Tom Young and The Warriors Book Rap

National Press Club Member Tom Young discussed his latest book, The Warriors, at a book rap hosted by the Club’s Book and Author Committee.

Young brings forward the protagonists, Col. Parsons and Sophia Gold, from his earlier books and puts them at an air base in Kyrgyzstan dealing with a Bosnian arms dealer named Victor Dusek. His story kicks off when a plane carrying opium crashes in a thunderstorm at the air base. The book contains flashbacks to the 1990's during periods of "Ethnic Cleansing” in the Balkans.

Young has an exceptional insight into that area of the world since he flew missions there as a member of the Air National Guard. “The Croats, the Serbs, and the Bosnians committed unspeakable horrors,” he said.

As a reporter with The Associated Press, he says, “I went through the historical background of the area and learned that 100,000 died (in the Balkan War). The media dropped the ball.”

The crash landing is the tipping point for a dramatic lead-in to possibly another conflict. Reviewers give the book high marks as a true-to-life saga. Tom says, “I tried to put myself in the heads of the characters, even Dusek, which was difficult.”

Committee member Carolyn Bloch introduced Tom who described himself as a “seat of the pants’ writer, i.e., he just starts writing without an outline.