The Titans of the Pacific - a 1930s thriller worthy of a mini-series

Greetings, commies!

First blog post of 2018. If you love military/historical fiction and literary non-fiction, if you love Jeff Shaara's Gettysburg trilogy, The Titans of the Pacific is a must read! I got a free review copy, and I will be ordering the paperback for my boys.

Synopsis:

In 1930, the world was hurtling towards one of the most terrifying periods in human history. The Titans of the Pacific tells incredible, but real, historical events. 

John travels to South America as a member of an American economic mission advising the Peruvian government. He finds Peru in chaos, with an authoritarian regime supported by the country’s elite and foreign big business. He is drawn to the mysterious Yolanda and witnesses the start of a civil war and the local impact of the extreme political movements that tore the world apart leading up to World War II. 

When The Washington Post co-opts John as an investigative journalist, he uncovers a sinister plot with worldwide ramifications. He must decide whether to risk his life in Peru struggling to foil the plot, and challenge The Titans of the Pacific – who will do anything to hold on to power – or return to a safer life in the USA. 

My thoughts:

A few decades ago a new popular genre emerged called literary non-fiction. Many popular history authors wrote in that genre, to make history more palatable and engaging to "lay" readers. Robert Gammon's debut novel "The Titans of the Pacific" is something between a work of extremely well researched fiction and literary non-fiction. If you like Jeff Shaara's Gettysburg trilogy, "The Titans" is the novel for you. I consider myself a huge fan of the WWII period, but my focus has been on the Eastern Front (I trace my roots to Eastern Europe). So I jumped at the chance to read a novel set in 1930s in a part of the world that does not get much coverage from historical novelists and film makers. And I certainly hope (a girl can always dream) that "The Titans" gets made into a movie, or better yet, an A&T miniseries. Gammon's keen interest in politics and history is very evident. Yet he does not sacrifice the human component. John, a first-generation American tracing his roots to Ireland, experiences a fairly typical Irish-American childhood with a doting, somewhat overbearing widowed father Desmond. An unexpected stroke-of-luck promotion changes their fate and opens a world of new opportunities - and temptations - for young John. Defying the odds, he enters Harvard - an impressive feat for a first generation American. As things heat up globally in the 1930s, John travels to Peru with a delegation. His connection to South America stems from his father's love of Hispanic literature. Actually, the Irish - Hispanic connection is not that unusual. There is a sense of religious kinship between the two heavily Catholic cultures. However, John experiences a major shock when he travels to Peru. Still young and idealistic, he is horrified by the oligarchy regime. Pondering the challenges faced by Peru, John cannot help but reflect on the economic hardships in the US that resulted from the market crash of 1929. 

The novel is definitely male-dominated, which I don't mind. I like reading testosterone-loaded military history. But for the admirers of strong female characters, there is Yolanda, a brilliant international law student who captivates John on the ship to Peru. She is like a toned-down version of a Bond girl. 

As I mentioned earlier, it's hard to read this novel without envisioning it as a miniseries and mentally auditioning various actors for the roles.