Books with author Tom Cooper

Equipped with well-balanced air wings, huge aircraft carriers have formed the backbone of the United States Navy’s doctrine and strategy since the Second World War. Packing an enormous punch, their purpose is to exercise control over enormous portions of airspace – in the offence or defence.From the mid-1970s until the mid-2000s, the spear tip of the USN air wings was the famous Grumman F-14 Tomcat – widely considered one of the finest air superiority systems in the world. Originally designed as a fast, manoeuvrable and well-armed fighter, the Tomcat entered service as the ultimate long-range fleet defender and became the biggest, most complex and most expensive naval aircraft of its time. Including a unique and exceptional combination of flight characteristics, detection systems and weapons, it earned itself the status of a legend by the mid-1980s.The F-14 Tomcats of the US Navy achieved their first aerial victories during freedom of navigation exercises off Libya in 1981. However, the period during which they saw most combat followed several years later, during Operations Earnest Will and then Desert Storm, from 1987 until 1991.To date, very little has been published about the operations in question. Indeed, the widespread belief is that USN F-14s saw next to no air combat against Iran, and even less so during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. As so often, the reality is entirely different: Tomcats engaged dozens of opponents, often on the verge of the engagement envelope of their powerful AWG-9 radars and AIM-54 Phoenix long-range air-to-air missiles, and sometimes at such close ranges that their pilots selected ‘guns’. Weather- and communications-related problems, but also the incredible discipline of their crews prevented them from scoring up to a dozen aerial victories: however, it is perfectly possible that they scored at least one, perhaps more previously entirely unknown aerial victories – and also lost one of their own to an enemy fighter.Richly illustrated by over 100 photographs and authentic colour profiles, ‘Tomcats of the Storm’ is an exclusive source of reference about some of least-well known air combats fought by US Navy’s fighter crews in recent history.

"A little Elmore Leonard, a little Charles Portis, and very much its own uniquely American self. . .Tom Cooper has written one hell of a novel." –Stephen King When the BP oil spill devastates the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the citizens of the bayou town of Jeanette scramble to replace their lost livelihoods. Among them is one-armed, pill-popping shrimper Gus Lindquist, who has nothing left but the dying glimmer of a boyhood dream: finding the lost treasure of pirate Jean Lafitte. With his metal detector and Pez dispenser full of Oxycontin, Lindquist steers his rickety shrimp boat into the savage Louisiana swamps. Along his journey, Gus meets a motley crew of characters: Wes Trench, a young Cajun man estranged from his father since his mother died in Katrina; Reginald and Victor Toup, sociopathic twin brothers and drug lords; Cosgrove and Hanson, petty criminals searching for a secret that could make them rich, or kill them; and Brady Grimes, a BP middleman out to make his career by swindling the townsfolk of Jeanette, among them his own mother. Funny, dark, and compelling, The Marauders throws these characters on a rollicking collision course that all of them might not survive.

"A little Elmore Leonard, a little Charles Portis, and very much its own uniquely American self. . .Tom Cooper has written one hell of a novel." –Stephen King When the BP oil spill devastates the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the citizens of the bayou town of Jeanette scramble to replace their lost livelihoods. Among them is one-armed, pill-popping shrimper Gus Lindquist, who has nothing left but the dying glimmer of a boyhood dream: finding the lost treasure of pirate Jean Lafitte. With his metal detector and Pez dispenser full of Oxycontin, Lindquist steers his rickety shrimp boat into the savage Louisiana swamps. Along his journey, Gus meets a motley crew of characters: Wes Trench, a young Cajun man estranged from his father since his mother died in Katrina; Reginald and Victor Toup, sociopathic twin brothers and drug lords; Cosgrove and Hanson, petty criminals searching for a secret that could make them rich, or kill them; and Brady Grimes, a BP middleman out to make his career by swindling the townsfolk of Jeanette, among them his own mother. Funny, dark, and compelling, The Marauders throws these characters on a rollicking collision course that all of them might not survive.

When the BP oil spill devastates the Gulf coast, those who made a living by shrimping find themselves in dire straits. For the oddballs and lowlifes who inhabit the sleepy, working class bayou town of Jeannette, these desperate circumstances serve as the catalyst that pushes them to enact whatever risky schemes they can dream up to reverse their fortunes. At the center of it all is Gus Lindquist, a pill-addicted, one armed treasure hunter obsessed with finding the lost treasure of pirate Jean Lafitte. His quest brings him into contact with a wide array of memorable characters, ranging from a couple of small time criminal potheads prone to hysterical banter, to the smooth-talking Oil company middleman out to bamboozle his own mother, to some drug smuggling psychopath twins, to a young man estranged from his father since his mother died in Hurricane Katrina. As the story progresses, these characters find themselves on a collision course with each other, and as the tension and action ramp up, it becomes clear that not all of them will survive these events.

A woman's bungled act of kindness sparks a chain of events that reverberates through the generations uncovering secrets, lies and the biggest scientific controversy of the nineteenth century, the classification of the platypus. Two women, a century apart, are drawn into a mystery surrounding the biggest scientific controversy of the nineteenth century, the classification of the platypus.1808 Agnes Banks, NSWRose Winton wants nothing more than to work with her father, eminent naturalist Charles Winton, on his groundbreaking study of the platypus. Not only does she love him with all her heart, but the discoveries they have made could turn the scientific world on its head. When Charles is unable to make the long sea journey to present his findings to the prestigious Royal Society in England, Rose must venture forth in his stead. What she discovers there will change the lives of future generations. 1908 Sydney, NSWTamsin Alleyn has been given a mission: travel to the Hunter Valley and retrieve an old sketchbook of debateable value, gifted to the Mitchell Library by a recluse. But when she gets there, she finds there is more to the book than meets the eye, and more than one interested party. Shaw Everdene, a young antiquarian bookseller and lawyer, seems to have his own agenda when it comes to the book but Tamsin decides to work with him to try and discover the book's true provenance. The deeper they delve, the more intricate the mystery becomes.As the lives of two women a century apart converge, discoveries rise up from the past and reach into the future, with irrevocable consequences…

"My name is Martin Molloy. I haven’t used my powers in almost two decades. I’ve been a night security guard for four years and not had a panic attack for nearly ten months.Then my old teammate and best friend Vincent is murdered by another power. My carefully constructed solitude crumbles around me as the Police, the Powered Crime Agency and the rest of the team search for answers.All I want is to find out who killed him without having to dredge up too much pain from the past, but when the super-powered killer comes after me, all I am left with are nightmares."POWERLESS is a British-based superhero thriller.People born with extraordinary powers are called Heroes. In Britain today, laws forbid the use of powers in public and force those with abilities to register or face prosecution.Martin, or Roadblock as he used to be known, is a night security guard. It helps him forget his time in The Pulse, one of the biggest superhero teams of Element City. When his best friend is murdered, he is forced to face the demons from his past, before they destroy him.ALSO IN THIS SERIES:- KILLING GODS (The 'Powerless' Superhero Novel Series Book 2)- DIE FAMOUS (The 'Powerless' Superhero Novel Series Book 3)

"When a physically mutated villain's son goes missing from protective care, he is determined to do whatever it takes to find his child and punish those responsible. In his way stand a Child Protection Officer following her heart above her duty, a violent anti-hero group desperate for media attention, a seemingly benevolent hero- worshipping cult, and Martin and Hayley trying to work out who they can trust."KILLING GODS is a British-based superhero thriller. In a world much like our own, people born with extraordinary powers are called 'Heroes'. In the mid 1990s, Heroes were banned from using their powers in public and forced to register their true identities or face arrest. As a result, all superhero teams of the time disbanded, filtering back into society.Today, Martin Molloy, or "Roadblock" as he used to be known, secretly uses his abilities to fight crime while reluctantly training up Hayley, a young teleporter to whom he owes his life. He had planned on a quiet retirement, but when he receives a request for help from an old enemy he is further torn between following the letter of the law and doing the right thing.ALSO IN THIS SERIES:- POWERLESS (The 'Powerless' Superhero Novel Series Book 1)- DIE FAMOUS (The 'Powerless' Superhero Novel Series Book 3)

"Ruth doesn't want to be famous, she just wants to be seen and accepted for who she is. And she is prepared to defy her father to take part in a Hero talent contest to create a new team for Element City.However she doesn't count on a team of villains from the 1970s waking themselves up in order to bring Havoc to the present day. Neither do Martin and Hayley, who inadvertently stumble upon their plot and find themselves risking their lives to save the villain's ultimate target: the TV show's contestants."

2nd Chances: A Book of Treasures Trevor Brady has lost the love of his life, Kate Carter. Overcome with grief, he decides to return to his island in the Caribbean where he learned how to become a guardian angel. He hopes to forgive the Council and find the strength to continue to serve. Before he can get started, Captain Rex Astor kidnaps him and blackmails Trevor into locating his old pirate ship, Stephanie. Captain James Hardy spoke of a valuable treasure the ship was carrying when she sank to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea three hundred years ago. Astor and his crew can taste the wealth that will make them all rich beyond imagination. There is one problem; the bottom of the sea is deadly to immortals and with Trevor’s fragile state of mind, combined with his physical weakness, reality becomes too much for him to fight. The only one that can save him now is Kate, and her soul has passed on to the Promised Land.

My name is Martin Molloy. I haven’t used my powers in almost two decades. I’ve been a night security guard for four years and not had a panic attack for nearly ten months.We are no longer allowed to use our powers in public for fear of arrest. Which suits me fine. They were no use in helping save her anyway. Now I just want to forget everything that happened and stay unknown.But then my old teammate and best friend Vincent is murdered by another hero. My carefully constructed solitude crumbles around me as the Police, the Powered Crime Agency and the rest of my old team search for answers.All I want is to find out who killed him without having to dredge up too much pain from the past, but when the super-powered killer comes after me, all I am left with are nightmares.

2nd Chances: A Book of Treasures Trevor Brady has lost the love of his life, Kate Carter. Overcome with grief, he decides to return to his island in the Caribbean where he learned how to become a guardian angel. He hopes to forgive the Council and find the strength to continue to serve. Before he can get started, Captain Rex Astor kidnaps him and blackmails Trevor into locating his old pirate ship, Stephanie. Captain James Hardy spoke of a valuable treasure the ship was carrying when she sank to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea three hundred years ago. Astor and his crew can taste the wealth that will make them all rich beyond imagination. There is one problem; the bottom of the sea is deadly to immortals and with Trevor’s fragile state of mind, combined with his physical weakness, reality becomes too much for him to fight. The only one that can save him now is Kate, and her soul has passed on to the Promised Land.