 Word On Books
with Jeremy Fenton
A Time to Die:
The Kursk Disaster
By Robert Moore
Published by Doubleday
 On August 12, 2000, Russia's nuclear-powered attack submarine, the Kursk, sank from initially unknown causes in the shallow Barents Sea. At the time it was thought that all of the 118 submariners aboard could still be alive, especially as the sub had sunk in waters only 100 metres deep (the sub itself was a massive 150-odd metres long).
This wasn't just the latest submarine to sink either (there's been a long line of such tragedies involving Russia, the United States and Britain), this was the Russian Federation's newest and biggest submarine - the 'pride of the Northern Fleet" - commissioned in 1995 and sophisticated enough to give the USA a run for its money.
What was also different was the political climate. Although the Kursk was involved in post-Cold War games at the time of its destruction - closely watched by the intelligence gathering forces of the United States and allies - there was a chance that Russia would accept help from foreign powers.
In fact if any of the crew were to survive at all, it was imperative that Russia accept this help immediately. In the economic struggles that plague post-communist Russia, the military have taken a mighty battering. The Fleet's rescue division had been allocated the pittance of a $14,000 yearly budget (just enough to buy a car, not to maintain multi-million dollar equipment), and in reality the Russian's had no hope of rescuing anybody without serious assistance.
But initial duplicity, lack of decent equipment, and a reluctance to involve other nations immediately, pretty much ensured that all 118 crew members of the Kursk never saw the surface again alive. (And yes, some of the crew were still alive to be rescued well after the sub had sank!)
A Time to Die, by Robert Moore, takes its name from a poem written by one of the Kursk's crew shortly before their last mission. Based on two years research (including spending considerable time with the crew's family) and a large supply of off-the-record information, Moore's book presents a wealth of facts (including exactly why the sub sank - nothing to do with collisions with other subs or ships as was initially rumoured by the media at the time) and fascinating background information (such as that a Russian submarine captain actually gets paid less than a tram-driver does in Moscow).
Unfortunately the problems of Moore's writing style and structure are evident throughout. First is the issue of subject matter: Is this a story of a rescue, international politics, or modern warfare? All of the above I would have thought deserve detailed attention. But the book doesn't really do justice to any, let alone one, focus.
The book's structure actually serves to dispel any sense of mystery or discovery (for instance, causes of the tragedy are given away at the start of the book) and interesting background information is hardly ever properly explored and related back to the Kursk's fate.
And his quotes and information are unattributed - which makes for frustrating reading. He casually drops military secrets with the drop of a hat, but are they factual?
Ultimately, A Time to Die is not the most satisfying examination of a worthy, and one would have thought emotive, subject - but the affair is of sufficient interest to make it meaningful reading none-the-less.
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