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The Final Countdown
December 7th, 1980. The United States Naval Carrier Nimitz is the finest warship in the world. She is carrying a nuclear payload that can level a continent. And a fleet of fighter jets that can deliver it. Her crew is a handpicked one-like Captain Matthew Yelland, who endured the torture of the Viet Cong and did not break. And Warren Lasky, the civilian 'think-tank' who designed the warship to weather any battle. But a nightmare journey has brought her to a place where no amount of brains or courage can help. To a battle that no man can win. Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941...
230 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
8 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Martin Caidin
192 books80 followersMartin Caidin was a prolific and controversial writer. Most of his work centered around the adventures of pilots and astronauts. A number of his books were notable for their reasonable, realistic predictions of then-futuristic technology.
Caidin's body of work was prolific and varied, ranging from additional speculative/SF novels such as Marooned, which was made into an acclaimed film and considered a harbinger of the Apollo 13 accident, to a novel based upon the character Indiana Jones. He also wrote many non-fiction books about science, aviation and warfare.
Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books as well as more than 1,000 magazine articles. His best-known novel is Cyborg, which was the basis for "The Six Million Dollar Man" franchise. He also wrote numerous works of military history, especially concerning aviation.
In addition to his writing Caidin was a pilot and active in the restoration and flying of older planes.
Caidin's body of work was prolific and varied, ranging from additional speculative/SF novels such as Marooned, which was made into an acclaimed film and considered a harbinger of the Apollo 13 accident, to a novel based upon the character Indiana Jones. He also wrote many non-fiction books about science, aviation and warfare.
Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books as well as more than 1,000 magazine articles. His best-known novel is Cyborg, which was the basis for "The Six Million Dollar Man" franchise. He also wrote numerous works of military history, especially concerning aviation.
In addition to his writing Caidin was a pilot and active in the restoration and flying of older planes.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 16, 2025
This is not an original novel by Caidin, but an adaptation of the film script for the movie which starred Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, etc. The screenplay was a kind of art-by-committee thing common in Hollywood at the time: the title page reads "A novel by Martin Caidin based on a screenplay by David Ambrose & Gerry Davis and Thomas Hunter & Peter Powell; based on a story by Thomas Hunter & Peter Powell and David Ambrose." (Fun fact: Gerry Davis was the co-creator of the Cybermen for Doctor Who.) On December 7th, 1980, a nuclear aircraft carrier, the Nimitz, travels through time to the same date in 1941 at Pearl Harbor. What can or should they do? It's a fun and thought-provoking time travel story, and Caidin did his job well in adapting it to prose.
June 26, 2015
Most of the problems from this book result from the script/film it was adapting, which was an entertaining movie, don't get me wrong, it's just a very thin one. There's not much to the characters, most of its themes and concepts are just briefly brushed on instead of really explored, and just as the story kicks into gear after a nice, steady build, it feels like they've run out of time and they end up rushing the second half.
Caidin's adaptation is very good, though. Gets into the characters and science a bit more, really fleshes out out the military and aviation well, has a crackling good prose style.
It's a good, quick pulp thriller. Doesn't reach for any great heights but also doesn't overstay its welcome to the point where the thinness becomes a problem.
And if you're a fan of the setup, might I recommend the Japanese comic series Zipang, which has a nearly identical setup, but because it ran for years, had much more room to explore its themes and concepts in great detail.
Caidin's adaptation is very good, though. Gets into the characters and science a bit more, really fleshes out out the military and aviation well, has a crackling good prose style.
It's a good, quick pulp thriller. Doesn't reach for any great heights but also doesn't overstay its welcome to the point where the thinness becomes a problem.
And if you're a fan of the setup, might I recommend the Japanese comic series Zipang, which has a nearly identical setup, but because it ran for years, had much more room to explore its themes and concepts in great detail.
July 11, 2014
As a former sailor who entered the Navy a couple years after the movie and book were made, I really found it to be one of the truly cool military books/stories of the post Vietnam era. It was total escapist fantasy but really a great "what if" story that became a moderately successful movie. The live action shots of the ship, aircraft and carrier operation in the movie were described well in the book. Martin Caidin, an author of some note in sci-fi circles did a great job constructing a book from the original screenplay and added some good content at the end which ties up some of the things the movie left out. It is a relatively quick read and leaves you somewhat wishing that there might have been a sequel if only to see where the story could have gone from there with the cast of characters...
October 6, 2016
This is such a great idea for a story and the author takes you on a journey that is incredible and a taste of history.It would be amazing if we really could find a vortex to take us back in time. I have written stories similar but my vortexes take us sideways, I think this book is so much harder to write because you have a lot of research of the past to do and then to add the present to the story is a challenge and this one was well done!
July 25, 2019
Loved everything about this book. I've read it several times and loved it every time. The movie was well done too
August 4, 2023
This is the novelization of the movie of the same name. This movie has been one of my favorites since I first saw it in the early 1980s, with the intriguing notion of a modern aircraft carrier traveling through time to the day before Pearl Harbor. How could it change history? Could it change history? And should it change history?
I am very familiar with the movie, so it was easy to picture the events described in the book. Computer expert Warren Lasky didn't expect to be pulled from his current work with Tideman Industries and sent to spend several days onboard the Nimitz with no instructions other than to be there. The ship's captain, Matt Yelland, isn't thrilled to have a civilian on board, but orders are orders. Neither expect the stunning events that occur nor the moral and ethical choices they face.
Because the book must use words to paint the pictures, there is a lot of technical description that can get a little overwhelming for the casual reader. I found myself skimming some of those sections to get to the meat of the story. When the ship goes through the vortex that hurls it back in time, Warren figures out what happened well before anyone else. I could feel the captain's frustration with him as Warren stayed quiet and let him come to the correct conclusion on his own. The Air Wing Commander, Richard Owens, is a history buff who knows a lot about the attack on Pearl Harbor, and his input is critical to the decisions made.
Matters become complicated when two Japanese fighters attack a pleasure boat off the coast of Hawaii, killing several of the passengers but leaving two alive. It's an exciting scene in the movie and book, as two modern fighters intervene. The subsequent rescue of the two passengers and one pilot creates further headaches for the captain when he discovers who one of the passengers is. There are some amusing scenes as the two passengers face the improbability of what they see. There is also a scary scene with the Japanese pilot when he breaks free of his confinement. Commander Owens plays a pivotal role in the resolution of that issue.
It was interesting to see how Captain Yelland decided to handle the situation. Putting the safety of the civilians first, his actions there had unintended consequences that only became clear at the end of the book. But when it comes time to take action, who will win - the Nimitz or time itself?
As a fan of the Outlander series, I could see parallels between the two attempts to change history. In Outlander, Claire and Jaime try their best to prevent the disaster at Culloden but discover that, while little things can be changed, significant events are much harder to affect. In this book, their desire to prevent the destruction at Pearl Harbor runs up against the same problem.
I loved the ending and seeing the surprise that waited for Warren on his return to Pearl Harbor. The book has more detail than the movie, and I found the prospects discussed intriguing.
One of my favorite parts of the book is when the female passenger, Laurel, an intelligent and ambitious woman who must deal with the prejudices of the time, says, "Captain, your crew is fabulous. I feel this is the first time I have been with a group of men who appreciate someone for what that person is, and that sex doesn't matter." And the captain replies, "You might say we're just a bit ahead of our time."
I have one small quibble with the back cover copy. The Nimitz doesn't go back in time on December 7, 1980. According to the book's text, that happens on July 13, 1980.
I am very familiar with the movie, so it was easy to picture the events described in the book. Computer expert Warren Lasky didn't expect to be pulled from his current work with Tideman Industries and sent to spend several days onboard the Nimitz with no instructions other than to be there. The ship's captain, Matt Yelland, isn't thrilled to have a civilian on board, but orders are orders. Neither expect the stunning events that occur nor the moral and ethical choices they face.
Because the book must use words to paint the pictures, there is a lot of technical description that can get a little overwhelming for the casual reader. I found myself skimming some of those sections to get to the meat of the story. When the ship goes through the vortex that hurls it back in time, Warren figures out what happened well before anyone else. I could feel the captain's frustration with him as Warren stayed quiet and let him come to the correct conclusion on his own. The Air Wing Commander, Richard Owens, is a history buff who knows a lot about the attack on Pearl Harbor, and his input is critical to the decisions made.
Matters become complicated when two Japanese fighters attack a pleasure boat off the coast of Hawaii, killing several of the passengers but leaving two alive. It's an exciting scene in the movie and book, as two modern fighters intervene. The subsequent rescue of the two passengers and one pilot creates further headaches for the captain when he discovers who one of the passengers is. There are some amusing scenes as the two passengers face the improbability of what they see. There is also a scary scene with the Japanese pilot when he breaks free of his confinement. Commander Owens plays a pivotal role in the resolution of that issue.
It was interesting to see how Captain Yelland decided to handle the situation. Putting the safety of the civilians first, his actions there had unintended consequences that only became clear at the end of the book. But when it comes time to take action, who will win - the Nimitz or time itself?
As a fan of the Outlander series, I could see parallels between the two attempts to change history. In Outlander, Claire and Jaime try their best to prevent the disaster at Culloden but discover that, while little things can be changed, significant events are much harder to affect. In this book, their desire to prevent the destruction at Pearl Harbor runs up against the same problem.
I loved the ending and seeing the surprise that waited for Warren on his return to Pearl Harbor. The book has more detail than the movie, and I found the prospects discussed intriguing.
One of my favorite parts of the book is when the female passenger, Laurel, an intelligent and ambitious woman who must deal with the prejudices of the time, says, "Captain, your crew is fabulous. I feel this is the first time I have been with a group of men who appreciate someone for what that person is, and that sex doesn't matter." And the captain replies, "You might say we're just a bit ahead of our time."
I have one small quibble with the back cover copy. The Nimitz doesn't go back in time on December 7, 1980. According to the book's text, that happens on July 13, 1980.
May 6, 2021
Having seen the movie upon which this book is based, I could hardly wait to read it. Since I already knew the characters and the basic plot, it was easy to follow. I enjoyed it so much more that way I think. Imagining the USS aircraft carrier Nimitz back in 1941 is incredible and imagining knowing what we know about that time frame at Pearl Harbor, well ... you can imagine the mind blowing that went on all around. Will the Nimitz attack the Japanese fleet early on December 7th, with all their power to bear ... or not????
May 22, 2021
A fun book with time travel. Appreciate the historical research that was done, and the eerie feeling upon the ship's return.
March 10, 2023
A huge aircraft carrier is taken back in time to the beginning of WW2 and must make the decision to interfere with the plans or let it come to pass.
March 4, 2024
Without giving any spoilers, I like that the novel gives an explanation as to what caused the Nimitz to go back to 1941.
July 21, 2009
Novelization of the movie with the nuclear carrier slipping through a time rift to just before Pearl Harbor.
July 23, 2023
This probably the third time I've read this. It's short (230 pages) and moves quickly. I love the premise. This is a case where the movie doesn't disappoint.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews