Submersed: Wonder, Obsession, and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines
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Submersed: Wonder, Obsession, and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines

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  • AuthorMatthew Gavin Frank
  • PublisherVintage
  • Pages320
  • ISBN9780593686034

About this book

A fascinating foray into the world of deep-sea divers, the obsession and madness that oceans inspire in us, and the story of submarine inventor Peter Madsen's murder of journalist Kim Wall

Submersed begins with an investigation into the beguiling subculture of DIY submersible obsessives: men and women—but mostly men—who are so compelled to sink into the deep sea that they become amateur backyard submarine-builders. Should they succeed in fashioning a craft in their garage or driveway and set sail, they do so at great personal risk—as the 2023 fatal implosion of OceanGate’s much more highly funded sub, Titan, proved to the world.

Matthew Gavin Frank explores the origins of the human compulsion to sink to depth, from the diving bells of Aristotle and Alexander the Great to the Confederate H. L. Hunley, which became the first submersible to sink an enemy warship before itself being sunk during the Civil War. The deeper he plunges, however, the more the obsession seems to dovetail with more threatening traits. Following the grisly murder of journalist Kim Wall at the hands of eccentric entrepreneur Peter Madsen aboard his DIY midget submarine, Frank finds himself reckoning with obsession's darkest extremes.

Weaving together elements of true crime, the strange history of the submarine, the mythology of the deep sea, and the physical and mental side effects of sinking to great depth, Frank attempts to get to the bottom of this niche compulsion to chase the extreme in our planet’s bodies of water and in our own bodies. What he comes to discover, and interrogate, are the odd and unexpected overlaps between the unquenchable human desire to descend into deep water, and a penchant for unspeakable violence.

Author: Matthew Gavin Frank
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 2026-10-20
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780593686034

Praise for this book

[Frank’s] years of research and reporting are distilled into engaging anecdotes that have the flow of lyrical prose.
Anna Ridilla, Gasparilla Magazine
A fascinating mash of crime narrative, psychological profiling and a peek inside the same misogynistic, all-consuming inventor culture that led to the Titan submersible implosion.
Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune
Deft. . . . Captivating. . . . Page-turning. . . . Frank has an eye for the unique. . . . He works hard for his readers . . . immersing them in awe-inspiring levels of context and detail.
Dave Shiflett, The Wall Street Journal
A sharp researcher and stylish writer who’s ‘obsessed with obsessives,’ Frank sets aside his lifelong fear of the ocean in this excellent book to plumb the peculiar depths of the DIY sub community. . . . Frank is witty and incisive . . . and he draws wonderful connections throughout. . . . A fascinating voyage among the hidden tides shaping a social niche.
Kirkus Reviews
If the title alone doesn’t have you jamming the preorder button, the titillating story of what drives people to sink to the depths in amateur submarines will.
Lizz Schumer, People,
A well-documented look at the submarine community that combines true crime with science writing and history. It’s a good pick for fans of Erik Larsen, as Frank also intersperses the events of a crime within a subject’s larger context, all in engaging and haunting writing.
Maria Ashton-Stebbings, Library Journal

Quoted in excerpt, with attribution. Follow a source link for the full review.