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Letters from the Battle of Waterloo: Unpublished Correspondence by Allied Officers from the Siborne Papers
by Gareth GloverWaterloo is probably the most famous battle in military history. Thousands of books have been written on the subject but mysteries remain and controversy abounds.By presenting more than 200 previously unpublished accounts by Allied officers who fought at the battle, this collection goes right back to the primary source material. In the letters the Allied officers recount where they were and what they saw. Gareth Glover has provided historical background information but lets the officers speak for themselves as they reveal exactly what happened in June 1815.Originally sent to, and at the request of, Captain W Siborne, then in the process of building his famous model of the battle, these letters have remained unread in the Siborne papers in the British Library. A small selection was published in Waterloo Letters in 1891 but much of vast historical significance did not see the light then and has remained inaccessible until now. Glover now presents this remarkable collection which includes letters here by Major Baring, George Bowles, Edward Whinyates, John Gurwood and Edward Cotton as well as letters by Hanoverian and King's German Legion officers.This is a veritable treasure trove of material on the battle and one which will mean that every historian's view of the battle will need correcting.
Letters from the Few: Unique Memories from the Battle of Britain
by Dilip SarkarFascinated by the Battle of Britain from an early age, as a young man Dilip Sarkar realized that recording and sharing the Few’s memories was of paramount importance. At the time, back in the mid-1980s, membership of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association was well populated and the then Honorary Secretary, the now late Wing Commander Pat Hancock DFC, OBE, supported Dilip’s research by forwarding letters to individual pilots of interest. Those members of the Few included a wide-range of personalities, from famous airmen like Group Captain Peter Townsend and Air Marshal Sir Denis Crowley-Milling, to the ‘also rans’, as Battle of Britain Hurricane pilot Peter Fox famously described himself and peers. Indeed, it was Peter’s ‘also rans’ that were of the greatest interest to Dilip, who recognized that whilst many famous and distinguished pilots had either published personal memoirs or had biographies written about them, lesser-lights had no platform to record and share their experiences. This Dilip became dedicated to resolving. For many years, Dilip enjoyed prolific correspondence with the Few. These letters – hundreds of them – now represent a unique primary source, confirming the incredibly close relationship the author enjoyed with his heroes and high esteem in which they likewise held him. Over the years, Dilip’s published work has enormously benefited from his unique knowledge of the people involved through this very personal association, the memories collated providing his books a real ‘human’ touch. As the Few sadly fade away, it is only now that the significance of Dilip’s correspondence, industry and archive arising are becoming truly apparent. In Letters From The Few, Dilip shares with us, for the first time, a small selection of his correspondence with Battle of Britain fighter pilots, providing us an inspirational insight into the immeasurable value of this research and personalities involved.
Letters from the Front
by Andrew RobertsSimilar to Letters From Iwo Jima and All Quiet On The Western Front, this book tells the story of young men from many nations thrown into the crucible of war, fighting not just to survive, but to understand what was happening to them and their comrades. It tells it in the words of the soldiers themselves, in their letters home.A legacy of an empire and a nation at war, Love, Tommy, is a collection of letters housed at Imperial War Museums sent by British and Commonwealth troops from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa from the front line of war to their loved ones at home. Poignant expressions of love, hope and fear sit alongside amusing anecdotes, grumbles about rations and thoughtful reflections, eloquently revealing how, despite the passage of time, many experiences of the fighting man are shared in countless wars and battles. From the muddy trenches of the Somme to frozen ground of the Falklands to the heat and dust of Iraq, these letters are the ordinary soldier's testament to life on the front line.
Letters from the Greatest Generation: Writing Home in WWII
by Howard H. Peckham & Shirley A. SnyderA collection of personal letters from overseas that reveal in day-to-day detail what it was like to serve in World War II. Recounting victory and defeat, love and loss, this is a remarkable and frank collection of World War II letters penned by American men and women serving overseas. Here, the hopes and dreams of the greatest generation fill each page, and their voices ring loud and clear. &“It&’s all part of the game but it&’s bloody and rough,&” writes one soldier to his wife. &“Wearing two stripes now and as proud as an old cat with five kittens,&” remarks another. Yet, as many countries rejoiced on V-E Day, this book reveals that soldiers were &“too tired and sad to celebrate.&” Filled with the everyday thoughts of these fighters, the letters are by turns heartbreaking and amusing, revealing and frightening. While visiting a German concentration camp, one man wrote, &“I don&’t like Army life but I&’m glad we are here to stop these atrocities.&” Meanwhile, in another letter a soldier quips, &“I know lice don&’t crawl so I figured they were fleas.&” A fitting tribute to all veterans, this book brings the experience of war—its dramatic horrors, its dreary hardships, its desperate hope for a better future—to vivid life. &“An intimate portrait of the mundane and remarkable, of heroism and terror, of friendship and loss . . . Timely, compelling, and important reading.&”—Matthew L. Basso, author of Men at Work
Letters from the Horn of Africa, 1923–1942: Sandy Curle, Soldier and Diplomat Extraordinary
by Christian CurleAfter brief service in the Gordon Highlanders as part of the Army of Occupation of the Rhine post Great War, Sandy Curle sought more adventurous soldiering and in 1923 was seconded to the Kings African Rifles (KAR). Aged 23 he found himself in remotest Somaliland in sole charge and the only European for miles. At one point delirious with typhoid he was only saved by the surprise visit of an Indian doctor. Later he served in Kenya and undertook numerous military expeditions.In 1929 Curle joined the Colonial Service again in Somaliland and Ethiopia. He witnessed the Italians aggression which led to their invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. A spell in Tanganyika as a District Officer followed and on the outbreak of war he rejoined the KAR and was attached to the Somaliland Camel Corps when the Italians invaded. Hopelessly outnumbered, Sandy and his men withdrew to Kenya by troopship.His next assignment was to raise, train and command a battalion of Ethiopian irregulars (Curles Irregulars) and with these he led the reoccupation of Ethiopia winning the DSO and Ethiopian Military Medal.In 1966 Curle was one of 25 veterans invited by Emperor Haile Selaise to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the liberation from Italian rule.This is a vivid and fascinating collection of correspondence covering some 30 years of war and uncertain peace.
Letters from the Mary Rose
by David Loades C S Knighton‘The authors are to be congratulated on a book which merits usage in the national curriculum.’ - International Journal of Nautical ArchaeologyThe raising of the Tudor warship Mary Rose in 1982 has made her one of the most famous ships in history, though there is a good deal more to her story than its terminal disaster. She served successfully in the Royal Navy for more than thirty years before sinking, for reasons still uncertain, during a battle off Portsmouth in 1545. There have been many books published about Mary Rose but this is the only one written largely by those who sailed with her. It is based around original documents, including all the known despatches written aboard Mary Rose by the commanding admirals. Extracts from accounts and other papers illustrate the building, equipping and provisioning of the ship. Although this is primarily a view from the quarter-deck, there are occasional glimpses of life below. The collection concludes with reports of the sinking, and of the first attempts to salvage the ship and her ordnance.The documents are presented in modern spelling and are set in context through linking narratives. Technical terms are explained, and the principal characters introduced. The texts are supplemented by contemporary images, and by photographs of the preserved ship and recovered objects. A new range of illustrations has been added to this edition, published forty years on from the raising of the hull.
Letters from the Peninsula, 1808-1812, by Lieut.-Gen. Sir William Warre: Ed. by his nephew, the Rev. Edmond Warre
by Rev Edmond Warre Lt.-General Sir William Warre"Gossipy and revealing memoirs of the Anglo-Portuguese soldier who was present at most of the actions of the Peninsular War from Corunna to Salamanca. Warre was rare in having an inside knowledge of Portugal and it shows in this enthralling collection of his frank letters home.William Warre was the spirited scion of one of the great commercial dynasties which helped make Portugal Britain's oldest ally. Brought up in Oporto, his nature was too fiery to take kindly to the dull business of exporting port, and he gratefully left the family firm to take up a military career after sticking the pigtails of his father's Portuguese partner to his desk with sealing wax while the man was sleeping off a liquid lunch. Warre returned to his native city as a young staff officer in 1808, and thereafter witnessed most of the major actions of the conflict at close quarters. He took part in Sir John Moore's winter retreat to Corunna; the storming of the fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo, personally accepted the sword of the surrendering French commander of Badajoz after the famous siege; and fought at Vimieiro and Salamanca among many other actions. After the latter battle he was given the important task of reorganising the Portuguese Army and was Britain's liasion man at the Portuguese court in Lisbon. This volume is composed of letters to Warre's parents. He describes not only the military actions in which he was engaged, but also recounts the gossip among his fellow Staff officers and his own frank observations on the foibles of his Portuguese allies." N&M editionAuthor -- Warre, William, Lt.-General Sir, 1784-1853.Editor -- Warre, Rev Edmond, 1837-Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London, J. Murray, 1909.Original Page Count - xxiii, 312 pages.
Letters from the Southern Home Front: The American South Responds to the Vietnam War
by Joseph A. FryJoseph A. Fry’s Letters from the Southern Home Front explores the diversity of public opinion on the Vietnam War within the American South. Fry examines correspondence sent by hundreds of individuals, of differing ages, genders, racial backgrounds, political views, and economic status, reflecting a broad swath of the southern population. These letters, addressed to high-profile political figures and influential newspapers, took up a myriad of war-related issues. Their messages enhance our understanding of the South and the United States as a whole as we continue to grapple with the significance of this devastating and divisive conflict.
Letters from the Trenches: The First World War by Those Who Were There
by Jacqueline WadsworthA history of World War I—told through the letters exchanged by ordinary soldiers and their families. Letters from the Trenches reveals how people really thought and felt during the Great War, and covers all social classes and groups from officers to conscripts to women at home to conscientious objectors. Voices within the book include Sgt. John Adams, 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers, who wrote in May 1917: &“For the day we get our letter from home is a red letter day in the history of the soldier out here. It is the only way we can hear what is going on. The slender thread between us and the homeland.&” Pvt. Stanley Goodhead, who served with one of the Manchester Pals battalion, wrote home in 1916: &“I came out of the trenches last night after being in four days. You have no idea what four days in the trenches means . . . The whole time I was in I had only about two hours sleep and that was in snatches on the firing step. What dugouts there are, are flooded with mud and water up to the knees and the rats hold swimming galas in them . . . We are literally caked with brown mud and it is in all our food, tea etc.&” Jacqueline Wadsworth skillfully uses these letters to tell the human story of the First World War: what mattered to Britain&’s servicemen and their feelings about the war; how the conflict changed people; and how life continued on the home front.
Letters from the Veldt: The imperial advance to Pretoria through the eyes of Edward Hutton and his brigade of colonials.
by Craig StockingsThe South African War – or Boer War – running from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 –was the largest British military effort since the Napoleonic Wars. It was also the first time that large-scale, meaningful contributions were made to an active theatre of war by the self-governing colonies. This included formal contributions of around 20,000 troops from the Australian colonies which dwarfed all previous Australian military commitments. Just as the war was a watershed event for the development and professionalisation of the British Army from 1902-14, it was momentous for the self-governing colonies in Australia and elsewhere in social, political and most certainly in military terms.Letters from the Veldt sheds light on the activities of imperial military contingents – in which Australians served – during the Imperial march to Pretoria from May-September 1900, the successful conclusion of which marked the end of &‘conventional&’ operations in South Africa and the beginning of the &‘guerrilla&’ phase that would drag on until May 1902. A large proportion of colonial troops serving in South Africa at this point did so as part of the 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade. Despite their importance, the experiences of this brigade have not figured largely in existing any accounts of the Boer War. The brigade itself was composed of not only Australians, but Canadians, New Zealanders, and British regular and volunteer troops, and a scattering of &‘loyal&’ South Africans. It was in many ways a microcosm of imperial military cooperation; an important part of the steady development of attitudes, expectations and shared experience which led to the formation in 1914 of a much larger expeditionary force. This account does not follow a standard pattern or format – there is no measured, steady traditional narrative. Rather, the experiences of the 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade, and the light they shed on many wider issues, are presented through letters written home by its British commander, Major General Edward Thomas Henry &‘Curly&’ Hutton – himself a little-known yet key figure in the early history of the Australian military. Read within their context, the Boer War letters of Major General Edward Hutton offer a window not only into the course and conduct of the imperial advance to Pretoria, but also a lens through which to better understand a range of wider issues that framed his world – the world of Australian military history before the term Anzac was coined.
Letters of Captain Thomas William Taylor of the 10th Hussars during the Waterloo Campaign
by Major-General Thomas William Taylor C.B.This ebook is purpose built and is proof-read and re-type set from the original to provide an outstanding experience of reflowing text for an ebook reader. Jonathan Leach's service with the 95th Rifles throughout the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns placed him in an authoritative position to write a short exposition on the Field Services of the Rifle Brigade. Although brief the document is a valuable addition to the works on this famous corps. Text taken whole and complete from the 1838 edition
Letters of Note: War (Letters of Note #4)
by Shaun UsherA powerful new volume of missives about combat by Alexander Hamilton, General Sherman, Evelyn Waugh, Kurt Vonnegut, and more, from the author of the bestselling Letters of Note collectionsDefeated Cossacks taunt the pompous sultan of the Ottoman Empire. A black corporal beseeches Abraham Lincoln to ensure that his regiment receives proper payment for performing their duties. Mohandas Gandhi urges Adolf Hitler to turn back the tide of war. A suicide bomber in Iraq explains his simple motivation to his family. This poignant collection offers a nuanced and moving look at the act of armed conflict. Each of these 30 remarkable letters sheds light on what it means for us to take up arms against one another and record a piece of that terrible deed. They encapsulate the full experience of battle, from feats of courage and sacrifice to the grief that follows acts of violence, ultimately affirming the power of the written word.
Letters of Note: War (Letters of Note)
by Shaun UsherA compilation of remarkable letters with love at their heart, from the curator of the globally popular Letters of Note website.The first volume in the bestselling Letters of Note series was a collection of hundreds of the world's most entertaining, inspiring, and unusual letters, based on the seismically popular website of the same name--an online museum of correspondence visited by over 70 million people. From Virginia Woolf's heartbreaking suicide letter, to Queen Elizabeth II's recipe for drop scones sent to President Eisenhower; from the first recorded use of the expression 'OMG' in a letter to Winston Churchill, to Gandhi's appeal for calm to Hitler; and from Iggy Pop's beautiful letter of advice to a troubled young fan, to Leonardo da Vinci's remarkable job application letter. Now, the curator of Letters of Note, Shaun Usher, gives us wonderful new volumes featuring letters organized around a universal theme.In this volume, Shaun Usher turns to the subject of love. What emotion inspires humans to put pen to paper more than love? It's unsurprising that love letters provide an endless source of extraordinary writing. Letters of Note: Love gathers together some of the most powerful messages about love ever composed, whether inspired by love's first blush or the recriminations at its ending, the regrets of unrequited feelings and the joys of passions known. Includes letters by Zora Neale Hurston, Napoleon Bonaparte, Frida Kahlo, Nelson Mandela, and many more.
Letters of a Weardale Soldier, Lieutenant John Brumwell
by William Morley Egglestone Lieutenant John BrumwellThis ebook is purpose built and is proof-read and re-type set from the original to provide an outstanding experience of reflowing text for an ebook reader. There is something particularly affecting when reading the posthumously published letters of a soldier who has fallen in battle. The hope of a future rings out clear from John Brumwell's letters back to his family in the north of England whilst he toils in the Duke of Wellington's army in Spain and Portugal, only to be cut short in 1812, two years short of peace. Local historian William Eggleston unearthed these letters still held in the same locality that Lieutenant Brumwell's family lived and wove them into a short book which contains much of the fallen officers' family background and connecting narrative explaining the war during which the letters were written. A short but worthwhile read. Title - Letters of a Weardale Soldier, Lieutenant John Brumwell Author -- Lieutenant John Brumwell (????-1812) Editor -- William Morley Egglestone (1838-????) Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1912, Stanhope Co. Durham, by the editor. Original - iii and 103 pages. Illustrations - 8 illustrations.
Letters on the Wall: Offerings and Remembrances from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
by Michael SofarelliSince its creation in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has become the most visited National Park Services site. Each year, 4.5 million people come to the Wall. Many of them leave letters or other special objects. Every night, park rangers collect and inventory these mementos—now numbering well over 90,000—and put them into government storage.Michael Sofarelli, the son of a Vietnam War veteran, has combed through the archives searching for the most gripping letters and objects: a mother awaiting word of her missing son, a former comrade recounting a battle story, a pair of well-worn ballet slippers, and a collection of cigars. These items are not only a tribute to the fallen soldiers; they pay tribute as well to the families and friends who waited at home and the comrades who have never forgotten their brothers. They tell the story of a war that is still being fought by many who served and a conflict that changed the lives of many Americans forever.
Lettres à deux mains: un amour de guerre
by Monsieur Jean-Louis GrosmaireAprès avoir lu les lettres que son grand-père écrivait à sa grand-mère durant la Première Guerre mondiale, Jean-Louis Grosmaire a décidé d'en faire un livre, un hommage à « ces hommes et ces femmes emportés dans les tourbillons belliqueux ». Dans ses lettres à la fois tendres et inquiètes, le paysan devenu caporal raconte les tranchées, les barbelés, les obus, le froid et la peur. Il écrit aussi son amour à sa jeune épouse, enceinte d'un deuxième enfant. Certaines lettres, celles qui sont datées, sont authentiques. Les autres sont le fruit de l'imagination de l'écrivain.
Leviathan (Trilogía Leviathan parte I)
by Scott Westerfeld Keith Thompson Raquel Solá GarcíaNos encontramos en la cúspide de la Primera Guerra Mundial y todas las potencias europeas se están armando. Los austrohúngaros y alemanes tienen sus clánkers, unas máquinas de acero con motores de vapor cargados de armas y municiones. Los darwinistas británicos emplean animales fabricados como armas de guerra. Su Leviathan es un dirigible ballena, la bestia más poderosa de la flota británica. Aleksandar Ferdinand, príncipe del Imperio austrohúngaro ha huido. Su propia gente se ha vuelto contra él. Su título no tiene ya ningún valor y solo cuenta con un Caminante de Asalto desgastado por la batalla y con su leal tripulación. Deryn Sharp es una plebeya, una chica disfrazada de chico que se ha alistado en las Fuerzas Aéreas británicas. La muchacha es un destacado aviador, pero su secreto se encuentra en peligro constante de ser descubierto. Cuando la Gran Guerra es ya inminente, los caminos de Alek y Deryn se cruzan de la forma más inesperada llevándolos a ambos a bordo del Leviathan donde darán la vuelta al mundo y vivirán una fantástica aventura que cambiará sus vidas para siempre.
Leviathan: Lost Fleet (Beyond the Frontier #5)
by Jack CampbellTwo Syndicate World star systems have fallen prey to a mysterious fleet of warships--a fleet controlled entirely by artificial intelligence--that is now targeting Alliance space. <P><P>The warships are no mystery to Geary. They were developed by his government to ensure security, but malfunctioned. If the Syndics learn the truth, the war with the Alliance will resume with a vengeance. As the government attempts to conceal the existence of the A.I. warships--and its role in their creation--Geary pursues them, treading a fine line between mutiny and obedience. <P>But it soon becomes clear that his fleet is no match for the firepower of the machine-piloted armada.With the help of the Dancer species of aliens, Geary has tracked the A.I. ships to their secret base in the supposedly mythical Unity Alternate star system where his fleet, the last hope of the Alliance's future, will end the conflict at any cost...
Lewes and Evesham 1264-65
by Richard BrooksAt the crescendo of the Second Barons' War were the battles of Lewes and Evesham. It was an era of high drama and intrigue, as tensions between crown and aristocracy had boiled over and a civil war erupted that would shape the future of English government. In this detailed study, Richard Brooks unravels the remarkable events at the battles of Lewes and Evesham, revealing the unusually tactical nature of the fighting, in sharp contrast to most medieval conflicts which were habitually settled by burning and ravaging. At Lewes, Simon de Montfort, the powerful renegade leader of the Baronial faction, won a vital victory, smashing the Royalist forces and capturing Henry III and Prince Edward. Edward escaped, however, to lead the Royalist armies to a crushing victory just a year later at Evesham. Using full color illustrations, bird's eye views and detailed maps to generate an arresting visual perspective of the fighting, this book tells the full story of the battles of Lewes and Evesham, the only pitched battles to be fought by English armies in the mid-13th century.
Lewis Ginter: Richmond's Gilded Age Icon
by Brian BurnsA biography of the nineteenth-century influential Richmond businessman.As a Confederate war hero, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Lewis Ginter was many things to Richmond. Performing integral missions for &“Stonewall&” Jackson and Robert E. Lee, Ginter was commended for gallantry on the battlefield and became affectionately known as the &“Fighting Commissary.&” After the war, Ginter was the first major marketer of the hand-rolled cigarette in America. He developed one of America&’s first streetcar suburbs and built the magnificent Jefferson Hotel, a symbol of Richmond&’s ambition and prosperity. But beyond the well-known history of this River City icon, there are many aspects of his personal and professional life that few know about. Join local writer Brian Burns as he delves into the hidden history of Ginter&’s extraordinary life to fill in the gaps between Ginter the man and Ginter the legend.&“By using many original sources, [Burns] writes of details of Ginter's life that even longtime Richmond-history buffs may not know.&” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
Lexington and Concord: The Battle Heard Round The World
by George C. DaughanAn award-winning historian reinterprets the battle that launched the American Revolution. George C. Daughan’s magnificently detailed account of the Battle of Lexington and Concord challenges the prevailing narrative of the American War of Independence. It was, Daughan argues, based as much in economic concerns as political ones. When Massachusetts militiamen turned out in overwhelming numbers to fight the British, they believed they were fighting for their farms and livelihoods, as well as for liberty. Benjamin Franklin was not surprised by this widespread belief. In the years prior to the Revolution, Franklin had toured Great Britain and witnessed the wretched living conditions of the king’s subjects. They wore rags for clothes, went barefoot, and had little to eat. They were not citizens, but serfs. Franklin described the appalling situation in a number of letters home. In the eyes of many American colonists, Britain’s repressive measures were not seen simply as an effort to reestablish political control of the colonies, but also as a means to reduce the prosperous colonists themselves to the serfdom described in the Franklin letters. Another key factor in the outcome of this historic battle, according to Daughan, was the scorn British officers had for colonial fighters. Although the British officers had fought alongside colonial Americans in the ferocious French and Indian War, they failed to anticipate the skill, organization, and sheer numbers of the colonial militias. Daughan explains how British arrogance led them to defeat at the hands of motivated, experienced patriot fighters determined to protect their way of life. Authoritative and immersive, Lexington and Concord gives us a new understanding of a battle that became a template for colonial uprisings in later centuries.
Leyte 1944
by Clayton ChunThe loss of the Phillipines in 1942 was the worst defeat in American military history. General Douglas MacArthur, the 'Lion of Luzon', was evacuated by order of the President just before the fall, but he vowed to return, and in August 1944 he kept his word when he led the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific War to date on the island of Leyte. This is the full story of that fateful battle, one of the most ferocious campaigns of World War II and one of huge strategic and symbolic significance. Preceding it had been the largest naval battle ever fought: the battle of Leyte Gulf, in which the Imperial Japanese Navy was decisively crushed. This paved the way for four divisions of Lieutenant-General Krueger's Sixth Army to spear-head the assault. In the face of stubborn Japanese resistance, including the first systematic use of kamikaze attacks, the US forces ground slowly forwards before another amphibious assault took the vital position of Ormoc in the last decisive battle of the campaign. Based on extensive research in the US Army's Military History Institute, along with other archival and veteran sources, this important study sheds new light on the operation that saw the US finally return to the Phillipines and in doing so placed another nail firmly in the coffin of the Japanese Empire.
Liar Moon
by Ben PastorPraise for Ben Pastor's Lumen: "Pastor's plot is well crafted, her prose sharp. . . . A disturbing mix of detection and reflection."--Publishers Weekly "Rivets the reader with its twist of historical realities. A historical piece, it faithfully reproduces the grim canvas of war. A character study, it captures the thoughts and actions of real people, not stereotypes."--The Free Lance-Star "And don't miss Lumen by Ben Pastor. . . . An interesting, original, and melancholy tale."--Literary Review Italy, September 1943. The Italian government switches sides and declares war on Germany. The north of Italy is controlled by the fascist puppets of Germany; the south liberated by Allied forces fighting their way up the peninsula. Having survived hell on the Russian front, Wehrmacht major and aristocrat Baron Martin von Bora is sent to Verona. He is ordered to investigate the murder of a prominent local fascist: a bizarre death threatening to discredit the regime's public image. The prime suspect is the victim's twenty-eight-year-old widow Clara. Haunted by his record of opposition to SS policies in Russia, Bora must watch his step. Against the backdrop of relentless anti-partisan warfare and the tragedy of the Holocaust, a breathless chase begins. Ben Pastor, born and now back in Italy, lived for thirty years in the United States, working as a university professor in Vermont. The first in the Martin Bora series, Lumen, was published by Bitter Lemon Press in May 2011.
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War
by Karen AbbottKaren Abbott, the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and “pioneer of sizzle history” (USA Today), tells the spellbinding true story of four women who risked everything to become spies during the Civil War.Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little known aspects of the Civil War: the stories of four courageous women—a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolitionist, and a widow—who were spies.After shooting a Union soldier in her front hall with a pocket pistol, Belle Boyd became a courier and spy for the Confederate army, using her charms to seduce men on both sides. Emma Edmonds cut off her hair and assumed the identity of a man to enlist as a Union private, witnessing the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The beautiful widow, Rose O’Neale Greenhow, engaged in affairs with powerful Northern politicians to gather intelligence for the Confederacy, and used her young daughter to send information to Southern generals. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond abolitionist, hid behind her proper Southern manners as she orchestrated a far-reaching espionage ring, right under the noses of suspicious rebel detectives.Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies’ descendants, Abbott seamlessly weaves the adventures of these four heroines throughout the tumultuous years of the war. With a cast of real-life characters including Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, General Stonewall Jackson, detective Allan Pinkerton, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Emperor Napoleon III, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy draws you into the war as these daring women lived it.Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy contains 39 black & photos and 3 maps.
Libby Prison Breakout: The Daring Escape from the Notorious Civil War Prison
by Joseph WheelanWhile many books have been inspired by the horrors of Andersonville prison, none have chronicled with any depth or detail the amazing tunnel escape from Libby Prison in Richmond. Now Joseph Wheelan examines what became the most important escape of the Civil War from a Confederate prison, one that ultimately increased the North’s and South’s willingness to use prisoners in waging "total war. ” In a converted tobacco warehouse, Libby’s 1,200 Union officers survived on cornbread and bug-infested soup, and slept without blankets on the bare floor. With prisoner exchanges suspended, escape and death were the only ways out. Libby Prison Breakout recounts the largely unknown story of the escape of 109 steel-nerved officers through a 55-foot tunnel, and their flight in winter through the heart of the enemy homeland, amid an all-out Rebel manhunt. The officers’ later testimony in Washington spurred two far-reaching investigations and a new cycle of retaliation against Rebel captives.