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More than one hundred years after Columbus blundered onto Hispaniola, the West Indies are held in Spain's iron fist, and no threat to that absolute rule is tolerated. But such total control cannot last, not with the riches of an empire at stake, and French, English and Dutch all struggle to pry open the Spanish grip. But one threat will emerge as the most dangerous of all: the buccaneers. Camped on the shore of Hispaniola, these half-wild men eke out a living hunting the island's feral livestock. Among them, Jean-Baptiste LeBoeuf - hulking, silent, deadly with musket and blade - lives out his exile, content that no one in the hunters' camp is at all curious about his past. But when a deadly hurricane sweeps through the Caribbean, it up-ends the buccaneers' rough existence. And it leaves in its wake opportunity as well, a chance for a new life for LeBoeuf and his fellow hunters. This stroke of luck, however, is not all it seems, and when even greater violence is visited upon them they find themselves locked in battle with some of the most powerful and ruthless men in the Spanish Empire.
With the bounty from his years as a pirate, Thomas Marlowe purchases a fine Virginia plantation from a beautiful young widow, Elizabeth Tinling. But a threat from his illicit past appears, however, as an old pirate enemy plots to seize the colony's wealth, forcing Marlowe to choose between losing all - or facing the one man he fears.
An epic story of one man’s devotion to the American cause In October 1776, four years before Benedict Arnold’s treasonous attempt to hand control of the Hudson River to the British, his patch-work fleet on Lake Champlain was all that stood between British forces and a swift end to the American rebellion. Benedict Arnold’s Navy is the dramatic chronicle of that desperate battle and of the extraordinary events that occurred on the American Revolution’s critical northern front. Written with captivating narrative vitality, this landmark book shows how Benedict Arnold’s fearless leadership against staggering odds in a northern wilderness secured for America the independence that he woul...
Sailing in the wake of C.S. Forester, Nelson has done an excellent job of combining historical authenticity with firm characterization and lively action", says Nathan Miller, author of "Sea of Glory: A Naval History of the American Revolution". In "The Maddest Idea", a plan to capture much-needed British gunpowder is actually a trap laid by a traitor.
A stunning new novel about the Confederate Navy At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Confederate Navy must defend nearly 3,000 miles of coastline with only a meagre collection of ships and a handful of men. These include Sam Bowater, a former lieutenant in the United States Navy, who obtains his cherished first command in a tugboat turned gunboat, the Cape Fear with a ragtag crew. Struggling with the pressures of his first command, in a naval service which is still learning the ropes, Bowater finds himself and his men the only defence between the Confederate shores and the massive Union Navy. From Hampton Roads to Roanoke Island, to an exciting, bloody night time river fight for New Orleans, Glory In The Name vividly brings to life the dramatic naval battles of the Civil War.
Blending a seasoned mariner's expertise, a historian's attention to period detail, and a natural storyteller's gift for creating a cast of vivid characters, James L. Nelson brings to dazzling life a never-before-seen side of America's war for independence. Here is the conflict from the seaman's view, full of the sights, sounds, and sensations of the ocean - and of the thunder of cannons as the new world's freedom fighters vie for liberty.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, North and South quickly saw the need to develop the latest technology in naval warfare, the ironclad ship. After a year-long scramble to finish first, in a race filled with intrigue and second guessing, blundering and genius, the two ships -- the Monitor and the Merrimack -- after a four-hour battle, ended the three-thousand-year tradition of wooden men-of-war and ushered in "the reign of iron." In the first major work on the subject in thirty-five years, novelist, historian, and tall-ship sailor James L. Nelson, acclaimed author of the Brethren of the Coast trilogy, brilliantly recounts the story of these magnificent ships, the men who built and fought them, and the extraordinary battle that made them legend.
Acclaimed, award-winning author James L. Nelson - praised as "a master of both his period and the English language" by Patrick O'Brian - returns to the world of sea and sail in this page-turning historical novel. Jack Biddlecomb has much to live up to, being as he is the eldest son of the esteemed Captain Isaac Biddlecomb, wealthy merchant captain, leading light of the War for American Independence, and newly-minted congressman. Jack finds himself off to a promising start, however, when he's given command of the merchant vessel Abigail bound from Philadelphia for Barbados. But even before the docklines are cast off, the voyage, which should have been routine, begins to look like a stormy pas...
With their longships storm-blown to the southern coast of Engla-land, Thorgrim Night Wolf and his men find themselves rich with plunder and safely ensconced in a priory called Christchurch. But that cannot last. Thorgrim, in a wolf dream, has seen the enemy armies closing in, and he knows that their peace will soon be at an end. The gods do not go so easy on him and his men. He has learned that through experience and hard use. Nor are the gods the only threat they face. As Nothwulf, brother of the murdered ealdorman of Dorset, and Cynewise, his sister-in-law, fight for rule of the shire, each seeks to make the raiders unwitting pawns in their game, maneuvering toward a final battle that each hopes will spell the end of the other and crush the Norse strangers who have invaded their shores.
Bestselling author James Nelson brings us another gripping and absorbing maritime adventure. Perfect for readers of Julian Stockwin, CS Forester and Alexander Kent. "Brilliant...Readers will gladly be swept along by a wonderful plot" -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "A master both of his period and of the English language" -- PATRICK O'BRIAN "Many threads, at sea and at home, combine to make this a thrilling, un-put-downable period story." -- ***** Reader review "It is difficult to put this book down right from the start" -- ***** Reader review "A terrifically exciting adventure!" -- ***** Reader review ************************************************************* ONE MISSION THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHIN...