preview

Essay Descent Into Darkness Book Review

Good Essays

Descent into Darkness: A Navy Diver’s Memoir
Descent into Darkness by Edward C. Raymer is an exceptional piece of work that accounts the history and aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. Raymer’s purpose when writing Descent into Darkness was to mainly depict the story of what naval divers did during the recovery process after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the hazards endured and the sometimes nearly impossible hardships they overcame, and the innovative diving techniques implemented used to salvage as many damaged battleships and naval capabilities back to fleet. The primary content also includes tense descriptions of diving after horrific circumstances, the human factors that are seldom known, and the …show more content…

Raymer articulates the scenarios in a sense that any person who had never served in the military would be able to empathize and conceptualize the obstacles presented to the divers. From the immediate hours following the Japanese assault to the days and months later in where an attack could come from any moment.
Raymer was able to elucidate in explicit detail what the divers endured during the post-Pearl Harbor recovery operations, and successfully accomplished his goals of providing vivid insight. Raymer’s account of working underwater, operating in pitch black environments, and maintaining communication in a time of developing technology were done so in an entertaining yet educational manner. His goals were to captivate and capture the readers attention by sharing the experiences of true historical accounts, a goal which is easily accomplished by most casual and scholarly readers. The book was written in a fashion where it was sophisticated yet easy to comprehend and understand by most individuals. While articulate, Raymer aimed at providing a factual cut and dry depiction of what happened, essentially point blank memoirs that would have the most profound impact (evident considering the book is less than 220 pages including pictures). The framework used by Raymer was that mainly that of a narrative view. Historical context was included but Descent into Darkness is primarily his

Get Access