If you ever dreamed about what it would feel like to hunt enemy submarines during WWII, look no further. The Last Paladin puts you directly in the middle of the action in a realistic, awe-inspiring, and thrilling tale of anti-submarine warfare. But hold onto your ass because this mission is not for the faint at heart.
Based on the true story of a Buckley-class destroyer escort’s exploits in World War II, The Last Paladin puts you directly alongside the USS Holland’s CO and XO as they lead the ship on a mission to do what they do best: seek and destroy enemy submarines. After plying their trade in the North Atlantic against German U-boats, the USS Holland has been ordered to the Pacific theater but receives a less than welcoming reception and is subsequently banished on a solo mission. Their orders: to expose a rumored thousand-mile picket line of Japanese submarines serving as an early warning service for an impending US fleet invasion of Saipan. Despite command’s minimal expectations of success, the USS Holland takes the mission seriously and maybe a little bit personally. Behind the stellar leadership of the CO and XO, this little destroyer escort becomes legendary for their bravery, ingenuity and unprecedented results that had a critical impact on the war.
Authenticity leaps off the pages of The Last Paladin. The terminology, the action, the ship’s maneuvers, the weapon functionality, and more are all spot on, making you feel like you’ve a commissioned officer in the US Navy and the USS Holland is yours to command. You feel the movement of the ship in the waves, the blasts of the depth charges and hedgehog detonations, the pride of the sailors in their accomplishments, and the exhaustion of everyone onboard brought on by being on a 24/7 war footing. In short, you feel like you were actually there and experienced first-hand everything the crew of this amazing ship went through.
Additionally, this book will teach you something about great leadership. The CO and XO demonstrate this in spades. They way they operate together to make decisions, gain the respect of the crew, know when to defer to others and how they keep morale up is something to behold. There are a ton of great takeaways that us civilians can leverage in our daily lives to become better leaders at home, at work and in our communities.
There’s a reason P.T. Deutermann is the master of naval thrillers. Start with his two-and-a-half decades in the US Navy, conclude with his tremendous storytelling ability, and throw in a whole lot of knowledge and talent in between. All of it is front and center in The Last Paladin, one hell of a naval warfare story that military thriller and non-fiction fans alike will thoroughly enjoy.
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