Johnson returned from the European Theater in 1944 as one of the highest-scoring American ace of the war. When he had first arrived in Europe the combat-wise R.A.F. pilots had said that his Republic P-47C Thunderbolt would be no match for the Luftwaffe’s deadly Focke-Wulf 190’s. Yet, under the skillful hands of men like Johnson and Gaddy Gabreski, this plane which weighed seven tons, was sixteen feet long, equipped with four .50 calibre guns, and powered by 2,000 horsepower, proved to be one of the deadliest fighter planes of the war. Over the course of the war Johnson and his comrades of the 56th Fighter Group had shot more enemy planes than any other European Theater. They had shot down 1006 German aircraft at the cost of 128 planes, meaning that they had a ratio of eight to one against the battle-hardened Nazi Luftwaffe. Johnson’s memoir of this time, Thunderbolt!, co-authored with Martin Caidin, is a brilliant account of his time in France in the cockpit of a remarkable plane, fighting alongside some of the best pilots that ever lived. Ever page of Thunderbolt! is filled with fascinating details that bring to life what it was like for these young men who risked everything to fight against the Nazis in the skies above northern France and Germany. Robert S. Johnson was the first USAAF fighter pilot in the European theater to surpass Eddie Rickenbacker’s World War I score of 26 victories. After the war he served for eighteen years as an engineering executive and test pilot for Republic Aviation. He passed away in 1998. Martin Caidin was an American author and an authority on aeronautics and aviation. Caidin was an airplane pilot as well, and bought and restored a 1936 Junkers Ju 52 airplane. Caidin passed away in 1997. Thunderbolt! was first published in 1958.

    The story of David Stirling and His Desert CommandPreviously titled by Ballantine Books as Who Dares, Wins

    His "wolfpack" tactics resulted in a handful of U-boats sinking 14.5 million tons and nearly deciding the Battle of the Atlantic. Sentenced to ten years at the Nuremberg Trials, Doenitz wrote his memoirs upon his release. In a clear firm style he discusses the planning and execution of the U-boat campaign; the controversial sinking of the Laconia; America's "neutrality" before its entry into the war; the Normandy invasion; the July 1944 bomb plot; his encounters with Raeder, Göring, Speer, Himmler, and Hitler; as well as his own brief tenure as the last Führer. Doenitz's invaluable work allows the reader to view the war at sea through the periscope's eye.

    Lo, the first major objective of the invading American armies in Normandy in June of 1944. Although St. Lo was intended to be taken within days of the landing, stubborn German resistance postponed the town's fall until July 18. The author describes the bloody action that took place in the thirty days in between as he led his battalion -- dubbed "The Indestructible Clay Pigeons" -- through the daunting combat.

    He had a small army--seldom exceeding 40,000 men--but a constellation of bold, revolutionary ideas about the conduct of war and the nature of government. J. F. C. Fuller, one of the foremost military historians of the twentieth-century, was the first to analyze Alexander in terms of his leadership as a general. He has divided his study into two parts. The first, entitled "The Record," describes the background of the era, Alexander's character and training, the structure of the Macedonian army, and the geography of the world that determined the strategy of conquest. The second part, "The Analysis," takes apart the great battles, from Granicus to Hydaspes, and concludes with two chapters on Alexander's statesmanship. In a style both clear and witty, Fuller imparts the many sides to Alexander's genius and the full extent of his empire, which stretched from India to Egypt.

    The events and decisions that culminated in the Battle of the Barents Sea—what many consider to be the most important naval engagement of World War II's European theatre—in which eight of the German navy's most powerful ships failed to sink a Russian convoy guarded by only four small British destroyers, are brought to life by the author in this tale of men struggling to carry out their orders in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

    

    General Nathaniel Banks conducted a combined military and naval campaign up the Red River that lasted only from March 12 to May 20, 1864, but was one of the most destructive of the Civil War."It is an ugly tale, and except piecemeal--in diaries, memoirs, and chapters in other books--has not been fully told. Ludwell H. Johnson's book is thorough, scholarly, and moving. He goes into the complex of reasons, beginning with the annexation of Texas, that impelled men to employ shady means top attain decent ends. He goes into the Washington phase of the matter, especially Mr. Lincoln's part in it, something until now unrevealed. . . . Johnson describes the fighting, dollying his camera nicely for close shots when he wants them, giving dreadful pictures of war."--James M. Cain, New York Times Book Review"At a time when so much repetitious material is being produced on the Civil War era it is refreshing to read a monograph characterized by as much originality as this one. The book is well documented and thoroughly done, and the title is well chosen, since the narrative represents a careful intertwining of the play of military factors, cotton, and politics."--H. H. Simms, American Academy of Political & Social Science Annals