Full Fathom Five: A Daughter's Search | 
 enlarge | Author: Mary Lee Coe Fowler
Publisher: University Alabama Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $13.42
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Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 281699
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 312
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2
ISBN: 0817316116
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.8742092
EAN: 9780817316112
ASIN: 0817316116
Publication Date: April 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This title presents one woman's quest for knowledge of her father lost at sea.Mary Lee Coe Fowler was a posthumous child, born after her father, a submarine skipper in the Pacific, was lost at sea in 1943. Her mother quickly remarried into a difficult and troubled relationship, and Mary Lee's biological father was never mentioned. It was not until her mother died and Mary Lee was a middle-aged adult that she set out to learn not only who her father was, but what happened to him and his crew, and why - and also to confront why she had shied away from asking these questions until it was nearly too late.Fowler searched through old ships' logs, letters, and naval communiques; visited submarine museums, the Naval Academy, and other pertinent sites; interviewed old friends and crew members who knew her dad and mom or served concurrently; and slowly reconstructed the world in which they lived. Beautifully written, Fowler's memoir reveals what she eventually learned: of the perils and hardships of submarine service in wartime, of the tragic irony of how her father's sub was probably lost, and of the long-term damage experienced by the families of those who do not come home from war.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 a major disappointment November 22, 2008
extremely disappointing especially after reading the 5-star raves (which compelled me to purchase the book). miscatagorized as WW2 submarine history this work rather leans toward metaphysical spirituality (reconciling her Quaker pacificism w/father's military career), genealogy (brother sister uncle aunt cousin 3rd cousin, ad infinitum), personal baby boomer memoir (the 1950's under stepfather's regime), with splashes of self-indulgent romance fiction (far too lengthy imagined recreation on how Father met Mother in pre-war honolulu). the WW2 historical background panorama (filler) placing her father in his wartime context, read like something lifted from a high school history textbook....and made for further pedantic mundane reading. what little redeeming feature (for the serious WW2 US submarine warfare aficinado)seen between the pages, namely the WW2 sub veterans' recollections of Red Coe, life on the S-39, USS SKIPJACK, USS CISCO (and myriads of possiblities as to its demise)....simply weren't enough. other aspects including Skipper Coe's toilet-paper requisition (gag) order (and its ramfications) were beaten to death to the point of tiresome redundancy. the audience appeal of this work would be to her fellow AWON (American WW2 Orphans' Network) membership. for the WW2 US submarine warfare student...a single distilled and compressed chapter is all that should suffice.
I Thought it Was WONDERFUL! August 30, 2008
Mary Fowler has written a book which suceeds admirably on so many levels that it should be read by so many readers! Part biography/history/mystery and research, with heaps of detective spadework and a monumentally enormous catharsis to work through! For someone as unwashed with things sumersible as she, this is a fine work of the "Silent Service"'s contribution to an overwhelming victory against Japan. If I had a minor quibble (I have!), it is her blind faith in Japanese Maritime bookeeping in time of war and as the loser at that. The JANAC's balancing of books is wide open to question, a job Clay Blair should have taken on some thirty years ago, at least it has been addressed by John D. Alden at long last. Minor gripe, this book is so fantastic and should be read by ANYONE that has ever had a family! Though my father came through World War II without a scratch, Ms. Fowler has helped me with why he NEVER talked about his experiences much. In closing, BUY this book! Don't get it at the library (I LOVE libraries), Buy it! Mary Lee Coe Fowler deserves every penny this fine, fine book earns!
Beautifully Written and Exceptionally Well-Researched July 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Whether your reading interest lies primarily with memoir, history, or investigative journalism, Full Fathom Five: A Daughter's Search by Mary Lee Coe Fowler will satisfy. Fowler's research is masterful, her writing consistently clear and direct, as she navigates the reader through complex details about submarine operations. The author's personal journey toward understanding her father's choices and his sense of duty is deeply moving, never descending to the sentimental. When, following her interviews with some of her father's old friends and shipmates, Fowler suspects their memories of "Red" Coe may be somewhat glorified, she is scrupulous in balancing these reports with more objective sources. This book is an outstanding addition to the vast library of World War II literature, certainly because of the merits described above, but also because Fowler has provided the world with an intimate window on the men who served in the branch of service most ignored by other writers.
gifted storyteller June 30, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
After all this time and so much that has been written and filmed about WWII, how could there be more to tell? But, Mary Lee has done it. In a very well-crafted way, she has brought together disparate elements of this WWII story and turned it into a captivating, can't-put-it-down read. This personal journey to find the father and the family she never knew reads like a novel, a romance, and a mystery.
This is a real story but more than a personal narrative or memoir, it is a story on many levels; war and remembrance, the life of a naval submarine officer, and a daughter's journey to find the truth about what happened to the father she never knew because he died before she was born. To pull this all together and reach the end of her journey, Mary Lee used every available source to gather information. A painstaking task of dedication and fortitude.
Like many other war orphans her mother never spoke of him so Mary Lee didn't ask her questions about him. The questions would haunt her into middle age when she was finally ready to confront them. For herself, and a place to start, she needed to know about her parents before he died; about their youth, how they met, their early life together. Weaving the personal with the history and development of the submarine service, naval strategy, and with the cooperation of the former enemy, the Japanese, who provided vital clues and records, Mary Lee found out what happened to her father. Putting together the book revealed the man, the father, the hero.
The author's candor and insight about her discoveries give the reader insight into what it is like to lose someone you love in war. A devastating, life-changing loss that families have been facing every day for the last five years
A UNIQUE and WONDERFUL BOOK! June 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although this is about a submariner Commander father, who was lost several months before his daughter's birth, the author's arresting account of bringing her father's character, devotion to duty, and his love of family back to real life, could apply to many "orphans," children of World War II who have experienced similar emotional detachments and eventual reconnections through persistent, arduous researches.
The writing is First-Class, and should endure among the great biographical accounts of lost service personnel during "the Greatest War".
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