A Call to Arms: A Novel (Cutler, 4) - Hardcover

Hammond III, William C

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1612511449 ISBN 13: 9781612511443

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 2012

Synopsis

A Call To Arms is the fourth novel in the award-winning historical / nautical fiction series from William C. Hammond. Along with the other novels in the Cutler Family Chronicles - most recently For Love of Country and The Power and the Glory - it features the epic saga of the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts and an ever expanding cast of characters. Among these characters are real historical figures including Capt. Edward Preble, Lt. Stephen Decatur, Lt. Richard Somers, Samuel Coleridge, Bashaw Yusuf Qaramanli, and Adm. Horatio Lord Nelson. Interwoven with these historical characters is a fast-paced and gripping plot that takes the reader from Java in the Dutch East Indies to New England at the start of the nineteenth century, and on to Gibraltar, Tripoli, Malta, Sicily, Alexandria and Cairo. Historic events depicted in the novel have been subjected to intense research and have been vetted by historians.

Set primarily in the Mediterranean Sea during the First Barbary War (1801-1805), A Call To Arms offers the reader intriguing and often startling insights into a young republic's struggle to promote its principles of liberty, equality and free trade in a world ravaged by the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and ruthless piracy in both the Mediterranean and Far Eastern waters. The U.S. Navy answers the call of an aroused nation, and the fate of the young republic turns on the actions of a few heroic officers, sailors and Marines.

Highlighted in the novel are such historical events as the naval bombardment of Tripoli, the burning of USS Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor, the last fateful voyage of USS Intrepid, and a Lawrence of Arabia-style overland assault on the Tripolitan city of Derne, an action supported by the U.S. Navy and immortalized in the second line of the Marines' Hymn. At the center of all the passion and excitement are the magnificent super frigates of the fledgling U.S. Navy. Also at its center is a new generation of Cutler sons and daughters eager to follow in the footsteps of Richard Cutler and his beloved English-born wife, Katherine. Theirs is a love story for the ages, but one whose future is threatened in a way that Capt. Cutler could not possibly have foreseen as he takes command of USS Portsmouth and sets sail to join the Mediterranean Squadron and his son James, serving as midshipman in USS Constitution.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Like the previous books in William C. Hammond's award-winning historical fiction series, this fourth novel features the seafaring adventures of the Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts, and an expanding cast of characters. Interwoven with his fictional characters aresuch historical figures as Edward Preble, Stephen Decatur, Richard Somers, Samuel Coleridge, Bashaw Yusuf Qaramanli, and Horatio Nelson, along with such real events as the naval bombardment of Tripoli, the burning of the USS Philadelphia, the USS Intrepid's last voyage, and the assault on Derne. Drawing on years of historical research and a lifetime of sailing, Hammond has been lauded for vividly recreating in his Cutler series, a chapter of early American naval history overlooked by most American novelists.

Set primarily in the Mediterranean Sea during the First Barbary War (1801 1805), A Call to Arms offers readers intriguing and often startling insights into the young republic's struggle to promote its principles in a world ravaged by wars and piracy. This time, the actions of a few heroic naval officers, sailors, and Marines determine the country's fate in a fast-paced plot that moves from New England on to Tripoli, Malta, Sicily, Alexandria, and Cairo. At the center of all the excitement are the magnificent super frigates of the fledgling U.S. Navy and a new generation of Cutler sons and daughters eager to follow in the footsteps of Richard Cutler and his beloved wife, Katherine. Theirs is a love story for the ages, but one whose future, readers will find, is threatened in a way that Capt. Cutler could not possibly have foreseen as he takes command of the US Portsmouth and sets sail to join the Mediterranean Squadron and his son James, a midshipman on the USS Constitution. The author's unique blend of real-life people and events with equally unforgettable fictionalized characters, assures hours of entertaining reading for lovers of rousingly good sea stories.

About the Author:

William C. Hammond is a novelist and freelance editor. A lifelong student of history and sailing enthusiast, his first novel in the Cutler chronicles,A Matter of Honor, was published in 2007, followed by For Love of Country, in 2010, The Power and the Glory in 2011, and A Call to Arms in 2012. He lives in Wayzata, MN.

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1612511449
• ISBN 13: 9781612511443
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256