In Richard Steinitz’s Kaplan’s Quest, Shmuel Kaplan is a young Israeli academic who has always been haunted by the figure of his great-uncle Samuel Kaplan, for whom he was named. Samuel, a German Jew, was a champion shot-putter and came to Tel Aviv in 1935...

The Voyage of the Stingray by Richard Steinitz is a fascinating look inside a new prototype submarine for the U.S. Navy. It is ultra-stealthy and intended for use in the infiltration and extraction of special forces combatants who are sent into dangerous zones for a...