In this gripping, page-turning account, Sam Moses has told a story in the tradition of Sebastian Junger’s A Perfect Storm, Robert Kurson’s Shadow Divers, and Hampton Sides’s Ghost Soldiers. It’s a story about the heroism of two men in battle at sea during World War II, and one woman fleeing Nazi Norway with her child. It’s about how courage can change the course of history. AT ALL COSTS: How a Crippled Ship and Two American Merchant Marines Turned the Tide of World War II is the astonishing untold account, with original historical reporting, of how two men faced unfathomable danger to help save the island of Malta, Churchill’s crux of the war. In 1942, the tiny island of Malta was the most heavily bombed place on earth. Hitler needed Malta as a stepping-stone to get to the oil in Iraq and Iran (Persia at the time). Blockaded by sea, Malta was running on empty, in food, fuel and ammunition. Axis U-boats and dive-bombers made supply convoys to Malta more like suicide missions. In this last-hope convoy, 50 warships escorted 13 freighters carrying aviation fuel, and a single critical tanker, the SS Ohio, with 107,000 barrels of oil from Texas. Winston Churchill had traveled to Washington and asked FDR for the tanker–his prime ministership was at stake over this mission to Malta. Relentlessly dive-bombed and repeatedly torpedoed, the Ohio suffered huge hits and was abandoned. Two young American merchant mariners–pulled from the sea after their own ship went down in flames–boarded the ravaged tanker, repaired her guns and fought off German and Italian dive-bombers, as the sinking Ohio was towed at 4 knots toward Malta with a tiny crew of volunteers. Sam Moses’ AT ALL COSTS is a triumphant story of human bravery: fearless, selfless acts by men determined to save a ship and win a war; profound communal courage from an island under brutal siege; and leaders who understood the cause of freedom. Kirkus (starred review) A historical footnote provides a riveting tale of true American grit during World War II. In 1942, the island of Malta was the primary launching point in the Mediterranean for Allied aircraft and submarine attacks against Axis supply convoys. At the height of the North African campaign, Rommel’s tanks prepared to sweep into Egypt, Iran and Iraq. The only thing they lacked was the fuel to get there, and the shortage was equally desperate on Malta. The Allies launched Operation Pedestal, a last-ditch effort to re-supply the base by sending a convoy from Britain through the Gibraltar Strait to the beleaguered island. The convoy, which included the American tanker Ohio and the U.S. freighter Santa Elisa, was anything but a milk run. Vietnam vet Moses (Fast Guys, Rich Guys and Idiots, not reviewed) crafts a thrilling adventure on the high seas, though it takes a while to get started. The book’s first third juxtaposes Malta’s plight against the stories of two American merchant seamen on the Santa Elisa: Lonnie Dales and Fred Larsen, through whose eyes the battle will be viewed in bluecollar detail. Once Operation Pedestal begins, the narrative is all action. The convoy comes under repeated attack, lives are lost, the Santa Elisa is sunk. Dales and Larsen find themselves aboard the wounded Ohio, full to the brim with Texas crude. If they can hold off Nazi attacks and keep their new ship afloat long enough to reach Malta, the operation will be a success. Moses takes readers directly into the heat of battle, demonstrating a strong command of historical detail. Highly recommended for fans of naval adventure. (Agent: Peter Riva/International Transactions, Inc.) "At All Costs is an extraordinary work of research and an exciting read that pays tribute to a crucial enterprise taken against incredible odds. Sam Moses has brought the ghastliness of war and the beauty of heroism together, in jarring union." –Frank Deford “This book tells a great story. But Sam Moses is not just sharing a gripping tale. He is sharing an important and oft neglected story about a battle that played a decisive role in shaping the outcome of WW II. You will meet people who will linger in memory for their bravery, foolishness, or wisdom.” –Ken Auletta, author of Backstory “Thrillingly told and beautifully researched, At All Costs is not just the against-all-odds story of the saving of Malta, but also of how the fate of nations can turn on the personal bravery of two ordinary men.” –Robert Kurson, author of Shadow Divers “Sam Moses has skillfully blended the vivid recollections of many eyewitnesses with a wealth of original documentary research to produce an immensely readable and authoritative account of this crucial operation.” –Mark Whitmore, Director of Collections, Imperial War Museum, London, England

At All Costs: How a Crippled Ship and Two American Merchant Mariners Turned the Tide of World War II

History

Moses, Sam

Military

Random House Trade Paperbacks

Sam Moses, a motorsports writer for Sports Illustrated, was assigned to go racing and write about what happened. Fast Guys, Rich Guys, and Idiots is a personal odyssey that peers over the cliff of change and into the pit of obsession. From small-time races to glittery grands prix, it lays bare the greed, lust, and desperation of every driver for time behind the wheel and a faster car. It explains the perfectionism behind taking a turn at the limit and describes the intoxicating thrill of stealing down the Daytona backstraight at nearly two hundred miles an hour. The core of Moses's story takes place in the heartland of stock car racing, there he finds a spot on a team in Ether, North Carolina. The team's owner is a tough Louisiana oil man, its crew chief a lanky, laconic Texan, and its number-one driver a hairy-chested leadfoot who learned fast driving on backwoods Georgia roads, delivering beauty supplies in his Mustang. Crashes echo throughout the tale that follows, five of them the author's own.

Fast Guys, Rich Guys, and Idiots: A Racing Odyssey on the Border of Obsession

Engineering & Transportation

Automotive

Bison Books

Sam Moses, a motorsports writer for Sports Illustrated, was assigned to go racing and write about what happened. Fast Guys, Rich Guys, and Idiots is a personal odyssey that peers over the cliff of change and into the pit of obsession. From small-time races to glittery grands prix, it lays bare the greed, lust, and desperation of every driver for time behind the wheel and a faster car. It explains the perfectionism behind taking a turn at the limit and describes the intoxicating thrill of stealing down the Daytona backstraight at nearly 200 miles an hour. The core of Moses' story takes place in the heartland of stock car racing, there he finds a spot on a team in Ether, North Carolina. The team's owner is a tough Louisiana oil man, its crew chief a lanky, laconic Texan, and its number-one driver a hairy-chested leadfoot who learned fast driving on backwoods Georgia roads, delivering beauty supplies in his Mustang. Crashes echo throughout the tale that follows, five of them the author's

Fast Guys Rich Guys and Idiots a Racing Odyssey on Border of Obsession

Sports & Outdoors

Miscellaneous

Motorbooks Intl

In this rollicking memoir that reads like "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" meets Pee-wee Herman, veteran journalist Sam Moses tells all, about raising his two sons from their birth to the ages of seven and five. The stories and incidents are unique-often hilarious and sometimes scary-but the themes and issues are universal to parenting. Light bulbs of recognition will pop, for mothers and fathers alike. There are lessons, there are confirmations, there are cautionary tales. A parent can relate. The author was flat on his back on a beach in Brazil looking at the stars, when he decided that it was time to start a family, at age 48. He says he wasn't merely ready, he was hell-bent on commitment, and this book proves it. As a globetrotting editor of a car magazine until he was fired, and then a freelance automotive journalist and free spirit, he takes his children (and the reader) along everywhere, from 170 miles per hour on the high banks of Daytona on a road-racing motorcycle, to the funky toilet-seat-always-up bathroom in their rundown trailer in an RV park on the Sea of Cortez in Baja. Even if you've never been to those places, if you've ever raised a child, this book is for you.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This (The Dream Lives of Papa Madre and the AngloArabAsian Brothers)

Papa Madre Limited

Random House]

In this astonishing untold account of heroism and history, two American Merchant Mariners board a burning and sinking ship in the Mediterranean and change the course of World War II.In 1942, the small Mediterranean island of Malta was the most heavily bombed place on earth. Its submarine and air attacks on Axis supply convoys were all that kept Rommel from marching across North Africa to take the oil in Iran and Iraq for Hitler. But Malta was out of fuel, down to its final days. Operation Pedestal was Malta's last hope, a giant convoy with more that 50 warships escorting thirteen freighters and one life-or-death tanker, the SS Ohio, carrying 103,000 barrels of oil from Texas. It was bombed, torpedoed, and abandoned. Two American Merchant Mariners, Frederick Larsen and Francis Dales-their own freighters sunk in towering flames along with eight others-boarded the Ohio, repaired the guns, and fought the Axis dive-bombers for two days as the sinking tanker was towed by destroyers. Malta was saved, Rommel was turned back, and the Allies started to turn the tide of war.At All Costs is a gripping story reported in grand historic fashion. It is a tale of unimaginable personal courage and indomitable determination.

At All Costs: How a Crippled Ship And Two American Merchant Mariners Turned the Tide of World War II

Business & Money

Tantor Media, Inc.

River Without a Cause: An Expedition through the Past, Present and Future of Theodore Roosevelt's River of Doubt

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Pegasus Books

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