Robert Moore: Kursk: Putin's First Crisis and the Russian Navy's Darkest Hour

‘[Moore] has made good use of his experience as a journalist and his contacts to write a gripping account that reads in parts like a well-researched thriller’

‘Robert Moore’s account of the Kursk is a gripping tale… a moving tragedy redeemed by acts of extraordinary courage, which Moore narrates with great dramatic skill. The book has the plot, the tension and the excitement of a film’

‘Moore [tells] a compelling story, making vivid the experiences of the submariners, their families and the many men – Russian, Norwegian, and British, military and civilian – who strove to save them. His description… is clear and excruciating; the possibility of life inside the hull is palpable in these pages’

‘This is an emotion-packed and ultimately heartbreaking story that also sheds light on the Soviet military’s decline… The tragedy was a telling example of how the Soviet legacy still lingers… Moore provides a vivid account of the last desperate attempts to open the hatch… (his) narration is fast-paced’

‘ A Time to Die is remarkable for its subject matter and style. This true account of the peacetime, accidental loss of a submarine and her crew is written in the tight, lean style that exemplifies excellent journalism… This tale is expertly narrated and the story’s excitement and drama persist through straightforward and unadorned language’

‘This is a classic race-against-time story, mixed with underwater espionage, individual heroism, harrowing attempts at rescue and Soviet-style secrecy. Robert Moore is a journalist with years of experience in Russia and it shows… meticulously investigated’

‘A harrowing account of the disaster – the result is a gripping read, written in the style of a thriller, which serves as a fitting memorial to the lost sailors and as an indictment of Russia’s military and political leaders… The book crackles with the authority of two years’ solid research’

‘Maybe the most amazing feat involving the Kursk is that Moore has been able to put the whole story together… clinical in its detachment and poignant in its humanity’

‘With this gripping account of the Kursk ’s death… Moore’s incisive journalistic approach will remain the best English-language account of this event for some time’

‘A fast-paced and absorbing account of the 2000 sinking of the Kursk and the political intrigue that followed… a fine job of reporting and a good read for Tom Clancy fans and students of contemporary world politics alike’

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First published in Great Britain in 2002 as A Time to Die by Doubleday

an imprint of Transworld Publishers

Bantam edition published 2003

Bantam edition reissued as Kursk 2018

Copyright © Robert Moore 2002, 2003, 2018

The Kursk in the Barents Sea, 1999. Associated Press

Robert Moore has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473558373

ISBN 9780857504135

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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