The Edge of Honor [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

P. T. Deutermann (Author), multivoice (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1994

A man's duty. . . a woman's passion. . . The Edge of Honor cuts both ways. In this sweeping novel of the Vietnam War at sea and on the homefront, Lieutenant Brian Holcomb, smart, ambitious, honorable, and up for promotion, discovers that his ship - the USS John Bell Hood - hides a dangerous secret. What Brian does about it may end his career, or threaten the lives of hundreds. A fully-imagined tale of passion, adventure, and betrayal, The Edge of Honor features a cast of characters whose public vows and private motives drive the plot.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Deutermann delivers a lot more than the standard military thriller in his second novel (after Scorpion in the Sea) , though there is certainly plenty of high-tech weaponry and violent action surrounding the mission of the U.S.S. John Bell Hood in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War. The author's 26 years of active Navy service are put to good use in depicting shipboard life, procedures and reactions under battle conditions. While Deutermann differs from other purveyors of military fiction in his ability to create strong and compelling female characters, the story of Maddy Holcomb's seduction by an intriguing civilian Marine trainer back home in San Diego is essentially a counterpoint to the heart of the matter, her husband Lt. Brian Holcomb's shipboard struggle with an unexpected enemy. Slotted as weapons officer aboard the Hood , Holcomb desperately needs a good rating to advance his career. After a disastrous foul-up makes evident that there is a dangerous drug problem among the enlisted ranks aboard ship, he wants to crack down hard, but is thwarted by the executive officer. Ship's command chooses to deal with the situation in its own off-the-books fashion, keyed somehow, Brian comes to realize, to the enigmatic captain's strange behavior. Brian continues to press to have things done "the Navy way," unaware that the Hood 's mysterious drug kingpin is sabotaging his efforts. Deutermann keeps the adrenalin pumping in this exciting genre standout.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Brian Holcomb is the new weapons officer for the John Bell Hood, a guided-missile frigate on patrol off the coast of Vietnam in the last months of the war. Striving to overcome a less-than-glowing fitness report from his previous ship, Holcomb is tempted to fall into the "go with the flow" ethics of the other officers, who overlook stoned young sailors, until he is befriended by a group of chief petty officers who practice their own justice to keep the ship afloat. In the meantime, Brian's beautiful but immature wife, Maddy, is attracted to a mysterious Native American on his own way to the war, and the ship's captain seems to be unwell and curiously detached from daily problems. Vividly drawn scenes of shipboard life and customs, including liberty at Subic Bay in the Philippines, are contrasted with the high-tension drama of the war itself. Deutermann, a career naval officer, does his usual excellent job of accurate and exciting tale-telling; his romantic subplot, here more successful than in Scorpion in the Sea (LJ 9/15/92), allows him to add the extra dimension of the world of navy wives. A winner for naval history and adventure buffs.
Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svcs., Ridgecrest, Cal.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Unabridged Library Edition; Unabridged edition (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561001899
• ISBN-13: 978-1561001897
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5 x 3.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,625,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter T. Deutermann
(P.T. Deutermann)


Peter Deutermann was born in Boston in 1941. His father was in the Navy, so he subsequently lived all over the United States and also in Argentina. He graduated from the naval academy in 1963 and served in the navy for 26 years, rising to the rank of Captain. While in the navy, he published one textbook on naval operations and several professional articles in navy-oriented journals. He held three commands: a Swiftboat in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, a guided missile destroyer in the Atlantic Fleet, and a destroyer squadron based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. His last tour of duty was as the division director for chemical, biological, and radiological weapons arms control negotiations on the staff of the Joint Chiefs in Washington, DC.
He retired from active duty in 1989 and began his fiction-writing career. He has published fourteen novels since 1992, all with St. Martins Press, including the just-released World War II navy novel, entitled Pacific Glory. He is currently working on his next book, a thriller set at the historic mountain fortress of Masada in Israel.
In addition to a BS in naval engineering, Mr. Deutermann holds an MA in public administration from the University of Washington. He is also a Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. He is married and has two children. Mr. Deutermann and his wife of 42 years live in Rockingham County, in the Piedmont of North Carolina, on their family pony farm.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Sea Story, January 23, 2000

By 

Reg Cassibry (Bossier City, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Edge of Honor (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the best contemporary Navy story I have read. Many of us who served in the Navy in that era fought the same fights on our ships as did LT Holcumb on the mythical Hood. (Don't think the problem Holcomb had on the Hood didn't exist - it did. We had a similar experience with drug use on my ship as several key personnel we were removed from duty at a critical time.) The CIC scenes in the book are excellent - they brought back memories of long, difficult watches. The relationship between Holcomb and his Chief is well done - with Holcomb trying to learn from the more experienced man, while trying to provide leadership. Further, Deutermann well describes the loneliness and stuggles faced by spouses left behind when the ship deployed. While I am an avid reader, I rarely reread a book. However, I've reread this one several times. It is highly reccommended. REC

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stand-by, Execute!, July 5, 2000

By 

P. Connors "Colonialpara" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Edge of Honor (Mass Market Paperback)

Well, Captain P.T. Deutermann USN (Ret) has done it again. He has written another well thought-out military thriller that also has all the ingredients of a good mystery. With each book released, he just gets better and better.

LT Brian Holcomb is a young surface warfare officer who is trying to undo the damage of a potentially career-ending fitness report. Attempting to do so, he takes an assignment to a guided missile cruiser, the USS JOHN BELL HOOD. Once aboard, he realizes that he will have his hands full. Drug abuse is rampant and as those of us who remember 1969 can attest, the American war effort was already universally reviled by civilians and military people alike.

LT Holcomb leaves behind his wife Maddy who is beginning to feel the stirring of restlessness and the desire to be her own person. She realizes as she embarks on a career as a banker that she does not need to be the good little Navy wife and stand by her man. She does not need to be Mrs. "Lieutenant" Holcomb to have a life of her own making.

But Brian is at war and the USS JOHN BELL HOOD is on the firing line in the South China Sea. Mr Deutermann does an outstanding job of describing life at sea during those unpopular war years. He knows from whence he speaks, having commanded a cruiser himself.

Mr Deutermann served his country in the Navy for more than 25 years. He has captured the essence of that service and what sacrifices are made by service members to a "T." If anyone doubts what naval service during the Vietnam War meant, I recommend that they read this book. It is a great look into that period of time and what it meant to value duty, honor and country.

Brian Holcomb is a fine character and a better junior officer than he gave himself credit for. Peter Deutermann did a great job with all of the characterizations in this book, but especially Holcomb's Commanding Officer. I would go so far as to say that if schools around the country pick a naval story to replace THE CAINE MUTINY in their American Lit classes, then this should be the one. But don't take my word for it, read this book and you'll be hooked. You'll go looking for the backlist of all the books by Peter Deutermann and you won't be disappointed.

Thank you Captain Deutermann for another great read. BZ from a former paratrooper.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRAVO ZULU, June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Edge of Honor (Mass Market Paperback)

For those us that experienced Viet Nam as junior officers in the United State Navy, this book is more fact then fiction. Americans would be well served if this novel is made into a movie, providing of course that Mr. Deutermann is given complete artistic control. America needs another glimpse of this part of our history as seen through the eyes of young Americans in a bad place, at a bad time, doing the best job they can. To all that shared this experience and to P.T.Deutermann, Capt., USN, I say Bravo Zulu and godspeed.