Off to a good start

Whew, what a month! "Act of War" was published on Dec. 3 and seems to be off to a good start. It's been written up in USA Today, Wall Street Journal, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Jose Mercury, and Oakland Tribune, and excerpted in Politico.com's new magazine. Michael Connelly, the mystery writer (and an old comrade from our days as Los Angeles Times reporters), called it his favorite book of 2013 in interviews with the New York Times Book Review, Salon.com, and CBS's "Face the Nation." My tired mug and a nice story even appeared on the front page of our neighborhood newspaper, The Monclarion.

But the most gratifying endorsement of all came from the USS Pueblo Veterans Association, whose members are running a red banner on their website (www.USSPueblo.org) announcing the book's debut. Gentlemen, I can't tell you how much that means to me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Some of the veterans are pictured above, at their 2003 reunion in Branson, Missouri, which I had the honor of attending as a guest of Captain Pete Bucher. Pete -- who helped enormously with my book -- is seated in the center; he died only a few months after this picture was taken. Like the Pueblo, he'll never be forgotten.