Lawrence L. Bond (born June 11, 1951) is an American author and

wargame A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

designer. He is the designer of the ''

Harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal ...

'' and ''Command at Sea'' gaming systems, and several supplements for the games. Examples of his numerous novels include ''Dangerous Ground'', ''Day of Wrath'', ''The Enemy Within'', ''

Cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...

'', ''

Vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in t ...

'' and ''Red Phoenix''. He also co-authored ''

Red Storm Rising ''Red Storm Rising'' is a war novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Larry Bond, and released on August 7, 1986. Set in the mid-1980s, it features a Third World War between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact force ...

'' with

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have ...

Early life and education

Bond was born on June 11, 1951 and grew up outside

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. When he was eight years old, an uncle gave him a copy of ''

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

'', spurring his lifelong interest in

s. In 1973, Bond graduated from St. Thomas College with a degree in

quantitative methods Quantitative research is a research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and analysis of data. It is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on the testing of theory, shaped by empiricist and positivist philoso ...

, and worked as a computer programmer for two years before joining the U.S. Navy.

Career

U.S. Navy

Bond graduated from the United States Navy Officer Candidate School in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...

in 1976. He spent six years on active naval duty, including four years on destroyers, followed by two years in the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program. After leaving the navy, he worked as a naval analyst for defense consulting firms in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

area.

Harpoon gaming system

Bond's ''Harpoon'' gaming system was first published in 1980. Designed as a general-purpose air, surface, and submarine naval simulation, it combines playability with a wealth of information on modern naval weapons systems. Designed for the entry-level player, it has found acceptance in both the commercial market and the professional naval community. It is used at the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

, several

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

installations, and on several surface ships as a training aid. Now in its fourth edition, ''Harpoon'' won the H.G. Wells Award, a trade association honor, in both 1981 and 1987 as the best miniatures game of the year. The computer version of the game first appeared in 1989 and won the 1990 Wargame of the Year award from ''Computer Gaming World'', an industry journal.

Literary career

Bond's began his writing career by collaborating with

on ''

'' (1986), a ''New York Times'' bestseller that was one of the best-selling books of the 1980s. It depicted a hypothetical conflict between

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...

, drawing heavily on current analysis of what such a conflict would be like. It has been used as a text at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

. Since then, Bond's books have depicted military and political crises, emphasizing accuracy and fast-paced action. ''Red Phoenix'', ''Vortex'', and ''Cauldron'' were all ''New York Times'' bestsellers. ''Red Phoenix'' is set in South Korea and depicts an invasion of the south instigated by the North Korean government. ''Vortex'' tells the story of a reactionary Afrikaner government trying to roll back the clock in South Africa. ''Cauldron'' shows a financial crisis in Europe that grew out of control, leading to a military confrontation between France, Germany and countries of the Eastern Europe (Poland,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

) supported by the United States.

Personal life

Bond makes his home in Springfield, Virginia. He and his wife Jeanne are the parents of two daughters.

Bibliography

Sources:

With
Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have ...

*''

, 1986

With Patrick Larkin

*''Red Phoenix'', 1989 *''

'', 1991 *''

'', 1993 *''The Enemy Within'', 1996 *''Day of Wrath'', 1998

With Chris Carlson

*''Lash-Up'', 2015 *''Red Phoenix Burning'', 2016

Jerry Mitchell Series

*''Dangerous Ground'', 2005 *''Cold Choices'', 2009 *''Exit Plan'', 2012 *''Shattered Trident'', 2013 *''Burial at Sea'', 2013 *''Fatal Thunder'', 2016 *''Arctic Gambit'', 2018

With Jim DeFelice

First Team Series

#''Larry Bond's First Team'', 2004 #''Larry Bond's First Team: Angels of Wrath'', 2006 #''Larry Bond's First Team: Fires of War'', 2006 #''Larry Bond's First Team: Soul of the Assassin'', 2008

Red Dragon Rising Series

#''Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Shadows of War'', 2009 #''Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Edge of War'', 2010 #''Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Shock of War'', 2012 #''Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Blood of War'', 2013

Edited by Larry Bond

*''Crash Dive: True Stories of Submarine Combat'', 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Larry 1952 births Techno-thriller writers Board game designers Living people University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American male novelists United States Navy officers People from Springfield, Virginia 21st-century American male writers