Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
Alistair MacLean's War : How the Royal Navy Shaped his Bestsellers, with a Foreword by Lee Child, Hardback Book

Alistair MacLean's War : How the Royal Navy Shaped his Bestsellers, with a Foreword by Lee Child Hardback

Hardback

Only a few left - usually despatched within 24 hours

Description

‘I was delighted when Mark Simmons asked me to write the foreword for this book – mostly because the request implied the book had actually been written and was ready to go.

It’s a subject I have long wanted to see covered, and finally it has been.

Excellent!’ Lee ChildIt is no coincidence that many of Alistair MacLean's most successful novels were sea stories.

In 1941, he was called up after volunteering for the Royal Navy and served as Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and Leading Torpedo Operator.

For the majority of his service, he was on HMS Royalist, a modified Dido-class light cruiser, seeing action in the Arctic, and operations against the German battleship Tirpitz .

The ship then deployed to the Mediterranean taking part in Operation Dragoon the invasion of the South of France and later in operations against German occupied Greek Islands in the Aegean.

After which MacLean and Royalist were deployed to the Indian Ocean and operations against the Japanese in Malaya, Burma, and Sumatra. His wartime experiences coupled with exceptional literary skill resulted in the runaway success of his first novel HMS Ulysses (1955) followed by The Guns of Navarone (1957) and South by Java Head (1958).

These three blockbusters cemented his position as one of the most successful and highly paid authors of the era. While not a whole life biography, Mark Simmon's book provides a fascinating insight into Maclean's war service and subsequent works, which deserve enduring popularity.

Information

Save 20%

£20.00

£15.99

Only a few left - usually despatched within 24 hours
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information