I haven't kept up on my recreational reading in the past year. I am way behind in my reading although I continue to buy and store the books for a time when I can catch up. I still haven't read Randy Wayne whites book or John Sanford's. WEB Griffin also has a couple out that I have bought but not read. Most of my reading is done for research. Books written by Mark Bowden are excellent documentary-books on the Colombian Cartels and can be order through Amazon.

   I did take the time to read most of Bob Bitchin's books. I ordered his two books on sailing The "Sailing Life" and "Letters from the Lost Soul". I also order and read his fictional book and it is superb "Emerald Bay". Emerald Bay has a great character that sounds a lot like its creator/author Bob. Treb Lincoln is his main character and he is quite the brawler when he has to be. The story takes place in California near the Catalina Islands. Its is a great action-mystery. I don't want to say anymore than that. Buy the book and read it. For those avid readers who don't know who Bob is. he is the creator, editor and chief, of Latitudes & Attitudes Magazine as well as a published author. besides his books mentioned above he has written two non-fictional books about during his times as a biker. You can go to the Latts & Atts WEB Site to order his books. 1/21/07

     Below is a list of my favorite author’s that I not only read by collect. They are not necessarily in order of best liked. All these authors and their book’s have been a friend over the years to me during the good times and bad. I am thankful that such great talent resides in this country, when it comes to writing books of this genre. There are only a few that I don’t have in hardback, due to either never being printed in hardback or there aren’t enough to go around for us collectors. I did find out that Randy Wayne White had a few of his first book only to loose them in a hurricane last year. Perhaps this list of my favorite authors, will give you an insight into why I created my characters and books series.P-5/05

The Authors

Randy Wayne White / This author is presently kicking butt, with his “Doc Ford” series taking place down around Sanibel and Captiva Florida. Randy has filled the void for Travis McGee fans with his character Marion "Doc” Ford and his friend Tomlinson. I came across this author several years ago looking at one of the many tribute Travis McGee’s web sites. I ordered his first book from one of the many used book sites off the net and was hooked from that point on. It taken me two years of searching to finally purchase all of Randy's books except for his first in hardback. Randy has a great WEB site and has also opened a restaurant called “Doc Fords” on Sanibel Island. The first book in the series was written in 1990 and titled Sanibel Flats, followed by The Heat Islands, The Man Who Invented Florida, Captiva, North of Havana, The Mangrove Coast, Ten Thousand Islands, Shark River, Twelve Mile Limit, Everglades, Tampa Burns, Death of Night.                     

John D McDonald / This is by far my favorite author for a book series which takes place in Florida. These are great books to read while lounging on the beach. John died in the mid eighties which left quite a void for this type of book. I felt like I had lost a friend when John D. passed away and the McGee series stopped. His main character, Travis McGee, is outstanding, there is no way to describe him without talking for hours. Just read the books and make up your own mind about the man whose name is Travis McGee. I have worn out many sets of this series while sitting on the beach or at home. Time stands still when you read these books. The first was written in 1964 and was titled The Deep Blue Goodbye followed by Nightmare in Pink, A Purple Place for Dying, The Quick Red Fox, A Deadly Shade of Gold, Bright Orange for the Shroud, Darker Than Amber, One Fearful Yellow Eye, Pale Gray for Guilt, The Girl In the Plain Brown Wrapper, A Tan And Sandy Silence, Dress Her in Indigo, The Scarlet Ruse, The Turquoise Lament, The Dreadful Lemon Sky, The Empty Copper Sea, The Green Ripper, Free Fall from Crimson, Cinnamon Skin, and lastly The Lonely Silver Rain. John D. also wrote many other books besides the McGee series.                        

"Semper Fidelis"

W.E.B Griffin / Its hard to keep up with the amount of series this author has. He is probably at the top of being one of my favorite author's to read; the 1940’s era he describes in his books makes me feel a little closer to my father who was a young fighter pilot during this time period. If there was ever a time I could go back and live in it would be the forties. His books start back in pre-WWII and go through either the Korean War or Vietnam War. I have collected all his books in each of the series.‘The Corps’ series started with Semper Fi, Call to Arms, Counter Attack, Battleground, Line of Fire, Close Combat, Behind the Lines, In Danger’s Path, and Retreat Hell.---‘Brotherhood of War’ started with The Lieutenants, The Captains, The Majors, The Colonels, The Berets, The Generals, The New Breed, The Aviators, and Special Ops.---‘Honor Bound’ started with Honor Bound, Blood and Honor, and Secret Honor. The series has a great main character, Cletus, with the books taking place in Argentina. Cletus is a spy for the OSS.---'Men at War’ started with The Last Hero’s, The Secret Warriors, The Soldier Spies, and The Fighting Agents. This is a series about OSS agents and how they eventually will be become the CIA.---The newest series out by this author is ‘By Order of the President’ and is the name of the first book also.

John Sandford / This is my favorite book series “Prey” not taking place in Florida. The main character is Lucas Davenport, a police detective and troubleshooter for the state of Minnesota. Lucas is always brought in to take charge when a "manhunter" type is needed. The author had made his character very life-like, a man’s man, but allows us readers to see his human side. John creates great villains for Lucas to chase. His first book in the series was written in 1989 and titled Rules of Prey followed by Shadow Prey, Eyes of Prey, Silent Prey, Winter Prey, Mind Prey, Sudden Prey, Night Prey, Secret Prey, Certain Prey, Easy Prey, Chosen Prey, Mortal Prey, Naked Prey, Hidden Prey, Broken Prey and Invisible Prey. John Sandford also has a second series out with a main character named Kidd. He started this series in 1989 with The Fools Run, followed by The Empress File, The Devil’s Code and The Hanged Man’s Song.

Clive Cussler / This author created one of the longest running series for a character by the name of Dirk Pitt and his side kick Al Giordino. This series is probably one of the best written in my life time. Clive has allowed his adventurer to age gracefully. He has also actually formed the NUMA agency that he writes of and Dirk Pitt works for in his books. His first book in the series was written in 1973 and titled Mediterranean Caper followed by Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 08, Night Probe, Pacific Vortex, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey, Serpent, and Black Wind. Clive Cussler also has a second series in print with the main character similar to Dirk and his name is Kurt Austin. The first in the series is titled Serpent followed by Blue Gold, Fire Ice ,White Death, Lost City, and Polar Shift.                    

Robert Ludlum / This author was the king of international spy thrillers. The only series he had of all the many books he wrote were the Jason Bourne books which number four. I enjoy reading all his books. This man was the true word master and will be missed since his passing in 2001. Robert’s first book was written in 1971 and was titled The Scalatti Inheritance followed by The Osterman Weekend, Trevayne, The Rhineman Exchange, The Gemini Contenders, The Chancellor Manuscript, The Holcroft Covenant, The Matarese Circle, The Bourne Identity, The Parsifal Mosaic, The Aquitaine Progression, The Bourne Supremacy, The Matlock Paper, The Icarus Agenda, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Road To Omaha, Scorpio Illusion, Apocalypse Watch, The Cry of the Halidon, The Matarese Countdown, The Prometheus Deception, The Hades Factor The Sigma Protocol, The Cassandra Project, The Janson Directive, The Paris Option, The Bourne Legacy, The Altman Code, The Tristan Betrayal and The Lazarus Vendetta.

James W. Hall / I enjoy the ‘Thorn” series from this author. His main character, Thorn, is a true beach bum that lives in the Florida Keys. Thorn has an amazing knack for getting into or attracting trouble. He is a fishing guide as well as craftsman at making fishing lures which he in known for. At time sits hard to identify with Thorn because I am more of a suburban beach bum. It means I like to have money. The author’s first book written in the series in 1987 is titled Undercover of Daylight followed by Tropical Freeze, Mean High Tide, Gone Wild, Buzz Cut, Red Sky at Night, Hard A Ground, Rough Draft, Body Language, Bones of Coral, BlackWater Sound, Off the Chart, Forests of the Night and his brand new book Magic City. The series is quite extensive and includes other works as well. James Hall is a word master in the realm of Robert Ludlum.  

Paul Levine / This author's character, Jake Lassiter, is a good series of books to read. There are only seven books in the series, but everyone is worth reading. Jake Lassiter is an Ex-Miami Dolphin linebacker turned lawyer. Jake takes on cases and helps friends in the Miami and South Florida area. He is smart and at the same time can knock your teeth out. His first book in the series came out in 1998 and is titled To Speak for the Dead, followed by Night Vision, False Dawn, Mortal Sin, SlashBack, Fool Me Twice, and his last book in 1997 titled Flesh and Bones. He also has written one titled 9 Scorpions not part of the series. John Lutz / This particular author has created and written two different series. The Alo Nudger series which I haven’t read and then the one I have read and collected is the Fred Carver series. Fred is a private investigator, since his days as a policeman ended when he was shot in the knee cap by a punk robbing a store. He reminds me of several TV series detectives. This is another great series taking place in Florida. The first book written in 1986 was titled Tropical Heat followed by Scorcher, Kiss, Flame, BloodFire, Hot, Spark, Torch, Burn, and his last was written in 1996 and titled Lighting. Laurence Shames / Doesn’t write a series like most of the authors I read. His books take place in Florida but each book has different characters and he uses a slightly humorous touch to them. His first book was written in 1992 titled Florida Straights, followed by Scavenger Reef, Sunburn, Tropical Depression, Virgin Heat, Mangrove Squeeze and the last written in 2000 titled Welcome to Paradise. Geoffrey Norman / This is a short lived series with only a hand full of books, but I enjoyed reading them all in one week while sitting on the beach a couple of years ago. The main character is Morgan Hunt who is an ex-Green Beret and also an ex-convict who helps out a lawyer friend of his by the name of Nat Semmes. The series takes place in North Florida, along the pan handle or Redneck Rivera as it’s referred to now days. The first in the written in 1983 was titled Midnight Water followed by Sweet Water Ranch, Blue Chipper and the last written in 1994 titled Deep End.

"James Bond"

007

Ian Fleming / The name speaks for itself as the original creator-author of James Bond. The greatest British spy ever to be created. Mr. Fleming was truly an author ahead of his time and his books have the feel of being apart of any decade. He was a master story teller. I have been lucky enough to find a complete set of his books in hardback over the years. There were only eight books in his series. His first James Bond book came out in 1952 and was titled Casino Royale followed by Live and Let Die. Moonraker was way ahead of its time in the way to would be made into a movie using a manned space vehicle similar to a space shuttle. Diamonds are Forever was next followed by, From Russia With Love, Doctor No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, Thunder Ball, The Spy Who Loved Me, On Her Majesty Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with The Golden Gun, and his last in 1966 was titled Octopussy. John Gardner / This author took over writing the James Bond series of books years after Ian Fleming died in 1966. John updated Bond to the eighties and didn’t miss a trick or beat with his way of writing Bond books. He was approached to continuing the series and signed on to write the first book in 1980 titled License Renewed followed by For Special Services, Ice Breaker, Role Of Honor, Nobody Lives Forever, No Deals Mr. Bond, Scorpius, Win, Lose, Draw, BrokenClaw Lee, The Man from Barbarbossa, Death Is Forever, Never Send A Flower, Seafire, and his last was in 1996 and was titled COLD. Raymond Benson / This author took over writing the James Bond series when John Gardner retired from writing the series. He has nine books out in the continuing series of nearly 6 decades. His writing style has blended perfectly with past authors of James Bond. He wrote his first book in 1997 titled Zero Minus Ten followed by Tomorrow Never Dies, The Facts of Death, High Time to Kill, The World is Not Enough, Double Shot, Never Dream of Dying, The Man With the Red Tattoo, and Die Another Day. When you think about how long the series has endured the test time its really remarkable. From 1953 till present.

Stephen Coonts / This author is a former Naval Aviator and Vietnam veteran. His books are a step in a different direction from what I normally read. But because of my on time of serving in the U.S. Navy and my father who was a fighter pilot. I truly enjoy reading his books. Stephen’s are a military, action, fiction, suspense. He is best known for his first book published in 1986 called Flight of the Intruder which was made into a movie. I like his Jake Grafton series the best.  Other books to follow were Final Flight, The Minotaur, Under Siege, The Red Horseman, The Intruders, Cuba, Hong Kong, America and lastly Liberty written in 2003. Stephen also has many other numerous fictional books out.

Dale Brown / This author is a former Captain with the U.S. Air Force as a navigator-bombardier. He also writes military, action, suspense books. I think Dale and Stephen run neck and neck with their book writing skills. His series’ main character is Patrick Mclanahan who is a navigator aboard a B52 in the first book. It was written in 1987 and titled Flight of The Old Dog followed by Day of the Cheetah, Sky Masters, Night Of the Hawk, Shadows of Steel, Tinman, Battle Born, Warrior Class, Wings of Fire, Air Battle Force, and his last book in the series written in 2004 titled Plan of Attack. Dale has another series called Dreamland out also.

Tom Clancy / This author is the master of military action, suspense, international intrigue, books. His series with main character Jack Ryan is the best. Tom’s writing style is such that it takes me weeks to read his books. The man can write a novel of many pages and his detail and knowledge of military hardware is phenomenal.  In 1984 Tom wrote his first novel The Hunt for Red October followed by Red Storm Rising, Patriot Games, The Cardinal and the Kremlin, The Sum of All Fears, Without Remorse, Debt of Honor, Executive Orders, Rainbow Six, The Bear and the Dragon, Red Rabbit. Tom also has other series out called OP Center and Net Force.

Larry Bond / This author is also in the same mold as the last two writers. He is a former Naval officer. Larry writes military action mystery. His first book was written in 1986 with Tom Clancy and titled Red Storm Rising followed by Battles of the Third World, Red Phoenix, Vortex, Cauldron, The Enemy Within, Day of Wrath, and in 2005 Dangerous Ground. Larry has a series called "The First Team". The first is called First Team, Followed by Angles of Wrath, Fires of War.

John Grisham / This author doesn’t have a series like I usually read, but his books are great reading. Being a lawyer has given him great insight into his style of writing and it’s apparent as you read his books that he knows what he is writing about. My three favorite books of his would be The Firm, The Pelican Brief and The Partner.  John released his first book in 1989 titled A Time to Kill followed by The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, and The Broker.

               "Innocent Until Proven Guilty."                         

                                                                     "Justice for all"

  "Trail By Jury"

Louis L’Amour / What can be said that already hasn’t been said about this author. He was my first author in a lot of ways. As I was sitting in the barracks down in Jacksonville, Florida back in the late seventies waiting on a hurricane to blow over. I found several of his books left behind by an old room mate. By the time the storm passed I was hooked on reading. From that point forward I collected everything the man has ever written. His titles are too numerous to write down except for a few of his best. The Sackets family Saga of course. I really like his "lone" gunfighter type books. Borden Chantry, Taggart, Silver Canyon, Flint are just a few.

****Some photographs were obtained through other sources. ****

1) http://alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au/methods/science/studentwork/shipwrecks/shipwrecks.htm

2) Defense Link - photos of military aircraft, ships, weapons.                

3) H&K USA                                                         

4) "Red" Skelton for Mantle & Globe Photo's.