Love Takedown? Readers share 91 books like Takedown...

By Brad Thor,

Here are 91 books that Takedown fans have personally recommended if you like Takedown. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Red Storm Rising

Alex Aaronson Author Of Advance To Contact: 1980

From my list on cold war turns hot military thrillers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started telling Sea Stories around February 1992, when I reported to the Recruit Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois. Since then, Iā€™ve been entertaining anyone who would listen with my hyperbolic storytelling, a loose relationship with the facts, and a total disregard for modesty. Writing these stories really showcases my experiences not only in the Navy but as a student of history and international relations. I couldnā€™t possibly write the whole story without having received my BA in International Relations from the University of California at Riverside and my Law Degree from Southern Methodist University.  

Alex's book list on cold war turns hot military thrillers

Alex Aaronson Why did Alex love this book?

This is the brass ring of Cold War turns Hot military fiction. I loved what Tom Clancy put down on paper back in 1986 and truly believe that without this book, none of the others on this list would have been written. I loved the depth and detail that Clancy digs into with regard to operational planning as well as tactical combat operations. 

I canā€™t compliment him enough on his easy explanation of complex systems and operations. If you like ā€œrivet countingā€ this book is going to blow your mind. As a former Russian linguist for the Navy, Iā€™m impressed with Clancyā€™s understanding of Soviet politics and strategy. As a self taught civilian, he knocks it out of the park.

By Tom Clancy,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Red Storm Rising as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tom Clancy's second classic No 1 bestselling thriller - a chillingly authentic vision of modern war - now reissued in a new cover.

Three Muslim terrorists who destroyed the Soviet Union's largest petrochemical plant thought they were striking a blow for freedom. What they had done, unknowingly, was fire the first shots in World War III.

Desperately short of oil, the Kremlin hawks see only one way of solving their problem: seize supplies in the Persian Gulf. To do that, they must first neutralise NATO's forces and eliminate their response - and so they develop Red Storm, a dazzling masterā€¦


Book cover of The Camel Club

Rick Simonds Author Of Operation: Midnight

From my list on thrillers revealing government conspiracies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have long had an interest in government conspiracies and have spent hundreds of hours researching the many experiments our government has foisted upon an unsuspecting populous. When the Church Committee released info on Projects MK Ultra, Bluebird, Artichoke, and others, people were stunned to realize what had been going on. Movies such as The Matrix dealt with mind control and the attempt to create the perfect soldier, and I am convinced such research and experimentation continues today.

Rick's book list on thrillers revealing government conspiracies

Rick Simonds Why did Rick love this book?

Because I enjoy reading about government conspiracies, I love this book, which features a group that has been assembled to study conspiracies. When a murder is committed, it leads to their own conspiracy machinations with government involvement.

As usual in Baldacciā€™s writing, the characters are unique and engaging. In many books, there is one protagonist that drives the action, but in this book, it is this eclectic group that strives to find the truth.

By David Baldacci,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Camel Club as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

After witnessing a shocking murder, four conspiracy theorists team up with a Secret Service agent to uncover the government corruption that threatens to cause an international terrorism crisis in this New York Times bestselling thriller.

Welcome to THE CAMEL CLUB.

Existing at the fringes of Washington, D.C., the Club consists of four eccentric members. Led by a mysterious man known as "Oliver Stone," they study conspiracy theories, current events, and the machinations of government to discover the "truth" behind the country's actions. Their efforts bear little fruit--until the group witnesses a shocking murder...and becomes embroiled in an astounding, far-reaching conspiracy.ā€¦


Book cover of The Hard Way

Chuck Barrett Author Of The Savannah Project

From my list on spy thrillers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I cut my teeth loving the intrigue of the spy world. Days of old TV shows like Man from U.N.C.L.E. (the original not the remake). All the James Bond moviesā€”old and new. As a child, I had a Man from U.N.C.L.E. spy kit, equipped with a miniature camera and all. It seemed only fitting that when I started writing, I stayed with what I loved. The espionage thriller genre has evolved over time to a more sophisticated, action-packed storylineā€¦which is right up my alley.

Chuck's book list on spy thrillers

Chuck Barrett Why did Chuck love this book?

I met Lee Child within a few weeks of this book being released. I had never read anything by Child and honestly, hadn't even heard of him prior to that meeting. I bought his book, got it autographed, and read it. His style was different from any other author I had read to that point. I liked his rogue character, Jack Reacher, and the way Child put that character into more and more peril as the story progressed. Having said all that, I had a character in my writing that, in many ways, resembled Reacher. Lee child's writing had a major influence in the crafting of my Gregg Kaplan character and series.

By Lee Child,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hard Way as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jack Reacher is alone, the way he likes it.

He watches a man cross a New York street and drive away in a Mercedes. The car contains $1 million of ransom money. Reacher's job is to make sure it all turns out right - money paid, family safely returned.

But Reacher is in the middle of a nasty little war where nothing is simple.

What started on a busy New York street explodes three thousand miles away, in the sleepy English countryside.

Reacher's going to have to do this one the hard way.

_________

Although the Jack Reacher novels canā€¦


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Book cover of The Child Riddler

The Child Riddler by Angela Greenman,

Zoe Lorel, an elite operative in an international spy agency, is sent to abduct a nine-year-old girl. The girl is the only one who knows the riddle that holds the code to unleash the most lethal weapon on earthā€”the first ever ā€œinvisibilityā€ nano weapon, a cloaking spider bot. But whenā€¦

Book cover of The Templar Legacy

Mike Handcock Author Of Truthseekers: The Biggest Question in World History

From my list on archeological adventures with action, mystery and ancient knowledge.

Why am I passionate about this?

I first picked up a Clive Cussler book over ten years ago. I previously only ever read nonfiction. I was hooked. I always thought these action-adventure archeological-style novels would be toilet paper, but I was wrong. These books made me want to write them. For years before, I had studied the Egyptians, Sumerians, Incas, Mayans, and Templars. You name it and I knew about it, so I took my own experience and excitement and started creating my own books. The recommendations I have here are from some of the best of the best in the genre if you like sitting on the edge of your seat, twists and turns, and some really interesting history that most of us donā€™t know.

Mike's book list on archeological adventures with action, mystery and ancient knowledge

Mike Handcock Why did Mike love this book?

When I opened this book, I first loved the main character, Cotton Malone, a guy who owns a bookshop in Copenhagenā€¦really? Then he journeyed to Rennes Le Chateau, which I went to in 2013 while I led a tour to France in search of the Templar Knights's footprint and uncovering some of their myths and legends. You have to want to get there; itā€™s miles from anywhere and in the Pyrenees. In the 19th century, a priest suddenly became exorbitantly wealthy there, and Steve Berryā€™s book picks up the thread.

Heā€™s a really great writer. You sit right in the middle of the action yourself. This book also introduces Cassiopa Vitt, an extraordinarily well thought through complex character. Malone finds that whichever way he turns, he gets himself deeper, and there are lots of little twists in this book. I read it in speedy time as I couldnā€™t put itā€¦

By Steve Berry,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Templar Legacy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first explosive thriller in the Cotton Malone series from a New York Times megaselling author.

The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power, until the Inquisition destroyed them and their riches were lost forever.

But some people don't believe in 'forever'.

Ex-agent Cotton Malone used to work for Stephanie Nelle in the US Justice Department. Now Nelle wants his help to crack a series of puzzles that have confounded experts for centuries - and could lead to the legendary lost treasure of the Knights Templar.

But someone else is on the trail - someoneā€¦


Book cover of The Lies That Bind

Jacqueline Friedland Author Of That's Not a Thing

From my list on contemporary romance set in Manhattan.

Why am I passionate about this?

As someone whoā€™s been born and raised in and around the suburbs of Manhattan, I have a love-hate relationship with the city. I crave the excitement it offers but then gets frustrated by its drawbacks- the crowds, the dirt, the noise, the expense, the pressure. But then you crack open the pages of a romance story, and the allure of Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs is undeniable. Anything is possible in New York City.

Jacqueline's book list on contemporary romance set in Manhattan

Jacqueline Friedland Why did Jacqueline love this book?

The night before September 11, 2001, I was in New York City, and my now-husband proposed to me. We woke up the next morning to a whole new world. Any book set in Manhattan that relates to September 11th instantly speaks to me. This romance story is one you will never see coming, and I canā€™t recommend it more highly.

By Emily Giffin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Lies That Bind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ā€¢ In this irresistible novel from the author of All We Ever Wanted and Something Borrowed, a young woman falls hard for an impossibly perfect man before he disappears without a trace. . . . 

Itā€™s 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New Yorkā€™s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if sheā€™ll ever make it as a reporter in the big cityā€”and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up withā€¦


Book cover of Murder in Manhattan

Vickie Carroll Author Of It's Only Murder

From my list on cozy mysteries about women at work.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a cozy-style mystery writer, I get to live in a world where I know that everything will work out as it should in the end. I look for this in the books that I read and recommend. Do they give the reader something interesting to ponder as they go along with the sleuth (amateur or ā€œreal detective)? My father was a police captain, and I grew up looking at things through the eyes of ā€œthe lawā€, I admit. Most people find comfort reading about a small town where nothing will go too wrong. The bad stuff and the bad people are kept at armā€™s length, and all is well.

Vickie's book list on cozy mysteries about women at work

Vickie Carroll Why did Vickie love this book?

I was late coming to this author, but once I discovered her I knew Iā€™d go back to her earlier books in the Lady Eleanor Swift series.

In this book, Lady Swift leaves England to see what Manhattan is all about. With her butler, Clifford, (and her dog Gladstone) in tow, she is soon ensconced in a high-end apartment and is giving and attending all of the parties with the rich and famous. But her society status is put on hold when she witnesses the doorman of her building killed in a hit and run.

This is soon followed by another murder connected to the doorman. She, of course, gets involved and is determined to right the wrong. The book is a perfect bit of escapism, written with humor. 

By Verity Bright,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Murder in Manhattan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Glitzy parties, sightseeing at the Statue of Liberty and strolls through Central Park with Gladstone the bulldogā€¦ Lady Eleanor Swift is loving her first trip to the city that never sleeps, until she witnesses a murder!

After crossing from England on the SS Celestiana, Lady Eleanor Swift sets up her home-away-from-home in a lavish apartment in New York City. She is soon the toast of the town, with no high-class soirƩe complete without her presence. Of course, she drags her butler Clifford and Gladstone the bulldog along to every party too.

But when she witnesses the charming doorman of herā€¦


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Book cover of Foster's Revenge

Foster's Revenge by Jack Kelley,

In a kill-or-be-killed world, The Reaper does whatever it takes to survive.

Following the murder of his half-brother, legendary Army Ranger Luke Foster returns to the United States from fighting terrorists. His brother's history with a prominent New York Mafia family was no secret, so it's no surprise his lifeā€¦

Book cover of The Impossible Girl

Rob Bauer Author Of Theodora

From my list on historical fiction featuring women who arenā€™t queens.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have a PhD in history and used to be a college professor. I decided to write historical fiction novels so that I could reach a larger audience than college students and share incredible stories from history with more people. The reason I created this list of books about women is because the farther back in history we look, the more invisible women seem to become. Thatā€™s why I wanted to tell Theodoraā€™s storyā€”itā€™s an amazing tale, first, but it also allowed me to share how different conditions were for women in the past. The other books Iā€™ve recommended do the same.

Rob's book list on historical fiction featuring women who arenā€™t queens

Rob Bauer Why did Rob love this book?

I loved the originality of The Impossible Girl. Cora Lee is a resurrectionistā€”she steals bodies from cemeteries for medical dissection in 1850s New York City. This isnā€™t really a sympathetic activity, however. Would you love a grave robber? So, to add flavor, bodies with unusual physical traits bring in extra money, and Cora specializes in stealing these.

But sheā€™s got a unique malady of her ownā€”she has two hearts. And people want to kill her to cash in on her body. Now we have a reason to cheer for her.

The story has many twists as Cora learns who she can (and canā€™t) trust. Add to that some romance, the vibrant setting of 1850s New York City, and some twisted characters, and this is a fun book.

By Lydia Kang,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Impossible Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Two hearts. Twice as vulnerable.

Manhattan, 1850. Born out of wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, Cora Lee can mingle with the rich just as easily as she can slip unnoticed into the slums and graveyards of the city. As the only female resurrectionist in New York, she's carved out a niche procuring bodies afflicted with the strangest of anomalies. Anatomists will pay exorbitant sums for such specimens-dissecting and displaying them for the eager public.

Cora's specialty is not only profitable, it's a means to keep a finger on the pulse of those searching for her. She'sā€¦


Book cover of Skyscraper Dreams: The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York

Jason M. Barr Author Of Cities in the Sky: The Quest to Build the World's Tallest Skyscrapers

From my list on real estate titans built New York skyline.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an economics professor, Iā€™ve spent the past twenty years researching why cities build upward. Though I mostly look at cities through the lens of statistics and data, every building has a personal and dramatic story that exists behind the numbers. And no matter where you go in the world, great cities with their towering skyscrapers all owe a debt to New Yorkā€”every city wants its own version of the Empire State Building to signal its economic might. New York is the worldā€™s metropolis. As the (now clichĆ©) song line goes, ā€œIf I can make there, Iā€™ll make it anywhere,ā€ is a true today as a century ago.

Jason's book list on real estate titans built New York skyline

Jason M. Barr Why did Jason love this book?

When I walk through the streets of Manhattan, Iā€™m constantly awed by the variety and density of its buildings. I wonder how such a city could have ever been built. New cities today lack the soul and character. But when you look at why these buildings exist, you see that they are there for a more mundane purpose: as shelter. The Garment District, for example, was created to house massive sweatshops to clothe America. Gothamā€™s apartment towers enclose the beds on which residents sleep. 

Many of these structures were built by a group of family-run development companies. The founders of these enterprises invariably began as immigrants trying to hustle their way up the economic ladder. They started as teenagers working in the sweatshops or hawking newspapers and, bit by bit, erected their own real estate empires. Tom Schactmanā€™s book tells how entrepreneurial spirit, along with New Yorkā€™s rapid economic growth,ā€¦

By Tom Shachtman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Skyscraper Dreams as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A portrait of Manhattan real estate and of the multimillionaires who are its masters, describing a world of high risks and huge rewards. Skyscrapers embody the romance of our times. The inspired gamblers who built the structures that transformed not only Manhattan but also the world took great risks. Some of the most colourful failed, while others founded family dynasties among the wealthiest in America, from the Astors and Rockefellers to the Roses and Trumps. From penniless Russian Jewish immigrants to society patricians, from penthouses to tenements, real estate and its manipulations - the buildings, the strategies, even the disastersā€¦


Book cover of Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York

John Dalton Author Of Heaven Lake

From my list on that take you on extraordinary journeys.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of two novels, and I currently teach fiction writing in the MFA program at the University of Missouri ā€“ St. Louis. Iā€™ve long been fascinated with journeys both real and literary. In the early 1990ā€™s I lived in Taiwan and traveled across Chinaā€”from Guangzhou to the far northwestern desert province of Xinjiang, an extraordinary journey that informed my first novel. 

John's book list on that take you on extraordinary journeys

John Dalton Why did John love this book?

Itā€™s 1764 on Manhattan Island, and a stranger from London arrives at a small town called New York. He expects to receive a thousand pounds. A cast of dynamic characters appear. There are intrigues and adventures. All writers try to be vibrant on the pageā€”to write smart, vivid, witty descriptions and dialogue. And then you come upon a writer like Francis Spufford, who is able, somehow, do it a degree or two better than everyone else.   

By Francis Spufford,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Golden Hill as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Best book of the century' Richard Osman
'Just wonderful' Jan Morris
'Dazzlingly written' Sunday Times
'Every bit as superb as everyone says' Sarah Perry

Winner of the Costa First Novel Award 2016
Winner of the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2017
Winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize 2017
Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2017
Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2017
Shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2017
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Debut Novel of the Year 2017

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP 100 NOVEL OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

New York, a small townā€¦


Book cover of The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene 1974-1984

Thomas Dyja Author Of New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation

From my list on how New York became New York.

Why am I passionate about this?

It took eight years to write New York, New York, New York, and reading hundreds and hundreds of books about all different aspects of New York past and present. There were lots of brilliant ones along the way, but these five changed how I think about New York, flipped assumptions, created entirely new maps and narratives.

Thomas' book list on how New York became New York

Thomas Dyja Why did Thomas love this book?

This is the primer for everything Downtown during arguably Downtownā€™s greatest era. The contributions are first-rate, by people who were on the scene, and itā€™s a handsome book to hold. If youā€™re interested in anything from Punk and Patti Smith to Haring, Basquiat, and Afrika Bambaataa, this is the place to start, without nostalgia, agenda, or hype.

By Marvin J. Taylor (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Downtown Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Downtown is more than just a location, it's an attitude--and in the 1970s and '80s, that attitude forever changed the face of America. This book charts the intricate web of influences that shaped the generation of experimental and outsider artists working in Downtown New York during the crucial decade from 1974 to 1984. Published in conjunction with the first major exhibition of downtown art (organized by New York University's Grey Art Gallery and Fales Library), The Downtown Book brings the Downtown art scene to life, exploring everything from Punk rock to performance art. The book probes trends that arose inā€¦


Book cover of Red Storm Rising
Book cover of The Camel Club
Book cover of The Hard Way

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Interested in Manhattan, New York City, and Thor?

Manhattan 136 books
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