AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

DON KEITH

Don Keith

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Don Keith is the author of more than 30 published books, fiction and non-fiction, on a wide range of subjects. Those include college sports, NASCAR racing, broadcasting, World War II, submarines, history, amateur radio, and more. He has also written several biographies of remarkable individuals. Don has won numerous awards for his writing and has had a work submitted for consideration for the Pulitzer Prize. Several of his works have also been national bestsellers. Three books have been optioned as major motion pictures including FIRING POINT, re-titled HUNTER KILLER starring Gerard Butler, Billy Bob Thornton and Gary Oldman, coming in 2017. Don's web site is www.donkeith.com.

The Ship That Wouldn't Die: The Saga of the USS Neosho- A World War II Story of Courage and Survival at Sea

by Don Keith

An acclaimed naval historian tells one of the most inspiring sea stories of World War II: the Japanese attack on the American oiler USS Neosho and the gutsy crew’s struggle for survival as their slowly sinking ship drifted—lost, defenseless, and alone—on the treacherous Coral Sea. In May 1942, Admiral Jack Fletcher’s Task Force 17 closed in for the war’s first major clash with the Japanese Navy. The Neosho, a vitally important tanker capable of holding more than 140,000 barrels of fuel, was ordered away from the impending battle. Minimally armed, she was escorted by a destroyer, the Sims. As the Battle of the Coral Sea raged two hundred miles away, the ships were attacked by Japanese dive bombers. Both crews fought valiantly, but when the smoke cleared, the Sims had slipped beneath the waves, and the Neosho was ablaze and listing badly, severely damaged from seven direct hits and a suicide crash. Scores of sailors were killed or wounded, while hundreds bobbed in shark-infested waters. Fires on board threatened to spark a fatal explosion, and each passing hour brought the ship closer to sinking. It was the beginning of a hellish four-day ordeal as the crew struggled to stay alive and keep their ship afloat, while almost two hundred men in life rafts drifted away without water, food, or shelter. Only four of them would survive to be rescued after nine days. Working from eyewitness accounts and declassified documents, Keith offers up vivid portraits of Navy heroes: the Neosho’s skipper, Captain John Phillips, whose cool, determined leadership earned him a Silver Star; Lieutenant Commander Wilford Hyman, skipper of the Sims, who remained on his vessel’s bridge throughout the attack and made the ultimate sacrifice to try to save his ship; Seaman Jack Rolston, who pulled oil-soaked survivors out of the water and endured days adrift in an open life raft; and Chief Watertender Oscar Peterson, whose selflessness saved the lives of innumerable shipmates and earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor. A tale of a ship as tough and resilient as its crew, The Ship That Wouldn’t Die captures the indomitable spirit of the American sailor—and finally brings to the surface one of the great untold sagas of the Pacific War.From the Hardcover edition.

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Category: History

Undersea Warrior: The World War II Story of "Mush" Morton and the USS Wahoo

by Don Keith

No man above or below the waves was as admired--or feared--as this determined naval commander... Among submariners in World War II, Dudley "Mush" Morton stood out as a warrior without peer. At the helm of the USS Wahoo he completely changed the way the sea war was fought in the Pacific. He would relentlessly attack the Japanese at every opportunity, going through his supply of torpedoes in record time on every patrol. In only nine months, he racked up an astounding list of achievements, including being the first American skipper to wipe out an entire enemy convoy single-handedly.Here, for the first time, is the life and legend of a heroic, dynamic, and ultimately divisive submarine commander who fought the war on his own terms, and refused to do so any other way.

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Category: History

Firing Point

by George Wallace

At the top of the world… At the bottom of the sea…A war has begun. Below the polar ice cap, an American nuclear submarine moves quietly in the freezing water, tailing a new Russian sub. But the usual, unspoken game of hide-and-seek between opposing captains is ended when the Americans hear sounds of disaster and flooding, and the Russian sub sinks in a thousand feet of water. The American sub rushes to help, only to join its former quarry in the deep. The situation ignites tensions around the world. As both Washington and Moscow prepare for what may be the beginnings of World War III, the USS Toledo—led by young, untested Captain Joe Glass—heads to the location to give aid. He soon discovers that the incident was no accident. And the men behind it have yet to make their final move. A move only Glass can stop.

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Category: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

The Spin

by Don Keith

Sometimes you have to listen to your heart, not your head.Jerry Gray is an average man--a straight-arrow family man, hard worker, faithful husband--but with a non-average amount of troubles stacking up around him. His marriage is failing, his daughter may be dying of a rare blood disorder, he is still paying his late father's hospital and funeral bills, and his closely-held dreams have been shoved aside at every turn. And then, at the worst possible time, he loses his job in a major layoff. That is when Gray decides he has to step away from his level-headed approach to life--the down-the-middle existence his father preached--and take a chance. A very big chance. He decides to cash in what little he has left and risk it all on one spin of the roulette wheel in Las Vegas. That seems to him to be the only way to escape from the troubles that are overwhelming him. This drastic gamble quickly becomes much more than simply a symbol for taking a risk and following a dream for Jerry Gray. The news of his quest quickly spreads, becomes a media circus, and captures the imaginations of millions. Soon, Gray is joined by thousands of other people who show up at his home or wait for them to arrive in Vegas, all of them ready to take their own symbolic risk in life, to step out of formation and reach for a dream.Along the way, we meet some of these fascinating characters who see their own lives changed dramatically for the better when they join Jerry's ride to Vegas for The Spin. And these are characters you will never forget. Chauncey McKissack, a long-time family friend who harbors a deep, dark secret not even Jerry could have guessed. A beautiful singer/songwriter who places such uncommon pressure on herself that it ultimately prevents her music from being heard. A leftover from the "Summer of Love" whose insight and incantations spur the group along on their quest. A would-be writer who allows fear of failure to stymie his stories before they even get started. A narcissistic TV news anchor who can only manage to love his own image. The owners of a hole-in-the-wall casino off the strip in Las Vegas and the publisher of a girly magazine, all whose luck is changed amazingly when The Spin lands in their laps. A drug-crazed pro-basketball player who literally lands in the middle of Jerry's fateful ride to the desert to risk everything.This amazing heart-over-head parable will have readers re-thinking their own lives and dreams as they go along with Jerry Gray and his odd parade, all the way to Las Vegas and the ultimate impartial spin of the roulette wheel. Red or black? Win or lose? Just as it did for those closest to The Spin, its outcome and what it really means will leave you both amazed and inspired.

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Category: Literature & Fiction

Dangerous Grounds

by Don Keith

The most deadly waters in the world. More rocks, shoals and uncharted reefs than can be counted. Thousands of wrecks litter the bottom, their bones bleached white on the reefs. And, if reefs, shoals and massive typhoons aren’t enough, pirates lurk to take the unwary. They lie directly across some of the most congested shipping lanes in the world and in the heart of a cauldron where politics, religion, drugs, and greed boils over. A young Naval Academy midshipman, a few SEALs, and the crew of a stolen submarine are the only people in a position to stop terrorists bent on bringing down a nuclear Armageddon, unleashing a holy war on mankind. Ripped directly from today’s headlines, it all starts in a part of the world that has for centuries been designated on navigational charts as The Dangerous Grounds.

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Category: History

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