Search results for ""Author William B. McCloskey""

Twenty years after his greenhorn days in William McCloskey’s bestselling novel Highliners, Hank Crawford stands tall as a respected fishing captain in Kodiak, Alaska.Set amongst the tumult of the early 1980s, Raiders follows the struggles of the Alaskan fishermen as they regain control of their fishing grounds from the fleets of foreign companies, who have been plundering their bays. But such companies aren’t deterred, and instead contract American boats to catch the fish for them. In order to keep his family afloat—he swears—Hank signs on with a Japanese firm.Shunned as a traitor by his peers, Hank keeps on fishing. Their disgust and his tainted ethics will all be worth it for the chance to keep on fishing. But when Hank begins to suspect that his new employers are playing a political game—and playing him as the pawn—he must confront the possibility that in order to find redemption, he’ll have to sacrifice all he has.In this masterful finale to the Highliners series, McCloskey takes on the all-too-real horrors of the seafaring life: storms that can sink a ship, giant fish that can snap a man’s arm. For anyone in love with the Alaskan backdrop, the feel of hauling in fish, or traveling the ever-changing sea, Raiders is a story to read, cherish, and never forget.

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William McCloskey’s bestselling novel Highliners established him as an authority on the dangers and hardships of the Alaskan fishing industry. Now in an epic sequel, Breakers returns to Kodiak to chart the fortunes of McCloskey’s beloved characters as they make their living from the sea.A respected skipper, Hank Crawford runs his own boat and is well liked by his crew. Yet Hank knows all too well that with a hefty mortgage to pay off, a brand-new boat, and an even newer baby, he and his family need the crab and salmon to keep coming into their nets.But as every fisherman knows, the sea is a fickle mistress. The crab season is the poorest yet, and salmon prices drop. When his child falls ill and his boat gets damaged, Hank journeys in desperation to his partners in Japan. Here he faces a moral crossroads: compromise his own business ethics or risk losing everything he’s worked for.With the same thrill of danger, McCloskey captures the excitement, the drama, and the never-ending fears that are the landmarks of the commercial fisherman’s trade. Breakers is truly a triumphant addition to the saga Highliners sets in motion.

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“A fascinating, gritty, and realistic historical novel about Alaskan commercial fishing in the exciting decade after WWII . . . a great read!” —Joe Upton, author of Alaska Blues: A Season of Fishing the Inside PassageFollowing the final, crushing moments of World War II, Japanese officer Kiyoshi Tsurifune, Sergeant Jones Henry, and Resistance fighter Swede Scorden struggle to regain normalcy and any contact with the shimmering, fish-filled sea. Lost honor, fallen friends, their cultural identities gone in the wake of a nuclear blast—these fishermen-turned-soldiers have a long way to go until they regain the waters in which they feel most at home.But as each man finds his way to the bays of Alaska—Jones as a fisherman, Swede eager for work in the cannery, Kiyoshi an ambassador for the Japanese trade—life on the Pacific isn’t as easy as he’d dreamed. A new union calls for a strike during the height of the salmon season, and expensive new engine boats on Bristol Bay are replacing the sails and oars that fisherman like Jones have relied on for years. Plus, unhealed wounds make the impending deal that would allow Japanese ships to fish Alaskan waters painful for many. Behind every conversation, the question looms: Will these men ever find peace again?In this sweeping and powerful prequel to Highliners, Breakers, and Raiders, William McCloskey is back and better than ever. Warriors is a meditation on the eternal struggle of finding normalcy after war and how quickly the world can leave you behind.

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