About the Author

Stephen Coonts is the author of 17 New York Times bestsellers. Mr. Coonts' career took off with the publication of his wildly popular Vietnam War thriller Flight of the Intruder, which spent 28 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and was later made into a blockbuster film starring Danny Glover and Willem Dafoe. Flight of the Intruder was inspired by Mr. Coonts' own experiences flying an A-6 Intruder plane in Vietnam.

Born in 1946, Stephen Paul Coonts grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, a coal-mining town of 6,000 population on the western slope of the Appalachian mountains. He majored in political science at West Virginia University, graduating in 1968 with an A.B. degree. Upon graduation he was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy, and received his Navy wings in 1969.

Mr. Coonts' books have been widely translated and republished in the British Commonwealth, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, China, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Serbia, Latvia, and Israel.

Mr. Coonts and his wife, Deborah, reside in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Reviews

Praise for Flight of the Intruder

"[Coonts'] gripping, first-person narration of aerial combat is the best I've ever read. Once begun, this book cannot be laid aside."
- The Wall Street Journal

"Coonts' pilots are the real McCoy and his compassion for them sustains his story from first page to last . . . a sometimes exhilarating, often nightmarish tale."
- Kirkus Reviews

"A winner."
- The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Kept me strapped in the cockpit of the author's imagination for a down-and-dirty novel."
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Extraordinary! Once you start reading, you won't want to stop!"
- Tom Clancy, bestselling author

"Packed with action, emotion, suspense, and tragedy."
- Clive Cussler, bestselling author

"Coonts makes us see, smell, hear, taste, and feel battle."
- Cleveland Plain-Dealer

Praise for Pirate Alley

"A first-class thriller."
- Denver Post

"Swashbuckling…Thriller lovers will enjoy this one for its fast pace, colorful locale, and satisfying conclusion…Coonts takes us on a heck of a good ride."
- Kirkus Reviews

"A stomach-clenching nail-biter that will leave readers exhausted and satisfied."
- Publishers Weekly

"[With] a plot that's ripped straight out of the news…this is one for your must-read list."
- Sunday Gazette-Mail

"A realistic and frightening multilayered story...[that will] change the way you view pirates, cruise ships, and Washington forever."
- Jim DeFelice, bestselling author of American Sniper

Praise for The Disciple

"Coonts carefully builds his plot using a wide cast of characters, from insider Iranian spies to cutting-edge aircraft pilots and government officials both high and low. Hardly a page passes without nerve-stretching tension or flat-out action. One can only hope the U.S. president, the head of the CIA, and the Israeli prime minister will have this book on their nightstands for easy reference in case fiction turns to reality, an all-too-real possibility as evidenced by recent headlines."
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for The Assassin

"Exciting…. The action moves swiftly to its Hollywood ending."
- Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Traitor

"An assured international thriller."
- Publishers Weekly

Praise for Liars and Thieves

"Coonts knows how to write and build suspense…this is the mark of a natural storyteller."
- The New York Times Book Review

"Former Grafton sidekick Tommy Carmellini, ex-burglar and CIA operative, has been promoted to star in what's sure to be another excellent, long-lived series…Tommy is smart, brave, skilled, and possessed of enough self-deprecating, wise-cracking wit to endear him to readers…readers of the Jake Grafton series will easily make the leap to Tommy Carmellini, and new readers can be expected to sign up for this hipper hero."
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Tommy is a self-deprecating and wise-cracking narrator who brings a welcome energy to the genre. And fans will be pleased to see a now retired Jake Grafton and his wife, Callie, make an appearance."
- Library Journal

Praise for Liberty

"Gripping…Coonts's naval background and his legal education bring considerable authority to the story, and the narrative is loaded with detailed information about terrorist networks, modern weaponry, and international intrigue…the action is slam-bang."
- Publishers Weekly

"An action-packed thriller…[a] high-octane tale."
- Midwest Book Review

"Frighteningly realistic."
- Maxim Magazine

Praise for America

"This master of the techno-thriller spins a bone-chilling worst-case scenario…[Coonts] rivals Clancy for fiction-as-realism and Cussler for spirited action…[He] never lets up with heart-racing jet/missile combat, suspenseful submarine maneuvers, and doomsday scenarios that feel only too real."
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Coonts' action and the techno-talk are as gripping as ever."
- Kirkus Reviews

"Give a hearty 'welcome back' to Admiral. Jake Grafton….Thrilling roller-coaster action."
- The Philadelphia Inquirer

Praise for Fortunes of War

"[Coonts is] a natural storyteller [with] a rare gift....Fortunes of War is crammed with action, suspense, and characters with more than the usual one dimension found in these books."
- USA Today