Washoe County Library System

"From one of the great naval leaders of our time, a master class in decision making under pressure through the stories of nine famous acts of leadership in battle drawn from the history of the United States Navy, with outcomes both glorious and notorious. At the heart of Admiral James Stavridis's training as a naval officer was the preparation to lead sailors in combat, to face the decisive moment in battle when it arises and make the best decision...

The mass market edition of the New York Times Bestseller. This is the little-known story of how a newly independent nation was challenged by four Muslim powers and what happened when America's third president decided to stand up to intimidation. When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa routinely captured American...

Loyalty: Peacetime (1807) Hornblower forced to make a living at the gaming tables and caught up in a budding romance with his landlady's daughter, Maria. Hornblower goes on a reconnaissance mission that uncovers French perfidy, leading to renewed war. Complications arise when he is betrayed and temporarily imprisoned. Hornblower and Maria get married. Duty: Admiral Pellew's sends Hornblower off in search of his old mate Bracegirdle, whose sloop Grasshopper...

A thrilling account of the brutal decades-long battle between Christendom and Islam for the soul of Europe. This struggle's brutal climax came between 1565 and 1571, seven years that witnessed a fight to the finish decided in a series of bloody set pieces: the epic siege of Malta, in which a tiny band of Christian defenders defied the might of the Ottoman army; the savage battle for Cyprus; and the apocalyptic last-ditch defense of southern Europe...

Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend, surgeon Stephen Maturin, sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy--and a treacherous disease that decimates the crew. With a Dutch man-of-war to windward, the undermanned, outgunned Leopard sails for her life into the freezing waters of the Antarctic, where, in mountainous seas, the Dutchman closes...

"A close-up, action-filled narrative about the crucial role the U.S. Navy played in the early years of the Cold War, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Fleet at Flood Tide This landmark account of the U.S. Navy in the Cold War, Who Can Hold the Sea, combines narrative history with scenes of stirring adventure on--and under--the high seas. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the victorious Navy sends its sailors home and decommissions...

"On October 31, 1803, the frigate USS Philadelphia ran aground on a reef a few miles outside the harbor of Tripoli. Since April 1801, the United States had been at war with Tripoli, one of the Barbary “pirate” regimes, over the payment of annual tribute—bribes so that American merchant ships would not be seized and their crews held hostage. After hours under fire, the Philadelphia, aground and defenseless, surrendered, and 307 American sailors...

Following his rapid rise through the ranks of the King's Navy, Hornblower is assigned to the HMS Renown which is sailing to the West Indies to subdue a pirate fleet. Her brutal captain is rapidly going insane forcing Hornblower to take action that threatens not only his naval career but his life as well.

"From the moment that Master and Commander, the first of Patrick O'Brian's sequence of 20 novels about the 19th century British Royal Navy officer Jack Aubrey and his surgeon colleague Stephen Maturin, was published in 1970, critics hailed his work as a masterpiece of historical recreation. Called "the best historical novels ever written" by the New York Times, the books have sold millions of copies. This first full-color illustrated companion to...