Publication Date: September 1998 | Series: Dirk Pitt Adventure
A LUFTWAFFE ACE WHO WOULDN'T DIE...
A BRUNETTE BEAUTY WITH DANGEROUS SECRETS...
A LETHAL, BILLION-DOLLAR CARGO!
On an isolated Greek island, a World War I fighter plane attacks a modern U.S. Air Force base...a mysterious saboteur preys on an American scientific expedition...and Dirk Pitt® plays a deadly game of hunter and hunted with the elusive head of an international smuggling ring.
Dirk Pitt, intrepid hero of Clive Cussler's smash bestsellers Dragon, Sahara, and Inca Gold, is hot on the trail of a mammoth drug conspiracy controlled by a missing Nazi War criminal. On land and in the depths of the Aegean, Pitt trouble shoots his way through one of his most daring, desperate adventures!
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"A new Clive Cussler novel is like a visit from your best friend."
Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Cussler is a master of building suspense and tension."
United Press International
"Cussler can keep anyone on the edge of their chair with his gripping descriptions of action...."
New York Daily News
"Get-to-the-next-page excitement... Dirk Pitt is a combination James Bond and Jacques Cousteau...."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Publisher
On an isolated Greek island, a World War I fighter plane attacks a modern U.S. Air Force base...a mysterious saboteur preys on an American scientific expedition...and DIRK PITT~ plays a deadly game of hunter and hunted with the elusive head of an international smuggling ring.
DIRK PITT, intrepid hero of Clive Cussler's smash bestsellers Dragon, Sahara, and Inca Gold, is hot on the trail of a mammoth drug conspiracy controlled by a missing Nazi war criminal. On land and in the depths of the Aegean, Pitt trouble-shoots his way through one of his most daring, desperate adventures!
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Clive Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt(R), in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time since the College was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed. Cussler is an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers have discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea. In September, 1998, NUMA - which turns over all artifacts to state and Federal authorities, or donates them to museums and universities - launched its own web site for those wishing more information about maritime history or wishing to make donations to the organization. In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler is also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He has been honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration. Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey, Black Wind, Treasure of Kahn and Arctic Drift (the last three with his son, Dirk Cussler) as well as The Chase; the nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt (R) Revealed; the NUMA(R) Files novels Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death, Lost City, Polar Shift, The Navigator and Medusa (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch, Skeleton Coast, Plague Ship and Corsair (written with Jack Du Brul). Clive Cussler lives in Arizona.
I have a certain fondness for this Cussler novel, sure its missing some of those fun "pretitles" style preludes that tie together seemingly unrelated historical events in an ingenious manner and it's also very politically incorrect (but not as much as PACIFIC VORTEX is). But, this Dirk Pitt adventure (the first published, though Cussler wrote the aforementioned PACIFIC VORTEX first), is a fun ride of a novel and moves along at a fast pace (it's actually one of Cusslers shortest, if not THE shortest). With some very vivid fight scenes and some nice Alistair Maclean-esque plotting (apparently Cussler used the late Scottish writer's work as a template until he found his own style) this Cussler novel really delivers and I made fast work of it reading over a weekend about a year ago.
Starting with the attack on a US airfield in the Greek islands by a biplane and involving smuggling, German fighter aces and the trademark underwater sequences for which Cussler is perhaps best known for (through his non-fiction writings as much as for Dirk Pitt) I can guarantee that this novel will no doubt charm even the harshest of Cusslers critics as long as they take it for what it is - some harmless. Mildly diverting fun.
On a sidenote, all the reviewers who are commenting on the bad writing should really lighten up, this was after all one of Clive Cussler's earliest works :)
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I will keep this review short. I have read all of Cussler's works over the past dozen years or so. I read The Mediterranean Caper perhaps ten years ago. To this day I still believe that it was my favorite of the Dirk Pitt stories. If you are a new fan of Cussler - pull this older book out. It is a classic.
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I first started reading Cussler when I found Pacific Vortex at my condo complex's library. I became addicted. Dirk Pitt novels are all top-notch adventure stories with political suspense, romance, and high-speed car chases thrown in. This is the 2nd book in the series, though it was the first one printed, and is an exciting, riveting adventure tale. I don't want to spoil a lot, but the plot is excellent, and as always, as twisty as the roads Pitt drives his sports cars on. It all starts when Dirk Pitt, the main hero, and Al Giordano find an antique WWII Bomber plane attacking a United States Base. With the help of a beautiful secret agent, Pitt is thrown into a wild action-packed tale of danger and villanous criminals. As with many Pitt books, the political entanglements can sometimes slow the action, but I still highly recommend this story, and the rest of the series. Enjoy the read.
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