Books with author john macdonald

The author of How to Cook from A-Z disproves the myth of British navy culinary misconduct in “a work of serious history that is a delight to read” (British Food in America). This celebration of the Georgian sailor’s diet reveals how the navy’s administrators fed a fleet of more than 150,000 men, in ships that were often at sea for months on end and that had no recourse to either refrigeration or canning. Contrary to the prevailing image of rotten meat and weevily biscuits, their diet was a surprisingly hearty mixture of beer, brandy, salt beef and pork, peas, butter, cheese, hard biscuit, and the exotic sounding lobscouse, not to mention the Malaga raisins, oranges, lemons, figs, dates, and pumpkins which were available to ships on far-distant stations. In fact, by 1800 the British fleet had largely eradicated scurvy and other dietary disorders. While this scholarly work contains much of value to the historian, the author’s popular touch makes this an enthralling story for anyone with an interest in life at sea in the age of sail. “Overall this is an excellent examination of this crucial aspect of British naval power, and I’m certainly going to try out some of the recipes.” —HistoryOfWar.org

Skipper Alex von Strada is one of the Fleet’s highest achieving officers, commanding the corvette Minnow with a company of eccentric officers and last-chance crew sent to him for rehab. The updated 2nd Edition includes the free first chapter of Fourth Fleet Irregulars Book 2: Karadon.After a PR disaster has activists and media storming the Admiralty gates, First Lord Dix Harangay sends Minnow out on a makework patrol. Inspector Mako Ireson goes with them to investigate what’s really going on. Mako has never been on a starship before. He can’t tell port from starboard, doesn’t know what the 0-G sign means at freefall hatchways, and may need to change his underwear after the launch.Nobody is expecting that the “mission zero” they've been sent on will turn into a real operation. When it does, the Minnow’s crew has to rise to the challenge and justify their skipper’s faith in them.This is the first mission of the legendary Fourth Fleet Irregulars, the unit you send for when you need a miracle.For Mako Ireson, it will be the adventure of a lifetime.

From a beloved master of crime fiction, The Dreadful Lemon Sky is one of many classic novels featuring Travis McGee, the hard-boiled detective who lives on a houseboat. Around four in the morning, Travis McGee is jarred awake by a breathless ghost from his past: an old flame who needs a place to stash a package full of cash. What’s in it for McGee? Ten grand and no questions asked. Two weeks later, she’s dead. “The Travis McGee novels are among the finest works of fiction ever penned by an American author.”—Jonathan Kellerman Carolyn Milligan was only aboard McGee’s boat for one night. She came to drop off a hundred grand for safekeeping. What Carrie really needed was someone to keep her safe. She said she’d be back in a month. Instead Carrie is killed in a dubious roadside accident. Now McGee is left with a fortune—and a nagging conscience. So McGee takes a trip to the seedy little town of Bayside, Florida, to look into Carrie’s life before she showed up on his boat. What McGee finds only pushes him further into the corrupt world of drugs and blood that Carrie was trying to escape. McGee is used to high stakes, but when the bodies start piling up, even he may be in over his head. Features a new Introduction by Lee Child

"The professional's professional of suspense writers."THE NEW YORK TIMESTravis McGee has been offered easy money by a longtime lady friend. But when she gets killed, McGee's got a boatload of mystery. Navigating his boat into troubled waters, he heads for the seamier side of Florida--where drug dealing, twisted sex, and corruption are easy to find--but murderous riddles are hard to solve....

From a beloved master of crime fiction, The Empty Copper Sea is one of many classic novels featuring Travis McGee, the hard-boiled detective who lives on a houseboat.Asking for help is something a proud man like Van Harder would never do. So when he shows up at the Busted Flush, Travis McGee knows that he must be the man’s last resort. What Harder wants salvaged is his reputation. After a long career as a seaman, he was piloting a boat the night his employer fell overboard. Harder is certain he’s been set up, but to help him, McGee must prove that a dead man is actually alive.“John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all us in the field. Talk about the best.”—Mary Higgins ClarkThe fateful ride started with Harder at the helm of Hubbard Lawless’s luxury cruiser. It ends with him coming to, fuzzy and disoriented, and Hub lost to the water. Now everyone is saying that Harder got drunk, passed out, and is negligent in his boss’s death. The thing is, Van’s not a drinker . . . at least, not anymore.Who would want to frame the good captain, and to what end? Dead or alive, Lawless is worth a lot of money. People are always eager to get a piece of that action—including some, as McGee soon finds, who are willing to take a piece out of anyone who gets in their way.Features a new Introduction by Lee Child

Discover a world where losing a video game has terrible consequences.Jake Wingfoot is Dybsy, the legendary gamer and esports champion. He has earned the fear and respect of clans and guilds throughout the world, but nothing has prepared him for the Singe, where humanity is fighting a secret war -- a video-game war.The Singe is under attack by an enemy known only as Nemesis, defended by the elite soldiers of Vector Academy. But Nemesis is winning, and the Academy needs a new plan and a new weapon. Enter Dybsy...When the Academy reveals the Singe and recruits Dybsy into the war, he must train in neuro-combat and learn to fight within his team of gamer misfits. If he can't, the enemy will conquer the Singe and humanity will fall -- and worse, Dybsy might never game again.

From a beloved master of crime fiction, The Long Lavender Look is one of many classic novels featuring Travis McGee, the hard-boiled detective who lives on a houseboat.A lovely young thing, wearing little more than a determined look, streaks out of the darkness and into Travis McGee’s headlights. McGee hits the brakes, misses the fleeing soul by inches, and lands upside down in ten feet of water—and right into the heart of a violent mystery.“To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen.”—Kurt VonnegutMcGee and his old friend Meyer are cruising along on their way back from a wedding when the girl darts in front of their car. They manage to emerge from the wreckage and are limping along the deserted Florida road when someone comes by in an old truck and takes a couple of shots at them. So much for Southern hospitality. McGee and Meyer head to a service station to regroup, but are there arrested and charged with murder.It turns out a local thug has just been killed, and the lead suspects are Meyer and McGee. Someone’s obviously out to get them—and in this Twilight Zone they’ve found themselves in, they must gather their resources to fight for their lives against a deeply corrupt system.Features a new Introduction by Lee Child

"The professional's professional of suspense writers."THE NEW YORK TIMESVan Harder, once a hard drinker, has found religion. But that doesn't keep folks from saying he murdered his employer, Hub Lawless, whose body hasn't been found. To clear his name, and cear up the mystery, Van asks friend-in-need Travis McGee to find out what really happened. What McGee finds is that Timber Bay is a toug h town to get a break in when you're a stranger asking questions. But what he also finds is that, dead or alive, Hub Lawless is worth a lot of money. Some are eager to get a piece of that action--and some are willing to take more than a piece out of anyone who gets in the way....

War is threatening. The grey parrot with the bright red tail named Kasuku is flying as fast as he can to reach the village of Kiritiri and the hut of the powerful and aging warrior, Chief Pachunga. But if Kjaz-Barbaroi, an evil leader with designs on ruling Africa, gets to the hut first, it will be too late for all of them. Kasuku carries orders from Olugbala to tell the chief, who has been held prisoner for three rainy seasons, that he must raise an army to fight against Kjaz-Barbaroi and his contingent of Dark Creatures. Pachunga and the parrot narrowly escape the village, and with Kjaz-Barbaroi close behind, they face constant danger. Joined by Muriel Sniggins, the trio travels through the jungle, descend into a cave system inhabited by a long-lost race of people, and finally reach the savannah. As they journey, Pachunga's army continues to grow person by person, group by group. In the meantime, Kjaz-Barbaroi's army also gets larger and larger. Each day brings them closer and closer to the final battle. Pachunga wonders if his army will be large enough, strong enough, and brave enough to defeat the evil Kjaz-Barbaroi.