The War is on!Readers who enjoy action authors such as Heller, Griffin, Herman and Flanagan will love Booker.McGrath's mission is vital. It is impossible for General Eisenhower to set in motion the greatest invasion in history against Nazi Germany without knowing the winds, tides, storms and weather lashing Great Britain from the powerful and devious North Sea. A small detachment of seven American sailors, led by Lt. William McGrath, United States Navy, himself of Irish descent and a Boston Blue Blood, arrives on Ireland's west coast near Galway Bay. Their assignment: supply Eisenhower's London Headquarters with crucial meteorological data to support the Normandy landings.
Typical Irish life, developing loves, rough fights, the exploits of youth, IRA sympathizers, spies, turncoats, Irish versus American ways, nobility and the common folk all play large parts in this marvelous, action-packed, moving, funny and poignant story. The exciting, engaging and stormy end of the book itself is an adventure to satisfy even the most demanding reader.
About the Author: I am a native New Yorker of Irish heritage. Having grown up in the Bronx, I spent four years in the U.S. Navy, sailed to the Far East on a carrier, went to Weather Observer School in Lakehurst, New Jersey, and spent two years as a weather observer at an old RAF base in West Malling, Kent, England, so I have the background knowledge for this type of story. Discharged in 1963, I graduated from New York University, where I majored in History. I have a Master's degree in Computer Science Education and a number of graduate credits in Economics, both of which I taught on the high school and college level. I married in 1968, and, in 1975, my wife, our son and I moved to Vermont, where my great-grandparents from Ireland had settled in the 1850s. We also have a daughter. We have been to Ireland twice and to several other European countries, most recently visiting Norway and Iceland this past summer, 2014. I have had two career paths: industry and education. My industry experience is as a computer programmer and in financial services. Both of these fields I brought into the classroom. I am a retired high school teacher, and I substitute teach twice a week to stay busy. I have published fifteen articles on various topics including education, computer viruses, and 9/11. I have written for the Irish magazine, "Galway Now", and others. My wife and I live in Central Vermont, where I teach and write, and we are currently empty nest.
