Focusing on a vast cast of characters -- from Dutch civilians to British and American strategists to common soldiers and commanders -- Ryan brings to life one of the most daring and ill-fated operations of the war. A Bridge Too Far superbly recreates the terror and suspense, the heroism and tragedy of this epic operation, which ended in bitter defeat for the Allies.

    Based on seventy hours of interviews with Franz Stangl, commandant of Treblinka (the largest of the Nazi extermination camps), Sereny's book bares the soul of a man who continually found ways to rationalize his role in Hitler's final solution.

    Through anecdotes, stories, and notations - some as brief as "I was slapped today in Zlota Street" - there emerges the agonizing, eyewitness accounts of human beings caught in the furor of senseless, unrelenting brutality. In the Journal, there is the whole of life in the Ghetto, from the erection of the Wall, in November 1940, for hygienic reasons, through the brief period of deceptive calm to the eventual mass murders. It is a portrait of man tested by crisis, stained at times by the meanness of avarice and self-preservation, illumined more often by moments of nobility. Emmanual Ringelblum was 39 when he began his notes. When the Germans first invaded Poland, Ringelblum, who could have stayed abroad and escaped, returned to Warsaw from Switzerland knowing that his was an historical event of importance for his people and a moment in time that must be forever a part of written history. As the recognized archivist of the Ghetto he gathered around him a staff, and assigned each to cover a specific part of Ghetto life. From these reports and this notes, he assembled his Journal. On March 7, 1944, Emmanual Ringelblum was executed among the ruins of Warsaw, together with his wife, his son, and thirt-eight others who shared his hiding place.

    Hunted in turn by American troops, the Philippine police, hostile islanders, and successive Japanese search parties, Onoda had skillfully outmaneuvered all his pursuers, convinced that World War II was still being fought and that one day his fellow soldiers would return victorious. This account of those years is an epic tale of the will to survive that offers a rare glimpse of man's invincible spirit, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. A hero to his people, Onoda wrote down his experiences soon after his return to civilization. This book was translated into English the following year and has enjoyed an approving audience ever since.

    Raymond A. Spruance. Spruance, victor of the battles of Midway and the Philippine Sea and commander of the Fifth Fleet in the invasions of the Gilberts, the Marshalls, the Marianas, and Okinawa, is one of the towering figures in American naval history. Yet his reserved, cerebral personality did not make good copy for correspondents, and until the publication of The Quiet Warrior he remained an elusive figure. Thomas Buell has succeeded in evoking the nature of the man as well as recording the achievements of the admiral in this brilliant biography, which won the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement the year of its publication.

    First published in 1974, this work remains in the forefront of the many books, movies, and television programs about the epic World War II drama played out in the stormy Atlantic. It is a thrilling firsthand account of the hunting down and sinking of the battleship 'Bismarck', pride of the German Fleet, told by a member of the Royal Navy's destroyer force who participated in the pursuit. The author's own experiences add fire and immediacy to the account that has come to be considered a classic by critic and general reader alike. The world's largest warship when she first sailed into the Atlantic in May 1941, the 'Bismarck' was a serious threat to Britain's survival and her sinking of the beloved battle cruiser 'HMS Hood' with nearly fifteen hundred aboard sent shock waves throughout Britain. Determined to track her down, the Royal Navy engaged in pursuit, finding the mammoth warship just hours from her safe harbor. The chess-like plotting, the horror and heroism on both sides, the final apocalyptic action have never been portrayed more vividly and objectively - and never with the benefit of such detailed documentation from both British and German sources. A measure of the book's epic qualities is that knowledge of the outcome in no way lessens the tension. When she was sunk just days after her own victorious action with the 'Hood<', the 'Bismarck' took more than two thousand German sailors to the bottom of the ocean and with them the dreams of the German naval high command. For sheer suspense, this book can hardly be equalled. For carefully researched history, it is an admirable example of fine writing. Ludovic Kennedy's introduction to this new edition places the event in perspective for today's audiences.

    The author recalls the adventure and danger of his espionage activities during the Second World War as a British agent posing as a Nazi supporter.

    Later, as the terrible events of wartime Germany swirled around her, she risked death to smuggle food, medicine, and emotional support to hundreds of political prisoners, ultimately saving them from mass execution by the Nazis. Walls is her story. For her wartime work, Zassenhaus was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. Walls was named on of the 25 best books of 1974 for young adults by the American Library Association and received a Christopher Award in 1975.

    ORDINARY CANADIAN WOMEN AND MEN FROM THE WAR AND HOME FRONTS share with readers their experiences of the Second World War, which for them was the most exciting and terrifying event of their lives.

    A DEFIANCE THAT SAW NO SLACKING UNTIL CANDLES COULD SHINE IN DANISH WINDOWS AGAIN

    A monumental book that cuts through the headlines and dry reportage to create an intimate portrait of a great leader...Here is the President eager to see the fulfillment of his dreams for a troubled world...a man often sunk in apathy, weariness, and pain, yet able to resume his characteristic sprightliness in public and with cherished friends...a man sometimes vacillating in his decisions but driving himself to the end, until at last this exhausted giant was laid to rest in his beloved rose garden.

    Mosley, an accomplished journalist & biographer with a long list of books to his credit, offers a readable & entertaining biography of Hitler's onetime deputy. This isn't a scholarly work along the lines of the biographies of other Nazi personalities such as Ian Kershaw has done for Hitler, Peter Padfield for Himmler or Ralf Reuth for Goebbels. Don't look for meticulous endnotes or deep analysis. That isn't because Mosely didn't use sources. He did & lists them at the end. He gives a full-length portrait of Goering the man as he was in real life--bigger than life, that was Goering--& while Mosely is sometimes sympathetic, sometimes judgmental, he's honest & in the end he succeeded in capturing the essence of this intriguing & tragic figure. Mosely has one great advantage over other biographers, however: He actually met Goering before the war, was a guest at his estate in E. Prussia & after the war conducted extensive interviews with people who knew the Reichsmarshal intimately his whole life. That sets him apart from other biographers. While I disagree with Mosely's conclusion that his greatest fault was his lack of moral courage to stand up to Hitler, that certainly was a defect in his makeup. But this book proves that Goering had no control over his relationship with Hitler. He, like many others, couldn't stand up to Hitler because he worshipped him. In Goering's particular case, he was totally under the influence of the Fuhrer's charisma & so dependent upon him for so long that in the end it was impossible for him to contradict the dictator. When his god rejected him & then failed him, & Goering knew in the end that Hitler had failed him, there was nothing he could do but accept his fate. Those who condemn Goering because he didn't have the courage to defy his idol haven't been put to that test themselves. For serious students of the history of the 3rd Reich, this book is valuable.--Daniel J. Cragg (edited)