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Projects Azorian, Ivy Bells, Holystone, Boresight and Bulls Eye were the most dangerous, decorated and daring of the Cold War. In Red November, veterans finally tell the hair-raising truth about these missions!

Interested in Anna Chapman and Russian Spies? Red November takes you deep into two of the most devestating Russian Spy stories ever told.

Published by William Morrow (HarperCollins), May 4, 2010

RED NOVEMBER Video Trailer Link (HarperCollins)

 “This is an astonishing and important book. With its new disclosures about covert submarine operations during the Cold War, and especially its eye-opening account of what really happened at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Red November is a book that anyone with an interest in espionage or clandestine naval operations should read.”

     —George Friedman, author of America’s Secret War and The Next 100 Years


“If Tom Clancy had turned The Hunt for Red October into a nonfiction thriller, W. Craig Reed’s Red November might be the result. Here is the full-throttle and riveting story of espionage, secret missions, and the never-before-told tales of submariners on the front lines of a clandestine war. Not to be missed!”

     — James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Doomsday Key and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 

 

"Red November is a terrific, real-life thriller, filled with larger than life warriors, technological wizardry, undersea games of chicken, and a civilian world perched unknowing on the brink of push-button nuclear destruction. History buffs, naval warfare enthusiasts, and all Tom Clancy fans are guaranteed to love this book."

   — Barry Eisler, bestselling author of Fault Line


“Red November delivers the real life feel and fears of submariners who risked their lives to keep the peace.  Smart, detailed, and highly entertaining, this is a story everyone should read.  I live in a submarine town and I can tell you, men who live underwater for 90 days at time, ferrying nuclear weapons, are unsung heroes.  My hat is off to Craig Reed for telling their story.“

    — Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Vendetta and The Charlemagne Pursuit

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"Red November is palpably gripping and packs the excitement of a real-life thriller. I felt like I was literally on-board a submarine in the middle of a hair-raising mission and on the brink of World War III."

     — David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of Rambo First Blood and The Spy Who Came for Christmas

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“Red November is a compelling narrative that covers most of the years that I rode the boats. The action is particularly intriguing, as I shared many of the same experiences endured by the characters portrayed within the pages. Submariners will enjoy the book, as did I.”

      — T. Michael Bircumshaw, Editor, American Submariner

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"Red November is one of the most suspenseful and frightening books I've read this year. It gives you a new appreciation for the major role submarines play in shaping world history. They may be out of sight, but after reading this book, they will never again be out of mind."

      — Raymond Obstfeld, co-author with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance

RED NOVEMBER
Inside the Secret U.S.-Soviet Submarine War
In the tradition of the bestselling Blind Man’s Bluff (PublicAffairs 1998), which sold over two million copies worldwide, W. Craig Reed, a former navy diver and fast-attack submariner, gives us the riveting narrative of the secret underwater struggle between the US and the USSR, and reveals previously undisclosed details about the most dangerous, daring and decorated missions of the Cold War. RED NOVEMBER is filled with hair-raising personal stories and “behind-the-scenes” information that fans of military narratives and techno-thrillers will love. Reed served aboard two submarines involved in Cold War espionage operations. His father spearheaded the deployment of a top secret submarine detection system that played a pivotal role in preventing four Soviet submarines from firing nuclear torpedoes on U.S. ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Today, we know a lot about the detection of missiles on land in Cuba—but not the underwater drama that almost resulted in the firing of nuclear weapons and the start of World War III in October 1962.
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While other books offer “birds eye” details about clandestine underwater operations during the Cold War, these stories are told primarily through third-hand sources, and most of these books do not cover the entire Cold War period from 1946 through 1992. RED NOVEMBER is the first book to bring readers deep into the action through personal accounts told by navy deep sea divers who volunteered for highly dangerous Ivy Bells missions to wiretap Soviet communication cables in the Barents Sea. These divers spent long weeks inside small chambers mounted on submarines and used advanced helium/oxygen “saturation diving” techniques to reach depths of more than 700 feet. More than once they came within a breath of not coming home. American Russian speaking “spooks” aboard U.S. submarines Halibut, Seawolf, Parche and others then conducted espionage operations by recording and analyzing the uncensored conversations pulled from these cable taps. During one of these missions, a storm trapped the USS Seawolf on the sea bottom and nearly took the lives of 190 sailors. RED NOVEMBER is the first book to reveal what really happened during that excruciating four-day ordeal in Soviet waters.
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Project Azorian has recently catapulted to the forefront with the CIA's release of heretofore classified documents about the program. But these documents contain large chunks of redacted information, leaving few details of any merit. RED NOVEMBER is the first book to include an interview with the senior engineer, Joe Houston, who designed the camera systems that photographed the downed Soviet K-129 submarine to allow Project Azorian scientists to create systems to bring her up from the bottom via Howard Hughes's Glomar Explorer. Houston worked for Carl Duckett, the CIA deputy director in charge of Project Azorian, who later revealed that they may have retrieved more from the sunken sub than the CIA admitted publically.
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RED NOVEMBER is also the first to reveal the story of a devastating collision between a U.S. and a Soviet submarine—a mission that has been successfully covered up since that time. Reed experienced the incident first-hand while conducting a Holystone espionage operation aboard the USS Drum in April 1981. He describes the crew’s near-death experience while a large contingent of Soviet vessels chased the Drum for days and nearly sank her in the Sea of Japan. If not for a collision between the sub USS George Washington and a Japanese fishing boat a day or two later, which diverted half the Soviets in pursuit, the Drum might not have survived. President Reagan denied the incident at the time, and it has never been revealed to the public until now. Also a first, Reed describes his father’s role in Operation Boresight and Reed senior’s briefing for John F. Kennedy in 1962, which was instrumental in helping the president force Premier Khrushchev to back down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Reed’s father subsequently worked under Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to deploy a secret array of submarine listening stations around the world under projects Boresight and Bulls Eye. While the circular Bulls Eye antenna arrays are still visible today at Imperial Beach, California and elsewhere, details about these classified operations have never been revealed before.
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In this fascinating popular history, Reed pulls back the curtain on the most confidential elements of America’s Cold War with the Soviet Union: the underwater battles and espionage operations that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war numerous times. As a former submariner and navy diver, Reed is the first author to obtain in-depth interviews from dozens of Navy SEALS and divers, espionage operatives, submariners and government officials on both sides (including top Russian sub commanders) about top secret Azorian, Ivy Bells, Boresight, Bulls Eye and Holystone operations. Many of these sailors and operatives signed twenty to forty-year “gag” orders preventing them from divulging information about their missions. Through in-depth research and his own first-hand experience, Reed sheds new light on the most harrowing missions of the Cold War. Reading like a Tom Clancy thriller, RED NOVEMBER transcends traditional naval and espionage accounts and gives us a much more immediate and personal version of the story of our longest and most expensive underwater war.
 
    • Hardcover: 400 pages
    • Publisher: William Morrow (May 4, 2010)
    • Language: English
    • ISBN-13: 978-0061806766
 

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Intelligent Design or Darwin’s Evolution?

For Navy SEAL George Anders and Russian bioscientist Annelia Salenski, discovering the truth changes everything.

       
"W. Craig Reed's latest global thriller, DNA, is a savage and brutal ride, blending science, history, mythology, and religion into a whip-fast and smart story. Riveting and breathlessly paced, it's a story that begs to be read in one sitting."
 --James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Oracle and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

  

“DNA is an enlightening and terrifying journey that offers a unique answer to the most controversial argument of our time: Intelligent Design or Darwin’s Evolution?  Based on five years of solid research, DNA is a riveting story that will compel you to read the other books in the series.” —Malcolm Boyes of Entertainment Tonight


“DNA is exotic and suspenseful, with lots of subplots to keep the reader guessing!” 

—Raymond Obstfeld, New York Times Bestselling author of On the Shoulders of Giants with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar


“Millions of James Rollins fans will find DNA a fascinating read. This fast-paced genetic thriller will keep you riveted with breathless anticipation!”

—Carol Davis Luce, author of Night Stalker and Night Prey

  
"I found this to be an exhilarating ride, along the lines of the Splinter Cells series."
--T.C. Robson, The Bookshelf Reviews
  
"I was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the writing in this book. The plot was exciting; heart-pounding even. It made for a very intense read. Rating 4.5 out of 5."
--Alyce, At Home With Books

"The book was action packed from the first page and I kept reading long past the time when I would have put down any other book."

--Monie G, Reading with Monie

      

Kirkus Discoveries review, August 2008:    

     Ensign George Anders is positioned at the front of a global crisis in this military thriller set during the first Gulf War. Fluent in multiple languages and versed in [Navy] intelligence, Anders is less experienced in the field of combat. He’ll need to employ his skills to track down and detain Fahkir Kaseem, a dangerous terrorist intent on methodically destroying the West with a genetic weapon. Aiding Anders is a team of battle-hardened soldiers, warriors ready to provide access to any secure site he needs. At the same time, across the Middle East and into Eastern Europe, the other half of the story unfolds. Russian scientist Annelia Salenski, feeling at fault for a laboratory accident, is charged with stealing the only existing plans for this devilish bio-weapon. Little does she realize that her colleagues, intent on fleeing a crumbling Russia, will later become her enemies in this global drama.

     The weapon in question is a compound called Satan’s Sister, which combines two vicious filoviruses that not only work in tandem, but cancel each other out once released, thereby avoiding detection. But this combination of smallpox and the Marburg virus is not a weapon in the conventional sense—it actually alters its victims’ personalities according to a pre-established formula, thereby calling into question how humans evolve and what is truly predetermined. This main premise—the debate about evolution and intelligent design—seems overambitious, and the story could be just as enjoyable as a conventional action-adventure. The Navy SEAL team that Anders joins is stocked with stereotypical characters, but Reed brings them to life through vivid physical descriptions and realistic dialogue, absorbed during his time in the military. The Cold War setting might feel dated to some readers, but the story neatly segues into a chilling present. Readers in the know will remember that the Soviet Union performed research on similar compounds for use as weapons, which makes this story all the more compelling.

     An all-around enjoyable novel for fans of medical, military or global-espionage thrillers.


  • Paperback: 330 pages
  • Publisher: Rain Publishing (July 15, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-13: 978-1419654626

 


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       An authoritative insight into the life of the man most film fans consider the "one and only" Tarzan - Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller -- this book offers an intimate look at Weissmuller's early life, middle years, and later decline, through swimming training, Olympic triumphs, failed marriages, a Hollywood life as Tarzan of the Apes, and subsequent career as Jungle Jim.

       Written by his only son, this biography is a sensitive yet unsentimental portrayal of the man who was Tarzan to movie fans around the world. Johnny Junior's inside perspective on his father's life and career includes interviews with his father's celebrity friends and former wives, recollections of conversations with his father over the years, and family stories involving international icons such as Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Robert Mitchum, Joe Louis, and many others. There are "surprises" in the text and many photos from private collections that have never before been printed or seen by the general public.

       Tarzan, My Father was selected as a Borders Best Book at the LA Times Festival of Books.


  • Hardcover: 230 pages
  • Publisher: Ecw Press (October 1, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-13: 978-1550225228

 

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The most riveting reads in history meet today's biggest thriller writers in Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads. Edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads examines 100 seminal works of suspense through essays contributed by such esteemed modern thriller writers as: David Baldacci, Steve Berry, Sandra Brown, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, Heather Graham, John Lescroart, Gayle Lynds, Katherine Neville, Michael Palmer, James Rollins, R. L. Stine, W. Craig Reed and many more.

Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads features 100 works - from Beowulf to The Bourne Identity, Dracula to Deliverance, Heart of Darkness to The Hunt for Red October - deemed must-reads by the International Thriller Writers organization. Much more than an anthology, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads goes deep inside the most notable thrillers published over the centuries. Through lively, spirited, and thoughtful essays that examine each work's significance, impact, and influence, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads provides both historical and personal perspective on those spellbinding works that have kept readers on the edge of their seats for centuries. As a contributing author, and as the co-author of Tarzan, My Father with the late Johnny Weissmuller, Jr., W. Craig Reed offers an interesting and thoughtful insight on the book Tarzan the Ape Man by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

  • Hardcover: 408 pages
  • Publisher: Oceanview Publishing (July 5, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-13: 978-1933515564

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      COMING SOON!

SIX MINUTES is the first in a series that follows tough-guy detective, Joe Barista, and his genius daughter, Linda, as they combine brawn and brains to solve bizarre crimes with intriguing links to historical events.

A professor is murdered by an unseen assassin

A NASA scientist is the next on the list

A detective and his genius daughter take the case

A former KGB agent leads them into Hell

A Pentagon General takes them beyond the heavens


“Six Minutes is a well-written novel from W. Craig Reed that delivers compelling characters and a page-turning plot.”    

--Raymond Obstfeld, author of On the Shoulders of Giants with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar


“In Six Minutes, W. Craig Reed reveals chilling facts, kept secret for centuries, that makes this historical thriller a fascinating read.”
--Carol Davis Luce, author of Night Stalker & Night Prey

Genetic Enhancement or Natural Selection?

The wrong answer leads to extinction…


Detective Joe Barista and  NASA scientist Helen Graham race against time to stop rogue scientists from thrusting the human race into a genetically enhanced future that could lead to extinction.

Six minutes.  San Diego detective Ron Davis spends his last six minutes with a demon from Hell.  After his body is found on the UCSD campus, everyone except detective Joe Barista thinks it’s a suicide.  Then another body turns up.  A UCSD professor working on a top secret NASA project.  When Joe is confronted at the crime scene by federal agent Tina Williams and her sidekick, General Reginald Jackson, he’s thrust into a genetic mystery that spans hundreds of years and half the distance of the solar system.  A mystery that leads him to Helen Graham.

Six minutes from Hell.  The latest Rover Lander plunges through the Martian atmosphere and reaches the surface in six minutes. NASA scientist Helen Graham has spent the last three years at JPL preparing for those six minutes.  But hell collides with reality when the sabotaged Lander spirals out of control and catapults toward destruction.  So does Helen’s carefully controlled life when she learns that an unseen assassin has murdered her father, professor David Graham.  And she’s next on the list.

Six minutes from Heaven.  As the ethereal assassin closes in, along with an elite team of black-ops hit men, Joe enlists the help of his daughter, Linda—a Starbucks-employed history major with a genius IQ.  Joe, Linda and Helen soon collide with Ken Kari—a neurosurgeon with a taste for vodka and a secret past with the KGB.  While battling to stay alive, the four race against time to stop rogue scientists from thrusting the human race into a genetically enhanced future that could lead to extinction.

 “It was six minutes from hell, but we said the right prayer and we rose to heaven.”
   --Ed Weiler, NASA’s associate administrator, January 24, 2004

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