Does anybody still read John D. MacDonald and his Travis McGee novels? Or Ernest K. Gann? "Twilight for the Gods" is one of my favorites. Were you a USN white hat in times past? Richard McKenna's "The Sand Pebbles" is the best sailor story ever.
Yeah, I remember reading Ernest K. Gann's "Soldier of Fortune" and "Fate is the Hunter" when I was a teenager and then later "Twilight for the Gods" . There was a good line in "Soldier of Fortune" that stuck with me throughout my life that I try to teach to my students. "We can get fancy after we get good."
I don't know if this will help anyone, but this seller on gunbroker has a lot of books, kind of high priced, but if your pockets are deeper than mine...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=237919639
