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The Big Paddle
Cliff Thompson turns into a con artist to get revenge for his father who died in a rigged card game.
281 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
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About the author
Robin Moore
93 books42 followersRobert Lowell "Robin" Moore, Jr. was an writer best known for his books The Green Berets: The Amazing Story of the U.S. Army's Elite Special Forces Unit,The French Connection: A True Account of Cops Narcotics and International Conspiracy and, with Xaviera Hollander and Yvonne Dunleavy, The Happy Hooker: My Own Story.
Moore also co-wrote the lyrics with Barry Sadler for the Ballad of the Green Berets, which was one of the major hit songs of 1966.
At the time of his death, Moore was residing in Hopkinsville, Kentucky (home to Fort Campbell and the 5th Special Forces Group) where he was working on his memoirs as well as three other books.
During World War II he served as a nose gunner in the U.S. Army Air Corps, flying combat missions in the European Theater of Operations. Moore graduated from Harvard College in 1949.
Thanks to connections with fellow Harvard graduate, Robert F. Kennedy, Moore was allowed access to the U.S. Army Special Forces. It was General William P. Yarborough who insisted that Moore go through special forces training in order to better understand "what makes Special Forces soldiers 'special'." He trained for nearly a year, first at "jump school" before completing the [[Special Forces Qualification Course]] or "Q Course", becoming the first civilian to participate in such an intensive program. Afterward, Moore was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group on deployment to South Vietnam. His experiences in South East Asia formed the basis for ''The Green Berets.
Biography Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Moore
Moore also co-wrote the lyrics with Barry Sadler for the Ballad of the Green Berets, which was one of the major hit songs of 1966.
At the time of his death, Moore was residing in Hopkinsville, Kentucky (home to Fort Campbell and the 5th Special Forces Group) where he was working on his memoirs as well as three other books.
During World War II he served as a nose gunner in the U.S. Army Air Corps, flying combat missions in the European Theater of Operations. Moore graduated from Harvard College in 1949.
Thanks to connections with fellow Harvard graduate, Robert F. Kennedy, Moore was allowed access to the U.S. Army Special Forces. It was General William P. Yarborough who insisted that Moore go through special forces training in order to better understand "what makes Special Forces soldiers 'special'." He trained for nearly a year, first at "jump school" before completing the [[Special Forces Qualification Course]] or "Q Course", becoming the first civilian to participate in such an intensive program. Afterward, Moore was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group on deployment to South Vietnam. His experiences in South East Asia formed the basis for ''The Green Berets.
Biography Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Moore
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 29, 2016
The Big Paddle
Stories of con artists, at carnival, in person, etc. One man has put his money, pre WW2 into oil fields and doesn't have more money to get the drills in.
He tries to con others to invest in his project. He hustles military men and golfers, then heads to the FL casinos, where he gets hustled at times but still hustles others to buy up more mineral rights.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Stories of con artists, at carnival, in person, etc. One man has put his money, pre WW2 into oil fields and doesn't have more money to get the drills in.
He tries to con others to invest in his project. He hustles military men and golfers, then heads to the FL casinos, where he gets hustled at times but still hustles others to buy up more mineral rights.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
April 10, 2008
Very imaginative and light-hearted con man saga. Fast-moving from beginning to end. A good read to take on vacation. It's hard to believe that this is from the same guy who wrote the Green Berets.
August 20, 2015
Revenge, scams, and hustles compose the plot of The Big Paddle. The events encompass the entire country in post-war America. This a look at the adventurous side of America.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews