At the American Embassy, in Quito, Ecuador, the members of the Marine Security Guard Detachment act as a highly skilled, spit and polish, first line of defense for members of the diplomatic corps. Bootleg Heroes, however, is an after-hours novel that invites the reader to peer behind the curtain. Once the Embassy has closed and the Marines have shed their uniforms, Bootleg Heroes begins. On the eve of the 1980 Reagan/Carter election, Lance Corporal Curtis B. Dark arrives in country. His first Marine House T.G.I.F. begins at sundown and lasts the entire weekend. Dark's initial ambition to establish himself as a gung-ho, hard charging Marine, quickly gives way to a pressing realization - that he'd rather be a lover than a fighter... "This book is funny. Really funny. It's an unsentimental look at imperfect people. We may not want to BE them, but they sure are wild tour-guides for this crazed ride through our deeply flawed culture." Writer/Director Billy Ray, Captain Phillips, The Comey Rule, Shattered Glass. _____________________________________ "A period of recent American history, often ignored by most scribes, gets a wild and brilliant revision in Bootleg Heroes via the insightful and retro imagination of author Peter Cook. As a kindred spirit, I highly endorse this rollicking tale of 1980 Americana." Dwayne Epstein, NY Times bestselling author of Lee Marvin: Point Blank and Killing Generals: The Making of The Dirty Dozen, The Most Iconic WWII Movie of All Time . ______________________________________ "Peter Cook's rollicking tilt-a-whirl ride of a novel catalogues an era when American Empire bestrode the world like a hard-partying colossus. Combining the blunt-force satirical wit of Norman Mailer's Naked and the Dead with the nostalgia of Robert Towne's The Last Detail, Bootleg Heroes is a postcard from hell pasted with a postage stamp of the American flag." Producer/ Screenwriter William Wheeler, Ray Donovan, The Prime Gig, The Hoax, The Queen of Katwe. _______________________________________ "If you like your aguardiente con Devil's Breath, check this out - Bootleg Heroes is an American GI jungle saga that makes Fast and Furious look dull and torpid, set in Ecuador circa 1980, where romance is elusive and man's inhumanity and harsh realities rule. Filled to the brim with Hollywood love and lore, this book is a real pow to the kisser." Patrick McGilligan, author of Funny Man: Mel Brooks, Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light. ________________________________________ "Bootleg Heroes captures the authentic, tribal behaviors of a handful of U.S. Marines stationed in South America circa 1980. It's a fast-paced, well-executed novel written by an insider. Bootleg Heroes made me laugh - and wince!" Dr. Peter Kuznick, Director, Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, NY Times Bestselling Co-author (w/ Oliver Stone) _________________________________________ "Reading as a former Army M.P., Bootleg Heroes exceeded all expectations. Cook presents a hilariously funny, true to life examination of a military culture that reverberates with absolute authenticity. As I read the hierarchy that I'd lived, I found myself racing home to grab the book, return to '80's and laugh away the woes of my day." Dr. Alan-Michael Graves, Director of Teaching and Capacity Building, The Good Plus Foundation. PETER DANIEL COOK served as a U.S. Marine from 1979 to 1984, and was on post at the American Embassies in Quito, Ecuador, Madrid, Spain and Port au Prince, Haiti. After the Marines, he became a humanities instructor, and worked in Brno, the Czech Republic, in Nagoya, Japan and in the Bronx, New York. Cook wrote his Ph.D. thesis, On Master Teacher Values in Holocaust Education at Claremont Graduate University and contributed to the anthology, Becoming a Holocaust Educator, published by Columbia University Teachers Press. He currently teaches economics in Los Angeles. Bootleg Heroes is Peter Daniel Cook's first novel.