RED TIDE

From the marble halls of Washington to the green mountains of Taiwan to the warm waters of the South Pacific, Red Tide is the story of America at war, as depicted through the eyes of one courageous naval family.     

The venerable U.S. Navy is stretched to the breaking point by European conflicts, relinquished bases, and aging ships. Tensions between China and the United States have never been higher as both nations compete for access to advanced semiconductor chips produced only in Taiwan. When two American carriers are recalled for maintenance, Beijing sees its opportunity. Through a daring seaborne commando raid, they steal the world’s most important factory. 

But they don’t stop there. Reminiscent of Pearl Harbor, the Chinese draw first blood, crippling the U.S. fleet with devastating missile strikes while knocking American GPS, communications, and reconnaissance satellites out of orbit. A modernized Chinese fleet blockades Taiwan and seizes control of Pacific sea lanes, throttling global commerce. 

The American Navy fights back. Casualties mount and high-tech arsenals are exhausted. It’s a war of attrition—and the Chinese are winning.   

Rear Adm. Will Cole, outgoing operations officer (N3) of the Pacific Fleet, had been on the brink of retirement. After a thirty-year career, he’s ready to settle down and fix a marriage strained by long sea deployments. Despite the obstacles, Will and Kelly Cole have raised their military brats well. Their oldest, Henry, flies F-18s. Their middle son, Jamie, is a merchant marine officer. Their daughter, Lucy, has a high-tech job lined up with a defense contractor. Will and Kelly are happy to let the next generation of the “Fighting Coles” take the helm of the American sea services.  

These best-laid plans are scrapped when war drums start beating. The Pacific Fleet commander sends Cole stateside to challenge a hardened political bureaucracy into getting serious about the threat to peace in the Pacific. Proven right when the missiles start flying, Cole’s reward is an order to do the impossible: destroy the Chinese fleet and retake Taiwan—before it’s too late. He’ll risk everything in a final fleet amphibious action—his career, his Navy, and his family.   

With the pacing of a master storyteller and a flair for riveting action sequences, M. P. Woodward keeps the reader glued to the pages while raising important real-world questions about the U.S. Navy’s ability to remain the world’s guarantor of a free sea in the twenty-first century.