Blind man's bluff

About the book

Blind Man's Bluff examines the secret side of the Cold War fought beneath the ocean surface. Sherry Sontag, working with Christopher Drew, assembles an account of American submarine operations aimed at gathering intelligence on the Soviet Union: tracking vessels, tapping undersea cables, and recovering objects from the seabed. The book sits at the intersection of naval history and intelligence history, and its subject is the machinery, planning and human risk behind missions that were rarely acknowledged at the time.

The narrative centers on the United States Navy's submarine force and the intelligence services that depended on it. Sontag draws on interviews with submariners and officials to reconstruct operations that were classified for decades. The result reads as reported history rather than a technical manual: attention goes to the people who crewed the boats, the officers who devised the missions, and the hazards of working in deep water under constant risk of detection.

Because the material concerns espionage, the book also raises questions about secrecy and accountability. It describes how intelligence was collected and why some operations remained hidden from public view. Readers should expect an operational history shaped by testimony and declassified material rather than a single thesis about the Cold War.

How to read it

Approach the book as narrative history. Sontag moves between missions and the people involved, so the chronology can feel episodic. Keep track of which submarine and which operation is under discussion; the cast of officers and crews is large, and names recur across chapters. A reader who wants a clear timeline may find it useful to note dates and locations as they appear.

The book's authority rests on interviews and documents, and it does not read like an academic study. Treat specific claims about missions and their outcomes as the author's reconstruction, and notice where sourcing is thin or where participants' memories carry the account. The prose is direct and accessible, with technical detail kept to what the story needs. Readers unfamiliar with submarines may want a basic glossary at hand, though the book explains enough to follow.

Who it suits

This book suits readers interested in Cold War intelligence, naval operations and the history of submarine warfare. It will appeal to those who prefer narrative accounts built from interviews with participants over policy analysis. Readers curious about how secret military operations were planned and carried out, and about the risks taken by crews, will find concrete material here. It also serves as an entry point for anyone wanting to understand the undersea dimension of the superpower rivalry.

Reading considerations

Later disclosures or declassifications may add to or qualify parts of its account. Some operations described were still sensitive when it appeared, so the record is not complete. Readers seeking a fully sourced academic history should supplement it with archival studies. The focus stays on American operations, with limited treatment of the Soviet side.