The nightmares began for William Manchester 23 years after WW II. In his dreams he lived with the recurring image of a battle-weary youth (himself), "angrily demanding to know what had happened to the three decades since he had laid down his arms." To find out, Manchester visited those places in the Pacific where as a young Marine he fought the Japanese, and in this book examines his experiences in the line with his fellow soldiers (his "brothers"). He gives us an honest and unabashedly emotional account of his part in the war in the Pacific. "The most moving memoir of combat on WW II that I have ever read. A testimony to the fortitude of man...a gripping, haunting, book." --William L. Shirer

    Famous for its ancient hilltop monastery, Monte Cassino achieved a new and grimmer renown in the Second World War when it became a German bastion against the Allied advance through Italy.Even in February 1944, when the abbey buildings had been reduced to rubble by aerial bombardment, the mountain itself continued to command the adjoining river valleys and to block the road to Rome.Cassino had to be taken. Frontal assault had proved a costly failure, but now the highly ambitious Brigadier Heathfield had devised a plan for an outflanking operation. Total victory, or total defeat, could hinge on this single mission. A stirring and powerful thriller concerning the final years of the Second World War, perfect for fans of Alistair MacLean, David McDine and Jack Higgins.

    Told by a German naval officer who witnessed both sinkings, the book chronicles the brief but sensational career of what was thought to be the grandest weapon of the Third Reich. Burkard Baron von Mullenheim-Rechberg, the Bismarck's top-ranking survivor, tells the battleship's story from commissioning to the moment when the captain gave a final salute and went down with his ship.The epic battle between the two great enemy ships captured the imagination of an entire generation and became a popular subject for movies and songs. With the discovery a few years ago of the Bismarck's sunken hull off the coast of France, worldwide attention has focused again on the famous ship. Reprinted now in paperback for the first time, the work presents the human dimensions of the event without neglecting the technical side and includes information on rudder damage and repair, overall ship damage, and code breaking. The book also provides insights into the author's life as a prisoner of war in England and Canada and the friction that existed between the Nazis and non-Nazis Germans in the camps. Such a personal look at one of the most famous sea encounters in the history of World War II makes absorbing reading.

    They depict the reality of the battle and how it was enacted by those who took part, whether in the air, on the ground, in the planning rooms or at home in towns and villages.

    King, who was the controversial architect of the American victory in the Pacific. Once asked if it was he who said, 'When they get in trouble they send for the sonsabitches,' King replied that he was not, but that he would have said it if he had thought of it. Never accused of having a warm personality, Ernest J. King commanded the respect of everyone familiar with his work. His is one of the great American naval careers, his place in history forever secured by a remarkable contribution to the Allied victory in World War II . 'Lord how I need him,' wrote Navy Secretary Frank Knox on December 23, 1941, the day he summoned King to take control of the Navy at its lowest point, in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor.

    Historians have called this sustained period of bombing the Battle of Hamburg; the citizens of that city, however, refer to it as "die Katastrophe." How was this notoriously dangerous mission carried out--and how, amazingly, did everything go exactly according to plan for the Allies? Using the perspective of the flight crews on both sides, and the citizenry below, the answers come into brilliant focus.

    Thousands of Spitfires were tested and manufactured at this site throughout the war, by the end of which 37,000 test flights had been made with Alex Henshaw flying an estimated ten percent of all Spitfires ever built. Often landing without aids of any kind, his breathtaking aerobatic style and complete mastery of the aircraft were to save his life on several occasions.

    This book shows how these journeys were organised, where they went, the fate of those who were on them, and that no two journeys or experiences were the same. It brings into focus what the victims actually went through.

      Focusing on firsthand narratives from survivors and supported by contextual scholarship, Gilbert presents a masterful cross-section of the experiences of the millions of European Jews who lost their homes, careers, families, and lives at the hands of Hitler’s “Final Solution.” The accounts of these journeys are at once unique and unified by both their tragedy and by their triumphs.   Gilbert’s vast knowledge on the subject, coupled with his frank and readable style, makes Final Journey accessible to readers and scholars alike. The text is supported by eighty-four photographs—many of which were published for the first time in 1979—and twenty-four pages of maps prepared by the author, which help bring the stories of the men, women, and children back to life in unflinching detail.

    The commander of the Laffey, an American destroyer, documents the ship's part in the Normandy invasion, her battles in the Pacific, and her resistance under Kamikaze attacks.

    This amazing volume contains detailed color illustrations especially useful to modelers and artists. More than 450 historical black and white, plus dozens of color photos, deliver amazing value and detail for every WWII enthusiast. A lot of book at a great price!

    Journalist Peter Hellman's gripping portraits of five heroic Christians who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis now returns in an expanded third edition. A new sixth extraordinary story describes Muslim Dervis Korkut, who saved a young Jewish woman named Mira Bakovic in Nazi-occupied Sarajevo, and the remarkable bonds that have kept their families close for generations. Also new to this edition is a Reader's Guide. Hellman's compelling depictions of high drama, heartbreak, and hope—"rays of light in the otherwise total darkness of the Holocaust"—constitute a significant contribution to the literature of the Holocaust and merit a permanent place on bookstore and readers' shelves. Photographs are included.

    A 24 volume unbiased account of the most devastating war known to mankind...contains the original text previously published in the United Kingdom plus background articles by a group of distinguished historians...enlivened with color photographs recently uncovered.

    Experts at amphibious landings, night attacks, and close combat, the Rangers were the spearhead advancing U.S. forces. And at their helm was William O. Darby, a forceful, charismatic man who inspired, and was inspired by, his troops. Against overwhelming odds in Tunisia, through the concentrated hell at Gela, on to the final kill at Messina and the Italian mainland, Darby and his Rangers led the way. Darby's Rangers is an authentic war story, as vivid as the action itself."Proud reading . . . of value to a new generation of military historians and 'battle buffs.'"--Military Affairs Magazine

    Instrumental in Roosevelt’s victory, their partnership began a longstanding alliance between two of America’s most ambitious power brokers. Kennedy worked closely with FDR as the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and later as ambassador to Great Britain. But at the outbreak of World War II, sensing a threat to his family and fortune, Kennedy lobbied against American intervention—putting him in direct conflict with Roosevelt’s intentions. Though he retreated from the spotlight to focus on the political careers of his sons, Kennedy’s relationship with Roosevelt would eventually come full circle in 1960, when Franklin Roosevelt Jr. campaigned for John F. Kennedy’s presidential win. With unprecedented access to Kennedy’s private diaries as well as firsthand interviews with Roosevelt’s family and White House aides, New York Times–bestselling author Michael Beschloss—called “the nation’s leading presidential historian” by Newsweek—presents an insightful study in contrasts. Roosevelt, the scion of a political dynasty, had a genius for the machinery of government; Kennedy, who built his own fortune, was a political outsider determined to build a dynasty of his own. From the author of The Conquerors and Presidential Courage, this is a “fascinating account of the complex, ambiguous relationship of two shrewd, ruthless, power-hungry men” (The New York Times Book Review).

    This classic insider's account has been updated and supplemented with rare photographs from the LRDG collection in the Imperial War Museum.

    

    

    Also printed under the title, "Treasures of the Hermitage."

    

    "Called the "Spam Can" by WW II aviators, the P 51 Mustang was a fighter pilot's drream.....the P 51 acxhieved a sokid reputation among American combat pilots as a plane that was both reliable under fire and a joy to fly." The book beautifully chronicles the history of the P 51 in both pictures and words.