In The Great Escape and Papillon, Steve McQueen embodied the tough guy on the run from captivity and injustice. But when it comes to toughness, McQueen is following in the daring and determined footsteps of Captain Spar. Wrongfully accused, Spar has been condemned to suffer the brutality of the guards and the conditions on Devil's Island. But they haven't broken his will, and now, escaping, he has one mission in life: revenge. Spar's out to kill the man who put him into the devil's hands. But he'll have to take on a gallery of rogues who are as treacherous as the waters of the Caribbean. Pressure is rising and a storm is brewing. But even in the face of a natural disaster, Spar discovers that nothing is more volatile than human nature-as temptation and danger are about to collide with Hurricane force. In 1937 L. Ron Hubbard wrote to one of his editors: "You might have noticed that I am intensely wary of becoming any kind of a story specialist. I have sold the gamut of types: air war, air, western, detective, love, terror. . . . My one passion is to build a name for variety. . . . I like my freedom. I fight hard for independent individualism. I love to tie into a yarn and make it blaze in print." Hubbard's passion for writing, creativity and individualism certainly blazes across the page in stories like Hurricane. "Hurricane will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end as it unfolds." -Mommy's Favorite Things * An International Book Awards Finalists

In April 1951, the disappearance of HM submarine Affray knocked news of the Korean War and Festival of Britain from the front pages of national newspapers. Affray had gone to sea on a routine peacetime simulated war patrol in the English Channel. She radioed her last position at 21.15 hours on April 16th, 30 miles south of the Isle of Wight--and preparing to dive. This was the last signal ever received from the submarine. When divers eventually discovered Affray, they found her resting upright on the sea bottom with no obvious signs of damage to her hull. Hatches were closed tight and emergency buoys were still in their casings. It was obvious that whatever had caused Affray to sink and end the lives of all on board had occurred quickly. Fifty-six years later, in this compelling maritime investigation, Alan Gallop uses previously top secret documents, interviews with experts, and contemporary news sources to explore how and why Affray became the last British submarine lost at sea--and possibly the greatest maritime mystery since the Marie Celeste. This is a fascinating recreation of the last mission of this doomed submarine, the effect it had on the families of those who perished, and on British public opinion at the time.

L.T.C. Rolt's fame was born from his unique ability to produce works of literature from subject matter seemingly ill suited to such treatment - engineering, canals, railways, steam engines, agricultural machinery, vintage cars - such as in his classic biographies of Brunel, Telford, Trevithick and the Stephensons, and in his superbly written volumes of autobiography. In this, the first part of his autobiography, Rolt tells of his childhood in Chester, on the Welsh border near Hay-on-Wye and in Gloucestershire; of an engineering apprenticeship and career which took him from a farm in the Vale of Evesham to a locomotive works in Stoke-on-Trent and from Dursley to the Wiltshire Downs until he finally settled in a Hampshire village, running a garage which specialised in veteran and vintage cars. Imbued with the author's love of England and his intense feeling for the beauties of the English countryside, the book reveals a landscape populated not only be men, but by machines: steam-ploughing engines, steam wagons, steam locomotives, canal boats and a variety of unusual motor cars. This vividly told tale of rural England sets the stage of a life that was to be consumed by preserving the best the country had to offer in landscape and the technology of a now bygone age.

The main focus of this book is the impact of maritime fraud on contracts for sale and carriage, documentary credits and marine insurance. It covers all varieties of maritime fraud, from the most serious downwards, describing the methods employed and the risks to traders and carriers. At the serious end of the spectrum, pirates capture an entire ship, often murdering the entire crew, in order to sell the cargo (to which of course they have no title), later to use the "innocent" ship to pose as innocent traders. Less serious (but perhaps of greater interest to lawyers) are misdescriptions of cargo in, or backdating of, bills of lading, and other deceptions, usually practised on purchasers and banks.

Crew's Ship Affairs is the third book in the stand-alone Blue-Collar Romance novels series, written by Bob Ojala.  The previous two books, A Tugboater's Life and The Tugboater Family revolved around the drama and romances of the Great Lakes sailors working in the tough and dangerous Marine Construction business..  This third novel continues with many of the same endearing characters, with a new character, Bob Evers, continuing to tell the tugboater crews about his unusual experiences while working aboard numerous passenger cruise ships. Most cruise ship passengers are not privy to what happens beneath the passenger decks, but Bob Evers experienced and understands the relationships that can occur, both good and bad, when 600-1000 men and women live together for four to eight months at a time..  The Crew's Ship Affairs reader will be shocked and fascinated, even at times envious, of how these various cultures learn to treat one another with respect. Romance takes on many different meanings under such circumstances..  Mr. Ojala is a Naval Architect and Marine Surveyor, very familiar with the Great Lakes. He has traveled the world to inspect ships, including over 165 Passenger Ship Cruises as an environmental auditor..  Most of the characters and experiences in the Blue-Collar Romances series come from Mr. Ojala's personal observations, changing the names where needed. His respect for the sailors and their families is obvious in these stories..  Maritime industry readers will love the true-life drama, and readers appreciating good romance will love the character's personal interactions.

Recounts the sinking of the huge freighter the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in the icy waters of Lake Superior in 1975 and describes subsequent expeditions to the wreck site to uncover clues to her mysterious disappearance.