There are two kinds of enemies in this world; those who attack you from the front and those you don’t see. Submarines fall in the latter category and after reading Alex Frith’s Submarines, you will be able to understand why these silent killers that lurk underwater are so important to countries at war.

This book covers everything between a submarine’s front —known as bow — to its rear where the propeller is situated, and presents it in an informative manner. With the help of archival images, diagrams and action pictures, you get to know that there are three different kinds of submarines, how deep they can go underwater and the mechanism behind the vessel that has won wars for their countries.

You might know that submarines have been around for over a century now, but this book tells you that the first one ever built was in action even before the First World War. How those early submarines were developed into something more spacious, more effective and more useful is discussed here, with the help of historical references, and makes you wonder how different the world would have been without submarines.

Don’t worry if you didn’t know how a submarine worked, how does the crew decide which ship to attack or how to escape in case anything goes wrong? Thanks to the enormous fold-out pages in this book, you will get to know about everything that happens in the ‘compact’ vessel as well as the schedule of the crew that keeps them organised.

This book also tells young readers like you that due to advancements in technology, we now live in a world where submarines can now carry more people comparatively, remain submerged for many days, and cater to the crew’s requirement so that their attention doesn’t wander off. Not only will you be able to get to see the inside of a nuclear submarine, but also get to meet the largest, as well as the smallest submarine ever assembled.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 26th, 2021