Richard Herman books in order

A B-2 stealth bomber is lost on its way to destroy biological weapons in Sudan. The alleged traitor is a black Moslem and his court martial proves politically explosive. In the height of millennium madness, a demagogue emerges who uses the affair to consolidate his power base.

There is a new order to the world. The first female president of the United States sits in the White House. Monster corporations wield the real global power. And all the old rules have changed.

Beautiful and brilliant, Lee Justine (L.J.) Ellis is, at thirty-eight, the youngest CEO ever of a major oil corporation. Ruthless, charismatic, greedy, and philanthropic, she is a strange dichotomy of positive and negative, a driven crusader on a God-given mission. And now she owns something worth killing for: secret knowledge of vast, untapped reserves of oil right in America's backyard...beneath the territorial waters of a sworn enemy...Cuba. It is a prize she must capture at any cost.

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Stuart is the most average of men. A military functionary toiling in bureaucratic tedium, he could never hope to live up to the legendary reputation of his father -- one of the great air force fighter pilots -- so he is resigned to serving his country in his own quiet way. But in his daily war of figures and on-screen data, Stuart notices an unusual pattern of oil tanker movement and he dutifully reports it to his superiors. Suddenly Mike Stuart's ordinary life starts spinning dangerously out of control.

A series of seemingly random "accidents" and narrow escapes -- all explainable and unremarkable, except for the number of them -- puts him on the alert. But when his ex-wife and her lover are killed in Stuart's car, he realizes that his growing paranoia is frighteningly justified.

There are powerful forces closing in on one inconspicuous man, trapping him in the wide flung net of a devastating conspiracy that could brutally change the political face of a hemisphere, bring a government down in flames and chaos...and take the life of America's president.

Now Mike Stuart is being called upon to defend his nation in ways he never imagined. And his sole chance for success -- and survivals to become something he has never been: a warrior.

Gus Tyler was a prolific Air Force F-15 pilot, flying missions during the Gulf War. Nearly two decades later, he is accused of war crimes committed on the infamous Highway of Death in 1991.

Disgraced, he is put on trial before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. With the world watching, he is a man under a microscope, trapped in a geopolitical storm. Faced with a powerful and relentless prosecutor and an international press that declares his guilt before the opening arguments are made, Tyler’s fate seems certain.

But Tyler’s lawyer and his son Jason refuse to give up. Can Tyler defend his name and defy the court? To do so he will have to seek justice in the wild and lawless slaughterhouse of the Southern Sudan.

Abyei, South Sudan.

BermaNur watches the UN aid relief workers with disgust. Luckily for them, this time his hunger outweighs his hatred for the Westerners...

In South Sudan starvation and genocide plague the lives of the Dinka and Nuer tribes-people.

Beneath their land lies extensive oil reserves - a valuable prize for those willing to battle to claim the mineral rights and and pay for their winnings in blood.

A tyrannical regime in Khartoum unleashes the Janjaweed, horseback-mounted Baggara tribesmen.

In response, the UN attempts a rescue mission. An Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft with 165 personnel is flown in. But the mission is riddled with corruption.

When the Janjaweed bring down a C-130 killing the commander and crew, the situation in Sudan reaches a crisis point.

Lieutenant Colonel David Orde Allston is brought in as the new commander.

But facing a web of corruption and a history of conflict, can Allston save the people caught in the crossfire?

As the situation spirals out of control, it will become a personal battle for survival...

Vietnam, 31 January 1968.

Over an action-packed 24 hours, three lives collide amidst war and violence.

Captain Mark Warren and his crew are trash haulers, airlifting supplies and personnel on their C-130 Hercules, the workhorse of tactical airlift.

Flying a Huey, the helicopter that symbolizes mobile warfare in Vietnam, Wilson Tanner is a Dust Off pilot who risks all to rescue the wounded.

At Se Pang, Colonel Tran Sang Quan comes into conflict with inept superiors as they initiate the People’s Army of Vietnam’s long-planned General Offensive and Uprising.

This is the beginning of the Tet Offensive.

Both sides face more than the enemy as superior officers maneuver for political advantage, and where cowardice, prejudice and treachery infiltrate the ranks – on both sides.

In the air and on the land, raw courage, tenacity, and honor are the marks of humanity that deal with the wreckage of war.

The Chinese Dragon has awoken - and is narrowing its sights on the South China Sea.

America - and it's president Morgan Taylor - cannot permit such territorial expansion to go unchecked. But America also cannot afford to go to war. To square the circle the President decides to employ the services of David Santos, a retired air force general and intelligence officer, and his "Bravo" team, a company of trained specialists.

As the unit is deployed into South East Asia they know that America will deny all knowledge of their existence. Capture will mean torture - and death. Santos and Bravo team must try to prevent a war, working in the shadows. But they will not be alone. China has deployed its own unit, to counter the Americans and foment conflict and conquest. The fate of Bravo team in the South China Sea could shape - or shatter - the peace between two global superpowers.

The clock is ticking. The race is on.

Claire Allison is a modern success story— a loving mother married to a top gun fighter, attractive, personable, and a master of information technology. Like her husband, she is fiercely protective with a sensuous side to her personality.

After recovering from a severe loss, Claire is drawn into politics by her friends and runs for governor. But there is dark secret in her life, and a sleazy investigative journalist, David Parker, is eager to bring her to justice.

The story revolves around Claire and Parker, and the suspense grows as he forges the case against her. It climaxes in an explosive trial that captures the media and public. In the process, mercy and justice intertwine as both Claire and Parker grow and change.

The Pentagon, Washington. A worldwide crisis that only one man can solve...

When Libya provokes a world crisis, the 45th Tactical Fighter Wing is relocated to a base in East Anglia to prepare for combat. Colonel Anthony "Muddy" Waters has a mission: to mould a company of poorly trained rogues and misfits into heroes. His assignment is one that no other officer in the United States Air Force would touch.

But Waters has a fabled stubbornness and dedication unparalleled in the armed services...and the will to make the impossible possible. This includes turning a superbly talented pilot but loose cannon named Jack Locke into a fighting force to be reckoned with. Because their country could ask them at any time to fly their F-4s into the eye of the firestorm, to face an overwhelming enemy and brave the flames of hell itself without question and with no support.

Tomorrow that call will come. And there will be no turning back when the heavens explode.

Iran. 281 American POWs were taken captive when the US pulled out of the country. Now the US is assembling a Force of Eagles to bring them home.

The POWs, including one woman, have become the latest bargaining chip in Middle Eastern politics. The rescue team includes ace fighter pilot Jack Locke, his weapons system officer, “Thunder” Bryant, Colonel Rupert Stansell, and General Lawrence “Sundown” Cunningham – and a company of Rangers. The Ranger’s Command Sergeant Major, Victor Kamigami, soon proves he is a force in himself.

The mission becomes a race against a thirty-day deadline as a sadistic prison commandant works to break his captives' will.

From behind enemy lines, to the back corridors of the Pentagon, the White House, and CIA headquarters, ‘Force of Eagles’ builds to a white-hot climax as the rescue team battles for control of the prison and the airfield critical to bringing the POWs home.

In a tight presidential race, Madeline O'Keith Turner's inclusion on her party's ticket had been a stroke of political genius - handily winning her running mate the White House and herself the distinct honor of becoming the first woman vice-president in America's history. A shrewd, savvy, effective and popular politician, she is more than qualified to chair the Senate and to act as her nation's good-will ambassador.

But fate intervenes. The sudden death of the sitting President has left Maddy Turner in a position that no one ever truthfully expected: behind the desk in the Oval Office and holding the reins of power. As the new Chief Executive, Turner faces a slew of challenges and treacheries from her very first day in office. She is confronted by an uncooperative group of "old guard" Washington insiders who would dearly love to see her fail. Even her own Chief of Staff secretly doubts her ability to lead.

And, worst of all, she has precious little time to master the subtleties of governmental gamesmanship - because a crisis is brewing halfway around the world that could have devastating global repercussions. The Chinese are engaging in a massive military build-up and brazenly reaching out into the East China Sea - the first step in an act of naked aggression designed to destroy Japan's position as a Pacific power. A situation that would severely test the abilities of even the most seasoned world leader could be a disaster for Maddy Turner and her nation.

And a single false step could result in the untried President's impeachment...or nuclear war. But President Turner has a staunch ally within her own inner circle: General Robert Bender, her National Security Advisor. An ex-Thunderbird pilot, his loyalty to his Commander-in-Chief is unwavering, but the skills that made him an outstanding military leader are rejected in the corridors of power.

As the Chinese and Japanese fleets clash in the biggest naval engagement since World War II, Bender must give his president, a woman he doesn't really like, a crash course in the use of bare-knuckle military force that includes a nuclear option.

Madeline Turner, the first female U.S. President, has already weathered global crises during the first months of her administration. But the balance of power has suddenly shifted dangerously and dramatically in Europe—the Russian government has fallen into the hands of a criminal—and a fearsome, re-emergent bear is on a rampage.

Locked into a war of wits and weaponry with the deadly cabal of drug runners and murderers who now rule a one-time empire, Maddy Turner will need capable allies beside her—like Air Force legend Matt Pontowski, who will become the beleaguered Commander-in-Chief's confidant, friend, and more.

An explosive confrontation is coming that could reshape the face of the world—and the fate of President Turner herself.

America is caught in the lethal center of an unwinnable two-front war.

The war on terrorism has borne bitter fruit, as the radical Islamic states forge an unholy alliance with a surging China, aiming for total control of the Middle East's vast oil reserves and the strategic Strait of Malacca.

As a new axis of world power simultaneously launches a devastating double-pronged conflict -- one a depleted American military cannot possibly win -- President Maddy Turner, the first woman ever to occupy the Oval Office, must react swiftly to a global crisis of world-altering proportions. And so she turns to the only man she can trust in the brutal snake pit of Beltway politics: Brigadier General Matt Pontowski.

A brilliant flyer and military tactician, and the intimate confidant of the most powerful woman on Earth, he must now undertake a mission at once bold and extraordinary -- and potentially suicidal -- as a desperate nation confronts Armageddon, and its leader approaches what will be either her finest hour...or her most tragic mistake.

NB: This book is part of both the Madeline Turner Series and the Matt Pontowski Series.

A terrible new conflagration is sweeping the Middle East and Syria is on the march. Supported by a resurgent Iraq, Syrian armies again challenge Israel. After their humiliating defeat, the Iraqis have created a lethal nerve gas with a delivery system that can reach into Israel. The embattled Israelis are on the edge of a catastrophic defeat and are about to use nuclear weapons.

The American President deploys F-15s to Israel in an effort to keep the Israelis and the Arabs from crossing the firebreak and using weapons of mass destruction. Among the Americans is a brash, young pilot, Matt Pontowski, the grandson of the President.

Matt's presence is welcomed as a sign of the President's personal commitment to Israel, but he becomes a liability when he is romantically entangle with a beautiful Israeli whose own loyalties appear to be divided.

Call to Duty is a novel of epic scope and breathtaking adventure that races at mach speed between two deadly wars -- one waged five decades ago against a madman with dreams of world domination, the other to be fought tomorrow against well-armed dealers in poison and death.

For there are times that call for swift, decisive action -- as unforeseen global events threaten to shatter an uncertain peace. There are times that test the mettle of even the most courageous of men and women -- as four young Americans taken captive by a power-hungry Asian drug lord.

And now, a beleaguered Commander-in-Chief -- beset upon by internal political turmoil and terrifying international intrigues -- must find guidance and strength in his own heroic past. Then he must act.

For these are certain times.

NB: This book is also known as Mosquito Run.

Colonel Matt Pontowski and his top- notch wing are thrust into the fiery heart of civil-war-torn China in Richard Herman’s gripping technothriller, Dark Wing .

Now in command of the 303rd Fighter Squadron, Colonel Matt Pontowski, grandson of a former U.S. President, attempts to boost the morale of his pilots who know their killer A-10 Warthog aircraft are due to be phased out.

When trouble erupts in Hong Kong and southern China, his wing volunteers for a dangerous undercover mission against the world’s most feared and volatile super-power. A massacre is looming and millions of innocent people are at risk. Pontowski and his volunteers are now reluctant to withdraw, despite orders, as they initiate their own plans to overthrow the brutal regime that has been gaining power.

Meanwhile back in Washington, National Security Advisor Bill Carroll, Asia specialist Mazie Kamigami and assistant Wentworth Hazelton fight to ensure plans go accordingly. Mazie is stunned when the conflict brings her closer to her estranged father Victor Kamigami and his lover Jin Chu, an ethereal young fortune teller.

The fate of Hong Kong — and the survival of the squadron — depends upon the flying skills of all the ace pilots, including the beautiful Denise ‘Skeeter’ Ashton. Along with the ‘Junkyard Dogs’ they exploit the situation to achieve what they now know has to be done.

Pontowski knows the presence of the pilots is resented and there are those whose cruel ambition will stop at nothing to remove them, when faced with assassination he is not surprised but he never imagines who else is at risk...

Eventually revenge drives him to finish what he started...

Flying, fighting and dying, with a little loving on the side, Colonel Matt Pontowski is on a UN peacekeeping mission in South Africa.

In his legendary wing he attempts to save the country from turning into a tribal bloodbath.

Caught in the chaos of political collapse and a nuclear race, South Africa has become dangerously unstable and the atmosphere is hostile.

White radicals have discovered the secret of cold nuclear fusion and are carving out their own nation in the growing political shambles.

Suddenly the world is an alarmingly more dangerous place when super powers ally themselves with the warring factions.

Nerve gas incidents, torture and callous murders are widespread regular occurrences.

Soon Matt’s own men are among the casualties and innocent people are at the mercy of maniacs.

When the United Nations intervenes, America’s national security advisor sends in a fledgling composite air wing under Matt Pontowski to support the UN mission.

Before long Matt is thrust into the perilous realm of covert operations as he recalls the death of his beautiful Israeli wife Shoshana and the son he has left at home.

In the midst of bureaucrats and misplaced loyalties, Matt begins to question his role in the mission.

Has let himself become a pawn in somebody else’s game?

America is caught in the lethal center of an unwinnable two-front war.

The war on terrorism has borne bitter fruit, as the radical Islamic states forge an unholy alliance with a surging China, aiming for total control of the Middle East's vast oil reserves and the strategic Strait of Malacca.

As a new axis of world power simultaneously launches a devastating double-pronged conflict -- one a depleted American military cannot possibly win -- President Maddy Turner, the first woman ever to occupy the Oval Office, must react swiftly to a global crisis of world-altering proportions. And so she turns to the only man she can trust in the brutal snake pit of Beltway politics: Brigadier General Matt Pontowski.

A brilliant flyer and military tactician, and the intimate confidant of the most powerful woman on Earth, he must now undertake a mission at once bold and extraordinary -- and potentially suicidal -- as a desperate nation confronts Armageddon, and its leader approaches what will be either her finest hour...or her most tragic mistake.

NB: This book is part of both the Matt Pontowski Series and the Madeline Turner Series.

THE WARBIRDS

The Pentagon, Washington.

When Libya provokes a world crisis, the 45th Tactical Fighter Wing is relocated to a base in East Anglia to prepare for combat.

Colonel Anthony "Muddy" Waters has a mission: to mould a company of poorly trained rogues and misfits into heroes.

His assignment is one that no other officer in the United States Air Force would touch.

But Waters has a fabled stubbornness and dedication unparalleled in the armed services...and the will to make the impossible possible.

This includes turning a superbly talented pilot but loose cannon named Jack Locke into a fighting force to be reckoned with.

Tomorrow the call will come.

And there will be no turning back when the heavens explode…

FORCE OF EAGLES

Iran.

281 American POWs were taken captive when the US pulled out of the country.

Now the US is assembling a Force of Eagles to bring them home.

The POWs, including one woman, have become the latest bargaining chip in Middle Eastern politics.

The rescue team includes ace fighter pilot Jack Locke, his weapons system officer, “Thunder” Bryant, Colonel Rupert Stansell, and General Lawrence “Sundown” Cunningham – and a company of Rangers.

The mission becomes a race against a thirty-day deadline as a sadistic prison commandant works to break his captives' will…

THE TRASH HAULERS

Vietnam, 31 January 1968.

Captain Mark Warren and his crew are trash haulers, airlifting supplies and personnel on their C-130 Hercules, the workhorse of tactical airlift.

Flying a Huey, the helicopter that symbolizes mobile warfare in Vietnam, Wilson Tanner is a Dust Off pilot who risks all to rescue the wounded.

At Se Pang, Colonel Tran Sang Quan comes into conflict with inept superiors as they initiate the People’s Army of Vietnam’s long-planned General Offensive and Uprising.

This is the beginning of the Tet Offensive.

Both sides face more than the enemy as superior officers maneuver for political advantage, and where cowardice, prejudice and treachery infiltrate the ranks – on both sides.