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John Floyd's first non-medical publication, THE EXPENDABLE, was released in July 2020. It is a finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book awards, a nonfiction winner in the Arizona Authors Association 2020 Literary Magazine Prize, and an Amazon #1 Bestseller in multiple categories.
This story of a WWII hero, Charles Conrad Beckner CWO4, USN, is the final product of extensive research and a more than three-decade conversation with Mr. Beckner. Dr. Floyd had authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed medical journals and mistakenly thought writing this remarkable story of Mr. Beckner's survival of the opening months of WWII in the Pacific Theater would be a straightforward, simple, and quick process. In that assumption, he was sorely mistaken. After years of writing and editing, the author is a much a wiser person.
The Expendable is a work of “Creative Nonfiction” (Literary Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction). It is a factually accurate recounting of true events but written with attention to literary technique and style. It is a segment of a real individual’s life, his experience responsibly remolded as a novel, moving it from a story of private interest to a story with meaning for the uninvolved reader.
The people in this book are no longer with us, though I was fortunate to speak to several of them over the years, most extensively the central character of this tale, CWO4 Charles Beckner, my father-in-law for 38 years. When I finally was able to research, organize, and put these events of eighty years ago to paper, some details had slipped away from these men and women. Filling the gaps through extensive research and cross-referencing written and oral histories from others who shared the same time and place, I have made every effort to reconstruct a coherent and accurate narrative.
The author has no formal education in the discipline of history and claims no particular expertise in the field. It is a young sailor’s true story, recounted with historical accuracy. In the process of writing a novel-like account that is hopefully pleasurable as well as informative for the reader, a great deal of invented dialogue was added to reimagine scenes. The author passionately believes this story reflects the truest essence of this remarkable saga from the opening months of WWII in the Pacific Theater.
Dr. Floyd and his wife, Barbara (Beckner) Floyd are both United States Air Force Veterans. They reside in Colorado and Arizona when not exploring far-flung corners of the world.
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