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The Eagle and the Cross
The Bloodiest Battle in World History At Stalingrad 3.2 million men and women will die. Those fighting Captain Jack Towers of the US Army Air Corps—who will learn duty, courage and . . . love. Lieutenant Erich Steinhoff, the Luftwaffe ace—who will watch the city be blanketed by fire. Colonel Aleksandrovich Krasilov, the Red Air Force star—who will battle Goering’s Luftwaffe while searching for his missing wife. Dr. Zoya Krasilov, the Colonel’s wife—who, captured when her hospital is overrun, will escape a Nazi death camp to join the Resistance and become a Stalingrad sniper. Lieutenant Natalya Makarova, of USSR’s Night Witches—who will fly night sorties over Germany in WWI biplanes . . . and vie for Jack Towers’ love.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 26, 2008
About the author
R.J. Piñeiro
35 books52 followersBorn in Cuba and raised in Central America, R.J. Pineiro spent several years in the midst of civil wars before migrating to the United States in the late 1970s, first to Florida to attended Florida Air Academy in Melbourne. There, RJ earned a pilot's license and high school diploma in 1979, before heading to Louisiana for college.
R.J. earned a degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University in 1983 and joined the high-tech industry in Austin Texas, working in computer chip design, test, and manufacturing.
In the late 1980s R.J. began studying to become a novelist. Reading everything from classical literature to contemporary novels, R.J.'s love of storytelling became uncontrollable. Using an aging personal computer, R.J. decided to launch a writing career.
R.J.'s first published work, SIEGE OF LIGHTNING, a novel about a sabotaged space shuttle, was released by Berkley/Putnam in May of 1993. A second novel, ULTIMATUM, about a second Gulf War scenario, was released the following year, 1994, by Forge Books, which went on to publish R.J.'s next 12 novels over the following 13 years.
In 2015, R.J. teamed up with TV News military analyst Colonel David Hunt to kick off the "Hunter Stark Book Series." The first book in the series, WITHOUT MERCY, about ISIS gaining acquiring nuclear weapons, was released on 3.7.17. The second book, WITHOUT FEAR, about the war in Afghanistan, was released on 8.7.18
In 2017, R.J. also teamed up with New York Times bestselling author Joe Weber. The result is ASHES OF VICTORY, a novel of global terrorism and international conflict released by Ignition Books on 9.3.18
In 2018, R.J. penned a nineteenth novel, AVENUE OF REGRETS, a mystery revolving around sex trafficking and domestic abuse released on 11.16.18
R.J. is married to L.M. Pineiro, an artist and jewelry designer. They have one son, Cameron & Daughter-in-Law Sarah, and two crazy dogs, Coco and Zea.
R.J. earned a degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University in 1983 and joined the high-tech industry in Austin Texas, working in computer chip design, test, and manufacturing.
In the late 1980s R.J. began studying to become a novelist. Reading everything from classical literature to contemporary novels, R.J.'s love of storytelling became uncontrollable. Using an aging personal computer, R.J. decided to launch a writing career.
R.J.'s first published work, SIEGE OF LIGHTNING, a novel about a sabotaged space shuttle, was released by Berkley/Putnam in May of 1993. A second novel, ULTIMATUM, about a second Gulf War scenario, was released the following year, 1994, by Forge Books, which went on to publish R.J.'s next 12 novels over the following 13 years.
In 2015, R.J. teamed up with TV News military analyst Colonel David Hunt to kick off the "Hunter Stark Book Series." The first book in the series, WITHOUT MERCY, about ISIS gaining acquiring nuclear weapons, was released on 3.7.17. The second book, WITHOUT FEAR, about the war in Afghanistan, was released on 8.7.18
In 2017, R.J. also teamed up with New York Times bestselling author Joe Weber. The result is ASHES OF VICTORY, a novel of global terrorism and international conflict released by Ignition Books on 9.3.18
In 2018, R.J. penned a nineteenth novel, AVENUE OF REGRETS, a mystery revolving around sex trafficking and domestic abuse released on 11.16.18
R.J. is married to L.M. Pineiro, an artist and jewelry designer. They have one son, Cameron & Daughter-in-Law Sarah, and two crazy dogs, Coco and Zea.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 17, 2014
This book was better than I thought it would be - which isn't saying much. I read it just because I had picked it up at a book sale years ago, and it was just sitting there gathering dust. I was not expecting much. The characters were actually decent, and the plot was better.
This book belongs in both the historical fiction AND thriller genres, as it reads like a thriller but is set in WW2, thus making it historical fiction. I generally do not like thriller/historical novels, but this one wasn't bad. It reminded me of Stephen Hunter's "Master Sniper," so if you liked that book you may like this one, and vice versa.
One of the things that I really liked about this book was the aerial combat; I'm really interested in World War II aircraft, so it was cool to read a novel involving them. The book is set in and around the Stalingrad pocket in the winter of 1942, after the German advance into Russia had stalled. Thus, all the dogfights are German vs. Russian planes. This is something you don't see very often; Battle of Britain or Pearl Harbor type aerial combat you see all the time, but Eastern Front novels are more rare.
Now the cons. The main one was Jack Towers. This is supposed to be set on the Eastern Front, right? That means German vs. Russian - don't drag the Americans into it! Well, R. J. Pineiro did. Of course he introduced the character of the dashing, handsome, leather-jacket wearing, cigaretee-dangling, supremely-handsome Jack Towers. And, of course, he falls in love with the hot female pilot.
Without giving away the ending, this romance did NOT end the way I thought it would - that is to say, the ending was surprising in a good way. The conclusion of the book really satisfied me by not being the cliched "hero rides off into the sunset with his new romantic conquest" ending. It left a good taste in my mouth.
Overall, this book was surprisingly good. Worth the read.
This book belongs in both the historical fiction AND thriller genres, as it reads like a thriller but is set in WW2, thus making it historical fiction. I generally do not like thriller/historical novels, but this one wasn't bad. It reminded me of Stephen Hunter's "Master Sniper," so if you liked that book you may like this one, and vice versa.
One of the things that I really liked about this book was the aerial combat; I'm really interested in World War II aircraft, so it was cool to read a novel involving them. The book is set in and around the Stalingrad pocket in the winter of 1942, after the German advance into Russia had stalled. Thus, all the dogfights are German vs. Russian planes. This is something you don't see very often; Battle of Britain or Pearl Harbor type aerial combat you see all the time, but Eastern Front novels are more rare.
Now the cons. The main one was Jack Towers. This is supposed to be set on the Eastern Front, right? That means German vs. Russian - don't drag the Americans into it! Well, R. J. Pineiro did. Of course he introduced the character of the dashing, handsome, leather-jacket wearing, cigaretee-dangling, supremely-handsome Jack Towers. And, of course, he falls in love with the hot female pilot.
Without giving away the ending, this romance did NOT end the way I thought it would - that is to say, the ending was surprising in a good way. The conclusion of the book really satisfied me by not being the cliched "hero rides off into the sunset with his new romantic conquest" ending. It left a good taste in my mouth.
Overall, this book was surprisingly good. Worth the read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review