Jim spent over 35 years in California before semi-retiring to Arizona in 2004. He was the CEO of a diversified industrial company that was a prime contractor to the U.S. Navy, and CEO of a crisis management consulting firm that did turnaround and restructuring work for both public and private organizations. He is a life member of the U.S. Navy League.__________________________________________Last Days of the Lonely Queen - Published March 2021As war clouds gathered over Europe in the 1930’s two powerful new battleships were under construction by Nazi Germany.The ships were intended to be commerce raiders once launched, capable of inflicting major losses on the convoys supplying England and Russia, a mission that caused great concern to the allies and led Churchill to make their destruction a top priority.Bismarck was launched first, in February 1939 and joined the fleet in August 1940. The following May, while on her maiden voyage she stunned the world by sinking the HMS Hood, pride of the Royal navy, in waters off Greenland. She in turn was hunted by British forces and crippled when her rudder was jammed by a lone torpedo from British carrier based aircraft. Bismarck could only steam in circles while ships and planes of the enemy battered her into submission. Rather than surrendering, in a final act of defiance her crew sent her to the bottom of the Atlantic by scuttling. Out of a total complement of 2,200, only 115 men survived the icy water, to be picked up by a British ship and transported to a prisoner of war camp in England.That left the Tirpitz, nearing completion in a German shipyard. Churchill, calling her “The Beast,” was determined to prevent her from ever sailing and ordered multiple RAF bombing raids on the harbor. But the bombs failed to score direct hits, her fitting out was completed, and Tirpitz joined the German Baltic Fleet on February 25, 1941.Thus began the remarkable career of the ship that withstood repeated daring British efforts to find and destroy - including human chariots, midget subs, and newly developed massive bombs - all matched by extraordinary German efforts in defense.So came into being - the Lonely Queen of the North . . .__________________________________________Lost in the Triangle - Published September 2020On December 5, 1945, 14 men in five Avenger torpedo bombers took off on a routine mission. They never returned...Flight 19 departed from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida on what was supposed to be a simple navigation and bombing training exercise involving flying a triangular course out over the Bahamas and back to their Florida base. After the tower lost all radio contact with Flight 19, a PBM flying boat took off to search for the missing planes and men.The search plane and her entire crew of 13 also disappeared without a trace in the Triangle . . .Sixth Edition, July 2020Timeless Quotes, Quips and Wise SayingsMost people have a real fondness for quotes; that is ones that are moving, or funny or seem to accurately express in a neat phrase some universal truth about the human condition.The collection is an eclectic assortment that represents commentary, wisdom and opinion expressed by personalities down the ages. The authors include notables as well as ordinary people. Also represented are pronouncements by some of history’s most controversial figures. The entries may be viewed by individual readers as sometimes inspiring, perhaps amusing, often provocative. They are loosely arranged in the broad categories of Everyday Life, Philosophy and Religion, Politics and Government, War and Conflict, History and Science, Business and Commerce; although many if not most of the entries could properly be placed in more than one category, and a number of them so appear. _________________________________________________________________________Published April 2020They DisappearedA real life mystery...Off the rugged west coast of Scotland, the light atop the lonely lighthouse on the island of Eilean Mor in the Flannan Isles was usually a reliable warning to mariners navigating the treacherous approaches to the Outer Hebrides. But around midnight on December 15, 1900, Captain Holman of the steamer Archtor, looking out from the bridge of his ship as it passed close by, was alarmed to see nothing showing. He reported the outage by wireless to the office of his shipping line, for investigation by the Scottish Northern Lighthouse Board. After a delay caused by bad weather a relief vessel finally arrived at the island six days later, on December 21. The relief crew were shocked that none of the three keepers previously on duty were waiting at the boat landing to meet them. A thorough search of the quarters and the entire island revealed no trace of the three men.They had completely disappeared . . .___________________________________________________Published January 2020Real Lifr Quotes and Wise SayingsNote: This is updated version of Timeless Quotes and Wise SayingsMost people have a real fondness for quotes; that is ones that are moving, or funny or seem to accurately express in a neat phrase some universal truth about the human condition.This collection is an eclectic assortment that represents commentary, wisdom and opinion expressed by personalities down the ages. The original authors where known include notables as well as ordinary people. Also represented are pronouncements by some of history’s most controversial figures. The entries may be viewed by individual readers as sometimes touching, perhaps amusing, often provocative. They are loosely arranged in the broad categories of Everyday Life; Philosophy and Religion; Politics and Government; War and Conflict; History and Science; and Business and Commerce._________________________________________________Published July 2019Last Flight of the Lady Be Good.THE LADY AND HER ENTIRE CREW DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE.Lady Be Good was a B-24 bomber returning to base in North Africa after a bombing raid in April 1943. She never made it. Nothing was heard from her again until she was found long afterwards, largely intact and deserted, deep in the Sahara.What happened to her and the crew remained a puzzling mystery for many years.Here is their remarkable story. . .________________________________________________Published February 2019:Shadows In The Canyon. When a California couple on vacation in Arizona hear about the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine, they get swept up in tales of lost treasure, mysterious stone maps, and unexplained disappearances. They decide to go exploring in the rugged Superstition Mountains with unexpected and deadly consequences..._________________________________________New Revised Fifth Edition, published January 2019:Timeless Quotes, Quips and Wise Sayings__________________________________________Published October 2018:Tunnel Under the Sun, The Great Arizona Escape. On December 23, 1944, 25 German prisoners of war escaped by tunneling out of a POW camp in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the largest breakout of prisoners held in the U.S. during all of World War II. The mastermind was a U-Boat commander by the name of Jurgen Wattenburg, who pulled off this daring feat under the noses of his captors. Wattenburg and his comrades headed to Mexico from where they planned to make their way back to Germany. Their story is one of brilliant planning and execution, as well as clumsy efforts by those in charge of guarding them...______________________________________________________________________________Read more about this authorRead less about this author