About the Author

Richard Humphreys has been a bookseller for over 20 years. In 2017, he sat on the judging panel of the prestigious Costa Awards for Best Biography.

From 1985 to 1990, Richard served in the Royal Navy and spent his career on the Polaris submarines, which carried nuclear ballistic missiles. Under Pressure is his first book. He lives with his family in London.

Reviews

‘Under Pressure is an extraordinary memoir of life aboard an underwater weapon of mass destruction. By turns hilarious and terrifying, profane and poignant, there were passages where I gasped aloud, and others where I laughed until the tears came. A deep dive into a life vanishingly few of us will ever know, this is one of the finest memoirs published in recent years.’ Dan Jones, bestselling author of The Templars ‘If you wanna read something great, this is it. The murky world of life on a Royal Navy submarine. What really happens. The trials, tribulations, tears and laughter of living under pressure.’ Jason Fox, bestselling author of Battle Scars ‘An utterly fascinating and wonderfully detailed insight into the hidden – and frequently disorientating and claustrophobic – world of the modern submariner, this richly compelling and hugely entertaining memoir brilliantly conveys the tension, huge responsibility, culture and, of course, humour, of being a crewman on the nuclear deterrent.’ James Holland, author of Normandy `44:D-Day and the Battle for France ‘A vivid, honest and very funny account of life as a submariner at the height of the Cold War.’ James Jinks, co-author of The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945 ‘A visceral trip down under. Absorbing.’ Spectator ‘Fascinating and eye-opening’ The Daily Mail