W.E.B. Griffin Books in Order: Every Book, Series & Pen Name

By Anna Marie CarrollThriller

W.E.B. Griffin was the best-known pen name of William E. Butterworth III. He wrote military fiction, police procedurals, spy thrillers, juvenile novels, nonfiction, and books under several other names. The lists below separate Griffin’s main series from the work published under those other bylines.

For the seven major W.E.B. Griffin series, publication order is the simplest reading order. Characters, careers, relationships, and military assignments continue from one book to the next, even when each novel has its own central mission.

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W.E.B. Griffin Books by Series

Do W.E.B. Griffin books need to be read in order?

Yes. I recommend reading each series in publication order. The stories often cover years of military or police history, and the same characters grow into new roles as the series continues.

The series do not form one master chronology. Men at War and Honor Bound cover World War II intelligence, The Corps follows Marines through World War II and Korea, Clandestine Operations moves into the early Cold War, Brotherhood of War stretches into Vietnam, and Presidential Agent is set in the modern era.

Brotherhood of War Books

The Brotherhood of War series follows a group of U.S. Army officers from World War II through Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and the changing military culture of the postwar decades. Read the series in the order below.

  1. The Lieutenants (1982)
  2. The Captains (1982)
  3. The Majors (1983)
  4. The Colonels (1983)
  5. The Berets (1985)
  6. The Generals (1986)
  7. The New Breed (1987)
  8. The Aviators (1988)
  9. Special Ops (2001)

Men At War Books

Men at War follows Dick Canidy and the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. The first four books were originally published under the Alex Baldwin name and were later retitled for the W.E.B. Griffin editions. William E. Butterworth IV joined Griffin on Books 5 through 7, and Peter Kirsanow continued the series with Books 8 and 9.

  1. The Last Heroes (1984) (originally published as In the Line of Duty)
  2. The Secret Warriors (1985) (originally published as Covert Operations)
  3. The Soldier Spies / Give Me Liberty (1986)
  4. The Fighting Agents / Into Enemy Hands (1987)
  5. The Saboteurs with William E. Butterworth IV (2006)
  6. The Double Agents with William E. Butterworth IV (2007)
  7. The Spymasters with William E. Butterworth IV (2012)
  8. The Devil’s Weapons by Peter Kirsanow (2022)
  9. Zero Option by Peter Kirsanow (2024)

The Corps Books

The Corps follows U.S. Marines through World War II and the Korean War. Its recurring cast moves from Pearl Harbor and the Pacific campaign to Inchon, Pusan, and the wider conflicts surrounding Korea.

  1. Semper Fi (1986)
  2. Call to Arms (1987)
  3. Counterattack (1990)
  4. Battleground (1991)
  5. Line of Fire (1992)
  6. Close Combat (1993)
  7. Behind the Lines (1995)
  8. In Danger’s Path (1998)
  9. Under Fire (2002)
  10. Retreat, Hell! (2004)

Badge of Honor Books

Badge of Honor shifts from the military to the Philadelphia Police Department. The first two books originally appeared under the John Kevin Dugan pen name. William E. Butterworth IV later coauthored the final five published novels.

  1. Men in Blue (1988)
  2. Special Operations (1989)
  3. The Victim (1991)
  4. The Witness (1992)
  5. The Assassin (1993)
  6. The Murderers (1994)
  7. The Investigators (1997)
  8. Final Justice (2003)
  9. The Traffickers with William E. Butterworth IV (2009)
  10. The Vigilantes with William E. Butterworth IV (2010)
  11. The Last Witness with William E. Butterworth IV (2013)
  12. Deadly Assets with William E. Butterworth IV (2015)
  13. Broken Trust with William E. Butterworth IV (2016)

Honor Bound Books

Honor Bound follows the Office of Strategic Services in Argentina during World War II and the months that follow. William E. Butterworth IV coauthored the final four books.

  1. Honor Bound (1994)
  2. Blood and Honor (1996)
  3. Secret Honor (1999)
  4. Death and Honor with William E. Butterworth IV (2008)
  5. The Honor of Spies with William E. Butterworth IV (2009)
  6. Victory and Honor with William E. Butterworth IV (2011)
  7. Empire and Honor with William E. Butterworth IV (2012)

Presidential Agent Books

The Presidential Agent series follows Charley Castillo through modern counterterrorism and intelligence operations. The series later continued with new authors while keeping Griffin’s characters and world.

  1. By Order of the President (2005)
  2. The Hostage (2006)
  3. The Hunters (2007)
  4. The Shooters (2008)
  5. Black Ops (2009)
  6. The Outlaws with William E. Butterworth IV (2010)
  7. Covert Warriors with William E. Butterworth IV (2011)
  8. Hazardous Duty with William E. Butterworth IV (2013)
  9. Rogue Asset by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson (2021)
  10. Direct Action by Jack Stewart (2025)

Clandestine Operations Books

Clandestine Operations begins just after World War II and follows James Cronley as American intelligence work develops toward the creation of the CIA. It is historically connected to Honor Bound, not a continuation of the modern Presidential Agent series. I recommend finishing Honor Bound before starting this one.

  1. Top Secret with William E. Butterworth IV (2014)
  2. The Assassination Option with William E. Butterworth IV (2014)
  3. Curtain of Death with William E. Butterworth IV (2016)
  4. Death at Nuremberg with William E. Butterworth IV (2017)
  5. The Enemy of My Enemy with William E. Butterworth IV (2018)

M*A*S*H Books

William E. Butterworth worked with Richard Hooker on twelve travel-based M*A*S*H sequels. Richard Hooker wrote the original M*A*S*H novel, M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, and M*A*S*H Mania without Butterworth, so those three books are not counted as Griffin titles here.

  1. M*A*S*H Goes to New Orleans with Richard Hooker (1974)
  2. M*A*S*H Goes to Paris with Richard Hooker (1974)
  3. M*A*S*H Goes to London with Richard Hooker (1975)
  4. M*A*S*H Goes to Vienna with Richard Hooker (1976)
  5. M*A*S*H Goes to San Francisco with Richard Hooker (1976)
  6. M*A*S*H Goes to Morocco with Richard Hooker (1976)
  7. M*A*S*H Goes to Miami with Richard Hooker (1976)
  8. M*A*S*H Goes to Las Vegas with Richard Hooker (1976)
  9. M*A*S*H Goes to Hollywood with Richard Hooker (1976)
  10. M*A*S*H Goes to Texas with Richard Hooker (1977)
  11. M*A*S*H Goes to Moscow with Richard Hooker (1977)
  12. M*A*S*H Goes to Montreal with Richard Hooker (1977)

W.E.B. Griffin Standalone Books

Butterworth published fiction under many names before W.E.B. Griffin became his main byline. The sections below list books that can be reliably attributed to him. Blakely St. James was a shared house name, so only the title specifically attributed to Butterworth is included.

Several early books are long out of print. When I could not verify a matching Amazon product page, I left the title unlinked rather than send readers to a search page or the wrong edition.

Standalone Books as Webb Beech

  1. No French Leave (1960)
  2. Article 92: Murder-Rape (1965)
  3. Warrior’s Way (1965)
  4. Make War in Madness (1966)

Standalone Books as W.E. Butterworth

  1. Comfort Me with Love (1959)
  2. Hot Seat (1959)
  3. The Love-Go-Round (1960)
  4. Where We Go From Here (1961)
  5. The Court-Martial (1962)
  6. Stock Car Racer (1966)
  7. Air Evac (1967)
  8. The Image Makers (1967)
  9. Helicopter Pilot (1967)
  10. Road Racer (1967)
  11. Orders to Vietnam (1968)
  12. Redline 7100 (1968)
  13. Grand Prix Driver (1969)
  14. Stop and Search (1969)
  15. The Wheel of a Fast Car (1969)
  16. Up to the Quarterback (1969)
  17. Fast and Smart (1970)
  18. Marty and the Micro-Midgets (1970) (later published as Micro-Midget Racer)
  19. Susan and Her Classic Convertible (1970)
  20. Steve Bellamy (1970)
  21. Moving West on 122 (1970)
  22. Crazy to Race (1971)
  23. My Father’s Quite a Guy (1971)
  24. Return to Racing (1971)
  25. The Sex Traveler (1971)
  26. Dateline: Talladega (1972)
  27. The Narc (1972)
  28. Sky-Jacked! (1972)
  29. The Race Driver (1972)
  30. Hot Wire (1973)
  31. Race Car Team (1973)
  32. Yankee Driver (1973)
  33. Dave White & The Electric Wonder Car (1974)
  34. Next Stop, Earth (1978)
  35. The Air Freight Mystery (1978)
  36. The Tank Driver (1978)
  37. The Hotel Mystery (1979)
  38. Wrecker Driver (1979)
  39. Under the Influence (1980)
  40. Slaughter by Auto (1980)
  41. Leroy and the Old Man (1980)
  42. Flunking Out (1981)
  43. A Member of the Family (1982)
  44. Moose, the Thing, and Me (1982)
  45. The Hunting Trip (2015)

Standalone Books as Walker E. Blake

  1. Heartbreak Ridge (1962)
  2. Hell on Wheels (1962)
  3. The Girl in the Black Bikini (1962)
  4. The Loved and the Lost (1962)
  5. Once More with Passion (1964)
  6. Doing What Comes Naturally (1965)

Standalone Books as James McM. Douglas

  1. Hunger for Racing (1967)
  2. Racing to Glory (1969)
  3. The Twelve Cylinder Screamer (1971)
  4. Drag Race Driver (1971)
  5. Long Ride on a Cycle (1972)

Standalone Book as Jack Dugan

  1. The Deep Kill (1984)

Standalone Books as Allison Mitchell

  1. Wild Harvest (1983)
  2. Wild Heritage (1984)

Standalone Books as Edmund O. Scholefield

  1. L’il Wildcat (1965)
  2. Tiger Rookie (1966)
  3. Bryan’s Dog (1967)
  4. Maverick on the Mound (1968)
  5. Yankee Boy (1970)

Some editions use W.E. Butterworth while others use the full William E. Butterworth III byline. Those books are combined in the list above so the same title is not counted twice.

Standalone Books as Patrick J. Williams

  1. Return to Daytona (1962)
  2. Flat Out (1965) (also published as Fast Green Car)
  3. The Fastest Funny Car (1967)
  4. Grand Prix Racing (1968)
  5. The Green Ghost (1968)
  6. Racing Mechanic (1971)
  7. Team Racer (1972)

Standalone Books as Eden Hughes

  1. The Wiltons (1980)
  2. The Selkirks (1982)

Standalone Book as Blakely St. James

Blakely St. James was a house name shared by several writers. Christina’s Passion is the title that established Griffin bibliographies attribute to Butterworth, so the later Christina books are not included as his work.

  1. Christina’s Passion (1977)

W.E.B. Griffin Nonfiction Books

Butterworth also wrote books about astronomy, rockets, military history, cars, racing, sound technology, and career choices. These titles are separate from his novels and recurring series.

  1. The Wonders of Astronomy (1964)
  2. The Wonders of Rockets and Missiles (1964)
  3. Soldiers on Horseback (1966)
  4. Stars and Planets (1970)
  5. Flying Army (1971)
  6. Wheels and Pistons (1971)
  7. The High Wind (1971)
  8. Stop, Thief! (1974)
  9. Tires & Other Things (1975)
  10. Careers in the Services (1976)
  11. Mighty Minicycles (1976)
  12. The Roper Brothers and Their Magnificent Steam Automobile (1976)
  13. An Album of Automobile Racing (1977)
  14. Black Gold (1977)
  15. Hi-Fi (1977)

W.E.B. Griffin Anthologies

Griffin contributed “Going Back to the Bridge in Berlin” to the first Blue Moon Café collection. He also contributed to the second volume.

  1. Stories from the Blue Moon Café (2002) (contains “Going Back to the Bridge in Berlin”)
  2. Stories from the Blue Moon Café II (2003)

About W.E.B. Griffin

William E. Butterworth III was born in 1929 and died in 2019. He used numerous pen names early in his career because he was publishing across several genres and markets, sometimes releasing several books in a short period. W.E.B. Griffin eventually became the name most closely associated with his military, police, and intelligence novels.

His own military experience helped shape the detail in his fiction. He served in the U.S. Army, worked in counterintelligence, and served during the Korean War. His books are known for following people in uniform through both large historical events and the smaller personal decisions that shape their careers.

William E. Butterworth IV began collaborating with his father on several series. Men at War and Presidential Agent later continued under other authors, with the new books clearly credited to those writers.

Bibliography and publication information were checked against the official W.E.B. Griffin bibliography and Penguin Random House.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.

2 thoughts on “W.E.B. Griffin Books in Order: Every Book, Series & Pen Name”

  1. Is there an order to read Griffins books (Military) that would place them in a historical chronological order?

    Reply

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