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Off the coast of southern Florida, a deadly war is being waged that threatens our national security. Thousands of kilos of illicit drugs are dumped on our shores annually, But "business as usual" takes a quite different turn when Sandra Geffar and Ian Hardcastle (heads of the U.S. Customs Department and the Coast Guard respectively) put their departmental and personal squabbles behind them and team up in a daring plan to put an end to airborne smuggling. The operation is dubbed show more "Hammerheads." And it proposes nothing less than to fight the Colombian cartel with the latest hi-tech weaponry available, until the smugglers up the ante.... show less
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Pretty good book. Exciting stuff in it. Classic Dale Brown thriller about USA's war on drugs. I read/listened the abridged version and the length was just about right. The book contains a lot of characters and (abridged) it doesn't develop any of them very well--a trade off from lengthy discussion. And, I suppose it's a boy book: lots of fun explosions and much technical data.
At 691 pages this isn't a short book, however despite being essentially 700 pages it really doesn't feel that long.
The book covers basically a 3 year period of a new American Government organisation called the 'Border Security Force'(BCF) whose job (amongst other things) is drug interdiction, this is primarly the aspect the story revolves around. On one side you have the 'good' guys wanting to stop the drugs coming in, and the other the 'bad' (or in some cases evil would be a better description) guys wanting to smuggle the drugs into the US/Caribbean.
It's a pretty unique story with a lot of focus on the struggles between the two parties as they attempt to do the actual smuggling. The main aircraft used by the BCF is the V-22 Osprey show more featured on the book cover, the name 'Hammerheads' refers to the nickname of the BCF.
There are some pretty intense Customs raids & numerous flying sequences which are both authentic and gripping.
NB: Whilst this book does have Patrick McLanahan in it and falls between Flight of the Old Dog & Night of the Hawk chronologically it is not part of the Patrick McLanahan series. show less
The book covers basically a 3 year period of a new American Government organisation called the 'Border Security Force'(BCF) whose job (amongst other things) is drug interdiction, this is primarly the aspect the story revolves around. On one side you have the 'good' guys wanting to stop the drugs coming in, and the other the 'bad' (or in some cases evil would be a better description) guys wanting to smuggle the drugs into the US/Caribbean.
It's a pretty unique story with a lot of focus on the struggles between the two parties as they attempt to do the actual smuggling. The main aircraft used by the BCF is the V-22 Osprey show more featured on the book cover, the name 'Hammerheads' refers to the nickname of the BCF.
There are some pretty intense Customs raids & numerous flying sequences which are both authentic and gripping.
NB: Whilst this book does have Patrick McLanahan in it and falls between Flight of the Old Dog & Night of the Hawk chronologically it is not part of the Patrick McLanahan series. show less
My first Dan Brown, will read more. I enjoyed it very much being old Navy most all of it is possible and is real. It did get a little technical and boring in places but overall very good.
From Publishers Weekly
When the narcotics cartel hires renegade Cubans flying jet fighters to protect large shipments, enter the Hammerheads, a new paramilitary border security force. PW called this techno-thriller a "smooth blend of plot, action and gadgetry. . . a reader's delight from first page to last, a model of the genre."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition
When the narcotics cartel hires renegade Cubans flying jet fighters to protect large shipments, enter the Hammerheads, a new paramilitary border security force. PW called this techno-thriller a "smooth blend of plot, action and gadgetry. . . a reader's delight from first page to last, a model of the genre."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition
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67+ Works 17,866 Members
Dale Brown was born on November 2, 1956 in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Western European history, where he wrote a column for the University's newspaper, The Daily Collegian. He went on to freelance for computer magazines, such as Run and Compute's Gazette for Commodore. He received an Air Force show more Commission in 1978 and while there, he received the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Combat Crew Medal and a Marksmanship Ribbon. He also wrote for several military base newspapers while he was still enlisted. He left the Air Force as a Captain and remains a multi-engine and instrument rated private pilot. He is a director and volunteer pilot for AirLifeLine, a nonprofit national medical transport for needy people who cannot afford to travel for medical attention. He is the author of several series including Dale Brown's Dreamland and, Patrick McLanahan. Dreamland. His title Tiger's Claw made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Hammerheads
- Original publication date
- 1990
- Original language
- English
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Statistics
- Members
- 649
- Popularity
- 44,371
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.43)
- Languages
- English, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
- 10
