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To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq
by Robert DraperFrom the author of the New York Times bestseller Dead Certain comes the definitive, revelatory reckoning with arguably the most consequential decision in the history of American foreign policy--the decision to invade Iraq.Even now, after more than fifteen years, it is hard to see the invasion of Iraq through the cool, considered gaze of history. For too many people, the damage is still too palpable, and still unfolding. <P><P>Most of the major players in that decision are still with us, and few of them are not haunted by it, in one way or another. Perhaps it's that combination, the passage of the years and the still unresolved trauma, that explains why so many protagonists opened up so fully for the first time to Robert Draper.Draper's prodigious reporting has yielded scores of consequential new revelations, from the important to the merely absurd. <P><P>As a whole, the book paints a vivid and indelible picture of a decision-making process that was fatally compromised by a combination of post-9/11 fear and paranoia, rank naïveté, craven groupthink, and a set of actors with idées fixes who gamed the process relentlessly. Everything was believed; nothing was true. <P><P>The intelligence failure was comprehensive. Draper's fair-mindedness and deep understanding of the principal actors suffuse his account, as does a storytelling genius that is close to sorcery. There are no cheap shots here, which makes the ultimate conclusion all the more damning. In the spirit of Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August and Marc Bloch's Strange Defeat, To Start A War will stand as the definitive account of a collective process that arrived at evidence that would prove to be not just dubious but entirely false, driven by imagination rather than a quest for truth--evidence that was then used to justify a verdict that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and a flood tide of chaos in the Middle East that shows no signs of ebbing.
To Storm Heaven (Cold Equations #46)
by Esther FriesnerWhen Lelys, ambassador of the plague-ridden colony planet of Orakisa, approaches the Federation seeking help for her dying world, the U.S.S. Enterprise speeds to the rescue. Captain Picard and his crew escort the Orakisan delegation to its long-lost sister-world, Ne'elat, where the ambassador and the Away Team are initially welcomed, but then endangered. As the Enterprise officers make their way through a web of planet-wide intrigue, time is running out the people of Orakisa and the inhabitants of their sister-worlds as well.
To Tame a Duke
by Patricia GrassoSet against the turbulent historical background of the War of 1812, this star-crossed romance pits a grieving English nobleman, James Armstrong, the fourteenth duke of Kinross, who has come to America bent on avenging the death of his elder brother, the thirteenth duke, who was betrayed to American troops and executed. He is in pursuit of the Gilded Lily, a spy-catcher of formidable reputation and great skill. When he finds his prey, he is dismayed to discover that the Lily is no common soldier; "she" is eighteen-year-old Lily Hawthorn, the beautiful raven-haired daughter of a tavern owner with sapphire eyes and a daring spirit.James kidnaps Lily and her eight-year-old brother and returns with them to England, intending to keep them prisoner until the end of the war. He decides to make her fall in love with him--and then break her heart but all romantic hell breaks out when he himself falls in love.
To Tempt a Viking
by Michelle WillinghamSHE'S TESTING HIS RESOLVE! Warrior Viking Ragnar Olafsson stood by as his best friend claimed the woman he desired the most. There was only one way to quench the deep darkness within him-become merciless in battle. When Elena is taken captive, fearless Ragnar risks everything to save her. Now they are stranded with only each other for company. Suddenly every longing, every look, every touch is forbidden. Elena could tempt a saint-and sinner Ragnar knows he won't be able to hold out for long! Forbidden Vikings Resist them if you can!
To The Bitter End: An Insider's Account Of The Plot To Kill Hitler, 1933-1944
by Hans Bernd Gisevius Richard Wilson“When on July 20, 1944, a bomb—boldly placed inside the Wolf’s Lair (Hitler’s headquarters in East Prussia) by the German Anti-Nazi Resistance—exploded without killing the Führer, the subsequent coup d’état against the Third Reich collapsed. Most of the conspirators were summarily shot or condemned in show trials and sadistically hanged. The conspiracy involved a wide circle of former politicians, diplomats, and government officials as well as senior military men. The Resistance had started as early as 1933 and involved several planned putsches and assassination attempts. Hans B. Gisevius knew or met the major figures—including Beck, Canaris, Oster, Goerdeler, and von Stauffenberg—and barely escaped after the coup’s failure. One of the few survivors of the German Anti-Nazi Resistance, Gisevius traces its history, from the 1933 Reichstag fire to Germany’s defeat in 1945, in a book as riveting as it is exceptional.”-Print ed.
To The Bitter End: The Diaries of Victor Klemperer 1942-45
by Victor KlempererThe international bestselling record of a German Jew in Nazi Germany.'Deserves to stand beside the diary of Anne Frank as a day-to-day description of the sufferings of the victims of Hitler's evil regime' EVENING STANDARD'Few English readers will fail to be moved as I was - ultimately to the point of tears' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'Packed with vivid observation, profound reflection ... they find hope, dignity and even tart humour in the jaws of hell' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYA sensation when first published, this is one of the most extraordinary documents of the Nazi period. The son of a rabbi, Klemperer was by 1933 a professor of languages in Dresden. Over the next decade he lost his job, his house and many of his friends, even his cat, as Jews were not allowed to own pets. Saved for much of the war from the Holocaust by his marriage to a gentile, he was able to escape in the aftermath of the Allied bombing of Dresden and survived the remaining months of the war in hiding. Throughout, Klemperer kept a diary, for a Jew in Nazi Germany a daring act in itself. This volume covers the period from the beginnings of the Holocaust to the end of the war, telling the story of Klemperer's increasing isolation, his near miraculous survival, his awareness of the development of the growing Holocaust as friends and associates disappeared, and his narrow escapes from deportation and the Dresden firebombing in 1945.Shocking and moving by turns, it is a remarkable and important document, as powerful and astonishing in its way as Anne Frank's classic.
To The Tashkent Station: Evacuation and Survival in the Soviet Union at War
by Rebecca ManleyIn summer and fall 1941, as German armies advanced with shocking speed across the Soviet Union, the Soviet leadership embarked on a desperate attempt to safeguard the country's industrial and human resources. Their success helped determine the outcome of the war in Europe. To the Tashkent Station brilliantly reconstructs the evacuation of over sixteen million Soviet civilians in one of the most dramatic episodes of World War II.Rebecca Manley paints a vivid picture of this epic wartime saga: the chaos that erupted in towns large and small as German troops approached, the overcrowded trains that trundled eastward, and the desperate search for sustenance and shelter in Tashkent, one of the most sought-after sites of refuge in the rear. Her story ends in the shadow of victory, as evacuees journeyed back to their ruined cities and broken homes. Based on previously unexploited archival collections in Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, To the Tashkent Station offers a novel look at a war that transformed the lives of several generations of Soviet citizens. The evacuation touched men, women, and children from all walks of life: writers as well as workers, scientists along with government officials, party bosses, and peasants. Manley weaves their harrowing stories into a probing analysis of how the Soviet Union responded to and was transformed by World War II.Over the course of the war, the Soviet state was challenged as never before. Popular loyalties were tested, social hierarchies were recast, and the multiethnic fabric of the country was subjected to new strains. Even as the evacuation saved countless Soviet Jews from almost certain death, it spawned a new and virulent wave of anti-Semitism. This magisterial work is the first in-depth study of this crucial but neglected episode in the history of twentieth-century population displacement, World War II, and the Soviet Union.
To Touch the Stars: A Story of World War II
by Karen ZeinertBring history to life with compelling stories, sweeping scope, and a welcoming sense of diversity Historical fiction helps students connect to their middle school social studies classes Reading skill instruction and cross-curricular connections improve comprehension of historical fiction Strong multicultural flavor reflects the rich tapestry of our shared American heritages Jamestown's American Portraits, a saga of American families and friends, traces the history of America from the founding of Jamestown to the Civil Rights Movement. This is a unique, enriching series designed to teach reading strategies appropriate for historical novels used in middle school reading, language arts, or social studies classes. Reading Level 5-8 Interest Level 6-8.
To Try Men's Souls: A Novel (George Washington Series #1)
by Newt Gingrich William R. ForstchenThis biographical novel exploring America’s Revolutionary Era is “surely to become another popular book” for the New York Times–bestselling authors.The story follows three men with three very different roles to play in history: General George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Jonathan Van Dorn, a private in Washington’s army.The action focuses on one of the most iconic events in American history: Washington crossing the Delaware. Unlike the bold, courageous General in Emanuel Leutze’s painting, Washington is full of doubt on the night of December 25, 1776. After five months of defeat, morale is dangerously low. Each morning muster shows that hundreds have deserted in the night.While Washington prepares his weary troops for the attack on Trenton, Thomas Paine is in Philadelphia, overseeing the printing of his newest pamphlet, The Crisis.And Jonathan Van Dorn is about to bring the war to his own doorstep. In the heat of battle, he must decide between staying loyal to the cause and sparing his brother who has joined up with the British. Through the thoughts and private fears of these three men, Gingrich and Forstchen illuminate the darkest days of the Revolution. With detailed research and an incredible depth of military insight, To Try Men’s Souls is a novel that provides a rare and personal perspective of the men who fought for, and founded the United States of America.
To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom
by Newt Gingrich William R. Forstchen Albert S. HanserAfter two bestselling series examining the Civil War and WWII, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen have turned their sharp eye for detail on the Revolutionary War. Their story follows three men with three very different roles to play in history: General George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Jonathan Van Dorn, a private in Washington's army. The action focuses on one of the most iconic events in American history: Washington cross - ing the Delaware. Unlike the bold, courageous General in Emanuel Leutze's painting, Washington is full of doubt on the night of December 25, 1776. After five months of defeat, morale is dangerously low. Each morning muster shows that hundreds have deserted in the night. While Washington prepares his weary troops for the attack on Trenton, Thomas Paine is in Philadelphia, overseeing the printing of his newest pamphlet, The Crisis. And Jonathan Van Dorn is about to bring the war to his own doorstep. In the heat of battle, he must decide between staying loyal to the cause and sparing his brother who has joined up with the British. Through the thoughts and private fears of these three men, Gingrich and Forstchen illuminate the darkest days of the Revolution. With detailed research and an incredible depth of military insight, this novel provides a rare and personal perspective of the men who fought for, and founded the United States of America.
To Wake the Giant: A Novel of Pearl Harbor
by Jeff ShaaraThe New York Times bestselling master of military historical fiction tells the story of Pearl Harbor as only he can in the first novel of a gripping new series set in World War II&’s Pacific theater. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt watches uneasily as the world heads rapidly down a dangerous path. The Japanese have waged an aggressive campaign against China, and they now begin to expand their ambitions to other parts of Asia. As their expansion efforts grow bolder, their enemies know that Japan&’s ultimate goal is total conquest over the region, especially when the Japanese align themselves with Hitler&’s Germany and Mussolini&’s Italy, who wage their own war of conquest across Europe. Meanwhile, the British stand nearly alone against Hitler, and there is pressure in Washington to transfer America&’s powerful fleet of warships from Hawaii to the Atlantic to join the fight against German U-boats that are devastating shipping. But despite deep concerns about weakening the Pacific fleet, no one believes that the main base at Pearl Harbor is under any real threat. Told through the eyes of widely diverse characters, this story looks at all sides of the drama and puts the reader squarely in the middle. In Washington, Secretary of State Cordell Hull must balance his own concerns between President Roosevelt and the Japanese ambassador, Kichisaburo Nomura, who is little more than a puppet of his own government. In Japan, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto wins skeptical approval for his outrageous plans in the Pacific, yet he understands more than anyone that an attack on Pearl Harbor will start a war that Japan cannot win. In Hawaii, Commander Joseph Rochefort&’s job as an accomplished intelligence officer is to decode radio signals and detect the location of the Japanese fleet, but when the airwaves suddenly go silent, no one has any idea why. And from a small Depression-ravaged town, nineteen-year-old Tommy Biggs sees the Navy as his chance to escape and happily accepts his assignment, every sailor&’s dream: the battleship USS Arizona. With you-are-there immediacy, Shaara opens up the mysteries of just how Japan—a small, deeply militarist nation—could launch one of history&’s most devastating surprise attacks. In this story of innocence, heroism, sacrifice, and unfathomable blindness, Shaara&’s gift for storytelling uses these familiar wartime themes to shine a light on the personal, the painful, the tragic, and the thrilling—and on a crucial part of history we must never forget.
To War With the Walkers: One Family's Extraordinary Story of the Second World War
by Annabel Venning**DAILY MAIL BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019****SUNDAY TELEGRAPH CHRISTMAS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019**'So blissfully good that I'd give it to a reader of any age . . . deeply touching, unforgettable family memoir'ALLISON PEARSON, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'Uplifting and enlightening . . . Venning has a good eye for what makes the Walker story both unique and universal . . . Thrilling'MAIL ON SUNDAY'Superb . . . With its sweeping narrative, readable style, sense of humanity and breadth of research, the saga casts a highly personal light on some of the most significant episodes of [the Second World War]'DAILY EXPRESS'A heart-pounding narrative that feels fresh . . . this marvellous book also depicts a world that was soon to vanish'DAILY MAIL'A moving book . . . This account of one family's experience takes us to hidden crannies of the war that more official accounts might not bother with . . . Once read, never forgotten'THE TIMES'A sensationally good book . . . I see reflections of my own family, and beyond them, like those mirrors tilted slightly into infinity, I can see literally miles of others lined up, inexorably linked forever by a shared experience . . . this is an exceptional book and should be required reading in modern history classes'JOANNA LUMLEY'An extraordinary, compelling picture of a family entwined in the Second World War . . . at turns funny, sad, redemptive and tragic. Fabulous'JAMES HOLLAND'A loving tribute . . . Brimming with anecdote and rich in fascinating detail'KEGGIE CAREW~How would it feel if all your sons and daughters were caught up in war?What would it be like to spend six years fearing what a telegram might bring?That was the heart-wrenching reality faced by so many families throughout the Second World War, including the parents of the Walker children. From the Blitz to the battlefields of Europe and the Far East, this is the remarkable story of four brothers and two sisters who were swept along by the momentous events of the war. Harold was a surgeon in a London hospital alongside his sister Ruth, a nurse, when the bombs began to fall in 1940. Peter was captured in the fall of Singapore. Edward fought the Germans in Italy, and Walter the Japanese in Burma, while in London, glamorous Bee hoped for lasting happiness with an American airman. In To War With the Walkers, Annabel Venning, Walter's granddaughter, tells the enthralling and moving tales of her relatives, six ordinary young men and women, who each faced an extraordinary struggle for survival.
To War With the Walkers: One Family's Extraordinary Story of the Second World War
by Annabel Venning**DAILY MAIL BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019****SUNDAY TELEGRAPH CHRISTMAS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019**'So blissfully good that I'd give it to a reader of any age . . . deeply touching, unforgettable family memoir'ALLISON PEARSON, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'Uplifting and enlightening . . . Venning has a good eye for what makes the Walker story both unique and universal . . . Thrilling'MAIL ON SUNDAY'Superb . . . With its sweeping narrative, readable style, sense of humanity and breadth of research, the saga casts a highly personal light on some of the most significant episodes of [the Second World War]'DAILY EXPRESS'A heart-pounding narrative that feels fresh . . . this marvellous book also depicts a world that was soon to vanish'DAILY MAIL'A moving book . . . This account of one family's experience takes us to hidden crannies of the war that more official accounts might not bother with . . . Once read, never forgotten'THE TIMES'A sensationally good book . . . I see reflections of my own family, and beyond them, like those mirrors tilted slightly into infinity, I can see literally miles of others lined up, inexorably linked forever by a shared experience . . . this is an exceptional book and should be required reading in modern history classes'JOANNA LUMLEY'An extraordinary, compelling picture of a family entwined in the Second World War . . . at turns funny, sad, redemptive and tragic. Fabulous'JAMES HOLLAND'A loving tribute . . . Brimming with anecdote and rich in fascinating detail'KEGGIE CAREW~How would it feel if all your sons and daughters were caught up in war?What would it be like to spend six years fearing what a telegram might bring?That was the heart-wrenching reality faced by so many families throughout the Second World War, including the parents of the Walker children. From the Blitz to the battlefields of Europe and the Far East, this is the remarkable story of four brothers and two sisters who were swept along by the momentous events of the war. Harold was a surgeon in a London hospital alongside his sister Ruth, a nurse, when the bombs began to fall in 1940. Peter was captured in the fall of Singapore. Edward fought the Germans in Italy, and Walter the Japanese in Burma, while in London, glamorous Bee hoped for lasting happiness with an American airman. In To War With the Walkers, Annabel Venning, Walter's granddaughter, tells the enthralling and moving tales of her relatives, six ordinary young men and women, who each faced an extraordinary struggle for survival.
To War With the Walkers: One Family's Extraordinary Story of the Second World War
by Annabel Venning'A sensationally good book . . . I see reflections of my own family, and beyond them, like those mirrors tilted slightly into infinity, I can see literally miles of others lined up, inexorably linked forever by a shared experience . . . this is an exceptional book and should be required reading in modern history classes' JOANNA LUMLEY 'An extraordinary, compelling picture of a family entwined in the Second World War . . . at turns funny, sad, redemptive and tragic. Fabulous' JAMES HOLLAND 'A moving book . . . This account of one family's experience takes us to hidden crannies of the war that more official accounts might not bother with . . . Once read, never forgotten' THE TIMES 'Uplifting and enlightening . . . Venning has a good eye for what makes the Walker story both unique and universal' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Superb . . . With its sweeping narrative, readable style, sense of humanity and breadth of research, the saga casts a highly personal light on some of the most significant episodes of [the Second World War]' DAILY EXPRESS 'A heart-pounding narrative that feels fresh . . . this marvellous book also depicts a world that was soon to vanish' DAILY MAIL 'A loving tribute . . . Brimming with anecdote and rich in fascinating detail' KEGGIE CAREW ~The miraculous story of the Walkers, six siblings who survived Blitz, battle and internment and whose incredible experiences tell a new social history of WW2, told by historian and Walker descendant Annabel Venning. How would it feel if all your sons and daughters were caught up in war? What would it be like to spend six years fearing what a telegram might bring? That was the heart-wrenching reality faced by so many families throughout the Second World War, including the parents of the Walker children. From the Blitz to the battlefields of Europe and the Far East, this is the remarkable story of four brothers and two sisters who were swept along by the momentous events of the war. Harold was a surgeon in a London hospital alongside his sister Ruth, a nurse, when the bombs began to fall in 1940. Peter was captured in the fall of Singapore. Edward fought the Germans in Italy, and Walter the Japanese in Burma, while in London, glamorous Bee hoped for lasting happiness with an American airman. In To War With the Walkers, Annabel Venning, Walter's granddaughter, tells the enthralling and moving tales of her relatives, six ordinary young men and women, who each faced an extraordinary struggle for survival(P) 2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
To War with Wellington: From the Peninsula to Waterloo
by Peter SnowThe seven-year campaign that saved Europe from Napoleon told by those who were there.What made Arthur Duke of Wellington the military genius who was never defeated in battle? In the vivid narrative style that is his trademark, Peter Snow recalls how Wellington evolved from a backward, sensitive schoolboy into the aloof but brilliant commander. He tracks the development of Wellington's leadership and his relationship with the extraordinary band of men he led from Portugal in 1808 to their final destruction of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo seven years. Having described his soldiers as the 'scum of the earth' Wellington transformed them into the finest fighting force of their time.Digging deep into the rich treasure house of diaries and journals that make this war the first in history to be so well recorded, Snow examines how Wellington won the devotion of generals such as the irascible Thomas Picton and the starry but reckless 'Black Bob' Crauford and soldiers like Rifleman Benjamin Harris and Irishman Ned Costello. Through many first-hand accounts, Snow brings to life the horrors and all of the humanity of life in and out of battle, as well as shows the way that Wellington mastered the battlefield to outsmart the French and change the future of Europe.To War with Wellington is the gripping account of a very human story about a remarkable leader and his men.
To War with a 4th Hussar: Fighting in Greece, North Africa & The Balkans
by Peter CrichtonThis vivid WWII memoir recounts the exploits of a 4th Queen&’s Own Hussar through the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern theatre of combat. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Peter Crichton was quick to enlist and escape his journalistic job in London. The adventuresome young man transferred to the 4th Queen&’s Own Hussars and soon found himself fighting a desperate and ill-fated rear-guard action in the mountains of Northern Greece. One of the few in his Regiment to be evacuated, Crichton went on to see combat in the battles of Alam Halfa and El Alamein. But he also found time to play polo and fall in love. Crichton was later deployed to Yugoslavia where he was attached to Tito&’s partisans, a guerilla resistance movement that fought their way North, island by island, hurrying the Germans&’ withdrawal. After four and a half years&’ absence, he returned to London on VE Day, 1945, grateful to be alive.
To the Bomb and Back: Finnish War Children Tell Their World War II Stories
by Sue SaffleBetween 1939 and 1945, some 80,000 Finnish children were sent to Sweden, Denmark, and elsewhere, ostensibly to protect them from danger while their nation’s soldiers fought superior Soviet and German forces. This was the largest of all of World War II children’s transports, and although acknowledged today as “a great social-historical mistake,” it has received surprisingly little attention. This is the first English-language account of Finland’s war children and their experiences, told through the survivors’ own words. Supported by an extensive introduction, a bibliography of secondary sources, and over two dozen photographs, this book testifies to the often-lifelong traumas endured by youthful survivors of war.
To the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945
by John C. McManusFrom the liberation of the Philippines to the Japanese surrender, the final volume of John C. McManus's trilogy on the US Army in the Pacific War The dawn of 1945 finds a US Army at its peak in the Pacific. Allied victory over Japan is all but assured. The only question is how many more months—or years—of fight does the enemy have left. John C. McManus&’s magisterial series, described by the Wall Street Journal as being &“as vast and splendid as Rick Atkinson&’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Liberation Trilogy,&” returns with this brilliant final volume. On the island of Luzon, a months-long stand-off between US and Japanese troops finally breaks open, as American soldiers push into Manila, while paratroopers and amphibious invaders capture nearby Corregidor. The Philippines are soon liberated, and Allied strategists turn their eyes to China, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Japanese home islands themselves. Readers will walk in the boots of American soldiers and officers, braving intense heat, rampant disease, and a by-now suicidal enemy, determined to kill as many opponents as possible before defeat, and they will encounter Japanese soldiers faced with the terrible choice between capitulation or doom. At the same time, this outstanding narrative lays bare the titanic ego and ambition of the Pacific War&’s most prominent general, Douglas MacArthur, and the complex challenges he faced in Japan&’s unconditional surrender and America&’s lengthy occupation.
To the End of the War: Unpublished Fiction
by James JonesNever-before-published fiction by one of the finest war authors of the twentieth century In 1943, a young soldier named James Jones returned from the Pacific, lightly wounded and psychologically tormented by the horrors of Guadalcanal. When he was well enough to leave the hospital, he went AWOL rather than return to service, and began work on a novel of the World War II experience. Jones&’s AWOL period was brief, but he returned to the novel at war&’s end, bringing him to the attention of Maxwell Perkins, the legendary editor of Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe. Jones would then go on to write From Here to Eternity, the National Book Award–winning novel that catapulted him into the ranks of the literary elite. Now, for the first time, Jones&’s earliest writings are presented here, as a collection of stories about man and war, a testament to the great artist he was about to become. This ebook features an illustrated biography of James Jones including rare photos from the author&’s estate.
To the End, They Remain: Thoughts on War, Peace and Reconciliation
by Raymond ClarkRay Clark had a simple idea: send a postcard – the same postcard - depicting a memorial to war dead to those who might share their thoughts with others on loss, remembrance, war and peace. The response was remarkable. Men and women from all walks of life, from the Cabinet, the House of Lords and the senior ranks of the British Army to ex-servicemen, military historians, journalists and war widows, felt moved to express their feelings in a few words on that postcard. This book will sadden, provoke and inspire. The royalties will all go to Help for Heroes, the well-known charity working for the wounded of the British Armed forces, and Action Cancer.
To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign
by Stephen W. SearsThis account of McClellan&’s 1862 campaign is &“a wonderful book&” (Ken Burns) and &“military history at its best&” (The New York Times Book Review). From &“the finest and most provocative Civil War historian writing today,&” To the Gates of Richmond is the story of the one of the conflict&’s bloodiest campaigns (Chicago Tribune). Of the 250,000 men who fought in it, only a fraction had ever been in battle before—and one in four was killed, wounded, or missing in action by the time the fighting ended. The operation was Gen. George McClellan&’s grand scheme to march up the Virginia Peninsula and take the Confederate capital. For three months McClellan battled his way toward Richmond, but then Robert E. Lee took command of the Confederate forces. In seven days, Lee drove the cautious McClellan out, thereby changing the course, if not the outcome, of the war. &“Deserves to be a classic.&” —The Washington Post
To the House of Collateral Damage: Centuries of the Civilian Dead
by William La RicheThis incredibly ambitious, book-length poem takes on the modern problem of war. The poem's great achievement is that it situates our own age, not as a golden age, but as one notable for its harshness and brutality, especially towards noncombatants, as well as for the beauty of the language that can be found to describe and understand that brutality, and perhaps to change it. Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid allow us, two and a half millennia later, to experience the complexity and contradictions of the ancient world. La Riche proposes, boldly, to observe and judge our own world through the contradictions of our relationship to war.
To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776–1782 (Emerging Revolutionary War Series)
by Mark MaloyJune 1776: Just a month before America declared its independence from Great Britain, a British fleet of warships and thousands of British soldiers appeared off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. Following a brutal day-long battle, the most powerful navy in the world was bloodily repulsed by the Americans. In the spring of 1779, a British force brazenly marched up to Charleston from Savannah and tested the city’s defenses before falling back. Finally, in the spring of 1780, a massive British force returned to Charleston and laid siege to the city. This siege resulted in the worst defeat of the Revolutionary War for the Americans, as they lost the city and an entire army of nearly 6,000 men. After being conquered by the British, the citizens and soldiers suffered more than two years of occupation and imprisonment. However, the siege of Charleston marked the beginning of the end of the Revolutionary War. The fall of Charleston initiated a series of events that ultimately resulted with the American victory at Yorktown and the successful independence of the United States. Charleston, South Carolina is one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the United States. Numerous sites, battlefields, and buildings from the period of the Revolution still exist. In To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, historian Mark Maloy not only recounts the Revolutionary War history of Charleston, he takes you to the places where the history actually happened. He shows you where the outnumbered patriots beat back the most powerful navy in the world, where soldiers bravely defended the city in 1779 and 1780, and where thousands suffered under occupation. Through it all, brave patriots were willing to defend the city and their liberty “to the last extremity.”
To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War
by Jeff ShaaraJeff Shaara has enthralled readers with his New York Times bestselling novels set during the Civil War and the American Revolution. Now the acclaimed author turns to World War I, bringing to life the sweeping, emotional story of the war that devastated a generation and established America as a world power.Spring 1916: the horror of a stalemate on Europe’s western front. France and Great Britain are on one side of the barbed wire, a fierce German army is on the other. Shaara opens the window onto the otherworldly tableau of trench warfare as seen through the eyes of a typical British soldier who experiences the bizarre and the horrible–a “Tommy” whose innocent youth is cast into the hell of a terrifying war. In the skies, meanwhile, technology has provided a devastating new tool, the aeroplane, and with it a different kind of hero emerges–the flying ace. Soaring high above the chaos on the ground, these solitary knights duel in the splendor and terror of the skies, their courage and steel tested with every flight.As the conflict stretches into its third year, a neutral America is goaded into war, its reluctant president, Woodrow Wilson, finally accepting the repeated challenges to his stance of nonalignment. Yet the Americans are woefully unprepared and ill equipped to enter a war that has become worldwide in scope. <P><P>The responsibility is placed on the shoulders of General John “Blackjack” Pershing, and by mid-1917 the first wave of the American Expeditionary Force arrives in Europe. Encouraged by the bold spirit and strength of the untested Americans, the world waits to see if the tide of war can finally be turned.From Blackjack Pershing to the Marine in the trenches, from the Red Baron to the American pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, To the Last Man is written with the moving vividness and accuracy that characterizes all of Shaara’s work. This spellbinding new novel carries readers–the way only Shaara can–to the heart of one of the greatest conflicts in human history, and puts them face-to-face with the characters who made a lasting impact on the world.
To the Last Man: The Battle for Normandy's Cotentin Peninsula and Brittany (Praeger Security International Ser.)
by Randolph Bradham&“Surely one of the best works in regard to the Normandy invasion . . . truly a vital contribution to World War II literature.&” —Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard Through thoughtfully constructed research, Bradham vividly presents the battle for Normandy&’s Cotentin Peninsula—one of the most important and yet understudied operations of World War II. This book provides a detailed overview of the battles that make up the Cotentin Peninsula Campaign, an important part of the invasion of Normandy. While historians often cite specific examples of the fighting that took place on the peninsula, most treat the battles as individual events or singular parts of the overall Normandy campaign. In this work Bradham takes a different approach, focusing on the unique set of battles that had to be fought in order for the Allies to secure their foothold on Normandy. Bradham not only discusses the strategy used to secure the peninsula, but also gives detailed accounts of the major battles and tactical doctrine that was developed to fight them. Along the way he provides biographical information on the main actors, explaining how key personality traits along with personal relationships influenced their conduct while in battle. In doing so, the author outlines the effect of the campaign on the overall conduct of the war.