Book picks similar to
The Bedford Incident by Mark Rascovich


fiction
historical-fiction
thriller
cold-war

The Lost Page: An Archaeological Thriller


Joe Edd Morris - 2021
    Paralleling their quest is the story of the evangelist’s escape with the scroll from the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., his struggles to complete the manuscript and his journeys and efforts with the daughter of Peter the Apostle to protect and save it for the ages. For both couples, time is running out and enemies are closing in.Richly evocative and fiercely moving, this literary thriller explores the hard questions: Did Mark intentionally omit the resurrection story, leaving it shrouded in mystery? Or did it become detached and lost forever?Discover the answer in The Lost Page.

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea


Sebastian Junger - 1997
    It was "the perfect storm"--a tempest that may happen only once in a century--a nor'easter created by so rare a combination of factors that it could not possibly have been worse. Creating waves ten stories high and winds of 120 miles an hour, the storm whipped the sea to inconceivable levels few people on Earth have ever witnessed. Few, except the six-man crew of the Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing boat tragically headed towards its hellish center.

A Sailor of Austria: In Which, Without Really Intending to, Otto Prohaska Becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire


John Biggins - 1991
    In some trepidation at first, because he has no experience whatever of submarines, his fears are soon set at rest when he discovers that nobody else has either: least of all his superiors. Aboard primitive, ill-equipped vessels, he contends with exploding lavatories. ,transport of Libyan racing camels.a crew drawn from a dozen different nationalities-and a decaying imperial bureaucracy,more of an enemy than the British, the French, the Italians and sea. After surmounting all this, he becomes - accidentally - Austria Hungary's leading U-boat commander and a holder of its highest military decoration. But by 1918, they have no vessel. no country, no coast.

Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign


Stephan Talty - 2007
    Empire of Blue Water is the real story of the pirates of the Caribbean.Henry Morgan, a twenty-year-old Welshman, crossed the Atlantic in 1655, hell-bent on making his fortune. Over the next three decades, his exploits in the Caribbean in the service of the English became legendary. His daring attacks on the mighty Spanish Empire on land and at sea determined the fates of kings and queens, and his victories helped shape the destiny of the New World.Morgan gathered disaffected European sailors and soldiers, hard-bitten adventurers, runaway slaves, and vicious cutthroats, and turned them into the most feared army in the Western Hemisphere. Sailing out from the English stronghold of Port Royal, Jamaica, “the wickedest city in the New World,” Morgan and his men terrorized Spanish merchant ships and devastated the cities where great riches in silver, gold, and gems lay waiting. His last raid, a daring assault on the fabled city of Panama, helped break Spain’s hold on the Americas forever. Awash with bloody battles, political intrigues, natural disaster, and a cast of characters more compelling, bizarre, and memorable than any found in a Hollywood swashbuckler—including the notorious pirate L’Ollonais, the soul-tortured King Philip IV of Spain, and Thomas Modyford, the crafty English governor of Jamaica—Empire of Blue Water brilliantly re-creates the passions and the violence of the age of exploration and empire.

Storm and Conquest: The Clash of Empires in the Eastern Seas, 1809


Stephen Taylor - 2007
    At stake was Britain’s commercial lifeline to India—and its strategic capacity to wage war in Europe.In one fatal season, the natural order of maritime power since Trafalgar was destroyed. In bringing home Bengali saltpeter for the Peninsular campaign with military and civilian passengers, Britain lost fourteen of her great Indiamen, either sunk or taken by enemy frigates. Many hundreds of lives were lost, and the East India Company was shaken to its foundations. The focus of these disasters, military and meteorological, was a tiny French outpost in mid-ocean—the island known as Mauritius.This is the story of that season. It brings together the terrifying ordeal of men, women, and children caught at sea in hurricanes, and those who survived to take up the battle to drive the French from the Eastern seas. Mauritius must be taken at any cost.

The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty


Caroline Alexander - 2003
    More than two centuries have passed since Fletcher Christian mutinied against Lt. Bligh on a small armed transport vessel called Bounty. Why the details of this obscure adventure at the end of the world remain vivid and enthralling is as intriguing as the truth behind the legend. Caroline Alexander focusses on the court martial of the ten mutineers captured in Tahiti and brought to justice in Portsmouth. Each figure emerges as a richly drawn character caught up in a drama that may well end on the gallows. With enormous scholarship and exquisitely drawn characters, The Bounty is a tour de force.

Midshipman Bolitho


Alexander Kent - 1975
    The book follows young Bolitho's adventures as he intercepts and destroys a band of vicious pirates and then is swept away on a dangerous mission through the treacherous stamping ground of smugglers, wreckers, and murderers.

Nimitz Class


Patrick Robinson - 1997
    Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier is seen as impregnable. But when the USS Thomas Jefferson suddenly disappears at sea, the Pentagon is stunned. There are no survivors, and all signs point to a tragic nuclear accident.While the world stands in shock, reports suggest that it was no accident. A rogue submarine armed with nuclear warheads may be on the loose. Where did it come from? How could it get within striking distance of the Thomas Jefferson? Worse yet, where is it now and could it strike again? The tension mounts, and a deadly chase begins.

In the Line of Fire


Philip McCutchan - 1980
    The North Atlantic. Convoys of supply ships are making their way from America to England, protected by a rapidly assembled fleet of modernised war ships. The Carmerthen, one of the destroyers, is home to seaman Donald Cameron, a nineteen-year old Commission and Warrant candidate at the bottom of the barrel for the taunting sailors. The outmoded warship tests his resolve as he is faced with the tense task of keeping watch for enemy attacks. But in the hubbub of lower deck life it is easy to forget they are sailing in dangerous waters… The ship has been at sea for barely a few weeks when it is severely damaged in a surprise daylight attack. The biting cold, exhaustion and knowledge that the attackers will be back combine to put the men on board in a blood thirsty mood… Despite constant bombardment from prowling Focke-Wulfs and U-boats, the last handful of men manage to remain afloat, restlessly watching and waiting… As they struggle against the freezing conditions, Cameron picks out an U-boat periscope sliding fast towards the waterlogged destroyer. And it is homing in on what appears to be a certain victory… 'In The Line of Fire' is s tense, action-packed thriller that combines authenticity with brilliant story-telling. 'A gripping page-turner.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'Trade-Off.' Philip McCutchan grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime's interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest of his, resulting in several fiction books about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years. He served throughout WW II in a variety of ships, including the cruiser Vindictive, the ocean boarding vessel Largs, and the escort carrier Ravager, ending the war as a lieutenant, RNVR. He is also the author of ‘Drums Along the Khyber’. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

The East Indiaman


Ellis K. Meacham - 1968
    From the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, from Calcutta to Canton, the Company ships were famous for their speed and daring. The "Bombay Buccaneers" who sailed them were the stuff of legend.For Percival Merewether, 1806 would be a year to remember. For in January of that year he was promoted from First Lieutenant to become the junior Captain in the Company’s Service and given the command of his first ship - the "Rapid."Armed with ten 9-pounders, the "Rapid" was a match for any pirate ship that crossed its bows, and in it Captain Merewether was to spend as action-packed and eventful a first year as any ambitious young sea-farer could have wished.Merewether had quick wits and daring to match his ambition. And with mutinies, diplomatic intrigues and skirmishes with the French to occupy him, he soon found that he needed both qualities as never before...About the Author: Ellis K. Meacham (1913-1998) was a Commander in the US Naval Reserve serving as a gunnery officer in the Pacific during the Second World War. He was an attorney in Chattanooga from 1937 to 1972, when he became a judge in the Chattanooga Municipal Court. He won the "Friends of American Writers Major Award in Fiction" in 1969 for THE EAST INDIAMAN.

Wake of the Wahoo: The Heroic Story of America's Most Daring WWII Submarine, USS Wahoo


Forest J. Sterling - 1960
    Sterling. USS Wahoo (SS-238) was the most successful American submarine in the World War II Pacific Fleet. She was the first to penetrate an enemy harbor and sink a Japanese ship. And was the first to wipe-out an entire convoy single-handedly. In her 11 short months of life, Wahoo managed an incredible 21 kills, totaling over 60,000 tons of ships. Then, just 45 minutes before leaving Midway (island) for what would be her last and fatal patrol, Yeoman Forest Sterling was suddenly transferred to other duty. The result is this book; Wake of the Wahoo, Sterling's fantastic yet completely authentic account of a remarkable crew, captain and the ship they lived and died for. Wahoo's captain the aggressive and brave Lieutenant Commander Dudley 'Mush' Morton was the pride of the submarine fleet. He would earn the Navy Cross at the helm of Wahoo. The sub's executive officer the daring Lieutenant Richard H. 'Dick' O'Kane. O'Kane would later receive the Medal of Honor in command of the submarine USS Tang (SS-306. Forest Sterling tells the story as no one else could Wake of the Wahoo is a true account of American submarine warfare from a man who lived it ... and live to tell about it.

Gallagher’s Prize: An Historical Adventure Novel in the Age of Sail (Gallagher's Age of Sail Adventures Book 1)


Joseph O'Loughlin - 2015
     How did America prevail against such odds? With ships, guns and the fierce desire for freedom that lived in the hearts of American sailors. Many of these men were not even Americans yet. Some came from Ireland, including Jack Gallagher. “Gallagher's Prize” begins in southern Ireland when English law breaks up an Irish Catholic family's farmland and a young man longs for the sea. During his many adventures, Jack visits Portsmouth (England), Dublin, Tenerife, Recife, Boston and New Orleans. He learns about square sailing, naval gunnery and ship’s tactics, makes interesting new friends and acquaintances, repairs long-standing enmity with his brother, rescues his family from debt, defeats a powerful and dysfunctional adversary, and experiences sex and love.

Boon Island: Including Contemporary Accounts of the Wreck of the *Nottingham Galley*


Kenneth Roberts - 1956
    A native Mainer, Roberts, whose historical novels include Northwest Passage and Arundel, was intrigued by the story of the December 1710 wreck of the Nottingham. After running aground a dozen miles offshore, the ship broke up, stranding her crew with minimal tools, scant shelter, and a few pieces of cheese. The men survived nearly a month of screeching gales, sub-freezing temperatures, and driving snowstorms. During their ordeal they resorted to cannibalism and were finally rescued after one of them made it ashore on a crude raft. Included here are contemporary accounts from crew members, offering dramatically different versions of the true-life traumatic event and a fascinating counterpoint to Roberts’ fictionalized version. A bestseller when published in 1956, Boon Island is a story of the ways that crisis can inspire the best--and worst--in human nature.

Mutiny: The True Events That Inspired The Hunt For Red October - From the Soviet Naval Hero Who Was There


David Hagberg - 2008
    In 1984, Tom Clancy released his blockbuster novel, The Hunt for Red October, an edge-of-your seat thriller that skyrocketed him into international notoriety.  The inspiration for that novel came from an obscure report by a US naval officer of a mutiny aboard a Soviet warship in the Baltic Sea.  The Hunt for Red October actually happened, and Boris Gindin lived through every minute of it.  After decades of silence and fear, Gindin has finally come forward to tell the entire story of the mutiny aboard the FFG Storozhevoy, the real-life Red October. It was the fall of 1975, and the tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States were climbing.  It seemed the two nations were headed for thermonuclear war, and it was that fear that caused most of the crewman of the FFG Storozhevoy to mutiny.  Their goal was to send a message to the Soviet people that the Communist government was corrupt and major changes were needed.  That message never reached a single person.  Within hours the orders came from on high to destroy the Storozhevoy and its crew members.  And this would have happened if it weren't for Gindin and few others whose heroism saved many lives. Now, with the help of USA Today bestselling author David Hagberg, Gindin relives every minute of that harrowing event.  From the danger aboard the ship to the threats of death from the KGB to the fear that forced him to flee the Soviet Union for the United States, Mutiny reveals the real-life story behind The Hunt for Red October and offers an eye-opening look at the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War.

Truman's Spy: A Cold War Spy Thriller


Noel Hynd - 1990
    In Washington, J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI is fighting a turf war with the newly founded Central Intelligence Agency. Harry Truman is in the White House, trying to keep a lid on domestic and foreign politics, but the crises never stop. It should be a time of peace and prosperity in America, but it is anything but.FBI agent Thomas Buchanan is assigned to investigate the father of a former fiancée, Ann Garrett, who dumped Buchanan while he was away to World War Two. And suddenly Buchanan finds himself on a worldwide search for both an active Soviet spy and the only woman he ever loved. In the process, he crosses paths with Hoover, Truman, Soviet moles and assassins, an opium kingpin from China, and a brigade of lowlife from the American film community. Truman’s Spy is a classic cold war story of espionage and betrayal, love and regret, patriots and traitors. This is the revised and updated 2013 edition of Noel Hynd’s follow-up to Flowers From Berlin. The story is big, a sprawling intricate tale of espionage, from post-war Rome and Moscow to New York, Philadelphia and Hollywood, filled with the characters, mores and attitudes of the day. And at its heart: the most crucial military secret of the decade."Noel Hynd knows the ins and outs of Washington's agencies, public and private." -Publishers Weekly"A notch above the Ludums and Clancys of the world....." - Booklist"The novels of Noel Hynd stand out!" - Martin Levin, NY Times