America

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The SuperAegis space-based missile defense system and the submarine USS America that are featured in this tale are products of the author's imagination. Many of America s capabilities and features were suggested by the Virginia-class of attack submarines currently under development, but the design is entirely the author's. Patent applications are pending. It was not the author's intent to write a treatise on submarines, which are among the most complex devices ever invented by man, so, as usual, the author has taken creative liberties where necessary in the interest of readability and pacing.

Engineer and physicist Gilbert Pascal was kind enough to illuminate numerous technical points as the author slashed his way through the arcane jungles of Star Wars and underseas warfare. Submarine experts Malcolm MacKinnon III and Chris Carlson read and commented upon the underwater portions of the manuscript. The author is deeply grateful to all three.

Culpability for this literary crime is shared by the author's wife, Deborah Coonts, to whom all complaints should be addressed.

The author's editor at St. Martin's Press, Charles Spicer, deserves a special tip of the baseball cap. His enthusiasm for adventure fiction, wise counsel, and patience throughout the creative process make him a pleasure to work with.