The Able Archers
Koehler Books Bestseller
“16th Annual National Indie Excellence Award” Winner of the Military Fiction category, Finalist in the Historical Fiction category
“2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards” Finalist in the Historical Fiction category
US Air Force Captain Kevin Cattani and Soviet GRU Colonel Ivan Levchenko team up in the fall of 1983 to stop the worst nuclear crisis of the Cold War. The crisis begins with the Soviet shootdown of Korean Air Lines flight 007 and escalates when the Soviets’ most advanced missile warning satellites incorrectly detect the launch of multiple nuclear missiles from a US Air Force base in North Dakota. The crisis reaches its crescendo weeks later when NATO kicks off the largest nuclear war exercise (called Able Archer) in the history of the Cold War. Nerve-wracking episodes unfold in locations from Tokyo to Moscow to East Berlin and more. At a time of apocalyptic confrontation, the United States and the Soviet Union rely on Cattani and Levchenko to prevent a global nuclear war.
Reviews / Praise
“A revelatory thriller with edge-of-your-seat, end-of-the-world suspense.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“As compelling as it is informative and as entertaining as it is terrifying, The Able Archers is a great read and highly recommended.”
—New York Journal of Books
“This book is a must-read, and I hope that future books by this talented author will use history to help us understand our world today.”
—Harvard Veterans Alumni Organization
“While a gripping work of fiction, The Able Archers is a powerful reminder of the value of human judgment—and the continuing peril posed by nuclear-armed powers.”
—Robert M. Gates, former Secretary of Defense
“Brian J. Morra is ‘the master craftsman’. The Able Archers is brilliant.”
—William S. Cohen, former Secretary of Defense
“… a terrifying yet factual story of how a few people prevented a global nuclear war. It’s frighteningly relevant to today’s fraught geo-political scene—one of the must-read novels of 2022!”
—Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 NYT bestselling author
