Gene Hackman Books In Order

Novels

  1. Wake of the Perdido Star (1999)
  2. Justice for None (2004)
  3. Escape from Andersonville (2008)
  4. Payback at Morning Peak (2011)
  5. Pursuit (2013)

Novels Book Covers

Gene Hackman Books Overview

Wake of the Perdido Star

A new writing team actor Gene Hackman and one of America’s leading authorities on shipwrecks and diving, Daniel Lenihan have combined their remarkable talent and experience to create a rousing adventure saga of men and the sea, full of authentic historical and nautical detail, including fascinating descriptions of underwater diving and salvage operations of the early nineteenth century. In 1805 seventeen year old Jack O’Reilly sets sail with his parents from Salem, Massachusetts, aboard the Perdido Star. Jack is full of high hopes at the prospect of a new life in his mother’s homeland of Cuba, but shortly after the family arrives, tragedy strikes, and in a desperate escape, Jack rejoins the departing Star as a member of the crew. For the next three years Jack encounters storms, shipwreck, hostile and friendly natives, and enemy vessels as he travels around Cape Horn to the South Sea islands, the Philippines, around the Cape of Good Hope, and finally back to Cuba. He becomes the leader of a renegade group who call themselves the Right Honourable Brotherhood of the Shipwrecked Men of the Star. But throughout his adventures, his obsession to return to Cuba for revenge dominates his life, and his daring actions become the talk of the men of other vessels, who come to know him as ‘Black Jack’ O’Reilly. Not until Jack fears the loss of his two closest mates and attempts a desperate rescue does he finally free himself from the chains of his fury and vindictiveness. Jack O’Reilly is a striking portrait in a long line of memorable protagonists who come of age at sea; and he is surrounded by equally memorable supporting characters: Paul Le Maire, the aristocratic intellectual whose own misadventures bring him onto the Perdido Star and into Jack’s friendship; Quince, the first mate, Jack’s mentor and defender; Quen Li, the mysterious Chinese cook whose skills extend beyond the galley; Hansumbob, the ship’s poet, whose simplicity belies a wisdom born of the heart; Yatoo, the leader of the native Belaurans, without whose help the shipwrecked men of the Star could not have survived; and the greedy and slippery Count de Silva, whose surface charm masks a murderous soul. The exploits of the Brotherhood of the Star must rank among those in the long tradition of classic sea adventure novels, and Jack O’Reilly provides a moving portrait of an adolescent struggling toward adulthood as he learns the meaning of justice, friendship, and survival.

Justice for None

The year is 1929, just before the Depression. Vermilion, Illinois is a prosperous small town where World War I veteran Boyd Calvin lives. Still haunted by his experiences in the war, Boyd struggles to find a place for himself. He drives a trolley and lives hand to mouth in a flophouse. But when Boyd stumbles upon the scene of his wife’s brutal killing, he loses his nerve and runs, only to be captured and jailed for murder In prison, he meets and befriends George, a black convict accused of raping a white woman. Narrowly escaping a crowd s attempt to lynch them, the men flee for their lives, hiding together before making their way to the anonymity of Chicago and day labor paid in cash. But Boyd soon discovers the fugitive s underworld is not for him and decides to return to Vermilion and surrender to his fate. What he doesn t expect to find is a small group of supporters who believe in his innocence and convince Boyd to fight for the justice that has eluded him. As the country stumbles toward collapse, a dramatic trial unfolds as a man s fate hangs in the balance

Escape from Andersonville

An explosive novel of the Civil War about one man’s escape from a notorious Confederate prison camp and his dramatic return to save his men. July 1864. Union officer Nathan Parker has been imprisoned at nightmarish Andersonville prison camp in Georgia along with his soldiers. As others die around them, Nathan and his men hatch a daring plan to allow him to escape through a tunnel and make his way to Vicksburg, where he intends to alert his superiors to the imprisonment and push for military action. His efforts are blocked by higher ups in the military, so Parker takes matters into his own hands. Together with a shady, dangerous ex soldier and smuggler named Marcel Lafarge and a fascinating collection of cutthroats, soldiers, and castoffs, a desperate Parker organizes a private rescue mission to free his men before it s too late. Exciting, thoroughly researched, and dramatic, Escape from Andersonville is a Civil War novel filled with action, memorable characters, and vividly realized descriptions of the war s final year.

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