The Last Battleship (Paperback)

The second decade of the twenty-first century finds the United States recovering from World War III. The only real enemy the U.S. has left to contend with is the Colombian dictator Filipe Felasquez and his brother-in-law, President Arrios of Cuba, who see their chance to smash the weakened United States and build empires for themselves. The U.S. President, John Grant, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Sherman, become aware of the impending attack and make preparations to foil the enemyas plans. Meanwhile, Jeff Summers, a Southern industrialist, has been made aware of a derelict ship sitting for decades in the Sargasso Sea. The derelict turns out to be the long-lost Brazilian battleship Sao Paulo, lost at sea while being towed to be scrapped in 1951. With official backing, Summers and the Mobile Navy Yard furiously try to put what is left of the mothballed fleet back in commission, including the World War II battleship USS Alabama and the newly refurbished and renamed USS Florida. The enemy comes close to success, but between Jeff Summersa battleship and his son Terryas artillery battery, the good guys have a chance to stop the invaders. Maybe.