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Recommendations based on The Cruel Seaby Nicholas Monsarrat
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Enigma
by Robert Harris
A thrilling tale of espionage and code-breaking during World War II.
In February 1943, Tom Jericho, a gifted cryptanalyst at Bletchley Park , is recuperating in Cambridge from a nervous breakdown brought on by the pressures of work and the breakup of his relationship ... (Wikipedia)
The Day of the Jackal
by Frederick Forsyth
An assassin attempts to kill the president of France in a thrilling race against time.
The book begins in 1962 with the (historical) failed attempt on de Gaulle 's life plotted by, among others, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry in the Paris suburb of Petit-Clamart : ... (Wikipedia)
The Caine Mutiny
by Herman Wouk
A naval officer is court-martialed after leading a mutiny against his captain.
The story is told through the eyes of Willis Seward "Willie" Keith, an affluent but callow young graduate of Princeton University . Following a mediocre living as a nightclub piano player, he signs ... (Wikipedia)
The Shipping News
by Annie Proulx
A man's attempt to rebuild his life in a small Newfoundland town, discovering compassion and joy.
The story centers around Quoyle, a newspaper reporter from upstate New York , whose father had emigrated from Newfoundland . Shortly after his parents' joint suicide, Quoyle's unfaithful and abusive ... (Wikipedia)
The Hunt for Red October
by Tom Clancy
A thrilling adventure of a submarine captain's race against the clock in a thrilling game of cat and mouse.
During the Cold War ,(the story must be set in 1982, according to the days assigned to the dates in the novel, e.g. Dec. 17 was a Friday only in 1982,1976 and 1971 ) Marko Ramius, a Soviet Navy ... (Wikipedia)
Gods and Generals
by Jeff Shaara
Epic saga of the American Civil War, recounting the experiences of its heroes and leaders.
Copying his father's approach of focusing on the most important officers of the two armies ( General Robert E. Lee , Major General Winfield Scott Hancock , Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson , ... (Wikipedia)
Deliverance
by James Dickey
Four friends embark on a dangerous river rafting journey, facing unexpected perils.
Narrated in the first person by Ed Gentry, a graphic artist and one of the four main characters, the novel opens with him and three friends, all middle-aged men who live in a large city in Georgia, ... (Wikipedia)
The Last Full Measure
by Jeff Shaara
Epic story of the battles of Gettysburg, Antietam, and Chickamauga as told through the eyes of the soldiers and officers who fought them.
Librarian's note: An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here . In the Pulitzer prize-winning classic The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara created the finest Civil War novel of our ... (Goodreads)
The Odessa File
by Frederick Forsyth
The uncovering of a sinister Nazi plot, while searching for the truth of a young boy's death.
In November 1963, shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy , Peter Miller, a German freelance crime reporter, follows an ambulance to the apartment of Salomon Tauber, a Holocaust survivor ... (Wikipedia)
On the Beach
by Nevil Shute
After a nuclear war, the last survivors in Australia await their inevitable death from radiation poisoning.
The story is set primarily in and around Melbourne , Australia , in 1963. World War III has devastated most of the populated world, polluting the atmosphere with nuclear fallout , and killing all ... (Wikipedia)
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
A soldier's harrowing experience of the horrors of war.
The book tells the story of Paul Bäumer, who belongs to a group of German soldiers on the Western Front during World War I . The patriotic speeches of his teacher Kantorek had led the whole class to ... (Wikipedia)
The Redbreast
by Jo Nesbø
Detective searches for clues to an elusive crime to find a killer terrorizing Oslo.
The Redbreast is a fabulous introduction to Nesbø’s tough-as-nails series protagonist, Oslo police detective Harry Hole. A brilliant and epic novel, breathtaking in its scope and design—winner of The ... (Goodreads)
East of Eden
by John Steinbeck
Exploration of the timeless struggle between good and evil, set against a backdrop of a family saga.
In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas ... (Goodreads)
Fatherland
by Robert Harris
A thriller set in an alternate history of Nazi Germany, where secrets of the past are uncovered.
The novel opens in Nazi Germany in April 1964 during the week leading up to Adolf Hitler 's ,[note 1], 75th birthday. Detective Xavier March is an investigator working for the Kriminalpolizei ( Kripo ... (Wikipedia)
Captains Courageous
by Rudyard Kipling
The story of a rich boy who is shipwrecked and learns the value of hard work and integrity.
Protagonist Harvey Cheyne, Jr., is the son of a wealthy railroad magnate and his wife, in San Diego, California . Washed overboard from a transatlantic steamship and rescued by the crew of the ... (Wikipedia)
Every Man Dies Alone
by Hans Fallada
A man and his wife struggle to resist Nazi oppression in 1940s Berlin.
Inspired by a true story, Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin is the gripping tale of an ordinary man's determination to defy the tyranny of Nazi rule. This Penguin Classics edition contains an afterword ... (Goodreads)
Marathon Man
by William Goldman
A young man's race against time to save his family from a deadly conspiracy.
Tom "Babe" Levy is a runner in every sense: racing tirelessly toward his goals of athletic and academic excellence–and endlessly away from the specter of his famous father's scandal-driven suicide. ... (Goodreads)
The Far Side of the World
by Patrick O'Brian
A thrilling journey of naval warfare and exploration in the early 19th century.
Aubrey meets Admiral Ives, now in Gibraltar, who is pleased with the last mission of HMS Surprise , despite Aubrey's negative report. Mr Yarrow will rephrase it to make the success clearer to the ... (Wikipedia)
Off Armageddon Reef
by David Weber
After a devastating war, humanity is forced to start anew on a distant planet, but a religious dictatorship threatens to destroy all progress.
In the 24th century, 8 million people flee to distant Safehold after barely escaping from the destruction of civilization by a genocidal alien foe, the Gbaba. Because the enemy tracked signs of ... (Wikipedia)
Eye of the Needle
by Ken Follett
A thrilling tale of espionage and wartime romance, set in the chaos of WWII.
In 1940, Henry Faber, a German spy nicknamed 'die Nadel' ('The Needle') due to his trademark weapon being a stiletto , is working at a London railway depot, collecting information on troop movements. ... (Wikipedia)
The Fist of God
by Frederick Forsyth
A gripping thriller set during the Gulf War, following a group of soldiers and spies as they race to uncover a secret weapon before it's too late.
Dr. Gerald Bull designs a supergun codenamed Project Babylon for Iraq . He believes that it is for launching satellites into space and assumes it could serve no military purpose for a few reasons: ... (Wikipedia)
Roseanna
by Maj Sjöwall
Detective investigates a murder, uncovering unexpected secrets and corruption.
A young woman is found dead in the Göta Canal , molested and murdered. The case is almost instantly cold: nobody can identify her and where and by whom she was killed. Then a stroke of luck: through ... (Wikipedia)
The Thin Red Line
by James Jones
A group of soldiers fight for survival and sanity in the brutal Guadalcanal campaign during World War II.
"When compared to the fact that he might very well be dead by this time tomorrow, whether he was courageous or not today was pointless, empty. When compared to the fact that he might be dead ... (Goodreads)
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
by Ambrose Bierce
A man is about to be hanged, but escapes and experiences a surreal journey before his inevitable fate.
The condemned man stands on a bridge, his hands bound behind his back. A noose is tied around his neck. In a moment he will meet his fate: DEATH BY HANGING. There is no escape. Or is there? Find out ... (Goodreads)
Swallows and Amazons
by Arthur Ransome
A group of children set sail on a daring adventure, exploring the waters of a beautiful lake.
The book relates the outdoor adventures and play of two families of children. These involve sailing, camping, fishing, exploration and piracy . The Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) are ... (Wikipedia)
From Here to Eternity
by James Jones
Tragic tale of fate and destiny, set in the backdrop of World War II.
In February 1941, Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, nicknamed "Prew", reports to his new posting at G Company, a US Army infantry unit stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Prew is a career soldier ... (Wikipedia)
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
by John le Carré
A British agent's mission to infiltrate East Germany during the Cold War, full of suspense and intrigue.
In this classic, John le Carre's third novel and the first to earn him international acclaim, he created a world unlike any previously experienced in suspense fiction. With unsurpassed knowledge ... (Goodreads)
The Looking Glass War
by John le Carré
Cold War espionage, involving a small British intelligence unit in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
During the early 1960s, the formerly renowned British military intelligence organisation known colloquially as "The Department" is floundering. Surviving on long past memories of its aerial ... (Wikipedia)
Restless
by William Boyd
A thrilling spy novel of international espionage, secrets, and espionage.
Eva, a young Russian woman, is recruited after her brother's death to work for the British secret service . During this time she falls for her mentor and boss, Lucas Romer. But all is not as it seems ... (Wikipedia)
Beat to Quarters
by C.S. Forester
Naval officer's daring mission to track down a powerful enemy warship.
In June 1808, Hornblower is in command of the 36-gun frigate HMS Lydia , with orders to sail to the Pacific coast of Nicaragua (near modern Choluteca, Choluteca ) and supply a local landowner, Don ... (Wikipedia)
