The Saga Of Sailor Jack

Surviving the sinking of his ship, the U.S.S. Houston, on March 1, 1942, and making a 10-½ hour swim to the beach on Java, is only one of Jack’s exciting adventures. As a small boy on cattle ranches in Southern California, he attended one-room schools. After graduating from Santa Barbara High School, he joined the U.S. Navy. He thoroughly enjoyed the travels until his ship was sunk and he became a Prisoner of War of the barbaric and cruel Japanese. With only the strong will to life, a good sense of humor, and the Grace of God did he survive 3 ½ years of Hell Holes. After the end of World War II, he remained in the U.S. Navy, and with diligent study he advanced up through the ranks to become a Commander! He was assigned as Chief Engineer on his last two ships that were Aircraft Carriers. Before and after the war, he had many compelling romances, lots of rollicking fun, and real exciting adventures enough to last two life times.

A thrilling tale of the high seas, pirates, war, and romance.

Bob and Richard were two lower-class provincials who went out and made a name for themselves. Grammar school boys from Lancashire, they’d shared in the great flowering of working-class culture from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, before rising with the meritocracy in business and industry. By their own admission, they’d taken far more out than they would ever put in. Now in their sixties, they spend time soul-searching, but in different ways; Richard looks for meaning and Bob purpose. Richard sees events as fickle fate, presently working in his favour; Bob as a catalogue of decisions he’d enjoyed making, with some bad ones currently coming home to roost. As they look for someone or something to believe in before the last trumpet sounds, both men are to be tested over the next year in life, love and death. Just one thing is for sure: they will both be changed. Where’s Sailor Jack? is a family saga that takes in three generations of two families with all the struggles, tribulations and fireworks that you would expect – as well as plenty you wouldn’t.

ALL ABOARD THAT'S GOING ABROAD! Plunge into the treacherous South Seas with Sailor Jack in this thrilling maritime saga aboard the steamer ship Queen of the Waves as it makes the perilous journey to Melbourne. Jack, our hero, having repented of a prodigal past of drinking and ungodliness, now faces multiple tests of his courage and faith. When a mate tumbles overboard, Jack's instantaneous act of bravery-diving fearlessly into the rough seas-displays his growing trust in God. Then, amidst the chaos of an even greater tragedy, one that threatens every life on board, his unshaken resolve demonstrates a deepening trust in Christ that amazes everyone on board.Jack's heroism and conviction do not escape the notice of a wealthy cynic making the journey, a Mr. Wynards, whose life is forever changed by witnessing Jack's genuine commitment to his beliefs under life-threatening perils. Inspired by a trust in God that emboldens such selfless courage, Wynards begins to question his own values and priorities. Through their frequent conversations, Mr. Wynards reflects on Jack's Christ-centered answers regarding the true meaning of life and the wisdom Jack has gleaned from his godly father who waits patiently and prayerfully back home for the safe return of his dear son. Wynard is so deeply impressed by the transformative power of Christ evidenced by Jack's faithful Christian life that he earnestly reevaluates his lifelong beliefs and embarks upon his own personal journey of faith.Come join us on this gripping tale of survival, sacrifice, and salvation as Sailor Jack and his crew battle against the relentless Indian Ocean, their fate at times hanging by a thread. With each crashing wave and looming peril, the power of faith will leave you breathless. Brace yourself for an awe-inspiring literary adventure demonstrating the transformative power of Christ, and God's enduring grace. It will leave an indelible mark on your soul.

The road of life brings events along the way that may offer changes to a person's destiny. This story is about the life of William Wright Stevens Jr. and the family he descended from. He was one of the heroes on board the USS Houston (Heavy Cruiser C-A-30), which also served the flagship of the US Navy. The life events helped make the heroes they were as they met their destiny still standing watch.

In the Highest Degree Tragic tells the heroic story of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet’s sacrifice defending the Dutch East Indies from the Japanese in the first three months of the Pacific War. Donald M. Kehn Jr.’s comprehensive narrative history of the operations involving multiple ships and thousands of men dramatically depicts the chaotic nature of these battles. His research has uncovered evidence of communications failures, vessels sinking hundreds of miles from where they had been reported lost, and entire complements of men simply disappearing off the face of the earth. Kehn notes that much of the fleet went down with guns blazing and flag flying, highlighting, where many others have failed to do so, the political and strategic reasons for the fleet’s deployment to the region in the first place. In the Highest Degree Tragic rectifies the historical record, showcasing how brave yet all-too-human sailors and officers carried out their harrowing tasks. Containing rare first-person accounts and anecdotes, from the highest command echelons down to the lowest enlisted personnel, Kehn’s book is the most comprehensive and exhaustive study to date of this important part of American involvement in World War II.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Son, we’re going to Hell." The navigator of the USS Houston confided these prophetic words to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into U.S. naval legend. Renowned as FDR’s favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn’t a fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death. Hornfischer brings to life the awesome terror of nighttime naval battles that turned decks into strobe-lit slaughterhouses, the deadly rain of fire from Japanese bombers, and the almost superhuman effort of the crew as they miraculously escaped disaster again and again–until their luck ran out during a daring action in Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the Houston was finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home. In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized in such films as The Bridge on the River Kwai, the war continued for the men of the Houston—a life-and-death struggle to survive forced labor, starvation, disease, and psychological torture. Here is the gritty, unvarnished story of the infamous Burma–Thailand Death Railway glamorized by Hollywood, but which in reality mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals, who fought back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, will–power—and the undying faith that their country would prevail. Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of Houston’s survivors, James Hornfischer has crafted an account of human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring, it’s easy to forget that every single word is true. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from James D. Hornfischer's Neptune's Inferno.