In this triumphant bestseller, renowned novelist James A. Michener unfolds a powerful and poignant drama of disenchanted youth during the Vietnam era. Against exotic backdrops including Spain, Morocco, and Mozambique, he weaves together the heady dreams, shocking tribulations, and heartwarming bonds of six young runaways cast adrift in the world—as well as the hedonistic pursuit of drugs and pleasure that collapses all around them. With the sure touch of a master, Michener pulls us into the private world of these unforgettable characters, exposing their innermost desires with remarkable candor and infinite compassion. Praise for The Drifters “A blockbuster of a book . . . full of surprise, drama, and fascination.”—Philadelphia Bulletin “Rings with authentic detail and clearly descriptive sights and smells . . . The Drifters is to the generation gap what The Source was to Israel.”—Publishers Weekly “[The Drifters] conveys a sense of a new time, a new generation.”—Chicago Sun-Times “Michener has slid open a window on the world of the dropout and has spared no effort to make the reader aware of this new world.”—The Salt Lake Tribune

John Lambert was a renowned naval draughtsman, whose plans were highly valued for their accuracy and detail by modelmakers and enthusiasts. By the time of his death in 2016 he had produced over 850 sheets of drawings, many of which have never been published. These were acquired by Seaforth and this title is the fourth of a planned series of albums on selected themes, reproducing complete sheets at a large page size, with expert commentary and captioning. Trawlers and drifters served in both world wars in their thousands; and, in their tens of thousands, so did their fishermen crews. Indeed, these humble craft were the most numerous vessel type used by the Royal Navy in both wars, and were the answer to the strategic or tactical conundrums posed by new technology of mines and submarines. In his accompanying text, Steve Dunn examines the ships themselves, their design, construction, arming, operations and development; and he also relates how the trawlermen and skippers, from the age-old fishing ports of Grimsby, Hull, Lowestoft ad Great Yarmouth, Aberdeen and Fleetwood, came to be part of the Royal Navy, and describes the roles they played, the conditions they served under and the bravery they showed. The book takes some 30 large sheets of drawings which John Lambert completed of these vessels and divides into two sections. The first part tells how the fishing fleet came to be an integral part of the Royal Navy’s pre-1914 plans and details some of the activities and actions of trawlers and drifters at war in 1914-18. And the second investigates the armed fishing fleet in the struggle of 1939-45. These wonderfully detailed drawings, which are backed by a selection of photographs and a detailed complementary text, offer a superb technical archive for enthusiasts and ship modellers, but the book also tells a fascinating story of the extraordinary contribution the vessels and their crews made to the defeat of Germany in two world wars.

The conception and evolution—through inter-war tensions, global war, and years of Cold War hostility—of the Royal Navy’s large fleet destroyers. The Tribal class destroyers are heroes of the Altmark incident, of the battle of Narvik, and countless actions across all theatres of operation. Yet there has been surprisingly little written about these critical ships, still less about their wartime successors, the Battle class, or their postwar incarnations, the Daring class. This book seeks to rectify this by describing the three classes, each designed under different circumstances along destroyer lines but to general-purpose light cruiser form, from the interwar period through to the 1950s, and the author explains the procurement process for each class in the context of the needs and technology of the times. Taken together these classes represent the genesis of the modern general-purpose destroyer, breaking from the torpedo boat destroyer form into a self-reliant, multi-purpose combatant capable of stepping up to the cruiser’s traditional peacetime patrol missions whilst also fulfilling the picket and fighting duties of the wartime light cruiser or heavy destroyer. This is the first work to analyze these three classes side by side, to examine their conception, their creation and their operational stories, many heroic, and provide an insight into ship design, operation and culture. In doing so, the book aims to contribute a better understanding of one of the most significant periods in the Royal Navy’s history. In its clear description of the genesis of the modern destroyer, this book will give the reader a clearer picture of its future as well. Historians, professionals and enthusiasts will all enjoy this wide-ranging and detailed study.

The manga that inspired the hit anime series returns! Heroes abducted from Earth’s history—“Drifters”— take sides in a war for a mystical world. Samurai warrior Shimazu Toyohisa and his forces take control of the Orte Empire’s capital only to discover that the Black King has sent his army of monsters to lay waste to the capital . . . and to Toyohisa’s Drifters! From Hellsing creator Kohta Hirano, Drifters is a sprawling fantasy epic certain to shake the pillars of heaven!

First he pitted the Catholic church against vampires, Nazis and Great Britain, bathing London in a flood of blood. But Hellsing creator Kohta Hirano still had something crazy up his sleeve when he created his new series, Drifters. Imagine a world of magic, full of elves and hobbits and dragons and orcs. Inside this world of magic and wonder there is a great war being waged, using warriors from human history as chess pieces in a bloody, endless battle. Hirano's new concept gathers famous warriors throughout history and puts them on both sides of good and evil — and then turns them loose in a bloody melee of madness!

In Japan, teenaged Abe Sora, who is afflicted with "Lou Gehrig's Disease," finds friends online and elicits their help to end his suffering.

From the creator of Hellsing comes the manga fantasy epic that inspired the hit Drifters anime! In a farflung mystic realm, the army of the Black King--an overwhelming horde of goblins, giants, and dragons--descends upon the fortifications of humanity, led by Earth warriors Oda Nobunaga and Shimazu Toyohiso. Dug in deep, and with the superior strategic acumen and weaponry provided by the warlord Nobunaga, the human races have a chance for victory against the Black King's superior numbers, but the most dangerous enemy may come from within!

From the creator of Hellsing comes the manga that inspired the hit Drifters anime! Warriors stolen from Earth's history--"Drifters"--battle for the fate of a wondrous mystic realm. At the heart of the struggle is the malefic Black King who, desiring more than simple land and resources, is uniting this world's non-human races for a single horrific purpose . . . the absolute genocide of humanity! From Kohta Hirano comes Drifters, a sweeping fantasy epic of monumental action, towering ambition, and worldwide demolition! From Kohta Hirano, creator of Hellsing Animated Drifters series now streaming in U.S.! Wild, action-packed series featuring historical characters such as Joan of Arc, Hannibal, and Rasputin!

An enemy on the run to neutral space An elite squadron beyond the reach of any backup A secret deal that could doom the whole sector... When United Planets Alliance Captain Henry Wong and Ambassador Sylvia Todorovich attempted to bring peace to the Ra Sector, they turned to the Drifters for neutral ground. Instead, the nomadic spacers betrayed the summit and attempted to kill everyone there. With peace forged despite the Drifters' betrayal, Henry and Sylvia take an elite squadron in pursuit of the Drifter Convoy. Their enemies have friends at every turn, neutral worlds who will give them shelter-and if the UPA breaches that neutrality, everything Henry and Sylvia have worked for could crash down in flames. If the UPA is to keep the peace in the stars of a fallen empire, their diplomats must be untouchable, their honor unblemished. But as Henry's superiors prepare for all-out war, his ships fly ever closer to a deadly trap laid by an enemy that knows them all too well...