This morning Eric Berger posted a clip from The Hunt for Red October as a meme, and that made me think about the movie.
I watched Red October this evening, for the first time since around the time it came out in 1990, and was surprised by a detail in one of the scenes. I recognized one of the books: Dutton’s Navigation and Piloting.
I have a copy of that book, the 14th edition. The spine looks exactly the same. The first printing was in 1985, and I have have the second printing from 1989. So it is probably the same edition and maybe even the same printing as in the movie. I bought the book last year because it was recommended for something I was working on. Apparently it’s quite a classic since someone thought that adding a copy in the background would help make a realistic set for a submarine.
My copy has a gold sticker inside, indicating that the book came from Fred L. Woods Nautical Supplies, though I bought my copy used from Alibris.
Here’s a clip from the movie featuring Dutton’s.
Dutton’s has a long history. From the preface:
Since the first edition of Navigation and Nautical Astronomy (as it was then titled) was written by Commander Benjamin Dutton, U. S. Navy, and published in 1926, this book has been updated and revised. The title was changed after his death to more accurately reflect its focus …
The 14th edition contains a mixture of classical and electronic navigation, navigating by stars and by satellites. It does not mention GPS; that is included in the latest edition, the 15th edition published in 2003.
Hunt For the Red October is a rare movie, because I personally find it a good movie even having read the book. I can only name a handful of movies for which that is the case.
It looks as though there might be a copy of Cole’s ‘Heavy Weather Sailing’ on the shelf, as well.
The audience for that would small sailboats, so its presence on the Dallas is odd.
Perhaps a joke , like Spock’s E6B in Star Trek TOS?