Very good. Could have benefited from some editing. I found myself wandering during some of the early details on Soviet military life.

I wasn't prepared when I found the book seemed to be in two or more parts: First, background and major events; then, later events and analysis. This arrangement was a pleasant surprise and served the story well. It kept things simpler.

A real-life thriller!

Intriguing Story.

What made the experience of listening to Red Star Rogue the most enjoyable?

I couldn't stop listening to this. This was one of those stories that never made sense to me. Ken's hypothesis is credible - it really could have happened this way. And it ties together some inexplicable events that I always wondered about.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Red Star Rogue?

The Russian officer's wife sense of doom.

Any additional comments?

The Glomar Explorer was berthed behind my ship in 1973 at Pier Echo, Naval Station Long Beach. It was the oddest looking ship I had ever seen. The story we got was that it was a deep ocean mining/research vessel. I didn't know it was a Hughes vessel. Ironically, enough right across the harbor from Pier Echo was the gray corrugated metal hangar the Spruce Goose was berthed in.

A rivetting tale

This is a listen I could hardly put down. The facts are hard to verify by myself but the scenarios are fascinating and have stimulated me to look up more on the subject in written form. An excellent listen especially for those interested in submarine-related political subterfuge and intrigue!