Book picks similar to
The Last Eagle by Michael Wenberg


fiction
a-history-bio-memoir
action
period

The Girl in Green


Derek B. Miller - 2017
    Near Checkpoint Zulu, one hundred miles from the Kuwaiti border, Thomas Benton meets Arwood Hobbes. Benton is a British journalist who reports from war zones in part to avoid his lackluster marriage and a daughter he loves but cannot connect with; Arwood is a mid-western American private who might be an insufferable ignoramus, or might be a genuine lunatic with a death wish--it's hard to tell. Desert Storm is over, peace has been declared, but as they argue about whether it makes sense to cross the nearest border in search of an ice cream, they become embroiled in a horrific attack in which a young local girl in a green dress is killed as they are trying to protect her. The two men walk away into their respective lives. But something has cracked for them both. Twenty-two years later, in another place, in another war, they meet again and are offered an unlikely opportunity to redeem themselves when that same girl in green is found alive and in need of salvation. Or is she?

Vultures in the Wind


Peter Rimmer - 2014
    Their idyllic, brief childhood together is short lived ending in hardship and heartbreak. Finding themselves alone in the world, both boys struggle to self-educate. Against the odds, Matthew Gray builds a global business empire and Luke Mbeki travels to England, in self-imposed exile, entangling himself in the anti-apartheid movement. With their paths crossing intermittently, it is only when Nelson Mandela is released from prison that Luke returns home continuing his fight for freedom alongside his comrades. Matt’s all-consuming business life continues but betrayal strikes. Leaving everything behind, he escapes to another world – an artist colony.This incredibly powerful and moving story tells how each man struggles to survive in a country deep in the throes of violent change, with friendship and families being torn apart. Matt and Luke's friendship is unimaginably tested so how does it survive in such terrifying and perilous times?

Star Sand


Roger Pulvers - 2016
    Alongside it are the remains of three people.The journal reveals the story of Hiromi, a sixteen-year-old girl who’d grown up in the United States before living in Japan in the midst of World War II. One day, while collecting star sand—tiny star-shaped fossils—Hiromi finds two army deserters hiding in the seaside cavern—one American, one Japanese. The soldiers don’t speak the same language, but they’ve reached an agreement based on a shared hope: to cause no more harm and survive. Hiromi resolves to care for the men—feeding them and nursing their ailments—despite the risk that, if caught, she’ll die alongside them as a traitor. But when a fourth person joins in on their secret, they must face a threat from within. The diary abruptly ends, leaving everyone’s fate a mystery.Decades later, in 2011, a young female university student decides to finally determine who died in that cave and who lived. Her search will lead her to the lone survivor—and bring closure to a gripping tale of heroism at a time when committing to peace was the most dangerous act of all.

Crimson Tide


Richard P. Henrick - 1995
    The plot mixes The Hunt for Red October and Fail Safe to tell the story of a mutiny aboard the U.S.S. Alabama, a nuclear submarine, which has been ordered to fire its missiles and destroy Moscow. Includes drawings of the U.S.S. Alabama.

When Eagles Burn


Jack Hayes - 2015
    Germany is being pushed back across Europe but the war is not yet won. A fanatical group within the Nazi hierarchy is determined to do whatever is necessary to tip the balance in the Fatherland's favour. Their plan? Pinpoint guided V2 rockets. From across the seas, the Nazis will be able to hit a specific location with a large enough warhead to guarantee precision assassinations. Their first target: Winston Churchill. Captain Maddox is a veteran of Britain's Special Operations Executive. He is sent behind enemy lines to Finland thwart this new menace. But finding and stopping the Germans is just the first problem among many. Will the local Finns, battling Soviet Russia, great him as friend or foe? And what of the Red Army, who want the technology for themselves? Worse still, Maddox quickly realises not everyone on his team wants him to make it through the war alive. "When Eagles Burn" is the electrifying first book in the Maddox series. A fast-paced thriller in the style of Alistair McLean, Jack Higgins and Clive Cussler. "Another masterful thriller from Jack Hayes. A precision guided bomb explodes in London, throwing the British high command into disarray. But the threat comes not from Nazi Germany but from the trackless wastes and endless winter night of occupied Finland. A team of hand-picked soldiers is parachuted into the area with the most specific instructions and one simple objective. But facing the armed might of both the Nazis and the Red Army isn't their only problem – they have a traitor in their ranks, a man with his own very different agenda. A gripping tale of heroism and treachery." -- James Becker, author of "The Lost Testament" "A cracking read!" -- Roger Hurn, author of "Business is Murder" "A thriller in a class of its own!" -- Matt Lynn, author of the "Black Ops" series.

Spinning Jenny


Sylvia Ann McLain - 2016
    That was my mammy's name, anyway. Jenny. You be Jenny from now on..." Cornelius Carson's mother cautioned him never to own slaves, but in 1830s Louisiana, land and slaves are proof of a man's worth. At 23 Cornelius is ambitious, and in love. He owns one elderly slave, Malachi, and a small cotton farm along Bayou Cocodrie. And he plans to marry Stephanie Coqterre, daughter of a wealthy Natchez planter. He needs another field-hand, but prices are high. So when a trader brings a coffle of smuggled slaves to Natchez, Cornelius buys a 10-year-old girl. She is mute and nameless, but she's all he can afford. He names her Jenny. It quickly becomes apparent that Jenny will change life on the Cocodrie as much as it changes her. The winds of ambition are blowing everywhere, both among the whites, who strive for wealth and status, and among the slaves, who yearn for freedom. But dangers are everywhere, too. As madness and treachery reach from Natchez to the Cocodrie to blast all their dreams, Cornelius struggles to find a way to salvage his life and the lives of Jenny and Malachi as well.

Where Eagles Dare


Alistair MacLean - 1967
    A team of British Special Forces commandos parachutes into the high peaks of the Austrian Alps with the mission of stealing into an invulnerable alpine castle—accessible only by aerial gondola—the headquarters of Nazi intelligence. Supposedly sent in to rescue one of their own, their real mission turns out to be a lot more complicated—and the tension climbs as team members start to die off, one by one. Written by Alistair Maclean, author of the Guns of Navarone, this is the novel that set the pace for the modern action thriller (the film version, with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, also helped), and it still packs twice the punch of most contemporary best-selling thrillers. What's more, the cast of spooks, turncoats, and commandos who drive this story are more relevant than ever in our new era of special forces, black ops, and unpredictable alliances.

The Eight-Shilling Girl


Faye Godwin - 2021
    

Battle Cry


Leon Uris - 1953
    They are a rough–and–ready tangle of guys from America's cities and farms and reservations. Led by a tough veteran sergeant, these soldiers band together to emerge as part of one of the most elite fighting forces in the world. With staggering realism and detail, we follow them into intense battles – Guadalcanal and Tarawa – and through exceptional moments of camaraderie and bravery. Battle Cry does not extol the glories of war, but proves itself to be one of the greatest war stories of all time.

Emperor Series Collection: The Gods of War, The Field of Swords, The Death of Kings, The Gates of Rome


Conn Iggulden - 2011