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All Quiet on the Western Front (An Adapted Classic)
by Erich Maria Remarque Tony NapoliThis is the story of young German soldier, Paul Baümer's experiences fighting during "The Great War," World War I. The classic novel has been adapted to utilize shorter sentences and simpler vocabulary. Unusual words are footnoted and defined at the bottom of the pages. There are study questions at the end of the book. Illustrations have been described.
All Roads Lead to Calvary (The World At War)
by Jerome K. JeromeThe novel "All Roads Lead to Cavalry" offers an irreverent take on the social forces at play in England in the period leading up to and just following the outbreak of World War I. If you're interested in history but often find yourself bored by historical fiction, this funny, one-of-a-kind novel is for you. (Google)
All Roads Lead to Rome: Searching for the End of My Father's War
by Bill ThornessWhat happens when a seasoned journalist and travel writer takes on his most challenging assignment yet—crossing not just continents but also history—by retracing his father&’s steps on the battlefields of Italy in World War II? When a slim packet of his father&’s letters came to light after his mother&’s death, Bill Thorness began a quest to rediscover his father. Thorness traveled to the World War II battlefields where America&’s first team of commandos fought. The youngest son of one of those commandos, Thorness gained a sense of the horror his father had kept from his family while standing on the mountain where the First Special Service Force fought. Then, standing on a bridge in Rome, he reflected on the loss his father must have felt in not making it to the end of the campaign to liberate the Eternal City. In All Roads Lead to Rome Thorness considers his father&’s decisive moments in battle and beyond, and how he soldiered on as a disabled veteran through his life, raising a family and succumbing to an early death. Alternating between reimagined battle scenes and present-day travels, Thorness explores World War II and family history, the value and limits of memory, the attitudes of war, and our society&’s inadequate understanding and support of combat veterans, who may return with physical and emotional scars that change them deeply. Thorness steps into his father&’s shoes to revisit his story and finish that walk into Rome, weaving an account that is part travelogue, part history, and part memoir about the ravages of war.
All Secure: A Special Operations Soldier's Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront
by Steve Jackson Tom SatterlyOne of the most highly regarded Tier One Delta Force operators in American military history shares his war stories and personal battle with PTSD.As a senior non-commissioned officer of Delta Force, the most elite and secretive special operations unit in the U.S. military, Command Sergeant Major Tom Satterly fought some of this country's most fearsome enemies. Over the course of twenty years and thousands of missions, he's fought desperately for his life, rescued hostages, killed and captured terrorist leaders, and seen his friends maimed and killed around him. All Secure is in part Tom's journey into a world so dark and dangerous that most Americans can't contemplate its existence. It recounts what it is like to be on the front lines with one of America's most highly trained warriors. As action-packed as any fiction thriller, All Secure is an insider's view of "The Unit." Tom is a legend even among other Tier One special operators. Yet the enemy that cost him three marriages, and ruined his health physically and psychologically, existed in his brain. It nearly led him to kill himself in 2014; but for the lifeline thrown to him by an extraordinary woman it might have ended there. Instead, they took on Satterly's most important mission-saving the lives of his brothers and sisters in arms who are killing themselves at a rate of more than twenty a day. Told through Satterly's firsthand experiences, it also weaves in the reasons-the bloodshed, the deaths, the intense moments of sheer terror, the survivor's guilt, depression, and substance abuse-for his career-long battle against the most insidious enemy of all: Post Traumatic Stress. With the help of his wife, he learned that by admitting his weaknesses and faults he sets an example for other combat veterans struggling to come home.
All Souls Day: The World War II Battle and the Search for a Lost U.S. Battalion
by Joseph M. Pereira John L. WilsonThe U.S. Army attacked three villages near the German-Belgium border, surprising the Germans who surrendered with little resistance. The German army regrouped and counterattacked. A brief but horrific battle ensued, and as the enemy pressed forward, the Americans retreated in haste, leaving behind their wounded and their dead. Discussion of this week-long conflict that began on All Souls Day, November 2, 1944, has been confined to officer training school, in part due to its heavy losses and ignominy. After the war the U.S. Army returned to the battlefield to bring home its fallen. To its dismay it found that many of these men had vanished. The disappearances were puzzling and for decades the U.S. government searched unsuccessfully for clues. After poring over now-declassified battlefield reports and interviewing family members, the authors reconstruct a spellbinding story of love and sacrifice, honor and bravery, as well as a portrait of the gnawing pain of families not knowing what became of their loved ones. Ultimately this work of history and in-depth contemporary journalism proffers a glimmer of light in the ongoing search.
All That Can Be Expected: The Battle of Camden and the British High Tide in the South, August 16, 1780 (Emerging Revolutionary War Series)
by Robert Orrison Mark WilcoxWith expert analysis, All That Can Be Expected sheds light on the fateful events of August 16, 1780 that marked the turning point of Great Britain's prospects for victory in the American Revolutionary War. “They have done all that can be expected of them, we are outnumbered and outflanked,” explained Lt. Col. Benjamin Ford in regards to the desperate situation his Marylanders faced on the disastrous day of August 16, 1780. Many historians consider the battle of Camden as the high tide of Great Britain’s prospects for victory in the American South. In the spring of 1780, British leadership focused their attention on conquering the Southern Colonies. Charleston capitulated, along with the bulk of the American army defending it, in May of 1780. After its fall, the British set up outposts across South Carolina’s backcountry in an effort to secure that colony before moving into North Carolina. In response, the Continental Congress sent Gen. Horatio Gates, the “hero of Saratoga,” to take over the Southern Department. Gates reorganized the forces there and named his field command “Grand Army,” whose core was a small contingent of experienced Continentals from Maryland and Delaware. The majority, however, was comprised of untested soldiers and newly recruited militia from Virginia and North Carolina. Soon after his arrival, Gates led his army south to confront the British near Camden, South Carolina. The mostly inexperienced American force found itself facing some of the best units of the British army under the command of one of its best generals, Charles Cornwallis. The result was an unmitigated disaster for the Americans with far-reaching consequences. In All That Can Be Expected: The Battle of Camden and the British High Tide in the South, August 16, 1780, historians Rob Orrison and Mark Wilcox set forth the events surrounding one of the worst American military defeats in United States history. Readers will also follow in the footsteps of American and British soldiers through the South Carolina backcountry on a narrative tour to help better understand this fascinating campaign of August 1780.
All That Glitters
by Catrin CollierCornish smuggler Devlin 'Devil' Varcoe braves winter weather and revenue men to fetch the contraband on which Porthinnis depends for survival. Drawn to Jenefer Trevanion, whose father finances the smuggling operation, Devlin is seduced by beautiful wild-child Tamara Gillis. When fire destroys her home, Jenefer is forced to work in the pilchard cellars. Meanwhile, craving Tamara for himself, Thomas Varcoe plots murder to rid himself of the brother he hates. Rejected by Devlin, a pregnant Tamara is pressured to marry Thomas. Finally recognising the love he never felt he deserved, Devlin is on his way home after successfully undertaking a secret mission when a once-in-a-lifetime storm faces him with a terrible choice.
All That Glitters
by Fred A. Reed David Homel Martine DesjardinsIn 1914, Simon Dulac enrolls in a Canadian contingent of military police, a perfect cover for his real ambition-to comb the battlefields of Europe unhindered, searching for legendary Templar treasure. There, Dulac encounters Nell, affecting and skilled, who has come to the trenches to practice suturing wounds. Together, haunted by the jealousy of their commanding officer, they pursue their desires.
All That I Am: A Novel
by Anna FunderAn award-winner “writes with grace and conviction about the intrusion of the political on the domestic and the thrill of falling in love over a cause” (New York Times Book Review).When eighteen-year-old Ruth Becker visits her cousin Dora in Munich in 1923, she meets the love of her life, the dashing young journalist Hans Wesemann, and eagerly joins in the heady activities of the militant political Left in Germany. Ten years later, Ruth and Hans are married and living in Berlin when Hitler is elected chancellor. Together with Dora and her lover, Ernst Toller, the celebrated poet and self-doubting revolutionary, the four become hunted outlaws overnight and are forced to flee to London. Inspired by the fearless Dora to breathtaking acts of courage, the friends risk betrayal and deceit as they dedicate themselves to a dangerous mission: to inform the British government of the very real Nazi threat to which it remains willfully blind.Gripping and inspiring, All that I Am is a masterful novel of the risks and sacrifices some people make for their beliefs, and of heroism hidden in the most unexpected places.“An intimate exploration of human connection and our responsibility to one another” —Colum McCann, National Book Award winning author of Let the Great World Spin“Moving and ambitious.” —Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake“Enthralling.” —O, the Oprah Magazine“A literary work as suspenseful as the best thrillers.” —Booklist“A remarkable story told with clarity and precision . . . insight and literary grace.” —Rachel Cusk, The Guardian“This book is a wonder.” —Jonathan Mirsky, The Spectator“Imaginative, compassionate and convincing.” —Wall Street Journal
All the Broken Pieces
by Ann E. BurgAn award-winning debut novel from a stellar new voice in middle grade fiction. Matt Pin would like to forget: war torn Vietnam, bombs that fell like dead crows, and the terrible secret he left behind. But now that he is living with a caring adoptive family in the United States, he finds himself forced to confront his past. And that means choosing between silence and candor, blame and forgiveness, fear and freedom. By turns harrowing, dreamlike, sad, and triumphant, this searing debut novel, written in lucid verse, reveals an unforgettable perspective on the lasting impact of war and the healing power of love.
All the Broken Pieces: A Novel in Verse
by Ann E. BurgTwo years after being airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975, Matt Pin is haunted by the terrible secret he left behind, and now, in a loving adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events forces him to confront his past.
All the Broken Places: A Novel
by John Boyne&“You can&’t prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel.&” —John Irving, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The World According to Garp &“Exceptional, layered and compelling…This book moves like a freight train.&” —Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of In LoveFrom the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a devastating, beautiful story about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for braveryNinety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesn&’t talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12. She doesn&’t talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn&’t talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich&’s most notorious extermination camps. Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can&’t help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry&’s beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel&’s hard-won, self-contained existence.All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel&’s girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past. Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before—whatever the cost to herself….
All the Broken Places: A Novel
by John BoyneFrom the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a devastating, beautiful story about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for bravery.Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesn't talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age twelve. She doesn't talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn't talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich's most notorious extermination camps. Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can't help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry's beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel's hard-won, self-contained existence. All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel's girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past. Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before--whatever the cost to herself . . .
All the Broken Soldiers: Private Kennedy's War
by Dr Jan McLeod Dr Andrew McLeodThis is the story of a soldier without a gun. It is personal, yet universal. It is the story of what is left behind when the battles have been fought and the war has moved on.To the Australian Army, Private Lawrence Nicholas Kennedy was NX21854, a soldier who served for 1907 days with the 2/4th Australian Army Field Ambulance in Australia, the Middle East, the Kokoda Track and New Guinea during World War II. With older brother, Bill by his side, the Kennedy boys experienced the adventure and the joy, the loss and the despair of war – like too many others before and since. To those who knew Nick Kennedy after the war, he was a dedicated and professional psychiatric nurse. To the author, he was her gentle Uncle Nick, remembered as a kind, funny and generous man who seemed older than his years. The small diary he kept during World War II helped her understand why that was so. Kennedy&’s words and photographs tell the harrowing and compelling story of one young man who went to war – not to kill the enemy, but to save his fellow soldiers – only to return home forever changed by the challenges, hardships and tragedy he experienced. All the Broken Soldiers provides a rare insight into an aspect of war fought by soldiers equipped with little more than a basic medical kit and a Red Cross armband … those who cared for the broken soldiers that war leaves behind.
All the Colour in the World: A Novel
by CS RichardsonThe story of the restorative power of art in one man&’s life, set against the sweep of the twentieth century—from Toronto in the &’20s and &’30s, through the killing fields of World War II, to 1960s Sicily.&“Bold and resplendent. . . . Leave it to CS Richardson to find a way to paint with words.&” —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The MaidHenry, born 1916, thin-as-sticks, nearsighted, is an obsessive doodler—copying illustrations from his Boy&’s Own magazines. Left in the care of a nurturing, Shakespeare-quoting grandmother, eight-year-old Henry receives as a gift his first set of colouring pencils (and a pocket knife for the sharpening). As he commits these colours to memory—cadmium yellow; burnt ochre; deep scarlet red—a passion for art, colour, and the stories of the great artists takes hold, and becomes Henry&’s unique way of seeing the world. It is a passion that will both haunt and sustain him on his journey through the century: from boyhood dreams on a summer beach to the hothouse of art academia and a love cut short by tragedy; from the psychological wounds of war to the redemption of unexpected love.Projected against a backdrop of iconic masterpieces—from the rich hues of the European masters to the technicolour magic of Hollywood—All the Colour in the World is Henry&’s story: part miscellany, part memory palace, exquisitely precise with the emotional sweep of a great modern romance.
All the Demons Are Here: A Thriller
by Jake TapperBestselling author Jake Tapper&’s &“absolute page-turner&” (Gillian Flynn) transports readers to the 1970s underground world of cults, celebrities, tabloid journalism, serial killers, disco, and UFOs. It&’s 1977. Ike and Lucy, the kids of Senator Charlie and Margaret Marder, are grown up—and in trouble. US Marine Ike has gone AWOL after a military operation gone horribly wrong. Now he's off the grid, working on the pit crew of the moody stunt master Evel Knievel and hanging in the roughest dive bar in Montana. His sister Lucy has become the star reporter of a brand-new Washington, DC tabloid breaking stories about a serial killer and falling in with the wealthy, shady British family that owns the newspaper. As they deal with the weirdness and menace of the time—celebrities, cults, the rise of tabloid journalism, the death of Elvis Presley, the Summer of Sam, and a time of national unease—Ike and Lucy soon realize that their worlds are not only full of compromises and bad choices, but danger. As their lives begin to spiral out of control, they also spiral towards one another. And the decisions they make could mean life and death not only for them—but also their beloved parents.
All the Drowning Seas: The Nicholas Everard World War Ii Saga Book 3 (Nicholas Everard Naval Thrillers)
by Alexander FullertonThe sixth thrilling instalment of the Nicholas Everard thrillers. 1942. As Japanese invasion fleets sweep across the Pacific, a handful of Allied ships prepare for a last-ditch battle at Surabaya in the Java Sea. Not only is the Allied force doomed to defeat: any surviving ships will be trapped, since escape routes are blocked by the enemy. Nick Everard, commanding the cruiser Defiant, is badly wounded in the battle. His ship is heavily damaged and to make matters worse, he has a battered US destroyer under his protection. But unless Everard can find some way out of the trap, both ships and crews face destruction… All the Drowning Seas presents compelling action at sea, and establishes Alexander Fullerton as one of the premier novelists of naval warfare. Praise for Alexander Fullerton &‘The prose has a real sense of urgency, and so has the theme. The tension rarely slackens.&’ Times Literary Supplement
All the Fighting They Want: The Atlanta Campaign from Peachtree Creek to the City's Surrender, July 18–September 2, 1864 (Emerging Civil War Series)
by Stephen DavisJohn Bell Hood brought a hang-dog look and a hard-fighting spirit to the Army of Tennessee. Once one of the ablest division commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia, he found himself, by the spring of 1864, in the wars Western Theater. Recently recovered from grievous wounds sustained at Chickamauga, he suddenly found himself thrust into command of the Confederacys ill-starred army even as Federals pounded on the door of the Deep Souths greatest untouched city, Atlanta.His predecessor, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, had failed to stop the advance of armies under Federal commander William T. Sherman, who had pushed and maneuvered his way from Chattanooga, Tennessee, right to Atlantas very doorstep. Johnston had been able to do little to stop him.The crisis could not have been more acute.Hood, an aggressive risk-taker, threw his men into the fray with unprecedented vigor. Sherman welcomed it.Well give them all the fighting they want, Sherman said.He proved a man of his word.In All the Fighting They Want, Georgia native Steve Davis, the worlds foremost authority on the Atlanta campaign, tells the tale of the last great struggle for the city. His Southern sensibility and his knowledge of the battle, accumulated over a lifetime of living on the ground, make this an indispensable addition to the acclaimed Emerging Civil War Series.
All the Fine Young Eagles: In the Cockpit with Canada's Second World War Fighter Pilots
by David L. BashowDuring the six years of the Second World War, Canadian fighter pilots flew and fought with great distinction in every theatre of war to which Commonwealth fighter forces were deployed. All the Fine Young Eagles captures the spirit and magnitude of the Canadian contribution, which began in Europe's Low Countries in 1940 and ended among the Japanese Home Islands in 1945. In keeping with the country's developing autonomy, Canadians served in both RAF and RCAF units, fighting with great courage in their Spitfires, Hurricanes, Kittyhawks and Typhoons.All the Fine Young Eagles collects the wartime diaries and postwar reminiscences from a great variety of the Canadian fighter pilots who served in World War II. Their vivid first-hand accounts take the reader into the cockpit to experience dogfights, tactical manoeuvres, forced landings and injuries, as well as the often tedious periods between engagements. They also illuminate the day-to-day living conditions on base and include humorous accounts of the vivid personalities and lighter moments of wartime.To provide context for their stories, Bashow's authoritative voice offers both a large-scale historical framework and detailed information about tactics, equipment and people, including such famous flying aces as "Buzz" Beurling and "Moose" Fumerton.This updated second edition contains a substantial amount of new material that veterans have contributed since the publication of the first edition.
All the Flowers in Paris: A Novel
by Sarah Jio“Sarah Jio weaves past and present in this eminently readable novel about love, gratitude, and forgiveness. I tore through the pages!”—New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker KlineTwo women are connected across time by the city of Paris, a mysterious stack of love letters, and shocking secrets sweeping from World War II to the present—for readers of Sarah’s Key and The Nightingale.When Caroline wakes up in a Paris hospital with no memory of her past, she’s confused to learn that for years she’s lived a sad, reclusive life in a sprawling apartment on the rue Cler. Slowly regaining vague memories of a man and a young child, she vows to piece her life back together—though she can’t help but feel she may be in danger. A budding friendship with the chef of a charming nearby restaurant takes her mind off her foggy past, as does a startling mystery from decades prior. In Nazi-occupied Paris, a young widow named Céline is trying to build a new life for her daughter while working in her father’s flower shop and hoping to find love again. Then a ruthless German officer discovers her Jewish ancestry and Céline is forced to play a dangerous game to secure the safety of her loved ones. When her worst fears come true, she must fight back in order to save the person she loves most: her daughter. When Caroline discovers Céline’s letters tucked away in a closet, she realizes that her apartment harbors dark secrets—and that she may have more in common with Céline than she could have ever imagined. All the Flowers in Paris is an emotionally captivating novel rooted in the resiliency and strength of the human spirit, the steadfastness of a mother’s love, and the many complex layers of the heart—especially its capacity to forgive.“Heart-stopping . . . Fans of emotional, romantic stories set during World War II will enjoy this heartbreaking tale of love and loss.”—Booklist
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler
by Rebecca DonnerBorn and raised in Milwaukee, Mildred Harnack was twenty-six when she enrolled in a PhD program in Germany and witnessed the meteoric rise of the Nazi party. In 1932, she began holding secret meetings in her apartment—a small band of political activists that by 1940 had grown into the largest underground resistance group in Berlin. She recruited working-class Germans into the resistance, helped Jews escape, plotted acts of sabotage, and collaborated in writing leaflets that denounced Hitler and called for revolution. Her coconspirators circulated through Berlin under the cover of night, slipping the leaflets into mailboxes, public restrooms, phone booths. When the first shots of the Second World War were fired, she became a spy, couriering top-secret intelligence to the Allies. On the eve of her escape to Sweden, she was ambushed by the Gestapo. At a Nazi military court, a panel of five judges sentenced her to six years at a prison camp, but Hitler overruled the decision and ordered her execution. On February 16, 1943, she was strapped to a guillotine and beheaded. <P><P>Historians identify Mildred Harnack as the only American in the leadership of the German resistance, yet her remarkable story has remained almost unknown until now.Harnack’s great-great-niece Rebecca Donner draws on her extensive archival research in Germany, Russia, England, and the U.S. as well as newly uncovered documents in her family archive to produce this astonishing work of narrative nonfiction. Fusing elements of biography, real-life political thriller, and scholarly detective story, Donner brilliantly interweaves letters, diary entries, notes smuggled out of a Berlin prison, survivors&’ testimony, and a trove of declassified intelligence documents into a powerful, epic story, reconstructing the moral courage of an enigmatic woman nearly erased by history. <P><P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor
by Donald Stratton Ken GireThe New York Times bestselling memoir of survival and heroism at Pearl Harbor“An unforgettable story of unfathomable courage.” —Reader’s DigestIn this, the first memoir by a USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers an inspiring and unforgettable eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack and his remarkable return to the fight. At 8:10 a.m. on December 7, 1941, Seaman First Class Donald Stratton was consumed by an inferno. A million pounds of explosives had detonated beneath his battle station aboard the USS Arizona, barely fifteen minutes into Japan’s surprise attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor. Near death and burned across two thirds of his body, Don, a nineteen-year-old Nebraskan who had been steeled by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, summoned the will to haul himself hand over hand across a rope tethered to a neighboring vessel. Forty-five feet below, the harbor’s flaming, oil-slick water boiled with enemy bullets; all around him the world tore itself apart. In this extraordinary, never-before-told eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack—the only memoir ever written by a survivor of the USS Arizona—ninety-four-year-old veteran Donald Stratton finally shares his unforgettable personal tale of bravery and survival on December 7, 1941, his harrowing recovery, and his inspiring determination to return to the fight. Don and four other sailors made it safely across the same line that morning, a small miracle on a day that claimed the lives of 1,177 of their Arizona shipmates—approximately half the American fatalaties at Pearl Harbor. Sent to military hospitals for a year, Don refused doctors’ advice to amputate his limbs and battled to relearn how to walk. The U.S. Navy gave him a medical discharge, believing he would never again be fit for service, but Don had unfinished business. In June 1944, he sailed back into the teeth of the Pacific War on a destroyer, destined for combat in the crucial battles of Leyte Gulf, Luzon, and Okinawa, thus earning the distinction of having been present for the opening shots and the final major battle of America’s Second World War.As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack approaches, Don, a great-grandfather of five and one of six living survivors of the Arizona, offers an unprecedentedly intimate reflection on the tragedy that drew America into the greatest armed conflict in history. All the Gallant Men is a book for the ages, one of the most remarkable—and remarkably inspiring—memoirs of any kind to appear in recent years.*Library Journal
All the Hometown Boys: Wisconsin's 150th Machine Gun Battalion in World War I
by Brad LarsonIn the summer of 1917 three Wisconsin National Guard companies came together to form the 150th Machine Gun Battalion of the now famous 42nd “Rainbow” Division. As true comrades, they relied on one another for support as they fought in every major battle of the American Expeditionary Forces, including the landmark battle of Chateau Thierry, which cost the unit dearly. As one of Wisconsin’s most celebrated units, a soldier coming from the battalion was selected to represent the state at the unveiling of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C., in 1921. Today, the 150th is all but forgotten, in part because their unit history was never written. Through letters, diaries, and other recollections, Larson tells us the story of these Guardsmen’s experiences. He traces the path of their wartime service and considers the impact of war’s trauma and tedium on their lives.
All the Horrors of War: A Jewish Girl, a British Doctor, and the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen
by Bernice LernerThe remarkable stories of Rachel Genuth, a poor Jewish teenager from the Hungarian provinces, and Hugh Llewelyn Glyn Hughes, a high-ranking military doctor in the British Second Army, who converge in Bergen-Belsen, where the girl fights for her life and the doctor struggles to save thousands on the brink of death.On April 15, 1945, Brigadier H. L. Glyn Hughes entered Bergen-Belsen for the first time. Waiting for him were 10,000 unburied, putrefying corpses and 60,000 living prisoners, starving and sick. One month earlier, 15-year-old Rachel Genuth arrived at Bergen-Belsen; deported with her family from Sighet, Transylvania, in May of 1944, Rachel had by then already endured Auschwitz, the Christianstadt labor camp, and a forced march through the Sudetenland. In All the Horrors of War, Bernice Lerner follows both Hughes and Genuth as they move across Europe toward Bergen-Belsen in the final, brutal year of World War II. The book begins at the end: with Hughes's searing testimony at the September 1945 trial of Josef Kramer, commandant of Bergen-Belsen, along with forty-four SS (Schutzstaffel) members and guards. "I have been a doctor for thirty years and seen all the horrors of war," Hughes said, "but I have never seen anything to touch it." The narrative then jumps back to the spring of 1944, following both Hughes and Rachel as they navigate their respective forms of wartime hell until confronting the worst: Christianstadt's prisoners, including Rachel, are deposited in Bergen-Belsen, and the British Second Army, having finally breached the fortress of Germany, assumes control of the ghastly camp after a negotiated surrender. Though they never met, it was Hughes's commitment to helping as many prisoners as possible that saved Rachel's life. Drawing on a wealth of sources, including Hughes's papers, war diaries, oral histories, and interviews, this gripping volume combines scholarly research with narrative storytelling in describing the suffering of Nazi victims, the overwhelming presence of death at Bergen-Belsen, and characters who exemplify the human capacity for fortitude. Lerner, Rachel's daughter, has special insight into the torment her mother suffered. The first book to pair the story of a Holocaust victim with that of a liberator, All the Horrors of War compels readers to consider the full, complex humanity of both.
All the Kaiser's Men: The Life and Death of the German Soldier on the Western Front
by Ian PassinghamConvinced that both God and the Kaiser were on their side, the officers and men of the German Army went to war in 1914, confident that they were destined for a swift and crushing victory in the West. The vaunted Schlieffen Plan on which the anticipated German victory was based expected triumph in the West to be followed by an equally decisive success on the Eastern Front. It was not to be. From the winter of 1914 until the early months of 1918, the struggle on the Western Front was characterised by trench warfare. But our perception of the conflict takes little or no account of the realities of life 'across the wire' in the German trenches. This book redresses that imbalance and reminds us how similar these young German men were to our own Tommies. Drawing from diaries and letters, Ian Passingham charts the hopes and despair of the German soldiers, filling an important gap in the history of the Western Front.