A Good technothriller from the days of the cold war, this book will keep the reader interested. Not Unlike Melville's Moby Dick, the captain of a U.S. Navy Destroyer plays a cold war game of cat-and-mouse with a Soviet submarine resulting in a tragic climax. It is a real page turner and my only problems with the book were the character of the journalist Munceford, who is too peripheral to the story and a little too annoying (see Sidney Poitier's performance in the movie for a better depiction); and the ending was not terribly believable considering the circumstances (again, see the movie for a better ending) Overall, I would recommend this book, but there are other, better titles that should be read first: Fail Safe; On The Beach; Trinity's Child and Viper Three

An excellent book that is fashioned on Melville's Moby Dick, it does not fail to keep the reader interested. The story of a cold war cat-and-mouse game between a U.S. Navy Destroyer and a Soviet submarine is a definite page turner. The only two problems I had with this book were the ending, which I did not find to be satisfying or believable (see the movie and you will see a different ending)and the character of Munceford, the journalist. I found him to be more annoying and peripheral than he should have been (again, see Sidney Poitier's performance in the movie for a better drawing of the character.) Otherwise, it is an edge-of-your-seat technothriller that I would recommend.

The "Bedford Incident" tells the tale of the titular ship, a US Destroyer during an epic hunt for a Russian submarine. The Bedford has the firepower to sweep the red sub away like so much dust on the sea. But cold war politics and some substantial realities require that the Bedford do no more than track the sub. More than mere politics, the Bedford's obsessed captain knows that the Russian sub, running on diesel-electric engines, can endure no more than hours submerged before it must surface to recharge. With the Red Navy soon to become nuclear-powered, the Bedford knows that its latest find may be its last easy catch. "Easy" becomes illusory as the Bedford fights a war of nerves against the Russian crew while battling cruel northern seas and endless ice. Rascovich never shows us the Russian crew, only the tensions faced by the Americans, and the seams that are quickly becoming undone.

"Bedford" recalls Moby Dick, but it actualy belongs to a small genre of war-thrillers involving hunter killer subs in cold northern seas, great books like Poyer's "The Circle" and "HMS Ulysses" by Maclean. The book was turned into a greta moview starring Richard Widmark as the Bedford's tormented captain and Sidney Poitier as the civilian photojournalist who quickly becomes his conscience. Both book and film are classics.