Hey,
the bible, good point
I have read a fair amount of Tom Clancy's books, and am looking for new inspirations. Though that is generally the direction I am thinking, even though it may well be less action-prone. You hardly get a chance to enjoy the tension before some Russian starts shooting at a Yankee, or vice versa
That said, gun-toting main characters are not a must at all.
As for Joe Ledger, I'll give it a look.
As I said, I am looking for BIG as in story/impact and not page count
Cheers