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She Persisted: Wangari Maathai (She Persisted)
by Eucabeth Odhiambo Chelsea ClintonInspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger comes a chapter book series about women who spoke up and rose up against the odds--including Wangari Maathai!In this chapter book biography by critically acclaimed author Eucabeth Odhiambo, readers learn about the amazing life of Wangari Maathai--and how she persisted. When Wangari Maathai learned about how many trees had been cut down in Kenya, where she was from, she was horrified. So she founded the Green Belt Movement and got friends, family, and even strangers to help her plant trees and respect the environment--and she received a Nobel Peace Prize for her work.Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Wangari Maathai's footsteps and make a difference! And don&’t miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted!
Fifty Years On: The Troubles and the Struggle for Change in Northern Ireland
by Malachi O'DohertyFifty years ago, an eruption of armed violence traumatized Northern Ireland and transformed a period of street protest over civil rights into decades of paramilitary warfare by republicans and loyalists. In this evocative memoir, Malachi O'Doherty not only recounts his experiences of living through the Troubles, but also recalls a revolution in his lifetime. However, it wasn't the bloody revolution that was shown on TV but rather the slow reshaping of the culture of Northern Ireland—a real revolution that was entirely overshadowed by the conflict. Incorporating interviews with political, professional and paramilitary figures, O'Doherty draws a profile of an era that produced real social change, comparing and contrasting it with today, and asks how frail is the current peace as Brexit approaches, protest is back on the streets and violence is simmering in both republican and loyalist camps.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock
by Gene OdomThe first complete, unvarnished history of Southern rock's legendary and most popular band, from its members' hardscrabble boyhoods in Jacksonville, Florida and their rise to worldwide fame to the tragic plane crash that killed the founder and the band's rise again from the ashes.
Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning
by Leslie Odom Jr.Leslie Odom Jr., burst on the scene in 2015, originating the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical phenomenon Hamilton. Since then, he has performed for sold-out audiences, sung for the Obamas at the White House, and won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. But before he landed the role of a lifetime in one of the biggest musicals of all time, Odom put in years of hard work as a singer and an actor.With personal stories from his life, Odom asks the questions that will help you unlock your true potential and achieve your goals even when they seem impossible. What work did you put in today that will help you improve tomorrow? How do you surround yourself with people who will care about your dreams as much as you do? How do you know when to play it safe and when to risk it all for something bigger and better?These stories will inspire you, motivate you, and empower you for the greatness that lies ahead, whether you’re graduating from college, starting a new job, or just looking to live each day to the fullest.
Elizabeth Seton: American Saint
by Catherine O'DonnellIn 1975, two centuries after her birth, Pope Paul VI canonized Elizabeth Ann Seton, making her the first saint to be a native-born citizen of the United States in the Roman Catholic Church. Seton came of age in Manhattan as the city and her family struggled to rebuild themselves after the Revolution, explored both contemporary philosophy and Christianity, converted to Catholicism from her native Episcopalian faith, and built the St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Hers was an exemplary early American life of struggle, ambition, questioning, and faith, and in this flowing biography, Catherine O’Donnell has given Seton her due.O’Donnell places Seton squarely in the context of the dynamic and risky years of the American and French Revolutions and their aftermath. Just as Seton’s dramatic life was studded with hardship, achievement, and grief so were the social, economic, political, and religious scenes of the Early American Republic in which she lived. O’Donnell provides the reader with a strong sense of this remarkable woman’s intelligence and compassion as she withstood her husband’s financial failures and untimely death, undertook a slow conversion to Catholicism, and struggled to reconcile her single-minded faith with her respect for others’ different choices. The fruit of her labors were the creation of a spirituality that embraced human connections as well as divine love and the American Sisters of Charity, part of an enduring global community with a specific apostolate for teaching.The trove of correspondence, journals, reflections, and community records that O’Donnell weaves together throughout Elizabeth Seton provides deep insight into her life and her world. Each source enriches our understanding of women’s friendships and choices, illuminates the relationships within the often-opaque world of early religious communities, and upends conventional wisdom about the ways Americans of different faiths competed and collaborated during the nation’s earliest years. Through her close and sympathetic reading of Seton’s letters and journals, O’Donnell reveals Seton the person and shows us how, with both pride and humility, she came to understand her own importance as Mother Seton in the years before her death in 1821.
The Locked Ward: A humane and revealing account of life on the frontlines of mental health care.
by Dennis O'DonnellAn extraordinary account of life behind the locked doors of a secure psychiatric ward from a nurse who worked there for seven years. Dennis O'Donnell started work as an orderly in the Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit of a large hospital in Scotland in 2000. In his daily life he encountered fear, violence and despair but also a considerable amount of care and compassion. Recounting the stories of the patients he worked with, and those of his colleagues on the ward, here he examines major mental health conditions, methods of treatment - medication, how religion, sex, wealth, health and drugs can bear influence on mental health, the prevailing attitudes to psychiatric illness, the authorities, the professionals & society. What emerges is a document of humanity and humour, a remarkable memoir that sheds light on a world that still remains largely unknown. 'This is a superb study of people whose minds have gone wrong, and the art of caring for them' Evening Standard
A Common Good: The Friendship of Robert F. Kennedy and Kenneth P. O'Donnell
by Helen O'DonnellAn illuminating account of the history-making friendship between RFK and the chief of staff to JFK—a bond built on shared ideals, but severed by tragedy. When they first met at Harvard in 1946, young Bobby Kennedy and Kenny O&’Donnell could not have imagined where their lives would take them. Teammates on both the football and debate teams, they formed a partnership that would sustain them through the years, from Robert Kennedy&’s tenure as attorney general to O&’Donnell&’s years as John F. Kennedy&’s chief of staff. Together they lived, worked, and struggled through some of the most pivotal moments of the twentieth century, including the assassination of JFK in Dallas. Their harmonious relationship was cut short only by Bobby&’s own tragic death. With full access to the Kennedy family archives, Helen O&’Donnell brings an inspiring personal and political alliance to life. With A Common Good, she amply fulfills the promise she made to her late father to honor and preserve his memories of Robert F. Kennedy for future generations. Kirkus Reviews hails A Common Good as &“a moving and intimate study of a unique friendship but also of the time and place, now long ago, in which this friendship formed and blossomed.&” O&’Donnell &“set out to write &‘a good book about two good men.&’ In this she has succeeded.&”
The Irish Brotherhood: John F. Kennedy, His Inner Circle and the Improbable Rise to the Presidency
by Helen O'DonnellThe Irish Brotherhood is the history of Jack Kennedy's original political inner circle. Led by Bobby Kennedy, Kenny O'Donnell, Larry O'Brien, and Dave Powers they were tough minded, Irish-Catholic guys who were joined together by a common ambition to see Jack Kennedy through to the White House. War veterans who were young, ambitious, and they wanted their country back. Jack Kennedy was their man, their leader. No matter that he was Irish, Catholic, and his "Old Man" had made as many enemies as friends - Jack had ambition, brains, a special charisma. To win the White House would be a victory not only for Jack Kennedy, but for the downtrodden. They collectively decided that if the political powers would not let them in willingly then they would kick the door down. At the center of the story is Kenny O'Donnell, Jack Kennedy's tough talking, no-bullshit, top political aide. Jack recognized he needed Kenny's blue collar, political genius and Kenny recognized something special in Jack.The Irish Brotherhood describes what it was like to be inside the Kennedy inner circle. With Bobby, who was determined to make his own mark apart from his famous family, his life-long struggle, never won, never lost. With Joe, as Kenny and Larry prove to him that their outsider approach was going to work after Jack's crushing victory in '58, which sets the stage for the Presidential campaign to come. This book is a missing piece of the story of the improbable rise to power of John F. Kennedy and further fills out the picture of the man revealing that Jack Kennedy was at heart a politician. He enjoyed the rough and tumble and despite his personal issues, or perhaps because of them, he became determined to succeed beyond anybody's expectations. It is intriguing an indelible portrait of the son, brother, friend, Congressman, Senator and President.
Augustine
by James J. O'DonnellSaint Augustine -- the celebrated theologian who served as Bishop of Hippo from 396 C.E. until his death in 430 C.E. -- is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the Western world. His autobiography, Confessions, remains among the most important religious writings in the Christian tradition. In this eye-opening and eminently readable biography, renowned historical scholar James J. O'Donnell picks up where Augustine himself left off to offer a fascinating, in-depth portrait of an unparalleled politician, writer, and churchman in a time of uncertainty and religious turmoil. Augustine is a triumphant chronicle of an extraordinary life that is certain to surprise and enlighten even those who believed they knew the complex and remarkable man of God.
Starkweather: A Story of Mass Murder on the Great Plains
by Jeff O'Donnell Kevin OliverA true story of a 19 year old who killed eleven people in 1985.
None Came Home: The War Dogs Of Vietnam
by John E. O'DonnellAutobiography of a Vietnam soldier who joins the K-9 corps and is teamed with German Shepherd named King. He writes about the training for K-9, many of their experiences, and a small group's attempts to smuggle their dogs home. [Note: There were numerous errors in the print edition which had to be left due to copyright laws.]
Even on Days when it Rains: A True Story of Hardship and Maternal Love
by Julia O'DonnellIrish singing star Daniel O'Donnell's mother, Julia, grew up on a remote island off the northwest coast of Ireland, going barefoot and doing hard labour as as child during the poverty-stricken 1920s.The hard work continued through her teenage years as she picked potatoes in the fields and travelled to Scotland to gut fish in the ports. After she married, Julia's beloved husband, Francie, was forced to work away from home for months on end. Physically demanding, the work eventually took its toll and Julia found herself widowed and penniless with five children while still in her forties.In this classic and inspiring story of triumph over adversity, Julia tells how she battled through this dark period by knitting sweaters into the early hours of the morning to support her family. Then, in an amazing twist of fate, this hard-working woman and dedicated mother watched from the wings as her offspring flourished. Her daughter Margaret and son Daniel went on to achieve fame and fortune as chart-topping singers.Poignant, warm and laced with great humour, The Mother's Story is a tale of maternal love, hardship and sacrifice, and a fascinating insight into this remarkable Irish family's life.'I was six when my father died so my mother has been everything to me. Wherever I go I tell the world about my wonderful mother. I'm a singer today because of my mother's encouragement. She has been the biggest influence in my life.' Daniel O'Donnell
"Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye": Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy
by Kenneth P. O'Donnell David F. PowersThis classic New York Times bestseller is an illuminating portrait of JFK—from his thrilling rise to his tragic fall—by two of the men who knew him best. As a politician, John Fitzgerald Kennedy crafted a persona that fascinated and inspired millions—and left an outsize legacy in the wake of his murder on November 22, 1963. But only a select few were privy to the complicated man behind the Camelot image. Two such confidants were Kenneth P. O&’Donnell, Kennedy&’s top political aide, and David F. Powers, a special assistant in the White House. They were among the president&’s closest friends, part of an exclusive inner circle that came to be known as the &“Irish Mafia.&” In Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye, O&’Donnell and Powers share memories of Kennedy, his extraordinary political career, and his iconic family—memories that could come only from intimate access to the man himself. As they recount the full scope of Kennedy&’s journey—from his charismatic first campaign for Congress to his rapid rise to national standing, culminating on that haunting day in Dallas—O&’Donnell and Powers lay bare the inner workings of a leader who is cherished and mourned to this day, in a memoir that spent over five months on the New York Times bestseller list.
Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics
by Lawrence O'Donnell<P>From the host of MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, an important and enthralling new account of the presidential election that changed everything, the race that created American politics as we know it todayThe 1968 U.S. Presidential election was the young Lawrence O’Donnell’s political awakening, and in the decades since it has remained one of his abiding fascinations. <P>For years he has deployed one of America’s shrewdest political minds to understanding its dynamics, not just because it is fascinating in itself, but because in it is contained the essence of what makes America different, and how we got to where we are now. Playing With Fire represents O’Donnell’s master class in American electioneering, embedded in the epic human drama of a system, and a country, coming apart at the seams in real time. <P>Nothing went according to the script. LBJ was confident he'd dispatch with Nixon, the GOP frontrunner; Johnson's greatest fear and real nemesis was RFK. But Kennedy and his team, despite their loathing of the president, weren't prepared to challenge their own party’s incumbent. Then, out of nowhere, Eugene McCarthy shocked everyone with his disloyalty and threw his hat in the ring to run against the president and the Vietnam War. <P>A revolution seemed to be taking place, and LBJ, humiliated and bitter, began to look mortal. Then RFK leapt in, LBJ dropped out, and all hell broke loose. Two assassinations and a week of bloody riots in Chicago around the Democratic Convention later, and the old Democratic Party was a smoldering ruin, and, in the last triumph of old machine politics, Hubert Humphrey stood alone in the wreckage. <P>Suddenly Nixon was the frontrunner, having masterfully maintained a smooth façade behind which he feverishly held his party’s right and left wings in the fold, through a succession of ruthless maneuvers to see off George Romney, Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, and the great outside threat to his new Southern Strategy, the arch-segregationist George Wallace. But then, amazingly, Humphrey began to close, and so, in late October, Nixon pulled off one of the greatest dirty tricks in American political history, an act that may well meet the statutory definition of treason. The tone was set for Watergate and all else that was to follow, all the way through to today. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
It's All in the Head
by Majella O'DonnellIn September 2013, on the Late Late Show in front of an audience of more than half a million, Majella O'Donnell had her hair shaved off and raised a phenomenal 600,000 euros for the Irish Cancer Society. It was a public declaration from a private woman, a statement of enormous courage in her fight against breast cancer. In this searingly moving and empowering memoir, Majella takes the reader on a journey through her life to that point. It begins with her childhood in the 1960s, growing up in a small town in Ireland, her early love of music and dreams of a future full of hope and excitement, only to be dashed by a broken marriage and an uphill battle with depression. Her confidence and self-esteem at a low ebb, Majella decided to take charge of her own life and make a fresh start. Then destiny lent a hand when she met Daniel O'Donnell, and their marriage in 2002 brought her immense happiness and fulfilment. It was a decade or so later that tragedy struck, with the diagnosis of breast cancer. This is the compelling story of a woman made extraordinary by the courage with which she faced her greatest challenge. A woman who has learned about life the hard way, but who, with the love and support of her family and her husband Daniel, and the public by her side, has come through with a force of character and a deep-seated determination that will inspire us all.
It's All in the Head
by Majella O'DonnellIn September 2013, on the Late Late Showin front of an audience of more than half a million, Majella O'Donnell had her hair shaved off and raised a phenomenal 600,000 euros for the Irish Cancer Society. It was a public declaration from a private woman, a statement of enormous courage in her fight against breast cancer. In this searingly moving and empowering memoir, Majella takes the reader on a journey through her life to that point. It begins with her childhood in the 1960s, growing up in a small town in Ireland, her early love of music and dreams of a future full of hope and excitement, only to be dashed by a broken marriage and an uphill battle with depression. Her confidence and self-esteem at a low ebb, Majella decided to take charge of her own life and make a fresh start. Then destiny lent a hand when she met Daniel O'Donnell, and their marriage in 2002 brought her immense happiness and fulfilment. It was a decade or so later that tragedy struck, with the diagnosis of breast cancer. This is the compelling story of a woman made extraordinary by the courage with which she faced her greatest challenge. A woman who has learned about life the hard way, but who, with the love and support of her family and her husband Daniel, and the public by her side, has come through with a force of character and a deep-seated determination that will inspire us all.
It's All in the Head
by Majella O'DonnellIn September 2013, on the Late Late Show in front of an audience of more than half a million, Majella O'Donnell had her hair shaved off and raised a phenomenal 600,000 euros for the Irish Cancer Society. It was a public declaration from a private woman, a statement of enormous courage in her fight against breast cancer. In this searingly moving and empowering memoir, Majella takes the reader on a journey through her life to that point. It begins with her childhood in the 1960s, growing up in a small town in Ireland, her early love of music and dreams of a future full of hope and excitement, only to be dashed by a broken marriage and an uphill battle with depression. Her confidence and self-esteem at a low ebb, Majella decided to take charge of her own life and make a fresh start. Then destiny lent a hand when she met Daniel O'Donnell, and their marriage in 2002 brought her immense happiness and fulfilment. It was a decade or so later that tragedy struck, with the diagnosis of breast cancer. This is the compelling story of a woman made extraordinary by the courage with which she faced her greatest challenge. A woman who has learned about life the hard way, but who, with the love and support of her family and her husband Daniel, and the public by her side, has come through with a force of character and a deep-seated determination that will inspire us all.
Che: Luchar por un mundo mejor
by Pacho O'DonnellA cincuenta años del asesinato del mítico guerrillero argentino y cara de la rebelión mundial, un libro único que reconstruye su vida íntima, ideas y lucha. Vivimos tiempos de confusión e incertidumbre, que requieren una honda reflexión y la puesta al día de algunas ideas que permitan concebir el futuro de otra forma. Ernesto Guevara (1928-1967), el "Che", se propuso pensar la realidad desde otro ángulo y actuar de acuerdo con esas ideas hasta dar su vida por ellas. Su rostro es, pese al tiempo transcurrido desde su muerte, un símbolo universal de rebeldía e inconformismo. Tras su rastro, recorriendo países, investigando con minuciosidad, el autor ha entrevistado a personas que trataron directamente con él en diferentes etapas. Desde Rosario López, su niñera, y los amigos de la infancia y la adolescencia hasta Gary Prado -el capitán de los Rangers entrenados por la CIA que lo capturó en Bolivia y lo condujo a la muerte- y Urbano, uno de los escasos sobrevivientes cubanos, que compartió con el comandante Guevara todas sus aventuras revolucionarias. Gracias a estos testimonios y a la profundización en el conocimiento psicológico del personaje, O'Donnell ha sabido reconstruir con amenidad y rigor el paisaje humano, político y sentimental de uno de los grandes íconos del progresismo y la izquierda. Hoy, medio siglo después de su muerte, la figura del Che Guevara es recuperada por una juventud que quizá no conoce suficientemente el heroísmo y la ética, las contradicciones y los errores del legendario guerrillero argentino.
Juana Azurduy
by Pacho O'DonnellLa figura fascinante de Juana Azurduy, guerrera del Alto Perú, heroína de la independencia, fue largamente relegada por la historia oficial. Pacho O'Donnell reivindica aquí su lucha, llena de coraje, astucia y entrega. En este libro Pacho O'Donnell rescata a una figura injustamente postergada: la de Juana Azurduy. Repasar la vida de la heroína independentista que combatió en el Alto Perú y que entonces alcanzó el grado de teniente coronela (no hace mucho fue ascendida a generala) cumple con una doble reivindicación. En primer lugar la de las mujeres que, armas en mano, combatieron por nuestra libertad a la par de los hombres. Su figura desmiente el rol secundario que pretendió atribuirles la machista historia oficial, que las retrató dedicadas a coser banderas, donar alhajas y, sobre todo, esperar pacientemente el regreso de sus esposos del campo de batalla. Por el otro lado, O'Donnell pone de relieve la valiente acción de los caudillos altoperuanos, a quienes aún se les debe un merecido reconocimiento por su fundamental aporte a la emancipación de nuestros pueblos. El coraje, la astucia y la generosidad con los que Juana Azurduy llevó adelante la lucha contra el ejército realista no solo son los valores que realzan la proeza independentista, sino aquellos que nuestra Patria hoy nos reclama para superar las épocas de crisis.
Monteagudo. Pionero y mártir de la unión americana
by Pacho O'DonnellAmbicioso, seductor, déspota, genio político, terrorista por temperamento y por sistema, pluma talentosa, demagogo exaltado, estadista de carácter, trabajador incansable, traidor y corrupto, honesto y fiel, oportunista, patriota. Esos y muchos otros juicios contradictorios ha recibido la corta vida pública del jacobino Bernardo Monteagudo. Ambicioso, seductor, déspota, genio político, terrorista por temperamento y por sistema, pluma talentosa, demagogo exaltado, estadista de carácter, trabajador incansable, traidor y corrupto, honesto y fiel, oportunista, patriota. Esos y muchos otros juicios contradictorios ha recibido la corta vida pública del jacobino Bernardo Monteagudo, desde los diecinueve años, cuando se doctoró en Chuquisaca -cuna de revolucionarios como Moreno y Castelli-, hasta los treinta y cinco, cuando una puñalada le atravesó el pecho en una preciosa noche de verano limeña. Dieciséis años intensos, fulgurantes, que lo mantuvieron, tan joven, en el centro de las grandes decisiones políticas; junto a Castelli en el Ejército del Norte; figura clave de la Asamblea del Año XIII cuando gobernaba Alvear; mano derecha insustituible de San Martín y O'Higgins durante las luchas independentistas en Chile y Perú; finalmente ladero y hombre de confianza de Bolívar en la consolidación de la victoria revolucionaria. Siempre fue pobre y fue siempre un gran escritor, revulsivo, provocador, apasionado, convincente, que aún hoy es de lectura fluida, como puede comprobarse en los textos recopilados en el Apéndice de este libro. Un colosal propagandista de las ideas y proyectos que concebía. Entre ellos, como pionero y mártir, la unión latinoamericana. La defensa innegociable de esa causa le otorgó para siempre su lugar en la Historia. Escribía Monteagudo, para el futuro, en 1812: "Nosotros estamos en nuestra aurora, la Europa toca su occidente; y si las tinieblas se apresuran a envolverla, para nosotros amanecerá un día puro y risueño; ciudades numerosas saldrán del seño de estos desiertos inmensos; nuestros buques cubrirán los mares, la abundancia reinará dentro de nuestros muros y no se verán sobre nuestros altares y en nuestros tribunales sino dos palabras: humanidad y libertad". La crítica ha dicho... «Con una prosa clara, rítmica, sin dilaciones y hasta didáctica, O'Donnell se atreve a develar todo sobre este personaje». Dolores Caviglia, La Gaceta (Tucumán)
Beyond Valor
by Patrick K. O'DonnellPrevious books have promised to describe the combat experience of the World War II GI, but there has never been a book like Patrick O'Donnell's Beyond Valor. Here is the first combat history of the war in Europe in the words of the men themselves, and perhaps the most honest and brutal account of combat possible on the printed page. For more than fifty years the individual stories that make up this narrative -- shockingly frank reflections of sacrifice and courage -- have been bottled up, buried, or circulated privately. Now, nearing the ends of their lives, our WWII soldiers have at last unburdened themselves. Beyond Valor recaptures their hidden history. A pioneering oral historian, Patrick O'Donnell used his award-winning website, The Drop Zone, to solicit oral- and "e-histories" from individual soldiers. Gradually, working from within the community, O'Donnell convinced some of the war's most battle-hardened soldiers to tell their stories. The result is WWII seen through the eyes of the men who saw the most intense of its action. O'Donnell focuses on the elite units of the war -- the Rangers, Airborne, and 1st Special Service Force -- troops that spearheaded the most dangerous operations and often made the difference between victory and defeat. From more than 650 interviews O'Donnell has chosen oral- and e-histories that form a seamless story line, a pointillistic history of the war in Europe from the first parachute drops in North Africa through the final battles in Germany and the long trip home. It is the story of the war not discussed in polite company. O'Donnell presents the wreckage of entire battalions nearly annihilated, invisible personal scars, and haunting revelations of wartime atrocities. But more important are the men who recount lives risked without hesitation for comrades and cause, and those who did not return: the friends who died in their arms. Their stories remind all of us that victory came only at the highest price. Remembering the infamous cliffs at Pointe-du-Hoc, bloody Omaha Beach, the bitter fighting at the Battle of the Bulge, and Hill 400 in the Hürtgen Forest, the soldiers reveal war as seen, heard, and smelled by the GIs on the front line. Also included is the unique story of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and the trailblazing African-American "Experimental" Test Platoon that had to fight its own battle behind the lines. Beyond Valor captures the truths that exist among soldiers. It is one of the most inspiring accounts of the war ever produced.
Into the Rising Sun: In Their Own Words, World War II's Pacific Veteran
by Patrick K. O'Donnell"Iwo Jima was a massacre. I never expected anything like that. People were dying left and right...No names should have been used on the flag raisings because we didn't get up there by ourselves. It was the collective actions of a lot of people and there were a lot of Raiders and paratroopers up there with us." -- Charles Lindberg, Flag RaiserPatrick O'Donnell has made a career of uncovering the hidden history of World War II by tracking down and interviewing its most elite troops: the Rangers, Airborne, Marines, and First Special Service Force, forerunners to America's Special Forces. These men saw the worst of the war's action, and most of them have been reluctant to talk about it. With O'Donnell's respectful coaxing, however, they first began telling their stories through www.thedropzone.org, his award-winning Web site. In 2001, veterans of the European Theater told their stories in O'Donnell's first book, Beyond Valor. Now, in Into the Rising Sun, O'Donnell presents scores of veterans' personal accounts, based on over a thousand interviews spanning the past ten years, to tell the story of the brutal Pacific war."They were making a lot of noise, talking, yelling to one another, and I heard someone getting beat up on the left. I can still hear the screams. He was begging for mercy. They [the Japanese] were berating him. Later on I found that it was one of my friends, Ken Ritter." -- Robert Youngdeer, GuadalcanalThese veterans were often the first in and the last out of every conflict, from Guadalcanal and Burma to the Philippines and the black sands of Iwo Jima. They faced a cruel enemy willing to try anything, including kamikaze flights and human-guided torpedoes. As O'Donnell explains in the Introduction, most of the men in this book were at first reticent to talk. Over the course of the war, they had spearheaded D-Day-sized beach assaults, encountered cannibalism, suffered friendly-fire incidents, and endured torture as pris-oners of war. Heroes among heroes, they include many recipients of the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and other medals of battlefield valor, but none bragged about it. As one soldier put it, "When somebody gets decorated, it's because a lot of other men died." By at last telling their stories, these men present an unvarnished look at the war on the ground, a final gift from aging warriors who have already given so much. Only with these accounts can the true horror of the war in the Pacific be fully known. O'Donnell has carefully verified each account by comparing it with official records and interviews, and he intersperses each story with brief commentary. Together with detailed maps of each battle, the veterans' stories in Into the Rising Sun offer nothing less than a complete picture of the war in the Pacific, a ground-level view of some of history's most brutal combat.
Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs: The Unknown Story of the Men and Women of World War II's OSS
by Patrick K. O'DonnellThe battles of World War II were won not only by the soldiers on the front lines, and not only by the generals and admirals, but also by the shadow warriors whose work is captured for the first time in Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs. Thanks to the interviews and narrative skills of Patrick O'Donnell and to recent declassifications, an entire chapter of history can now be revealed. A hidden war -- a war of espionage, intrigue, and sabotage -- played out across the occupied territories of Europe, deep inside enemy lines. Supply lines were disrupted; crucial intelligence was obtained and relayed back to the Allies; resistance movements were organized. Sometimes, impromptu combat erupted; more often, the killing was silent and targeted. The full story of the Office of Strategic Services -- OSS, precursor to the CIA -- is a dramatic final chapter on one of history's most important conflicts. In a world made unrecognizable by the restrictions placed on the CIA today, OSS played fast and loose. Legendary chief "Wild Bill" Donovan created a formidable organization in short order, recruiting not only the best and brightest, but also the most fearless. His agents, both men and women, relied on guile, sex appeal, brains, and sheer guts to operate behind the lines, often in disguise, always in secret. Patrick O'Donnell, called "the next Studs Terkel" by bestselling author Hampton Sides, has made it his life's mission to capture untold stories of World War II before the last of its veterans passes away. He has succeeded in extracting stories from the toughest of men, the most elite of soldiers, and, now, the most secretive of all: the men and women of OSS. From former CIA director William Colby, who parachuted into Norway to sever rail lines, to Virginia Hall, who disguised herself as a milkmaid, joined the French Resistance, and became one of Germany's most wanted figures, the stories of OSS are worthy of great fiction. Yet the stories in this book are all true, carefully verified by O'Donnell's painstaking research. The agents of OSS did not earn public acclaim. There were no highly publicized medal ceremonies. But the full story of OSS reveals crucial work in espionage and sabotage, work that paved the way for the Allied invasions and disrupted the Axis defenses. Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs proves that the hidden war was among the most dramatic and important elements of World War II.
Rescue 194
by P.O. Aircrewman Jay O'Donnell QGM Humphrey Price'The sky had gone: in its place was a wall of water, white horses on the top, readying itself to fall on me.'What kind of man throws himself out of a helicopter in a storm?Or dangles by a thread over mountainous waves?Or strikes a panicking sailor to save his life?Aircrewman Jay O'Donnell, a former Royal Navy Search and Rescue diver, has seen - and lived - it all. Scrambled at a moment's notice, in all weathers - but usually the worst - he and the crew of Sea King Rescue 194 have braved some of the most frightening storms ever to lash the UK.In this gripping account, O'Donnell describes the mix of bravery and terror that comes with every call. He explains the rigours of training; tells of grisly tasks like fishing bodies out the sea; conveys the horror of being winched 80 feet in a storm while clutching a squirming baby, or being dragged through freezing waters on a loose line.Culminating in the astonishing, hair-raising rescue of 26 crew from the MSC Napoli disaster in Cornwall, January 2007 - where O'Donnell was decorated for his courage and refusal to give up in appalling conditions - Rescue 194 is an unforgettable tribute to the Royal Navy's search and rescue crews.