Inner Circles
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Eric was lying on his bunk when he heard an explosion and ran out on deck just as a shell slammed into the ocean near the bow of the ship. He turned his attention to the German U-boat when he heard her captain speak from a public address system.
A shrill voice with a German accent said in English, “I will give you fifteen minutes to get into your lifeboats. Anyone who is still aboard will go down with the ship. If you understand this, blow your horn twice.”
The captain of the freighter blew his horn twice and then over a loudspeaker said, “Abandon ship, I say again, abandon ship.”
Everyone ran for the lifeboats, but Eric. He remembered the last thing his father told him, “No matter what it takes don’t let these wetsuits fall into enemy hands.”
Eric dashed back to his room and began changing into his wetsuit. He was skilled at this and had it on in less than five minutes. He then took the lid off his wooden footlocker by breaking it off with his foot. He laid the extra two wetsuits on the lid then put a pair of jeans, a wool shirt, some shorts, tennis shoes and socks on the lid. Stripping a blanket off his bed he wrapped it around all of this. He then remembered the emergency kit and ran to his drawer removed the kit and laid it on the stack. Rearranging it so the items lay flat, he wrapped parachute cord around his package several times in both directions.
The second mate stuck his head in the door and said, “You had better get going, your lifeboat is about to launch.”
Eric shouted back, “I’m on my way.”
He wasn’t though. He put his package against the wall, then crouched behind his bed as he knew someone would check all the rooms one last time. In just a few minutes he saw the captain’s legs as he stopped and looked in his room and then moved on.
Eric could hear the lifeboats being launched and he still waited. He then crawled out of his room and up to the railing facing the U-boat. He could see all lifeboats in the water so he went back to his room, picked up his package and went to the other side of the ship. He threw his package overboard and jumped holding his flippers and face mask against his stomach with both hands. All of them came loose when he hit the water, but he retrieved them and found his package floating near him.
The wetsuits gave excellent buoyancy to his package so he put his chest onto it and began using his flippers to propel him. He moved swiftly through the water. He was over a half mile away when he heard the first of many shells. He was shocked to see the U-boat shooting their deck gun at the lifeboats. He could hear men screaming and shouting. He was at least a mile away when he saw a rubber boat with an outboard motor going toward the area where the lifeboats had been sunk. A sailor on the rubber boat had a machinegun which he used ever so often. Eric knew he was killing all survivors.
Eric swam as quickly as he could toward the land mass he knew was Iceland. It took him the better part of two hour to reach shore. Gigantic cliffs were the only shore he could see. As he was trying to find some place where he could get a handhold, he saw an opening in the cliff about a hundred yards east. He swam toward the opening and found it was a small river. The opening was about eighty feet in width, but as the entered the opening he could see it widening considerably after fifty yards or so into the opening. He was against the west wall which curved back away from the opening forming a small hidden cove. There was an opening which could not be seen unless you were in the small cove.
Eric reasoned this could be a place to rest, so he paddled through the small entrance. It was a cave and the inside was illuminated by a small hole at the top of the cave. The light was intensified by the glowing phosphors that had been deposited on the walls by the sea. The bottom of the cave rose at an upward angle and soon he was out of the water. The opening at the top of the cave was accessible by climbing a steep slope to the top. He noticed there were handholds which must have been carved into the rock by someone. At the top he had an unobstructed view of the ocean. The first thing he noticed was the ship he had been on was being towed toward the same river opening that he had entered. He quickly went down to the
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
I think this is my best novel thus far. Of course I think this about every book I complete. No one derives more pleasure from the book than its author. This book mixes history with a fictional story of the inner actions of both Germany’s and England’s inner circles of leadership. It answers some of the questions of the inner workings of why World War II happened and how it progressed. I have my own ideas about this and have chronicled them in this book.
It is the story of a young man, Eric Jansen, sent to England to deliver wetsuits to the British Navy. Off the coast of Iceland his ship is taken by a German U-boat. Only the wetsuit saves his life and he is the only survivor. Two months later, five women aviators are rescued by Eric in a daring rescue at sea. A month later a freighter sinks the U-boat by the ingenuity of its chief engineer.
The story moves to Germany where Eric is befriended by Joseph Goebbels, the head of the propaganda ministry for the Third Reich. The story is filled with action, suspense and romance as it continues through World War II and beyond.
This book like all my books is just over two hundred pages in length and will provide the reader with a unique look at the individuals behind Germany’s and England’s inner circles of power.
About the Author
William Post was reared in the West Texas town of Colorado City. He was educated at Texas A. & M. then served in the United States Navy. After his service he became a land surveyor for the Southern Pacific Railroad. This took him to the wilds of New Mexico, Arizona and California where he became familiar with the lore of those areas. This becomes apparent throughout the stories in these settings.
William has traveled nearly every interstate in America visiting most of the national parks and their mysteries. He has actually lived in seven of the fifty states.
William is a professional engineer and holds licenses with the state of California in Land Surveying and Civil Engineering. He retired as the Chief Engineer of the Long Beach Water Department.
Taking an early retirement he moved his family to northern California near Nevada City, the heart of gold country. He dredged and sniped for gold in the Merced and Yuba rivers. He has been in the gold mines and explored much of that country.
William is an evangelic Christian and this thread is seen throughout the fiber of his stories.
He is married to Brigitte Wittstock, a German immigrant, and through visits with her German family was inspired to write three novels with Germany as the central setting.
William now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his extended family.