From the dust jacket:

"Take her down!"

This quietly spoken command sets in motion the whole complicated process of diving a submarine, described in this book by an officer of the United States Navy who has seen many years of submarine service.

Readers will live with the author through some tense moments—groping in the dark for sight or sound of enemy destroyers, waiting for depth charges that may destroy the boat, escaping from a sunken submarine.

Included also is the fascinating story of submarine invention, operation, and warfare, from the time a leather-covered rowboat sailed under water down the Thames river, to the launching of the first atomic submarine.

Mildred Waltrip's two-color pictures help to make this an exciting, easily understood book about the "silent service" that protects our seas."