Alexander Pokrovsky, born in 1952, began writing to relieve the boredom of night watches in the navy. To date he has published four widely acclaimed books: Fire Away!, The Hippo, Fire Away! 2, and Seventy-Two Meters. His satirical stories about the trials and trivialities of life on a nuclear submarine are both funny and frightening. Based on the author's fifteen years of experience as an officer in the navy, they paint a detailed picture of life in these underwater vehicles that sometimes turn into common graves.