"All hands. This is the Captain speaking. Our destination for this trip is Portland, England, via the North Pole . . . " From the dark waters of Puget Sound, Nautilus headed north toward the achievement of two historic goals - piercing the Pole and the completion of the first transpolar voyage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Intricate preparations carried out under strictest secrecy behind them, the crew learned for the first time that the previously announced trip to Panama was a snare and a delusion. The response was superb. Cracked Robert E. Simonini: "I knew there was some reason I saved those two British pounds." Skipper of the Nautilus, Commander Anderson re-creates vividly life aboard the submarine, the suspense of Top Secret orders, the human and humorous incidents that passed the time of the crew, and the unparalleled adventure of the first probe when Nautilus came within 180 miles of the North Pole and fulfilled the Jules Verne dream in steaming its 20,000th league under the sea. He shares with the reader the excitement and tension of preparations, mishaps and repairs, omens good and bad, that filled the days before the dramatic announcement of destination NORTH POLE was made. Commander Anderson relates, with the immediacy of his on-the-scene participation in each moment, the narrow escapes, the special problems of navigation that had to be overcome, how special instruments were installed in secrecy, the "cover plan" that kept the whole Navy mum, and finally the incredible adventure itself. At 11:15 P.M. on Sunday, August 3, 1958, the first crossing under the North Pole was successfully completed, and Commander Anderson informed the world with the history-making code message "Nautilus 90 North." It all adds up to a rousing true story in which danger, excitement, and suspense will leave readers gasping. And more than that, readers will know that they have, in the pages of this book, lived through history in the making. - from Amzon