Intelligence in Print- and in Person:
Renowned Author Visits
ONI
Ever wonder what it was like to be a sailor and Intelligence Officer when ONI began, 127 years ago? Award-winning, historical fiction author Robert Macomber is an expert on that subject and shared his expertise, and a little about his book series, during a NIP-sponsored lecture at ONI on 20 April.
Macomber described the US Navy of the late 19th century; a Navy, not the most powerful in the world as we know it today, but as it was in the decade after the Civil War when it was ranked 27th among World Navies, far behind even those of South America. Macomber's perspective on the development of ONI and the attaché system and how they played important roles in helping transform our wooden/sail-driven Navy to the steam-driven, steel Great White Fleet, helps us all understand ONI's role in transformation today.
A native of southern Florida, Robert Macomber is a retired law enforcement officer, life-long master sailor, historian, lecturer, and award-winning author. His series of books focuses on Naval Intelligence, and each book has the Navy's and ONI's core value -Honor- in its title. Each book is focused around a key historical event. All feature the adventures of US Navy officer Peter Wake who is continually sent on diplomatic and reconnaissance missions by Navy and national leaders who see a role for the US beyond our land borders. The series begins as Wake volunteers for service in the Civil War and soon comes to love the Navy - and the daughter of a Key West rebel leader. By book six of the series, Wake becomes one of the first members of ONI.
Macomber has more books planned in the Honor series, as he has mapped out Peter Wake's career through 1908.
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Macomber's
latest two books are of particular interest to NIP members.
In "A Different Kind of Honor, " (book
six) LCDR Wake is on assignment ashore in Panama and Peru during the War
of the Pacific in 1879. Wake is
right in the middle of the political intrigue and Naval battles
documented so well by LT Theodorus Mason in
his report of the war, which is the second publication produced by ONI. Wake's debriefing of the War to President Garfield and Secretary of the Navy Hunt provides the impetus for key changes in US foreign policy and Navy shipbuilding. While Wake's POTUS briefing is fictional, Macomber's description of the importance of the War of the Pacific in affecting US and Navy policy and the role and potential impact of intelligence is insightful and accurate. |
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Everyone, especially WESTPAC sailors, will really enjoy and learn from Macomber's newly-published book, "The Honored Dead," (book seven) set in southwest Asia in 1883. Wake's newest mission is to carry a personal message from the US President to the King of Cambodia. This supposedly simple task gets incredibly complicated and dangerous as Wake and his shipmate, Petty Officer Rork, find themselves battling Chinese pirates in the South China Sea, rescuing the US Ambassador from the Forbidden Purple City and fighting off assassins - all in the middle of the critical historical event of 1883. This historical novel captures events that set the stage for the next 100 years in southwest Asia. You won't look at the Vietnam War the same after reading "The Honored Dead; " A must read for the Navy Intelligence Professional! |
Tony Cothron, RDML, USN (Ret)
See the author's website for more on Robert Macomber and the Honor series of fictional historic novels: http://www.robertmacomber.com/
Images courtesy ONI, Robert Macomber
