Alistair MacLean
Alistair MacLean, late in life.
Born
28 April 1922 Glasgow, Scotland
Died
2 February 1987 Munich, Germany

Alistair Stuart MacLean (April 28, 1922 - February 2, 1987) was a Scottish novelist who wrote successful thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare. He also used the pseudonym Ian Stuart. Image File history File links AlistairMacLean. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... The thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television, with numerous overlapping sub-genres. ... The Guns of Navarone is a 1957 novel about World War II by British thriller writer Alistair MacLean that was made into a film in 1961. ... Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 movie directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and Mary Ure. ...

Life

MacLean was the son of a minister, and learned English as his second language after his mother tongue Scottish Gaelic. He was born in Glasgow but spent much of his childhood and youth in Daviot, near Inverness. See also minister (government) and minister (diplomacy) In Christian churches, a minister is a man or woman who serves a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such persons can minister as a Pastor, Preacher, Bishop, Chaplain, Deacon or Elder. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... Daviot is not cool ... Inverness (Inbhir Nis in Scottish Gaelic) is the only city in the Scottish Highlands. ...

He joined the Royal Navy in 1941, serving in World War II with the ranks of Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and Leading Torpedo Operator. First he was assigned to PS Bournemouth Queen, a converted excursion ship fitting for anti-aircraft guns, in duties off the coasts of England and Scotland. From 1943, he served on HMS Royalist, a Dido-class light cruiser. On Royalist he saw action in 1943 in the Atlantic theatre, on two Arctic convoys and escorting carrier groups in operations against Tirpitz and other targets off the Norwegian coast; in 1944 in the Mediterrean theatre, as part of the invasion of southern France and in helping to sink blockade runners off Crete and bombard Milos in the Aegean Sea (during this time MacLean may have been injured in a gunnery practice accident); and in 1945, in the Far East theatre, escorting carrier groups in operations against Japanese targets in Burma, Malaya, and Sumatra. (MacLean's late-in-life claims that in this last theatre he was captured by the Japanese and tortured have been dismissed by both his son and his biographer as drunken ravings. [Webster p. 191]) After the Japanese surrender, Royalist helped evacuate liberated POWs from Changi Prison in Singapore. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services being the oldest of its three branches. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Ordinary Seaman is the lowest normal grade of sailor. ... In the Royal Navy in the middle of the 18th century, the term Able Seaman referred to a seaman with at least two years experience at sea. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... HMS Royalist was a Bellona-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. ... The Dido class was a class of sixteen (including the Bellona sub-class) light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. ... Combatants United Kingdom, Canada, United States of America Germany Commanders Percy Noble, Max Horton, Frederick John Walker, Leonard Warren (L.W.)Murray Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28,000 sailors 783 submarines The Second Battle of the Atlantic was the longest... The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the USA and the United Kingdom to the northern ports of the USSR - Archangel and Murmansk. ... Tirpitz was the second Bismarck class battleship of the German Kriegsmarine, sistership of Bismarck. ... The Mediterranean region. ... A map of the operation. ... Crete (Greek Κρήτη Kriti; called Candia in the Venetian period and Turkish: Girit) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... Milos (formerly Melos, and before the Athenian genocide Malos; see also List of traditional Greek place names, Greek: Μήλος, not related to the Modern Greek word μήλο = milo for apple which has the same spelling except for the trailing sigma) is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea. ... The Aegean Sea. ... The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in India, Burma, Thailand, Malaya and Singapore. ... The Federation of Malaya, or in Malay Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, was formed in 1948 from the British settlements of Penang and Malacca and the nine Malay states and replaced the Malayan Union. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the 3rd largest island of Indonesia after Kalimantan and New Guinea. ... Torture is any act by which severe pain, whether physical or psychological, is intentionally inflicted on a person as a means of intimidation, a deterrent, revenge, a punishment, or as a method for the extraction of information or confessions (i. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Changi chapel, built by Australian POWs in 1944, later relocated to Duntroon, Canberra Changi Prison (Simplified Chinese: 樟宜监狱) is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. ...

MacLean was released from the Royal Navy in 1946. He then studied English at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1953, and then worked as a school teacher. The academic discipline of English studies explores the production and analysis of texts produced in English (or in areas of the world in which English is a common mode of communication). ... The University of Glasgow, founded in 1451, is the largest of the three universities in Glasgow, Scotland. ... In education, teachers are those who teach students or pupils, often a course of study, lesson plan, or a practical skill, including learning and thinking skills. ...

While in the University, MacLean began writing short stories for extra income and won a competition in 1954 with the maritime story "Dileas". The publishing company Collins asked him for a novel and he responded with HMS Ulysses, based on his own war experiences as well as credited insight from his brother Ian, a Master Mariner. The novel was a great success and MacLean was soon able to devote himself entirely to writing war stories, spy stories and other adventures. This article is in need of attention. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Collins was a Scottish printing company founded by a Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in partnership with Charles Chalmers, the younger brother of Thomas Chalmers, minister of Tron Church, Glasgow. ... HMS Ulysses was the first novel by British author Alistair Maclean, and ultimately, one of his most popular. ... Master Mariner is the official title of someone qualified to command a ship; the qualification is colloquially called a Masters Ticket. The term was introduced in the mid 19th century, and is usually held by the chief officer/first mate as well as the captain). ... Spy and secret agent redirect here; for alternate use, see Spy (disambiguation) and Secret agent (disambiguation). ...

In the early 1960s, MacLean published two novels under the pseudonym "Ian Stuart" in order to prove that the popularity of his books was owed to their content rather than to his name on the cover. They sold well, but one must remember that MacLean made no attempt to change his style and his fans may easily have recognized him behind the Scottish pseudonym. MacLean's books eventually sold so well that he had to move to Switzerland as a tax exile. From 1963–1966 he was retired from writing while he ran a hotel business in England.

MacLean's later books were not as well received as the earlier ones and, in an attempt to keep his stories in keeping with the time, he sometimes lapsed into overly improbable plots. He also struggled constantly with alcoholism which eventually brought about his death in Munich in 1987. He is buried a few yards from Richard Burton in Céligny, Switzerland. He was married twice and had three sons with his first wife. Alcoholism is a powerful craving for alcohol which often results in the compulsive consumption of alcohol otherwise known as an addiction. ... Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria. ... Richard Burton in the movie Cleopatra (1963) Richard Burton CBE (November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984) was a Welsh actor. ... Céligny is a Swiss commune in the canton of Geneva. ...

Style of writing

Compared to other thriller writers of the time, such as Ian Fleming, MacLean's books are exceptional in one way at least: they have an absence of sex and most are short on romance because MacLean thought that such diversions merely serve to slow down the action. (There are some notable exceptions like The Golden Rendezvous where the protagonist is rewarded for his labors by winning the love of the beautiful daughter of a millionaire, and conversely The Dark Crusader which ends with its protagonist committing murder to avenge the death of his beloved). Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was an English author and journalist, best remembered for writing the James Bond series of novels as well as the childrens story, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ...

Nor do the Maclean books resemble the more recent techno-thriller approach. Instead, he lets little hinder the flow of events in his books, making his heroes fight against seemingly unbeatable odds and often pushing them to the limits of their physical and mental endurance. MacLean's heroes are usually calm, cynical men entirely devoted to their work and often carrying some kind of secret knowledge. A characteristic twist is that one of the hero's closest cooperators turns out a traitor. Techno-thrillers are a hybrid genre, drawing subject matter generally from spy thrillers, war novels, and science fiction. ...

Nature, especially the sea and the arctic north, plays an important part in MacLean's stories, and he used a variety of exotic parts of the world as settings to his books. Only one of them, When Eight Bells Toll, is set in his native Scotland. MacLean's best books are often those in which he was able to make use of his own direct knowledge of warfare and seafare such as HMS Ulysses which is now considered a classic of naval fiction.

Stylistically MacLean's novels can be broken down into four periods:

1. HMS Ulysses through The Last Frontier. These featured third-person narratives and a somewhat epic tone, and were mostly set during World War II. The Last Frontier contained overt philosophical and moral themes that were not well received. MacLean then switched gears to —
2. Night Without End through Ice Station Zebra. These all featured first person (and sometimes unreliable) narration laced with a dry, sardonic, self-deprecating humour, and were all set in contemporary times. These are MacLean's most intensely plotted tales, masterfully blending thriller and detective elements. MacLean then retired from writing for three years, returning with —
3. When Eight Bells Toll through Bear Island, a varied collection that still maintained a generally high quality, with some books harking back to each of the first two periods but usually taking a more cinematic approach (not surprising since he began writing screenplays during this time). Finally —
4. The Way to Dusty Death to the end. There were no more first-person stories, and his prose often sagged badly, with excessive dialogue, lazily described scenes, and poor characterization. Some of the books are better than others, and all sold reasonably well, but MacLean never regained his classic form.

Altogether MacLean published 28 novels and a collection of short stories, as well as books about T. E. Lawrence and James Cook. The Narrator is the entity within a story that tells the story to the reader. ... First-person narrative is a literary technique in which the story is narrated by one or more of the characters, who explicitly refers to him or herself in the first person, that is, I. The narrator is thus directly or indirectly involved in the story being told. ... In literature and film, an unreliable narrator (a term coined by Wayne C. Booth in his 1961 book The Rhetoric of Fiction [1]) is a literary device in which the credibility of the narrator, either first-person or third-person, is seriously compromised. ... T.E. Lawrence. ... James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ...

MacLean also wrote screenplays, some of them based on his novels and others later novelized by other writers. Around 1980, he was commissioned by an American movie production company to write a series of story outlines to be subsequently produced as movies. Although he did write about a fictitious United Nations organisation, the books were later completed by others. Among these are "Hostage Tower" by John Denis and Death Train by Alastair MacNeill. Some of these works bear little resemblance to MacLean's style, especially in their use of gratuitous sex and violence. United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Many of MacLean's novels were made into films, but none completely captured the level of detail and the intensity of his writing style as exemplified in classics such as Fear is the Key; the two most artistically and commercially successful film adaptations were The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare. The Guns of Navarone is a 1957 novel about World War II by British thriller writer Alistair MacLean that was made into a film in 1961. ... Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 movie directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and Mary Ure. ...

After his death, the popularity of his work saw a decline, and, as per Amazon.com, as of 2006 none of his novels is in print in the U.S. However most are currently still in print in paperback in the UK.

Alistair MacLean was awarded a Doctorate of Literature at the University of Glasgow in 1983.

List of works

Novels

• HMS Ulysses, in the USA H.M.S. Ulysses (1955)
• The Guns of Navarone (1957)
• South by Java Head (1957)
• The Last Frontier, in the USA The Secret Ways (1959)
• Night Without End (1959)
• Fear is the Key (1961)
• The Dark Crusader, in the USA The Black Shrike (as Ian Stuart, 1961)
• The Golden Rendezvous (1962)
• The Satan Bug (as Ian Stuart, 1962)
• Ice Station Zebra (1963)
• When Eight Bells Toll (1966)
• Where Eagles Dare (1967)
• Force 10 from Navarone (1968)
• Puppet on a Chain (1969)
• Caravan to Vaccarès (1970)
• Bear Island (1971)
• The Way to Dusty Death (1973)
• Breakheart Pass (1974)
• Circus (1975)
• The Golden Gate (1976)
• Seawitch (1977)
• Goodbye California (1978)
• Athabasca (1980)
• River of Death (1981)
• Partisans (1982)
• Floodgate (1983)
• San Andreas (1984)
• Santorini (1986)

Collection of short stories HMS Ulysses was the first novel by British author Alistair Maclean, and ultimately, one of his most popular. ... The Guns of Navarone is a 1957 novel about World War II by British thriller writer Alistair MacLean that was made into a film in 1961. ... Night Without End is a novel by Alistair MacLean, first published in 1959. ... The Satan Bug is a thriller written by Alistair MacLean. ... The cover of the 1965 UK paperback edition of: Ice Station Zebra Ice Station Zebra is a 1963 novel written by Alistair MacLean and a 1968 film made from that novel. ... Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 movie directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and Mary Ure. ... Force 10 From Navarone Force 10 from Navarone is a novel by Alistair MacLean and a war film loosely based on upon it. ... Bear Island is a novel (published 1971) by Alistair MacLean. ... Santorini is a novel Written by the well- known author Alistair MacLean. ...

• The Lonely Sea (1985)

Other books

• All about Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
• Alistair MacLean Introduces Scotland (1972)
• Captain Cook (1972)

UNACO books by other authors

• Hostage Tower (1980) (by John Denis)
• Air Force 1 is Down (1981) (by John Denis)
• Death Train (1989) (by Alastair MacNeill)
• Night Watch (1989) (by Alastair MacNeill)
• Red Alert (1990) (by Alastair MacNeill)
• Time of the Assassins (1991) (by Alastair MacNeill)
• Dead Halt (1992) (by Alastair MacNeill)
• Golden Girl (1992) (by Simon Gandolfi)
• Code Breaker (1993) (by Alastair MacNeill)
• Golden Web (1993) (by Simon Gandolfi)
• Golden Vengeance (1994) (by Simon Gandolfi)
• Rendezvous (1995) (by Alastair MacNeill)
• Prime Target (1997) (by Hugh Miller)
• Borrowed Time (1998) (by Hugh Miller)

Movies with Screenplay Contribution

• Where Eagles Dare (1968) (book author/screenplay) *ing Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood
• Puppet on a Chain (1970) (book author/screenplay) *ing Sven-Bertil Taube
• When Eight Bells Toll (1971) (book author/screenplay) *ing Anthony Hopkins
• Breakheart Pass (1975) (book author/screenplay) *ing Charles Bronson

Other Movies Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 movie directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and Mary Ure. ... Richard Burton in the movie Cleopatra (1963) Richard Burton CBE (November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984) was a Welsh actor. ... Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood, Jr. ... Sven-Bertil Taube (born November 24, 1934) is a Swedish singer and actor. ... Sir Anthony Hopkins Sir Anthony Hopkins (IPA: ) KBE (born December 31, 1937) is an Oscar-winning Welsh-born actor. ... Charles Bronson This is about the actor. ...

• The Secret Ways (1961) (book author) *ing Richard Widmark
• The Guns of Navarone (1961) (book author) *ing Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn
• The Satan Bug (1965) (book author) *ing George Maharis
• Ice Station Zebra (1968) (book author) *ing Rock Hudson
• Fear Is the Key (1972) (book author) *ing Barry Newman
• Caravan to Vaccares (1974) (book author) *ing David Birney, Charlotte Rampling
• Golden Rendezvous (1977) (book author) *ing Richard Harris
• Force 10 from Navarone (1978) (book author) *ing Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford
• Bear Island (1979) (book author) *ing Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark
• The Hostage Tower (1980) (story) *ing Peter Fonda
• River of Death (1989) (book author) *ing Michael Dudikoff
• Death Train (1993) (story) *ing Pierce Brosnan, Patrick Stewart
• The Way to Dusty Death (1995) (book author) *ing Linda Hamilton, Simon MacCorkindale
• Night Watch (1995) (story) *ing Pierce Brosnan

Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death Richard Widmark (born December 26, 1914 in Sunrise, Minnesota) is an American film actor. ... The Guns of Navarone is a 1957 novel about World War II by British thriller writer Alistair MacLean that was made into a film in 1961. ... Gregory Peck at Cannes, 2000 Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an Oscar-winning American film actor. ... David Niven was the second unofficial James Bond. ... Anthony Quinn Anthony Quinn (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001) was a Mexican-American actor, painter, and writer. ... The Satan Bug (1965) is a science fiction motion picture in which a US government germ warfare lab has had an accident. ... Centerfold photo of George Maharis in the July 1973 issue of Playgirl Magazine George Maharis (born September 1, 1928 in Astoria, New York) is an American actor and was one of seven children born to Greek immigrants. ... The cover of the 1965 UK paperback edition of: Ice Station Zebra Ice Station Zebra is a 1963 novel written by Alistair MacLean and a 1968 film made from that novel. ... Rock Hudson (November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor, famous for his rugged good looks. ... Barry Newman (born November 7, 1938) is an American actor best known for the character Anthony Petrocelli on the TV crime-drama Petrocelli, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe. ... As Senator Letant in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ... Rampling modeling on a Mickey Spillane book cover, 1972. ... There are more than one Richard Harris: Richard Harris (actor) Richard Harris (correspondent) Richard Harris (prospector) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Force 10 From Navarone Force 10 from Navarone is a novel by Alistair MacLean and a war film loosely based on upon it. ... Robert Shaw may mean: Robert Shaw (footballer) Robert Shaw (actor) This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. ... Bear Island is the name of several places and a novel: Bjørnøya in Svalbard, also known as Bear Island Bear Island, Antarctica Bear Island (Connecticut) is one of the Thimble Islands Bear Island, County Cork is located in Ireland Bear Island, Maine is located in Northeast Harbor, Maine. ... Donald McNicol Sutherland, OC (born July 17, 1935) is a prolific Canadian actor with a film career spanning over 40 years. ... Vanessa Redgrave during the 2004 season of Nip/Tuck. ... Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death Richard Widmark (born December 26, 1914 in Sunrise, Minnesota) is an American film actor. ... Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda, born February 23, 1940 in New York, New York, is an American actor. ... Michael Dudikoff is an American actor. ... Pierce Brosnan at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ... Patrick Stewart, OBE, (born July 13, 1940) is an English film, television, and stage actor and Chancellor of Huddersfield University. ... Linda Hamilton Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is a famous American movie actress born in Salisbury, Maryland. ... Main title caption from Falcon Crest. ... Pierce Brosnan at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ...

Notes on the books

• Force 10 from Navarone, MacLean's only sequel, picks up from where the film version of The Guns of Navarone leaves off, not his original novel.
• MacLean's only other use of inter-novel continuity is a police character from Puppet on a Chain reappearing in Floodgate.
• MacLean wrote the novel and screenplay of Where Eagles Dare at the same time. In effect it was commissioned by Richard Burton, who wanted to make a "boy's own" type adventure film that he could take his son to see. The book and screenplay differ markedly in that, in the book, Smith and Schaffer at times go out of their way not to kill anyone, whereas in the film they basically shoot anything that moves. In fact, the film contains Clint Eastwood's highest on-screen body count. Also, in the book, Schaffer is considerably more talkative than Eastwood's version!
• Where Eagles Dare and Guns of Navarone have identical plots; the "MacLean Formula" used in both is as follows: impregnable fortress which requires a commando team to be sent in; one of the team is not what he/she seems; betrayal in a public place; barricade a door for the getaway; mountain climbing; escape by jumping into water; good guys win—amazingly, all these contrivances work perfectly.
• There have been reports of a "lost" MacLean novel titled Snow on the Ben, but it appears to be by a different Ian Stuart (refer ISBN 0708965032)
• MacLean's chief female characters are almost always named some variation of Mary, like Mary itself, Marie, or Maria.
• Similarly, although to a somewhat lesser degree, a number of MacLean's chief male characters are named John.
• MacLean was known to reuse plot devices, characterisations, and even specific phrases; for example, the description "huddled shapelessness of the dead" occurs in some form in several stories.
• Clive Cussler plagiarized (or paid homage to) Ice Station Zebra in his Raise the Titanic! and The Secret Ways in his The Mediterrean Caper.
• In many of his books, the hero's wife has been killed in a road accident by a "drunken driver"

This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Richard Burton in the movie Cleopatra (1963) Richard Burton CBE (November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984) was a Welsh actor. ... Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood, Jr. ... Clive Cussler (born July 15, 1931 in Alhambra, California) is an American adventure novelist. ... Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty; it is a matter of deceit: fooling a reader into believing that certain written material is original when it is not. ... For a description of the medieval homage ceremony see commendation ceremony Homage is generally used in modern English to mean any public show of respect to someone to whom you feel indebted. ...

References

• Lee, Robert A. Alistair MacLean: The Key is Fear. Borgo Press, 1976. ISBN 089370203X.
• Webster, Jack. Alistair MacLean: A Life. Chapmans Publishers, 1991. ISBN 1855925192. (Alternate title: Alistair MacLean: A Biography of a Master Storyteller.)

External links

• Literary Encyclopedia entry
• Alistair MacLean at The Internet Movie Database
• Alistairmaclean.de Fan site