A Time to Die, is a non-fiction account of the Kursk Tragedy, written by Robert Moore. In August 2000, the Russian submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea. The sub rested at a depth of only 350 feet, and rescue of most of the crew would have been possible except for Russian political actions. The title of the book came from a poem written by Dmitri Kolesnikov to his wife.
"When there is A Time to Die
Although I try not to think about this,
I would like time to say:
My darling I Love You." ( )

Excellent, what else can I say? Heartbreaking, definitely. The author wrote a spell-binding book about a sad story that otherwise would have been just another sad tale. Highly recommend for anyone into human interest stories - don't need to have an interest in war or military to enjoy. But be ready to feel queasy about the suffering depicted - it's sad. ( )

The sad story of the Russian submarine The Kursk and the futile effort to save the men who managed to survive the initial explosion. How politics and Cold War intrigue failed the men and a nation. ( )

Well-written and exhaustively researched study of the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk. ( )

A Time to Die was published in 2003, not long after the Kursk accident in August 2000. I vaguely remembered it and wanted to reread the events with the perspective of time. Most disaster books follow a certain script, either with the disaster happening half-way through after pages of background, or in a braided narrative technique with alternating chapters of background and disaster to hold interest. A Time to Die surprises because the accident happens very early, in the second chapter, and unfolds chronologically from there. The tension becomes if they will save the trapped crew in time, meaning 90% of the book is thrilling. Excellent.

However it's more than a thriller, it's insight into the death of an empire. Russia at this point was in the depths of its decay after the fall of the USSR. The Kursk disaster and their need to ask for outside help from the West was emblematic of how far they had fallen. It was like national suicide made flesh and steel. Putin had been in office for only a few months and it was the first test of his Presidency, another emblematic moment.

Overall an excellent book. The moment in Russian history has past, but it still rewards. ( )