The Last Boomerang [Hardcover]

John McIntyre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2003

It is late 1955. From tumultuous Nicosia, snooping US Navy crews regularly taunt the Soviet giant with their "Boomerang" surveillance flights north into the "Pond" - the Black Sea. Nasser is in power in Egypt, Israel is independent, and Great Britain is retrenching her Middle East forces to newly strategic Cyprus. There, at the center of waning British influence, these flights super impose Cold War tensions on the brittle politics of the region, while in Washington, they fuel inter-service rivalries and stir up memories and paybacks long overdue. Against a backdrop of see thing Cypriot tensions and growing terrorism, one American crew bravely pursues an important intelligence catch, and their story spins out against the unusual ethical and romantic conflict their pilot faces as he grapples with the drive to protect his men and, at the same time, perform his top secret mission. We watch the "Beast," the specialized American surveillance aircraft, take center stage in the lives of its crew in their adventures on a dark night in a strange part of the world. Cypriot patriots and Cold Warriors, the British and (as the alluring Czech spy-for-hire describes them) the "not so British," churn toward a showdown engineered by a crafty American intelligence master. Finally, we watch as an American Admiral and a British Field Marshall - both historical person ages - maneuver to insure that greater values are preserved as they cope with the fall out from the highly charged intersection of their national interests.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John McIntyre flew surveillance flights throughout Europe and the Middle East during the Cold War. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: 1st Book Library (October 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410798755
• ISBN-13: 978-1410798756
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,160,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Book!, November 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Boomerang (Paperback)

What to make of this unconventional first novel that seems to work equally well on three levels? As a techno-thriller, it delves into the primitive state of the art of electronic intelligence a half century ago, capturing the audio clicks and clack of Soviet radar signals frozen in time on wire recorders "on the darkest night of the year" in a thunderstorm over the Black Sea. On another level, it plumbs the psyche of its straight-arrow pilot protagonist as he justifies a desperate romance by convincing himself that it and it alone insures the safety of his secret missions by deceiving their targets, only to find that he's gotten it all horribly wrong. And as a sophisticated political examination of the geopolitics of power and its balance in Nasser's Middle East, it does a creditable job of placing the players in their historic field positions in the game of influence and strife. In the meantime, we are treated to mini-tutorials on aircraft mechanics, celestial navigation, inter-service rivalry and old-fashioned skullduggery between an Admiral and a Field Marshall, both historic people, who seem to come alive and sweat the problem. Put them all together and the word "non-traditional" comes immediately to mind. A lot of fictional molds have been broken with "The Last Boomerang." This is a revealing, fascinating, delightful read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, March 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Boomerang (Hardcover)

This is the best book about Cold War exploits I have ever read, and it delves into a subject very few people are familiar with - our surveillance in the Black Sea during the fifties. The book is tightly plotted with an ingenious twist on the "duty-honor-country" theme, and it's the first book I've read in a long time in which each character comes alive to the reader. The flying sequence is just magnificent, and the author - whoever he is - really knows his background and his subject. I strongly recommend this to anyone of any age group or background.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be Prepared To Stay Up Late!, December 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Boomerang (Paperback)

This Naval Aviation/Spy thriller will captivate you. The mission flight 'over the Pond' is especially realistic. I should know. I flew this very aircraft on this type of mission in this location, but from a different operating base.

Pay close attention because the characters intertwine in intriguing ways and you are given lots of clues as the plot thickens. This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys a well crafted mystery. But it will be especially riveting for those with any aviation backgrould.

Highly recommended.