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The Silent Service: The Inside Story of the Royal Navy's Submarine Heroes
by John ParkerOne of the great untold stories of the British services is that of the Royal Navy Submarine Service which entered the fray in World War I with 100 underwater craft. Through World War II, where submariners' prospects of returning safely from a mission were only 50:50, the Falklands conflict and the sinking of the Belgrano, to present-day elite machines, the Silent Service has played an enormous part in British defence. John Parker's in-depth investigation is very much personality led with diaries from the early part of the century to substantial first-person testimony from survivors of wartime heroics (when many VCs were won).
The Silent Service: The Inside Story of the Royal Navy's Submarine Heroes
by John ParkerOne of the great untold stories of the British services is that of the Royal Navy Submarine Service which entered the fray in World War I with 100 underwater craft. Through World War II, where submariners' prospects of returning safely from a mission were only 50:50, the Falklands conflict and the sinking of the Belgrano, to present-day elite machines, the Silent Service has played an enormous part in British defence. John Parker's in-depth investigation is very much personality led with diaries from the early part of the century to substantial first-person testimony from survivors of wartime heroics (when many VCs were won).
The Silent Service: Virginia Class (Silent Service Ser. #3)
by H. Jay RikerA crew of American naval submariners go up against an unidentified terrorist threat in this military thriller from a U.S. Navy veteran.The U.S.S. Virginia— the first in the most technologically advanced new class of U.S. attack submarines—sets sail, even as the Navy’s high-tech submarine program falls under attack from a Congress ready to cut military spending. But a threat no one anticipated is gliding silently through dangerous waters. A rogue Kilo-class submarine built by a shadowy and powerful ally has become the latest weapon in al Qaeda’s terrorist arsenal. The submarine’s brutal strikes have created a volatile hostage situation in the Pacific . . . and have left hundreds of people dead.This new and stealthy terrorist threat must be eliminated before more innocent lives are lost. But the officers, crew, and Navy SEALs aboard the Virginia will face more than they anticipated in the turbulent waters of the South China Sea—as one untried American sub races toward an explosive confrontation with a cunning, and ruthless enemy.
The Silent War: The Cold War Battle Beneath the Sea
by John Pina CravenThe Cold War was the first major conflict between superpowers in which victory and defeat were unambiguously determined without the firing of a shot. Without the shield of a strong, silent deterrent or the intellectual sword of espionage beneath the sea, that war could not have been won. John P. Craven was a key figure in the Cold War beneath the sea. As chief scientist of the Navy's Special Projects Office, which supervised the Polaris missile system, then later as head of the Deep Submergence Systems Project (DSSP) and the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle program (DSRV), both of which engaged in a variety of clandestine undersea projects, he was intimately involved with planning and executing America's submarine-based nuclear deterrence and submarine-based espionage activities during the height of the Cold War. Craven was considered so important by the Soviets that they assigned a full-time KGB agent to spy on him. Some of Craven's highly classified activities have been mentioned in such books as Blind Man's Bluff, but now he gives us his own insights into the deadly cat-and-mouse game that U.S. and Soviet forces played deep in the world's oceans. Craven tells riveting stories about the most treacherous years of the Cold War. In 1956 Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine and the backbone of the Polaris ballistic missile system, was only days or even hours from sinking due to structural damage of unknown origin. Craven led a team of experts to diagnose the structural flaw that could have sent the sub to the bottom of the ocean, taking the Navy's missile program with it. Craven offers insight into the rivalry between the advocates of deterrence (with whom he sided) and those military men and scientists, such as Edward Teller, who believed that the United States had to prepare to fight and win a nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union. He describes the argument that raged in the Navy over the reasons for the tragic loss of the submarine Thresher, and tells the astonishing story of the hunt for the rogue Soviet sub that became the model for The Hunt for Red October -- including the amazing discovery the Navy made when it eventually found the sunken sub. Craven takes readers inside the highly secret DSSP and DSRV programs, both of which offered crucial cover for sophisticated intelligence operations. Both programs performed important salvage operations in addition to their secret espionage activities, notably the recovery of a nuclear bomb off Palomares, Spain. He describes how the Navy's success at deep-sea recovery operations led to the takeover of the entire program by the CIA during the Nixon administration. A compelling tale of intrigue, both within our own government and between the U.S. and Soviet navies, The Silent War is an enthralling insider's account of how the submarine service kept the peace during the dangerous days of the Cold War.
The Silent Witness
by Dani SinclairMysterious, secretive...and sexier than ever!Good girl Nicki Michaels once had a steamy affair with wild, sexy Alex Coughlin-but he'd left town without a word. When he returned and kept his distance, Nicki hid her broken heart and held her head high. Then she became a witness to murder...and Alex came to protect her.Alex stayed away to keep Nicki safe from his undercover investigation-now she was in the middle of it. The fiery beauty rekindled passion Alex thought he could control, until he tasted her lips once more. With a killer trying to silence Nicki, love was a distraction Alex couldn't afford-and one he could no longer deny...
The Silent Witness: A True Story Of The Civil War
by Robin FriedmanAt the beginning of the Civil War, Lula McLean’s family home in Manassas, Virginia, is taken over by the Confederate army and used as its headquarters. Forced to flee by the oncoming Union army, Lula and her family and her favorite rag doll move south to a small village called Appomattox Court House. Then one day in 1865, Lula left her doll behind, and what happened next made history.
The Silent Woman
by Monika ZgustovaThis &“exhilarating novel&” of love, longing, and exile &“captures the passion of a century in turmoil&” (Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, author of Hiroshima in the Morning). From the &“outstanding&” Czech writer Monika Zgustova, The Silent Woman depicts a twentieth-century woman&’s life against a backdrop of war and political turmoil (Vaclav Havel). Sylva, half Czech and half German, is born into an aristocratic family and lives in a castle outside Prague. She marries a man she doesn&’t love and is seduced by the joyful madness of Paris in the 1920s as an ambassador&’s wife. When the Nazis force her to state her loyalty, she capitulates, not realizing how this decision will inform and haunt the rest of her life. Sylva&’s story is interwoven with that of her son Jan, a world-renowned mathematician and Russian emigre living in the United States, who exudes the restlessness of a man without a country. With insight and candor, Zgustova weaves a multigenerational narrative of the consequences of moral choices and how individuals come to terms with their own forms of exile.
The Siler Family: Relating to the Descendants of Plikard Dederic and Elizabeth Siler, With Genealogical Chart
by Arvid Ouchterlony SilerA treasure trove of information on the Siler family, including mementoes, genealogical charts, letters and Family meeting notes. From humble German beginnings to a wide and successful dynasty spanning Pennsylvania, Georgia, Tennessee and even further.“Far down in the ages that are coming when all the Silers may have emigrated, somebody will want to know the origin of the name. The name originally signified a rope maker, or perhaps a dealer in. or worker with ropes. In the year 1741 a boat left its moorings high up in Germany on the classic banks of the Rhine, laden with emigrants bound for America. At Rotterdam they took a sea-going vessel and were landed on American shores. One of the party of emigrants was a small, dark-skinned youth of twenty-two years, bearing the name of Plikard Dederic Siler, born in Germany May 29th, 1719. Another was a sprightly, blue-eyed girl of fourteen summers, whose name was Elizabeth Hartsoe, born in Germany, September 29th, 1727. These two became attached to each other during the long voyage. A few years after, young Siler, under a law of the times, paid in leaf tobacco for the privilege of marrying Elizabeth, and they settled down as man and wife in Pennsylvania.”-From the Preface.
The Silver Donkey
by Sonya HartnettFrom extraordinary novelist Sonya Hartnett comes a gently told fable of a lost soldier, heroic children, and a steadfast donkey. One morning in the woods of World War I France, two young sisters stumble upon an astonishing find -- a soldier, temporarily blinded by war, who has walked away from battle longing to see his gravely ill younger brother. Soon the care of the soldier becomes the girls' preoccupation, but it's not just the secret they share that emboldens them to steal food and other comforting items for the man. They are fascinated by what he holds in his hand -- a tiny silver donkey. As the girls and their brother devise a plan for the soldier's safe passage home, he repays them by telling four wondrous tales about the humble donkey -- from the legend of Bethlehem to a myth of India, from a story of rescue in war to a tale of family close to the soldier's heart. Sonya Hartnett explores rich new territory in this inspiring tale of kindness, loyalty, and courage.
The Silver Door (Moon and Sun #2)
by Holly LisleWhen Genua is chosen as the Sunrider of prophecy, her destiny is to unite the magic of the sun and the moon for the good of both nightlings and humans.
The Silver Eagle: A Novel (The Forgotten Legion Chronicles #2)
by Ben KaneIn this epic historical adventure set in ancient Rome, three legionaries fight their way home while a brave woman searches for her beloved in Gaul.In the first century BC, ten thousand legionaries are all that are left of a once-powerful Roman army and a failed invasion of Parthia. Those that survived are captured and marched to the edge of the known world. Abandoned by Rome, these men are the Forgotten Legion. Among them are three friends, all men with troubled pasts, united in their hatred of Rome and a dream of freedom. Together they must face the savage tribes that surround them as well as the more treacherous enemies within the ranks of the captured legion itself. Their character will be tested to the utter limit as they struggle to find a way back to Rome.Meanwhile, Fabiola, Romulus’s twin sister, fights to survive and maintain hope in her brother’s survival. Freed by her powerful lover but beset by enemies on all sides, she must travel to Gaul to find her lover, Caesar’s right-hand man, where Vercingetorix threatens the life and the lives of all who rally around Caesar.Together these characters, whose lives are intertwined and whose stories are interwoven, bring to life a truly epic tale of the late Roman Republic and the ancient world in which it thrived.Praise for The Silver Eagle“Kane’s ambitious sequel to The Forgotten Legion continues his chronicle of life in the tumultuous Roman Republic. . . . The historical details, graphic combat sequences, and finely drawn characters lift Kane’s title above standard swords-and-sandals fare and should keep series fans sated until the next installment.” —Publishers Weekly“Lively . . . Riveting . . . Captures much of the chaos, brutality, and splendor of the late republic.” —Booklist“An extremely well-crafted novel; detailed, and expertly told with serious and engaging characters. It is novel that focuses on the experience of the ordinary soldier, a tale that allows us to travel through Gaul, Egypt, India and Persia.” —Fantasy Book Review
The Silver Lord
by Miranda JarrettOn the surface, Fan Winslow appeared to be the prim and proper housekeeper of Feversham Hall. In actuality, she was secretly heading a notorious smuggling gang based off the rambling estate's stormy coast. The arrival of Feversham's new owner, Captain Lord George Claremont, however, threatened to ruin her thriving business.Having lived down the shame his rakehell father had brought upon their family, George Claremont lived by his honor and the kingdom's laws. Dubbed the Silver Lord for his feats in battle as much as for his sterling reputation, the celebrated navy hero was duty bound to stop any and all illegal activity on his property...even if the villain was a mysterious beauty with eyes no man could resist. Would turbulent passion be enough to forever unite lovers on opposite sides of the law?
The Silver Spitfire: The Legendary WWII RAF Fighter Pilot in his Own Words
by Tom NeilA brilliantly vivid Second World War memoir by one of 'the Few' Spitfire fighter pilots.Following the D-Day landings, Battle of Britain hero Tom Neil was assigned as an RAF liaison to an American fighter squadron. As the Allies pushed east, Neil commandeered an abandoned Spitfire as his own personal aeroplane. Erasing any evidence of its provenance and stripping it down to bare metal, it became the RAF's only silver Spitfire. Alongside his US comrades, he took the silver Spitfire into battle until, with the war's end, he was forced to make a difficult decision. Faced with too many questions about the mysterious rogue fighter, he contemplated increasingly desperate measures to offload it, including bailing out mid-Channel. He eventually left the Spitfire at Worthy Down, never to be seen again.THE SILVER SPITFIRE is the first-hand, gripping story of Neil's heroic experience as an RAF fighter pilot and his reminiscences with his very own personal Spitfire.
The Silver Spitfire: The Legendary WWII RAF Fighter Pilot in his Own Words
by Wg Cdr Tom NeilA brilliantly vivid Second World War memoir by one of 'the Few' Spitfire fighter pilots.Following the D-Day landings, Battle of Britain hero Tom Neil was assigned as an RAF liaison to an American fighter squadron. As the Allies pushed east, Neil commandeered an abandoned Spitfire as his own personal aeroplane. Erasing any evidence of its provenance and stripping it down to bare metal, it became the RAF's only silver Spitfire. Alongside his US comrades, he took the silver Spitfire into battle until, with the war's end, he was forced to make a difficult decision. Faced with too many questions about the mysterious rogue fighter, he contemplated increasingly desperate measures to offload it, including bailing out mid-Channel. He eventually left the Spitfire at Worthy Down, never to be seen again.THE SILVER SPITFIRE is the first-hand, gripping story of Neil's heroic experience as an RAF fighter pilot and his reminiscences with his very own personal Spitfire.
The Silver Waterfall: How America Won the War in the Pacific at Midway
by Brendan Simms Steven McGregorEighty years after the stunning and decisive battle, a revelatory new history of MidwayThe Battle of Midway was, on paper, an improbable victory for the smaller, less experienced American navy and air force, so much so that it was quickly described as &“a miracle.&” Yet fortune favored the Americans at Midway, and the conventional wisdom has it that the Americans&’ lucky streak continued as the war in the Pacific turned against the Japanese. This new history demonstrates that luck, let alone miracles, had little to do with it. In The Silver Waterfall, Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor show how the efforts of America&’s peacetime navy combined with creative innovations made by designers and industrialists were largely responsible for the victory. The Douglas Dauntless Dive Bomber, a uniquely conceived fighting weapon, delivered a brutally accurate attack the Japanese quickly came to dread. Told through a vivid narrative, Simms and McGregor show how the course of the war in the Pacific was dramatically altered, emphasizing the crucial combination of a culture of innovation, a brilliant contribution from immigrants, and a vital intelligence coup that allowed the navy to orchestrate the devastating attack on the Japanese and dominate the Pacific for good.
The Simple-Minded Fishke of Chelm: An Old Yiddish Folktale
by Constance RutherfordIn this Yiddish folk tale, the town half-wit isn’t sure how to tell himself apart from other bathers in the shvitz, or public bathhouse. He must come up with a solution! Will a piece of string be able to help? Or will he just cause trouble for the other bathers?
The Singapore Grip: NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA
by J.G. FarrellNOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA, THE SINGAPORE GRIP IS A MODERN CLASSIC FROM THE BOOKER-PRIZE WINNING J.G. FARRELL'Brilliant, richly absurd, melancholy' Observer'Enjoyable on many different levels' Sunday Times'One of the most outstanding novelists of his generation' SpectatorSingapore, 1939: Walter Blackett, ruthless rubber merchant, is head of British Singapore's oldest and most powerful firm. And his family's prosperous world of tennis parties, cocktails and deferential servants seems unchanging. No one suspects it - but this world is poised on the edge of the abyss. This is the eve of the Fall of Singapore.A love story and a war story, a tragicomic tale of a city under siege and a dying way of life, The Singapore Grip is a modern classic.'A narrative of exceptional imagination and scope' Newsweek'A fine piece of work, informative, funny tragic. One of those novels that present a whole world for the reader to inhabit' Margaret Drabble'No writer has swallowed all of Singapore with the verve and wit of the late J.G. Farrell' Time'His brilliant of style places him beside such masters of the modern novel as Patrick White and Saul Bellow' Olivia Manning
The Singapore Grip: NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA (W&N Essentials)
by J.G. FarrellNOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA, THE SINGAPORE GRIP IS A MODERN CLASSIC FROM THE BOOKER-PRIZE WINNING J.G. FARRELL'Brilliant, richly absurd, melancholy' Observer'Enjoyable on many different levels' Sunday Times'One of the most outstanding novelists of his generation' SpectatorSingapore, 1939: Walter Blackett, ruthless rubber merchant, is head of British Singapore's oldest and most powerful firm. And his family's prosperous world of tennis parties, cocktails and deferential servants seems unchanging. No one suspects it - but this world is poised on the edge of the abyss. This is the eve of the Fall of Singapore.A love story and a war story, a tragicomic tale of a city under siege and a dying way of life, The Singapore Grip is a modern classic.'A narrative of exceptional imagination and scope' Newsweek'A fine piece of work, informative, funny tragic. One of those novels that present a whole world for the reader to inhabit' Margaret Drabble'No writer has swallowed all of Singapore with the verve and wit of the late J.G. Farrell' Time'His brilliant of style places him beside such masters of the modern novel as Patrick White and Saul Bellow' Olivia Manning
The Singer and the Sea
by Michael Scott RohanGille Kilmarsson is a mastersmith and musician in a quiet northern town. But he yearns for something more. When he saves a Southern merchant ship from the savagery of the corsairs, he takes as his only reward an old musical instrument. And his life changes forever.For the instrument has an ancient, magical past and it soon leads Gille and his companion, Olvar, on an amazing voyage of adventure and discovery. A voyage in which they must confront not only the mysteries of the sea but also a ruthless, barbaric tribe intent on massacring an ancient people fleeing the encroachment of the restless Ice...
The Single Soldier: A Moving War-Time Drama (The Soldier Series #1)
by George CostiganA “magnificent” novel set in occupied France about one man’s search for peace amid the chaos of war (Willy Russell, author of Blood Brothers).In war-torn rural France, amongst the devastation—both physical and emotional—of German occupation, a man decides to move his house to the other side of the village, using only a cow and a cart. Once there, he embarks on the project of reconstructing it piece by piece. What, or who, possesses him to do this and why? Can he rebuild his house? His home? Will that bring him the peace he longs for?This warm-hearted, astonishing debut novel from an acclaimed actor and playwright explores passion, secrets, and painful truths; the lives of ordinary people engulfed by history; and the ways that peace can be elusive even in the absence of war.
The Sinking of HMAS Sydney: How Sailors lived, fought and died in Australia's greatest naval disaster
by Doctor Tom LewisHMAS Sydney was the pride of the fleet during the Second World War. A light cruiser and one of Australia&’s main combat vessels. On the 19th November 1941, off the coast of Western Australia, The Sydney engaged in a fierce and bloody battle with the German raider Kormoran. Following this action, The Sydney failed to return to port. An extensive search and rescue carried out, but the warship had disappeared with all 645 men on board. Whilst the battle lasted little more than an hour, this single ship engagement remains Australia&’s greatest naval disaster. More Australian servicemen died in the battle between the German raider Kormoran and the light cruiser HMAS Sydney than perished in the Vietnam War. It was not until 2008 that the wreck was discovered. The passage of time between the sinking and the discovery led to numerous mystery and conspiracy theories, all of which started replacing the truth. Now, with an explanation of how those on board lived, fought, and died, this book tells the full story.
The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the Victorian Titanic
by Gill Hoffs'The moment they fell into the water the waves caught them and dashed them violently against the rocks, and the survivors on shore could perceive the unfortunate creatures...struggling amidst the waves, and one by one sinking under them.' (Hereford Times, 28 January 1854) The wrecking of the RMS Tayleur made headlines nearly 60 years before the Titanic. Both were run by the White Star Line, both were heralded as the most splendid ships of their time and both sank in tragic circumstances on their maiden voyages. On 19 January 1854 the Tayleur, a large merchant vessel, left Liverpool for Australia; packed with hopeful emigrants, her hold stuffed with cargo. On the 160th anniversary of the disaster, Gill Hoffs reveals new theories behind the disaster and tells the stories of the passengers and crew on the ill-fated vessel: Captain John Noble, record breaking hero of the Gold Rush era. Ship surgeon Robert Hannay Cunningham and his young family, on their way to a new life among the prospectors of Tent City. Samuel Carby, ex-convict, returning to the gold fields with his new wife and a fortune sewn into her corsets. But the ship's revolutionary iron hull prevented its compasses from working. Lost in the Irish Sea, a storm swept the Tayleur and the 650 people aboard towards a cliff, studded with rocks 'black as death'. What happened next shocked the world.As featured in the Daily Mail, Yorkshire Post, Manchester Evening News, Hereford Times, Liverpool Echo, The Press & Journal, Dundee Courier, Fife Herald, Discover Your History, Your Family Tree, the Warrington Guardian and on BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Merseyside, RTE Radio, Radio Warrington, Kingdom FM.
The Sinking of the Bismarck: The Deadly Hunt (Sterling Point Books)
by William L. ShirerThe famous war correspondent delivers an edge-of-your seat account of the naval chase and battle to take out one of Hitler&’s most powerful warships. The Bismarck wasn&’t just any warship. Its guns were much stronger and more accurate than any others in its day—meaning it could easily sink enemy ships without getting in range of their fire. It was one of Hitler&’s most powerful weapons, and the Allied forces had to put it out of commission—before they lost the war. With the fate of the world in the balance, Allied forces chased the Bismarck across the stormy North Atlantic—culminating in a thrilling sea battle that changed the course of World War II. Unfolding with the taut suspense of a blockbuster movie, this book brings the excitement and danger of World War II to younger audiences—and demonstrates William L. Shirer&’s mastery as a writer of history and a spinner of tales. &“A book one reads with sustained excitement.&” —Kirkus Reviews
The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru
by Tony BanhamAlmost 2,000 British Prisoners of War were aboard the Japanese freighter Lisbon Maru when an American submarine torpedoed and sank her in October 1942. This book tells the story of those men, from the fighting in Hong Kong, through the sinking, and for some, to liberation and beyond. Although never previously studied in any depth, the sinking of the Lisbon Maru was the most costly American on British "Friendly Fire" incident of the Second World War. Of the 4,500 of Hong Kong's garrison who perished during the war, 1,000 died directly or indirectly from this sinking. From American, British, Hong Kong and Japanese sources, this book reconstructs the fateful voyage of the Lisbon Maru, and the experiences of the captives, the captors, and those on board the submarine that sank her. The book will be of interest to anyone wishing to know more about the "Hellships" that caused the deaths of almost 20,000 Allied Prisoners of War during the Second World War, or the experiences of Allied POWs in Japan.
The Sinking of the Prince of Wales & Repulse: The End of the Battleship Era
by Martin Middlebrook Patrick MahoneyThe author of The First Day on the Somme recounts the sinking of two British Royal Navy ships by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. On the third day of the war with Japan, two Royal Navy capital ships were sunk off Malaya by air torpedo attack. They had not requested the air support that could have saved them and 840 men died in the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser HMS Repulse. The authors re-create for the reader not only what happened, but also what it was like for the men involved. They dispose of several myths to explain the events of those confused hours, and address the uncertainty, controversy, and strong emotions that surrounded the militarily disastrous sinkings.