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The Last Roman: Honour (The Last Roman)
by David DonachieThe second volume in The Last Roman trilogy, set in the final years of the Roman EmpireSixth-century Constantinople: Flavius Belisarius is barely eighteen and already commander of the cavalry patrolling the Persian frontier. A brilliant soldier but a poor schemer, Flavius needs to be both in order to survive the febrile politics of the Eastern Roman Empire.When his friend Petrus Sabbatius uses trickery to elevate himself to the position of co-emperor, Flavius finds himself embroiled in an explosive venture of machinations and warfare. As the valiant leader sets out to reconquer the Western Empire from the hands of the Vandals and Ostrogoths, Flavius is unaware that his wife, joining him on the campaign, has been secretly charged to spy on him. The brave general must battle against the deadly Sassanids and protect the co-emperor from his own subjects – who are out for blood.
The Last Roman: Triumph (The Last Roman)
by David DonachieThe final volume in The Last Roman trilogy, set in the final years of the Roman EmpireSixth-century Byzantium: The emperor Justinian is determined to reunite the whole of the Roman Empire and his best general, Flavius Belisarius, is poised to invade Italy. Flavius and his men march north unopposed until the local senators of Naples refuse to surrender and a bloody assault ensues. Rome, hearing of the fate of Naples, yields the city to Flavius, but before long the Goths arrive and stage a brutal attack which Flavius&’s army only just survives.Besieged and mired in a cesspit of corruption, Byzantium's greatest general must navigate a world rife with deceit and brutality where only the most cutthroat survive.
The Last Roman: Vengeance (The Last Roman)
by David DonachieThe first volume in The Last Roman trilogy, set in the final years of the Roman EmpireSixth-century Byzantium: Corruption is rife and the empire is in turmoil when Flavius Belisarius is expected to join his father&’s cohort to help protect the border of the Eastern Roman Empire.Flavius&’s father, Decimus, is the governor of Dorostorum city and has two goals: to keep out the Sklaveni barbarians across the Danube and to expose the deep roots of corruption. Seeking to prevent a barbarian raid, Decimus asks the powerful magnate Senuthius Vicinus for help. But when treachery leads to death in the Belisarius family, Decimus&’s reputation is damaged.With his life changed forever, Flavius swears vengeance on the man who betrayed his father and begins a journey from which there is no way back.
The Last Roundup (Star Trek: The Original Series)
by Christie GoldenHaving saved the Federation one more time in Star Trek®: The Undiscovered Country , Capt. James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise have finally gone their separate ways. Spock, McCoy, Sulu, and the others are spread out across the glaxy, pursuing their individual destinies -- until an interstellar crisis touches all their lives. Bored with retirement and ill-suited to teaching at Starfleet Academy, Kirk jumps at the chance to help his nephews colonize an uninhabited planet in a distant corner of the Alpha Quadrant. He even manages to persuade Scotty and Chekov to come along for the ride. But Kirk soon discovers that the hardy human colonists are not alone on the planet they call Sanctuary. An alien race, of whom little is known, has also established an outpost on Sanctuary for its own mysterious reasons. Suspicious, Kirk investigates, only to discover a terrifying threat that strikes at the secuity of the entire Federation. Light-years from Starfleet Command, without a ship or a crew to call his own, Kirk thinks he faces the menace alone. Yet the bonds of loyalty transcend even the awesome distances of space, bringing together a legendary crew for one final, fantastic adventure! Bridging the gap between two generations of Star Trek motion pictures, The Last Roundup fills in a missing chapter in Star Trek history -- and provides science fiction's greatest heroes with an unforgettable final hurrah.
The Last Sanctuary in Aleppo: A remarkable true story of courage, hope and survival
by Diana Darke Alaa AljaleelFrom Diana Darke, the acclaimed author of My House in Damascus and The Merchant of Syria, comes the extraordinary true story of a heroic ambulance driver who created a cat sanctuary in the midst of war-torn Aleppo."I'll stay with them no matter what happens. Someone who has mercy in his heart for humans has mercy for every living thing."When war came to Alaa Aljaleel's hometown, he made a remarkable decision to stay behind, caring for the people and animals caught in the crossfire. While thousands were forced to flee, Alaa spent his days carrying out perilous rescue missions in his makeshift ambulance and building a sanctuary for the city's abandoned cats. In turn, he created something unique: a place of tranquility for children living through the bombardment and a glimmer of hope for those watching in horror around the world. As word of Alaa's courage and dedication spread, the kindness of strangers enabled him to feed thousands of local families and save hundreds of animals. But with the city under siege, time was running out for the last sanctuary in Aleppo and Alaa was about to face his biggest challenge yet...This is the first memoir about the war in Syria from a civilian who remains there to this day, providing both a shocking insider account as well as an inspiring tale about how one person's actions can make a difference against all odds.
The Last Sanctuary in Aleppo: A remarkable true story of courage, hope and survival
by Diana Darke Alaa AljaleelFrom Diana Darke, the acclaimed author of My House in Damascus and The Merchant of Syria, comes the extraordinary true story of a heroic ambulance driver who created a cat sanctuary in the midst of war-torn Aleppo."I'll stay with them no matter what happens. Someone who has mercy in his heart for humans has mercy for every living thing."When war came to Alaa Aljaleel's hometown, he made a remarkable decision to stay behind, caring for the people and animals caught in the crossfire. While thousands were forced to flee, Alaa spent his days carrying out perilous rescue missions in his makeshift ambulance and building a sanctuary for the city's abandoned cats. In turn, he created something unique: a place of tranquility for children living through the bombardment and a glimmer of hope for those watching in horror around the world. As word of Alaa's courage and dedication spread, the kindness of strangers enabled him to feed thousands of local families and save hundreds of animals. But with the city under siege, time was running out for the last sanctuary in Aleppo and Alaa was about to face his biggest challenge yet...This is the first memoir about the war in Syria from a civilian who remains there to this day, providing both a shocking insider account as well as an inspiring tale about how one person's actions can make a difference against all odds.
The Last Secret of the Secret Annex
by Joop van Wijk-Voskuijl Jeroen De BruynThe extraordinary, never-before-told story of Bep Voskuijl, Anne Frank&’s closest friend during the 761 days she spent in the Secret Annex. Bep was just twenty-three when the Franks went into hiding and she risked her life to protect them, plunging into Amsterdam&’s black market under the noses of German soldiers and Dutch spies to source food and medicine for the Annex. In those cramped quarters, Bep and Anne&’s friendship blossomed. As this book reveals, while she was sharing meals with Anne Frank, Bep&’s sister Nelly – whose name was scrubbed from Anne&’s published diary – was collaborating with the Nazis.Written by Bep&’s own son, The Last Secret of the Secret Annex interweaves her story with Anne Frank&’s and Nelly&’s to show us the Secret Annex as we&’ve never seen it before. We follow Bep after the war as she struggles to build a life in the shadow of her past, unable to get over losing Anne nor put to rest the horrifying suspicion that she had been betrayed by her own flesh and blood. Captivating and unsettlingly suspenseful, The Last Secret of the Secret Annex is a portrait of ordinary families caught between the victims and persecutors, in which collaborators and resisters often lived under the same roof. With a moving mother-son relationship at its heart, it explores how historical trauma is inherited from one generation to the next, and how sometimes keeping a secret hurts far more than revealing a shameful truth. ____________________________________________________________________'Gripping. I read it in one gulp—as will you&’ Kati Marton, author of The Chancellor 'Superbly well-written, intimate, engrossing, and heartrending' Booklist (Starred)'Captivating' Dr Bart Wallet, University of Amsterdam'A riveting read&’ Peter Hayes, author of Why? Explaining the Holocaust
The Last Secret: A Novel
by Maia CaronA sweeping, dazzling dual-timeline novel centering on two unforgettable women—and their inextricable link to each other decades apart.Ukraine, 1944As the world around her is ripped apart by war and infiltrated by Nazi soldiers, Savka Ivanets works as a medic for the Ukrainian resistance, stitching wounds by day, stealing supplies by night, and dodging firefights between the SS and Soviet partisans. When her husband, Marko, a reluctant member of the Waffen-SS, forces her to deliver a coded message to an underground bunker, she&’s terrified. But when her mission doesn&’t go as planned, and her son, Taras, is kidnapped by the KGB, Savka fears she&’ll never see him again.Salt Spring Island, 1972For Jeanie Esterhazy, the world, with its whispers and curious eyes, is too much to bear. Ever since the horrific accident that left her badly scarred, Jeanie, unable to remember anything about that awful day, has pulled away from society, utterly isolated.Then a mysterious stranger appears at her house, and Jeanie suddenly begins having flashbacks about the night of her wedding—flashbacks that hold answers to the questions she&’s had for years; flashbacks that make her realize the world around her is not as it seems. Weaving together Savka and Jeanie's stories with artful precision, The Last Secret is at once luminous and transporting, a brilliant and impossible-to-forget story of love, hope, and the breathtaking resilience of women.
The Last Secrets of Anne Frank: The Untold Story of Her Silent Protector
by Joop van Wijk-Voskuijl Jeroen De BruynA &“gripping&” (Kati Marton, author of The Chancellor) historical investigation and family memoir that intertwines the iconic narrative of Anne Frank with the untold story of Bep Voskuijl, her protector and closest confidante in the Annex, bringing us closer to understanding one of the great secrets of World War II.Anne Frank&’s life has been studied by many scholars, but the story of Bep Voskuijl has remained untold, until now. As the youngest of the five Dutch people who hid the Frank family, Bep was Anne&’s closest confidante during the 761 excruciating days she spent hidden in the Secret Annex. Bep, who was just twenty-three when the Franks went into hiding, risking her life to protect them, plunging into Amsterdam&’s black market to source food and medicine for people who officially didn&’t exist under the noses of German soldiers and Dutch spies. In those cramped quarters, Bep and Anne&’s friendship bloomed through deep conversations, shared meals, and a youthful understanding. Told by her own son, The Last Secrets of Anne Frank intertwines the story of Bep and her sister Nelly with Anne&’s iconic narrative. Nelly&’s name may have been scrubbed from Anne&’s published diary, but Joop van Wijk-Voskuijl and Jeroen De Bruyn expose details about her collaboration with the Nazis, a deeply held family secret. After the war, Bep tried to bury her memories just as the Secret Annex was becoming world famous as a symbol of resistance to the Nazi horrors. She never got over losing Anne nor could Bep put to rest the horrifying suspicion that those in the Annex had been betrayed by her own flesh and blood. &“Part biography, part whodunit&” (The Wall Street Journal), this is a story about those caught in between the Jewish victims and Nazi persecutors, and the moral ambiguities and hard choices faced by ordinary families like the Voskuijls, in which collaborators and resistors often lived under the same roof. Beautifully written and unsettlingly suspenseful, The Last Secrets of Anne Frank will show the Secret Annex as we&’ve never seen it before. And it provides a powerful understanding of how historical trauma is inherited from one generation to the next and how sometimes keeping a secret hurts far more than revealing a shameful truth.
The Last Sentry
by Gregory D Young Nate BradenProviding inspiration for Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, the 1975 mutiny aboard the Soviet destroyer Storozhevoy (translated Sentry) aimed at nothing less than the overthrow of Leonid Brezhnev and the Soviet government. Valery Sablin, a brilliant young political officer, seized control of the ship by convincing half the officers and all of the sailors to sail to Leningrad, where they would launch a new Russian Revolution. Suppressed in the Soviet Union for fifteen years, Young (the first American to uncover the mutiny twenty years ago) and Braden finally tell the untold story relying on recently declassified KGB documents as well as the Sablin family's papers. It is a gripping account of a disillusioned idealist forced to make the agonizing choice between working within or destroying the system he is sworn to protect.
The Last Ship
by William BrinkleyThe unimaginable horror of total nuclear war has been let loose upon the world. Miraculously, a single ship-the guided missile destroyer Nathan James-has survived the nightmare of destruction. This astonishing, superbly written novel is the story of that ship, the 152 men and 26 women aboard her, their search for survival-and the fate of mankind. William Brinkley brilliantly takes the grand themes of seafaring fiction- the mysterious sway of the sea over human nature, the tensions and bonds of the shipboard community, the moral crisis of war at sea-and launches them into the uncharted waters of the post-holocaust world. The captain of the Nathan James narrates the electrifying story of his crew's voyage through the hell of nuclear winter, past the blighted shores of Europe and Africa,! their survival of mutiny and their puzzling encounter with a Russian submarine. But it is when the ship makes land on an uncontaminated paradise island that the captain confronts the most urgent and difficult question: How can the men and greatly outnumbered women of his crew find a way to perpetuate the human race?
The Last Ship
by William Brinkley"An extraordinary novel of men at war” (The Washington Post) and the bestselling book that inspired the TNT mini-series The unimaginable has happened. The world has been plunged into all-out nuclear war. Sailing near the Arctic Circle, the U. S. S. Nathan James is relatively unscathed, but the future is grim and Captain Thomas is facing mutiny from the tattered remnants of his crew. With civilization in ruins, he urges those that remain-one-hundred-and-fifty-two men and twenty-six women-to pull together in search of land. Once they reach safety, however, the men and women on board realize that they are earth’s last remaining survivors-and they’ve all been exposed to radiation. When none of the women seems able to conceive, fear sets in. Will this be the end of humankind? .
The Last Ship: A Novel
by William BrinkleyTV tie-in edition"An extraordinary novel of men at war" (The Washington Post) and the bestselling book that inspired the TNT mini-series The unimaginable has happened. The world has been plunged into all-out nuclear war. Sailing near the Arctic Circle, the U.S.S. Nathan James is relatively unscathed, but the future is grim and Captain Thomas is facing mutiny from the tattered remnants of his crew. With civilization in ruins, he urges those that remain--one-hundred-and-fifty-two men and twenty-six women--to pull together in search of land. Once they reach safety, however, the men and women on board realize that they are earth's last remaining survivors--and they've all been exposed to radiation. When none of the women seems able to conceive, fear sets in. Will this be the end of humankind? For readers of Going Home by A. American, Lights Out by David Crawford, The End and The Long Road by G. Michael Hopf, and One Second After by William Forstchen.
The Last Stand (Star Trek: The Next Generation #37)
by Brad FergusonTHE LAST STAND In the middle of a routine mapping mission, Captain Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise encounter a culture just on the edge of developing warp drive technology. When they survey the planet, they are startled by the sudden approach of thousands of spacecraft from an aggressive alien race bent on destroying this emerging culture. Now Picard has only days to resolve a conflict that has been going on for millennia. If he fails, billions will die, yet if he succeeds, he will unleash a powerful new threat to the Federation.
The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat (Playaway Adult Nonfiction Ser.)
by Bob Drury Tom ClavinNovember 1950, the Korean Peninsula: After General MacArthur ignores Mao’s warnings and pushes his UN forces deep into North Korea, his 10,000 First Division Marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge that will need to be held open at all costs. The mission is handed to Captain William Barber and the 234 Marines of Fox Company, a courageous but undermanned unit of the First Marines. Barber and his men climb seven miles of frozen terrain to a rocky promontory overlooking the pass, where they will endure four days and five nights of nearly continuous Chinese attempts to take Fox Hill. Amid the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox’s Marines are killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looks like they will be overrun, Lt. Colonel Raymond Davis, a fearless Marine officer who is fighting south from Chosin, volunteers to lead a daring mission that will seek to cut a hole in the Chinese lines and relieve the men of Fox. This is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism in the face of impossible odds.
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour (Playaway Adult Nonfiction Ser.)
by James D. HornfischerBONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James D. Hornfischer's Neptune's Inferno. "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can." With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur' s vulnerable invasion force were the Roberts and the other small ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history. In the tradition of the #1 New York Times bestseller Flags of Our Fathers, James D. Hornfischer paints an unprecedented portrait of the Battle of Samar, a naval engagement unlike any other in U.S. history--and captures with unforgettable intensity the men, the strategies, and the sacrifices that turned certain defeat into a legendary victory.
The Last Summer of the World: A Novel
by Emily Mitchell"Absorbing…Mitchell's novel [is] the real thing." —Boston GlobeIn the summer of 1918, with the Germans threatening Paris, Edward Steichen arrives in France to photograph the war for the American army. There, he finds a country filled with poignant memories for him: early artistic success, marriage, the birth of two daughters, and a love affair that divided his family. Told with elegance and transporting historical sensitivity, Emily Mitchell’s first novel captures the life of a great American artist caught in the reckoning of a painful past in a world beset by war.A Finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lion's Fiction Award and named a Best Book of the Year by the Providence Journal, the Austin-American-Stateman, and the Madison Capital Times.
The Last Summer: A mesmerising novel of love and loss
by Judith Kinghorn1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer...Judith Kinghorn's The Last Summer is a dramatic and moving novel set against the heartbreak of the First World War. The perfect read for fans of Kate Morton and Sarra Manning. 'Epic and enthralling' - Woman & Home Clarissa is 17, the world her own. Who would know that this could be the last summer?Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university, she is dazzled. Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa. As Tom and Clarissa's friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and soon the world - and all that they know - is rocked irrevocably by a war that changes their lives for ever.What readers are saying about The Last Summer:'Abeautiful storyof two people who were meant to be together despite all that life throws at them''A gripping storyline full of dilemmas, emotions and overwhelmingly moving events''Beautifully written, compelling, moving & evocative of the era in which it is set. The author deserves every positive accolade'
The Last Summer: A mesmerising novel of love and loss
by Judith Kinghorn1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer...Judith Kinghorn's The Last Summer is a dramatic and moving novel set against the heartbreak of the First World War. The perfect read for fans of Kate Morton and Sarra Manning. 'Epic and enthralling' - Woman & Home Clarissa is 17, the world her own. Who would know that this could be the last summer?Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university, she is dazzled. Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa. As Tom and Clarissa's friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and soon the world - and all that they know - is rocked irrevocably by a war that changes their lives for ever.What readers are saying about The Last Summer:'A beautiful story of two people who were meant to be together despite all that life throws at them''A gripping storyline full of dilemmas, emotions and overwhelmingly moving events''Beautifully written, compelling, moving & evocative of the era in which it is set. The author deserves every positive accolade'
The Last Summer: A mesmerising novel of love and loss
by Judith KinghornA sweepingly epic and gloriously intimate commercial debut - a beautiful and haunting story of lost innocence and a powerful, enduring love. Clarissa is almost seventeen when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer - and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled. Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa. As Tom and Clarissa's friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and soon the world - and all that they know - is rocked irrevocably by a war that changes their lives for ever.(P)2012 Headline Digital
The Last Survivor: The Incredible Story of the Man Who Survived Three Concentration Camps and a Major Maritime Disaster Near the End of World War II
by Frank KrakeTHE LAST SURVIVOR is the incredible story of a man who survived three concentration camps and a major maritime disaster at the end of WW II.Stowed away on top of a train, twenty-year-old Wim Aloserij escapes the obligatory &‘Arbeitseinsatz&’ (forced or &“slave&” labor) in Germany in 1943. The young man from Amsterdam then goes into hiding on a farm and sleeps for months in a wooden chest hidden underground. Despite his efforts to stay there, he is captured during a raid and taken to the infamous Gestapo prison in Amsterdam, after which he is imprisoned in Camp Amersfoort. A few weeks later he is sent on a transport to northern Germany. There, he is forced to work in Camp Husum and Camp Neuengamme, an experience many men will not survive but Wim nevertheless does, in part thanks to the harsh lessons he learned from his alcoholic and physically abusive stepfather.With the end of the war in sight, Wim ends up on the German luxury cruise liner the Cap Arcona, anchored in the Bay of Lübeck. While the Allies force Nazi Germany into submission on the docks, the RAF make a terrible mistake at sea. Fighter planes bomb several of the anchored ships, including the Cap Arcona, and in what soon becomes a veritable inferno 7,000 prisoners die. Together with just a few hundred other passengers, Wim survives one of the worst maritime disasters of all time.
The Last Telegram
by Liz Trenow"Trenow's first novel chronicles civilian life in England during the terrors of war while also weaving a beautifully moving love story. Reminiscent in tone and subject of Nicholas Spark's The Notebook (1996) and Ian McEwan's Atonement (2002), Lily's tale will resonate with fans of each."—BooklistOnline.comWe all make mistakes. Some we can fix. But what happens when we can't?Decades ago, as Nazi planes dominated the sky, Lily Verner made a terrible choice. She's tried to forget, but now an unexpected event pulls her back to the 1940s British countryside. She finds herself remembering the brilliant colors of the silk she helped to weave at her family's mill, the relentless pressure of the worsening war, and the kind of heartbreaking loss that stops time.In this evocative novel of love and consequences, Lily finally confronts the disastrous decision that has haunted her all these years. The Last Telegram uncovers the surprising truth about how the stories we weave about our lives are threaded with truth, guilt, and forgiveness."Sparked my interest from the start...charming."—Sharon Knoth, Between the Covers, Harbor Springs, MI"This book will easily appeal to fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and I can see it quickly becoming a favorite of book clubs."—Billie Bloebaum, Powell's Books
The Last Temple (Destroyer, #27)
by Warren Murphy Richard SapirRemo and Chiun are sent to Isreal to prevent a neuclear insodent
The Last Thing You Surrender: A Novel
by Leonard Pitts Jr.Three Americans in the Jim Crow South face enormous changed triggered by World War II in this epic novel by the Pulitzer-winning author of Freeman.Could you find the courage to do what&’s right in a world on fire? An affluent white marine survives Pearl Harbor at the cost of a black messman&’s life only to be sent, wracked with guilt, to the Pacific and taken prisoner by the Japanese. A young black woman, widowed by the same events at Pearl Harbor, finds unexpected opportunity and a dangerous friendship in a segregated Alabama shipyard feeding the war. Meanwhile, a black man, who as a child saw his parents brutally lynched, is conscripted to fight Nazis for a country he despises and discovers a new kind of patriotism in the all-black 761st Tank Battalion . . . Set against a backdrop of violent racial conflict on both the front lines and the home front, The Last Thing You Surrender explores the powerful moral struggles of individuals from a divided nation. What does it take to change someone&’s mind about race? What does it take for a country and a people to move forward, transformed?Praise for The Last Thing You Surrender &“A story of our nation at war, with itself as well as tyranny across the globe. It&’s an American tapestry of hatred, compassion, fear, courage, and cruelties, leavened with the promise of triumph. A powerful story I will not soon forget.&” —James R. Benn, author of the Billy Boyle WWII mysteries &“Seamlessly integrates impressive research into a compelling tale of America at war—overseas, at home, and within ourselves, as we struggle to find the better angels of our nature. Pitts poignantly illustrates ongoing racial and class tensions, and offers hope that we can overcome hatred by refusing to sacrifice dignity.&” —Booklist, starred review
The Last Torpedo Flyers
by Mark Ryan Arthur AldridgeImagine you are an RAF torpedo pilot in World War Two, sent on missions so dangerous that you're later likened to the Kamikaze. Suicide wasn't a recognised part of the objective for British airmen, yet some pilots felt they had accepted certain death just by climbing into their cockpits. There were times in 1942 when Arthur Aldridge felt like this. At the age of 19, this courageous young man had quit his studies at Oxford to volunteer for the RAF. He flew his Bristol Beaufort like there was no tomorrow - a realistic assumption, after seeing his best friend die in flames at the end of 1941. Aldridge was awarded a DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) for his bravery on the same strike on a German cargo ship during which he lost a wing tip by flying too close to the deck. He was equally lucky to survive his squadron's chaotic torpedo attack on the giants of Hitler's maritime fleet during the notorious Channel Dash, which saw 40 RAF planes shot down. As 1942 wore on, and the stress became intolerable, Aldridge and his Cockney gunner Bill Carroll held their nerve, and 'Arty' was awarded a Bar to his DFC for sinking two enemy ships off Malta and rescuing a fellow pilot while wounded, as his own Beaufort took four shells. Malta was saved by the skin of its teeth, Rommel denied vital supplies in North Africa, and the course of the war was turned. Aldridge was still only 21 years old. Now both 91, but firm friends as ever, Aldridge and Carroll are two of the last torpedo airmen who deserve their place in history alongside our heroic Spitfire pilots. Their story vividly captures the comradeship that existed between men pushed by war to their very limit.