Genre 4 Nonfiction: SECRETS OF A CIVIL WAR SUBMARINE: SOLVING THE MYSTERIES OF THE H.L. HUNLEY

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Walker, Sally M.. 2005. SECRETS OF A CIVIL WAR SUBMARINE: SOLVING THE MYSTERIES OF THE H.L. HUNLEY. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, Inc. ISBN: 139781575058306

PLOT SUMMARY
This is the true story of a submarine called the H. L. Hunley. The book sets out to describe and solve the mysteries surrounding this submarine. It explains the history of the boat and what was happening in the U.S. Civil War when the boat was built.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The design and layout of this book is very attractive. The end of the book has some very good information. It has an Author’s Note page, a Source Notes page, a list of Websites, and a Glossary. It has informational text and interesting drawings, pictures and photographs. It tells the story of a Civil War submarine that disappears during the war. The book starts out emphasizing the mystery of the submarines disappearance. The prologue gives a brief account of the ships disappearance, and the mystery surrounding it. The book then goes into a little bit of Civil War history. The next part is about the people who invent the submarine. The book shows drawings of the inside and outside of the Hunley. This part of the book was very interesting and intriguing. The text was well written, factual and yet still written like a story. The next several chapters started to get boring. The book goes on to tell the story that after many years they actually find the Hunley. The book then goes into great detail about everything that has to do with bringing up the Hunley and discovering her secrets. This part of the book is like eating sand. It becomes very dry reading. The pictures are still good but I have lost interest, and I read the book all the way to the end only to discover that they do not solve the mystery. They answered some questions, but did not solve the mystery. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I would have liked a better ending. The cover says “Solving the Mysteries of the H. L. Hunley”, and I was expecting a solution at the conclusion of the book. Some readers would definitely enjoy this book for the good content and interesting pictures. A person who is interested in these things would probably think this was an excellent book on this topic. As someone who is not really interested in this topic it did not have enough pizzazz to pull me in and keep me interested.

READING EXCERPTS
From School Library JournalStarred Review. “Grade 6-10–Walker brings a little-known story of the Civil War to life in this fascinating book. When the Union blockade of all ports in the South stopped supplies from reaching the Confederate Army, Horace L. Hunley decided to create a submarine that would be able to sneak up on enemy ships and blow them up. After many years of trial and error, the H. L. Hunley actually succeeded in sinking the USS Housatonic in February of 1864. But the submarine never returned to port, and her crew perished in the Charleston Harbor. This is a finely crafted account of the Hunley from its inception to the modern archaeological quest to exhume her from the water. It is divided into chronological chapters complete with pictures, maps, and primary sources. Half of the book discusses the construction and design of the submarine, in addition to its practice runs and its first and only mission.”

From Booklist"*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. The author of Fossil Fish Found Alive (2002) now discusses a different sort of discovery, the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley. After sinking a Union sloop near Charleston, South Carolina, in 1864, the hunley did not return to port. Although divers searched for more than 130 years, the sub was not found until 1995. Over the last 10 years, archaeologists have carefully raised the hunley and painstakingly sifted through the 20,000 pounds of sediment it contained for artifacts and human remains and, ultimately, clues to why, when, and how the vessel sank. Walker begins with the history of the Hunley's design and construction as well as its place in Civil War and naval history. She really hits her stride, though, in explaining the complex techniques and loving care used in raising the craft, recovering its contents, and even reconstructing models of the crewmembers' bodies."


CONNECTIONS
Do more research into the H. L. Hunley by using the websites listed in the book.
Display books about submarines