In addition to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most other bookselling websites, Operation Catapult is available for presale on the the websites of the U.S. Naval Institute and Aaron’s Books, my local independent bookseller.

If you like the idea of supporting a great independent bookshop, Aarons - in the very cool town of Lititz, PA - is the official world headquarters for signed (and unsigned) copies.

Aaron’s Books
35 East Main St.
Lititz, PA 17543
717-627-1990
www.aaronsbooks.com

If you would like a personalized signature, just let them know. I’m always happy to head over to Aaron’s.

Operation Catapult: Winston Churchill and the British Attack on the French Navy at Mers-el-Kébir will be published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press on March 17, 2026.

The Associated Press called the Royal Navy’s July 1940 attack on the French fleet “the strangest of all naval actions in the world’s history,” and said Winston Churchill’s ensuing speech to the House of Commons was “like no other every heard in its ancient halls.”

This little-remembered incident from Churchill’s second month as Britain’s Prime Minister briefly shocked the world. During a one-sided bombardment at Mers-el-Kébir in Algeria, the Royal Navy killed 1,257 French seamen.

Two thousand miles to the east, as French and British admirals in Alexandria worked toward a brittle compromise to save lives, Britain’s actions at Mers-el-Kébir jeopardized the French Admiral’s willingness to cooperate.

In the view of Churchill biographer Paul Reid, this story has “all the vital ingredients - action, diplomacy, Winston Churchill, betrayal, heroics.”

You can learn more about the U.S. Naval Institute and its publications here.