Amazon comRear Admiral Jake Grafton, who has appeared in eight previous Coonts novels (most recently Cuba and Hong Kong), returns for another techno-thriller from one of the genre's top practitioners The first couple of pages recount the disappearance of SuperAegis, a satellite that's the cornerstone of a new American-European-Russian antimissile озъбт defense system, on its first, much heralded trial But Jake Grafton is only on that case for a few paragraphs before the stealth submarine U S S America is hijacked on her maiden voyage The sub quickly lives up to her reputation as the sneakiest undersea vessel in the world by seeming to vanish into the Atlantic It takes a little while for Grafton to connect the dots between the two military blunders, by which time missiles fired from the America have devastated Washington, frying every electronic circuit in the city, and even burning the White House to the ground Between looking for the rogue sub, searching for the satellite, and trying to get some answers about the team the CIA trained to steal a Russian sub (and then beached when the mission was canceled), Grafton's got his hands full Stephen Coonts describes the submarine at the center of the action so lavishly and lovingly that the U S S America is much more real--and even more human--than any of his flesh-and-blood characters, including Grafton himself The mysterious German financier who's at the bottom of it all doesn't get more than a walk-on; he's a cardboard villain, just like the brilliant female computer expert who sets up his crimes But none of that matters if you like this kind of tale, which combines excitement and action with loads of information about computers, sonar, weapons systems, and stealthtechnology America will surface quickly and take a commanding position on the summer bestseller lists --Jane AdamsBook DescriptionWhen an experimental nuclear submarine is hijacked in broad daylight, only Admiral Jake Grafton stands between the deadly cargo and its intended target: Washington D C Hundreds of people have gathered to watch the launching of the USS America - our newest and most sophisticated nuclear submarine Then, the unthinkable happens: armed men emerge from the tugboat that is leading her to sea, board the submarine and man her controls Half of the men onboard are slaughtered and half are put out to sea Before nearby destroyers can react, the sub disappears Admiral Jake Grafton is resting at his Delaware beach house when he is asked to find out who has stolen his submarine and why He learns that a rogue CIA group, originally trained to steal Russian technology during the Cold War, may be behind the operation And soon it becomes clear that, whatever their purpose, they mean business: within hours a missile launched from the submarine destroys the top floor of the White House and a second missile fells an airliner carrying 283 passengers Now the race is on to find out where the submarine is, who is behind the nightmare scenario and - most critically - how to stop it.  Составитель:2004 г ISBN 1593350066.