Thanks for some of those memories...

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Heinlein.
Books by Thorne Smith.
Books by Dick Francis.
Coral Island, by R.M.Ballantyne.
The Colditz Story.
Most books by Neville Shute.

I'd rather not have been reminded about..

On the Beach, by Neville Shute.
Black Sunday, by Colin??? (Who wrote the Roger Brooke series)