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Condition: Used: Very Good
Comment: 1997 1st edition SIGNED BY AUTHOR ON TITLE PAGE. Book has minor wear to front and back covers with dust jacket intact with minor wear. All interior pages are clean with no marks or highlighting minus author signature. NOT a former rental or library copy.
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Cruisers for Breakfast : War Patrols of the U.S.S. Darter and U.S.S. Dace Hardcover – January 1, 1997

by Jr. Mansfield, John G. (Author), B/W Illus (Illustrator)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    302 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Media Center Publishing
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1997
  5. ISBN-10
    0966093801
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0966093803
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Media Center Publishing; First Edition, First Printing (January 1, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 302 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0966093801
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0966093803
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.55 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Rand E
5.0 out of 5 stars Grading was "Used". Maybe so, but a grade of "New -" would be reasonable.
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
Have not read book as yet. I'm gathering courage. I'm a long time Kindle user.
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Dana M Tengi
5.0 out of 5 stars The pride of America.
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
My grandfather was featured in this book. The story of how he and my grandmother met while he was on leave in NYC was documented in the book. I misplaced my original copy so I wanted a new one. Their story makes me smile and miss them whenever I read it.
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CPO USN Ret
5.0 out of 5 stars Submarine crews and their operations
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
Great read! Author goes into great detail concerning submarine operations. Might over technical in nature, for the causal reader. I highly recommend it!!
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Grumpy old man
1.0 out of 5 stars Author needed a professional editor
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
There is a lot of very interesting information in this book. Obviously the author extensively researched it. However, all this information is just jumbled together, making for a book that is hard to follow. The book also contains a number of errors that should have been caught by a proofreader.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very accurate history.
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2020
Verified Purchase
Birthday gift for great grandson of one of the Darter crew.
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Sheri G
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2010
Verified Purchase
What great read!!! Having been married to a submariner this book adds alot to trying to understand what they go through.
2 people found this helpful
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Blueskies
5.0 out of 5 stars Cruisers for Breakfast USS Darter & Dace
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2012
This book was a page turner. I have read many, many, WWII Sub books and this is one of the best. The author John Mansfield Jr. makes you feel like you are riding along as a crewmember on the Darter on her last attack. If you like action packed nonfiction books this should be on your list. The two skippers of the Darter and Dace are my heros. We need more men of this caliber. I am still amazed how many systems are on subs and how everyone on the boat had to have a working knowledge of all systems. In Cruisers for Breakfast you will read how men saved the boat doing other's jobs because of the skill and knowledge they had to have. John served on the USS Menhaden and his experience with subs is evident. A great read.
3 people found this helpful
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Amaxon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Playing Sentry for Halsey
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2014
The difference between fiction and reality is that everything goes as planned in fiction. A patrol of U.S. submarines was an excellent idea; using their radios, they could cover an area for Japanese shipping, leap-frogging each other by surfacing, doing a high-speed end run, then submerging to strike again. Even when convoys would hug coastlines and dodge into protective harbors, the subs could pick off troopships and tankers in between- thus weakening the 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere'. Early chapters deal with such attacks.
Then, Japanese Naval units begin to move in response to the U.S. invasion of Leyte, Philippines. Three task forces separately approach the tangle of islands from different directions. The subs report and attack one led by Adm. Kurita, made up of five battleships, ten cruisers and fifteen destroyers. Even moving at top speed, the subs are barely fast enough to do end-arounds; shots need to be taken where possible. Using glimpses of distant masts, the two skippers dodge charted shoals and attack. Enduring depth charge attacks, the sonar operators report. They sink two cruisers- one of them Kurita's flagship. Hard on the morale- even before nearing the U.S. fleets, he has to swim to be rescued! However, he sails on to fight the Battle off Samar.
Murphy appears when Darter hits an uncharted shoal and cannot get off. After a tense wait, Dace removes her crew and retreats to Australia. The wreck provides the Japanese valuable secrets- but war is capricious. Dace continued patrols to the end of hostilities.
I like the author's explanations on how torpedoes work, the plotting crew's planning, and how systems in the subs function. To a submariner, these boats took a dangerous assignment and courageously attacked a force that could have speared them like trout. Interviews with ex-crewmen flesh out the tale. Curious readers should sit down to read this account of war at sea.
See also:  The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour , The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf .
3 people found this helpful
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