THE CORPS

From the aviators to the Raiders, officers to dog soldiers, they are the best and the bravest of America's military elite. They are the U.S. Marine Corps—facing the greatest challenges of their lives.

"For some of us, reading the Corps series is like eating popcorn at the movies: you can never eat just one kernel, and you can never get enough. Griffin captures the smell of the smoke of battle as vividly as if one were on the beach at Guadalcanal." —The Philadelpia Inquirer

"This man has really done his homework... I confess to impatiently awaiting the appearance of succeeding books in the series." —The Washington Post

"A brilliant story... not only worthwhile, it's a public service." —The Washington Times

Book I, Semper Fi
From Shanghai to Wake Island, the Corps was America's first line of defense as the winds of war exploded into the devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. This is the story of the men of the Marine Corps, their loves and loyalties, an elite fraternity united by courage and honor, as they steel themselves for battle, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice...

"Action-packed...Difficult to put down." —The Marine Gazette

Book II, Call to Arms
The attack on Pearl Harbor swept America into the raging heart of the war. The stormy South Pacific presented a daring new challenge, and the men of the Corps were ready to fight. An elite fraternity united by a glorious tradition of courage and honor, the Marine Raiders were bound to a triumphant destiny...

"Griffin's CORPS series gets only better: his long look at a small segment of the war is high-quality history and storytelling." —Kirkus Reviews

Book III, Counterattack
From the devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to America's first bold counterstrike against the Japanese on the beaches of Guadalcanal, this compelling story takes you to the front lines of victory and defeat—and into the very heart of courage, loyalty, and valor. It is a heroic story of pride and passion you will never forget...

"Griffin's books are distinguished by their high action and suspense, his dashing irreverence toward high command, and his clear picture of war and its wartime leaders." —The Florida Times-Union

Book IV, Battleground
The story of one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Pacific, the epic struggle for Guadalcanal. Daredevil pilot Charles Galloway learns the hard way to command a fighter squadron. Lieutenant Joe Howard teams up with the Coastwatchers. Jack "No Middle Initial" Stecker leads his infantry battalion into the thickest of the fighting, at a terrible price. And Navy Captain Pickering grabs a helmet and a rifle to join the ranks at Guadalcanal...

"Like his other books, BATTLEGROUND is hard to put down—and once you've turned the last page you can't help but look forward to the next installment." —The Orlando Sentinel

Book V, Line of Fire
While the bloody battle for control of the Solomons rages on, two Marines are trapped at a Coastwatcher station on tiny Buka Island. They are there to report on Japanese air activity, and their position is becoming increasingly perilous, even while their supplies are diminishing rapidly; if they are not rescued soon, they may never make it off the island. On the orders of newly-commissioned Marine Brigadier General Fleming Pickering, a team is assembled: Captain Charles Galloway, still recuperating from his crash into the sea; Second Lieutenant Malcolm Pickering, Fleming's son and the owner of a dangerous daredevil streak; Lieutenant Ken "Killer" McCoy, China Marine and hardened veteran; Sergeant Thomas McCoy, his brother, a man of such temper and talent that he keeps getting busted back to PFC and then promoted back again; and Sergeant George Hart, the youngest detective ever on the St. Louis vice squad, tricked into military service and now determined to make his mark. These men, and their colleagues, are about to attempt the impossible: to take the beleaguered Marines off Buka, under the very noses of the Japanese. They will have only one chance—so they'd better get it right...

"If you're a Griffin fan, you're going to run out and buy his new book, LINE OF FIRE, and read it and be thoroughly entertained. If you're not a Griffin fan and (you read) it, it's a sure bet you'll run out and buy the first four of the series to see what you missed. And then we'll all wait for Book VI." —The Phoenix Gazette

 

Book VI, Close Combat
As Japanese forces close in for an all-out effort to recapture Guadalcanal from the American forces occupying the island, many fates converge and intertwine. First Lieutenant William Dunn, twenty-one years old but already one of the only two pilots remaining from his fighter squadron's original sixteen, must learn what it is like to lead men—and to lose them. Hot-tempered Sergeant Thomas McCoy finds he has a hero's welcome waiting stateside—if he can avoid a court-martial first. On a bloody island, Major Jake Dillon discovers just how much combat is involved in a combat correspondent's life. First Lieutenant R.B. Macklin, a consummate bully, is put on a War Bond tour so he will not endanger his own men. General Fleming Pickering, on a ticklish diplomatic mission, attempts to balance the hot and mighty temperaments of General Douglas MacArthur, OSS Chief William "Wild Bill" Donovan and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox. Corporal Robert Easterbrook, still wet behind the ears, discovers that the price of success in wartime may be uncomfortably high. From the Solomons to Australia to Washington, D.C., the warriors, plus the wives and sweethearts who love them, once more find themselves with the challenges of their lives...

 

Book VII, Behind the Lines
On the island of Mindanao, a man calling himself "General" Fertig has set himself up as a guerrilla leader to harass the Japanese. Army records show that the only officer named Fertig in the Philippines is a reserve lieutenant colonel of the Corps of Engineers, reported Missing In Action on Luzon, but still, the reports filtering out are interesting, and it's Marine Lieutenant Ken McCoy's mission to sneak behind the lines and find out if this Fertig is for real. With McCoy is a motley group put together as a compromise between the warring factions of MacArthur and Donovan: veteran Marine Gunnery Sergeant Ernest Zimmerman; OSS Captain R.B. Macklin, a bully who manages to fail ever upward; submariner Navy Lieutenant Chambers D. Lewis; and Marine Staff Sergeant Stephen Koffler. Together, these men will steal into the heat of enemy territory and there, amid firefights and jungle camps, encounter more than they had bargained for. Before they're done, each will undergo a test of his own personal mettle—with results that will surprise even the most hardened of them...

"Lots of action and a love for the U.S. military and its men. Griffin delivers!" —The Dallas Morning News

 

Book VIII, In Danger's Path
Desperate to find someone to unite the battling interests of General Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and OSS Chief "Wild Bill" Donovan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt puts Fleming Pickering in charge of the OSS's Pacific operations. Immediately, two urgent missions fall into his lap: to contact and rescue a band of former American servicemen and their dependents on the run from the Japanese in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia; and at the same time, to set up a weather station in the Gobi to help direct planned aerial attacks against Japan. Pickering has a free hand to use whomever he pleases, and he is soon surrounded by many of the Marines on whom he was come to rely during the war: men like Ken McCoy, Ed Banning, Jake Dillon, Ernie Zimmerman, and—much to his surprise—a certain hotshot pilot named Malcolm Pickering, his son. Together they will venture in terra very much incognita—and with luck they may even come out alive...

 

Book IX, Under Fire
Korea, June 1, 1950. Captain Ken McCoy's report on probable North Korean hostilities meets with so much bureaucratic displeasure that not only is it promptly suppressed, but McCoy himself is kicked out of the Corps. At least two outfits, however, are not impressed by such infighting: the fledgling CIA, which promptly hires McCoy; and the North Koreans, who on June 25th invade across the 38th parallel. Immediately, veterans scattered throughout military and civilian life are called up, many with only seventy-two hours' notice. For Fleming Pickering and Pick, his daredevil son, and Ed Banning, George Hart, Jack Stecker, Jake Dillon, Ernie Zimmerman—and for the women who love them—names such as Inchon and Pusan will acquire a new, bloody reality, and Korea will become not only a new battlefield—but their greatest challenge of all...

"Catchy dialogue that rouses like a sonofabitch." —Kirkus Reviews

"Griffin, who served in the army in Korea, sets up the historical elements of the conflict and positions all his characters...he writes with even assurance and a keen eye for military camaraderie and nuance, offering galvanizing drama and a respectful yet irreverent treatment of military procedure and attitudes, not to mention plenty of Scotch." —Publishers Weekly

Released in January 2003 in paperback from Jove. Read an excerpt here! Get your copy at one of these booksellers!

 

Book X, Retreat, Hell!
"Retreat, hell! We're just attacking in another direction!"
—General O.P. Smith

It is the fall of 1950. The Marines have made a pivotal breakthrough at Inchon, but a rollercoaster awaits them. The bit in his teeth, General Douglas MacArthur surges across the 38th Parallel towards the Yalu River, only to encounter the Chinese in full force, who drive him back in turn. Back and forth, the bloody tides of war shift, and, swept along with them, Major Ken McCoy and Master Gunner Ernie Zimmerman, caught in the fight of their lives; Brigadier General Fleming Pickering, working desperately to mediate the escalating battle between MacArthur and Truman; and Pickering's daredevil pilot son, Pick, lost somewhere behind enemy lines—and maybe lost forever.

"Megaseller Griffin musters another solid entry...Veterans of the series will enjoy finding old comrades caught up in fresh adventures, while new-guy readers can easily enter here and pick up the ongoing story." —Publishers Weekly

"Griffin's 34th blockbuster...sticks more closely to the action and moves ahead with galvanized self-assurance." —Kirkus Reviews

Published in paperback by Jove in December 2004. Read an excerpt here! Get your copy at one of these booksellers!