Book picks similar to
Alone on Guadalcanal: A Coastwatcher's Story by Martin W. Clemens
hist-war-ww-ii
military-history
not-in-library
pacific
The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb
George Feifer - 1992
A landmark text on the greatest land battle of the Pacific War.
KPI Checklists
Bernie Smith - 2013
Over fifty checklists are included to take you through a structured KPI implementations process step by step. The book also includes download links for free instant access to all the templates used.
China 1945: Mao's Revolution and America's Fateful Choice
Richard Bernstein - 2014
Chinese leaders talked of a future in which American money and technology would help lift China out of poverty. Mao Zedong himself held friendly meetings with U.S. emissaries, vowing to them his intention of establishing an American-style democracy in China. By year’s end, however, cordiality had been replaced by chilly hostility and distrust. Chinese Communist soldiers were setting ambushes for American marines in north China; Communist newspapers were portraying the United States as an implacable imperialist enemy; civil war in China was erupting. The pattern was set for a quarter century of almost total Sino-American mistrust, with the devastating wars in Korea and Vietnam among the consequences. Richard Bernstein here tells the incredible story of that year’s sea change, brilliantly analyzing its many components, from ferocious infighting among U.S. diplomats, military leaders, and opinion makers to the complex relations between Mao and his patron, Stalin. On the American side, we meet experienced “China hands” John Paton Davies and John Stewart Service, whose efforts at negotiation made them prey to accusations of Communist sympathy; FDR’s special ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, a decorated general and self-proclaimed cowboy; and Time journalist, Henry Luce, whose editorials helped turn the tide of American public opinion. On the Chinese side, Bernstein reveals the ascendant Mao and his intractable counterpart, Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek; and the indispensable Zhou Enlai. A tour de force of narrative history, China 1945 examines the first episode in which American power and good intentions came face-to-face with a powerful Asian revolutionary movement, and challenges familiar assumptions about the origins of modern Sino-American relations.
In the Line of Fire
Philip McCutchan - 1980
The North Atlantic. Convoys of supply ships are making their way from America to England, protected by a rapidly assembled fleet of modernised war ships. The Carmerthen, one of the destroyers, is home to seaman Donald Cameron, a nineteen-year old Commission and Warrant candidate at the bottom of the barrel for the taunting sailors. The outmoded warship tests his resolve as he is faced with the tense task of keeping watch for enemy attacks. But in the hubbub of lower deck life it is easy to forget they are sailing in dangerous waters… The ship has been at sea for barely a few weeks when it is severely damaged in a surprise daylight attack. The biting cold, exhaustion and knowledge that the attackers will be back combine to put the men on board in a blood thirsty mood… Despite constant bombardment from prowling Focke-Wulfs and U-boats, the last handful of men manage to remain afloat, restlessly watching and waiting… As they struggle against the freezing conditions, Cameron picks out an U-boat periscope sliding fast towards the waterlogged destroyer. And it is homing in on what appears to be a certain victory… 'In The Line of Fire' is s tense, action-packed thriller that combines authenticity with brilliant story-telling. 'A gripping page-turner.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'Trade-Off.' Philip McCutchan grew up in the naval atmosphere of Portsmouth Dockyard and developed a lifetime's interest in the sea. Military history was an early interest of his, resulting in several fiction books about the British Army and its campaigns, especially in the last 150 years. He served throughout WW II in a variety of ships, including the cruiser Vindictive, the ocean boarding vessel Largs, and the escort carrier Ravager, ending the war as a lieutenant, RNVR. He is also the author of ‘Drums Along the Khyber’. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
By My Mother's Hand
Henry Melnick - 2011
Shortly after the Nazis occupied Poland in 1939, he was sent to do slave labour in the Nowy Sącz, Tarnów Ghettos and Szebnie camp. He was then transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buna, Dora-Mittelbau and Bergen-Belsen death camps. When his parents were murdered in the Belżec death camp, he became the sole survivor of his entire family. After liberation, Henry volunteered for the Israeli Army and fought for Israel’s independence. He came to Canada in 1965 with his wife Hela and their two children.His story is one of strength and courage. His survival is nothing short of a miracle.
Undercover War: Britain's Special Forces and their secret battle against the IRA
Harry McCallion - 2020
Sniper Ace
Bruno Sutkus - 2009
Each success noted had to be verified by a witness and signed by a superior officer.The journal of Sutkus is one of only a few such books to have survived the war. It records more than 200 kills, placing him as one of the wars most successful snipers. A large part of his journal is reproduced for the first time here.As a Hitler Youth member his skill as a marksman was quickly noted and, in July 1943, aged 19, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht. A month later he was sent on a five month snipers course in Wilna, after which he was posted to the Eastern Front. He was so successful that his superiors sent him to crucial positions. Despite his age, he was regarded as one of Germanys best snipers and in November 1944 he was awarded the Scharfshtzenabzeichen 3 Stufe the highest award for a sniper.After being wounded in January 1945, Sutkus was given time to recuperate away from the Eastern Front. During this time he met a Red Cross nurse, to whom he gave all his journal.When the war finished, Sutkus was forced to join the Red Army. He deserted to join the Lithuanian resistance fighters. After being captured again he was tortured by the KGB and deported to Siberia to endure forced labor. It was not until the collapse of the Soviet Union that he was able return to Germany and find his journal, still in the hands of the same nurse.Introduction written by David L. Robbins.
The Lions of Iwo Jima
Fred Haynes - 2008
Marines. Combat Team 28, 4500 men strong, trained for a full year, landed on the black sands of Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, and raised the flag atop Mount Suribachi after four days of ferocious combat. Major General Fred Haynes USMC (Ret'd), then a young captain, is the last surviving officer in CT28 intimately involved in planning and coordinating all phases of the Team's fight on Iwo Jima. Drawing on a wealth of previously untapped documents, personal narratives, and letters, in addition to more than 100 interviews with survivors, Haynes and Warren recapture in riveting detail what the Marines of Combat Team 28 experienced, placing particular emphasis on the Team's ferocious struggle to break through the main belt of the Japanese defenses to the north, and reduce the final pocket of resistance on the island in Bloody Gorge. "The Lions of Iwo Jima "offers fresh interpretations of the fight for Suribachi, the iconic flag raising photo, and the nature of the campaign as a whole, and helps to answer the essential questions: Who were these men? What accounts for their extraordinary performance in battle?
At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy
Robert J. Bulkley - 1962
The crews of no other vessels experienced so high a degree of personal engagement with the enemy.” — Robert Bulkley
Robert Bulkley’s definitive history of patrol torpedo boats in World War Two is exceptionally detailed, meticulously researched, and is a must-read for any naval enthusiast. Bulkley joined the PT division of the Navy in 1941, and immediately fell in love with the small and deadly weaponized boat. After V-J Day, 1945, the Navy continued Bulkley’s commission and asked him to write the official history of PT boats in WWII — At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy is the groundbreaking result. In At Close Quarters, Bulkley uses the fastidious records kept by the US Navy to compile a book which serves as not just a record of the role of the PT boat's role in WWII but also as a lesson to future military and naval scholars. Best-known as the boat that future president John F. Kennedy commanded in the Pacific Theater in WWII, popular interest in PT boats has grown substantially since they first emerged as brilliant boats in naval engagements throughout the war. Bulkley provides a detailed account of the origins and history of PT boats, from the part they played in WWI to the improvements and developments made to their design prior to WWII. He analyses the role of PT boats in some of the major sea battles in the Pacific, opening with Pearl Harbor, through to their involvement in the Mediterranean, the D-Day operations in the English Channel as well as the Solomons campaign and the conquest of New Guinea. “The thorough and competent account herein of over-all PT boat operations in World War II, compiled by Captain Robert Bulkley, a distinguished PT boat commander, should therefore prove of wide interest. The widest use of the sea, integrated fully into our national strength, is as important to America in the age of nuclear power and space travel as in those stirring days of the birth of the Republic.” — President John F Kennedy “An invaluable history of WWII PT-Boat operations worldwide.” — Pacific Wrecks “This thorough and objective account of the operations of PT boats in the U.S. Navy in World War II was prepared in the year after V-J Day by an officer who served in them through most of the war in the far reaches of the Pacific. He knew and loved these small, fast craft with hornet sting. They played their part with zest in the far reaching, powerful Navy team. He gave to the research into the records, into the memories of other participants, and to the writing itself the same zest. As a result he produced a shipshape manuscript.” — Rear Admiral Ernest McNeill Eller Robert J. Bulkley, a retired USNR captain now deceased, commanded PT boats in the southwest Pacific, mostly in New Guinea and the Philippines, from June 1942 to the war's end. This work was first published in 1962, three years before Captain Bulkley passed away
The Traitors: A True Story of Blood, Betrayal and Deceit
Josh Ireland - 2017
The Traitors is the story of how they came to do so.
You are Unique: Scale New Heights by Thoughts and Actions
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam - 2012
This book draws an unforgettable blue print of success for all. One lesson that shimmers from every page of this book is hope. Whether in failure or in success, there is always a clear vision of future. In human life as well as in the corporate world, the value of vision, leading to planning, followed by action should not be underestimated. The success smiles on those who dream and act. A message of spirituality, honesty, being unselfish and the value of giving emerges from these pages as from his life. The world has changed and there is a need for awakening together the head and the heart. While poems touch the heart and leave a deep impression, his prose leads you to think how to go beyond the rock walls of conditioning, perceptions and prejudices to achieve success and fulfilment. Clearly presented thoughts, in You Are Unique, become our inspiration and constant companion, flashing 'upon the inward eye' at our decision making, vision creating as well as ordinary moments of life.
Battle of the Bulge - World War II: A History From Beginning to End (World War 2 Battles Book 8)
Hourly History - 2018
The bloodiest battle in American history earned its name from the war correspondents who were covering the conflict. The “bulge” was a protuberance 50 miles wide and 70 miles deep in the American lines. The Germans, who had been in flight from the American invasion of Normandy, were not supposed to be in the Ardennes region, with its terrain deemed too difficult for tanks to move or soldiers to fight. That deadly assumption left the Ardennes and the town of Bastogne insufficiently defended by 80,000 American soldiers, most of whom had minimal battle experience. Attacking them were more than 400,000 well-armed German troops, many of whom had earned their fighting experience on the deadly Eastern Front. Inside you will read about... ✓ After the Normandy Invasion ✓ The Siege of Bastogne ✓ The German Infiltration ✓ Nuts! ✓ Old Blood and Guts ✓ The Last Major German Offensive And much more! Trapped and surrounded by the Germans, the besieged Americans seemed doomed. But a daring action by General Patton would break through the German lines and end the siege of Bastogne, bringing supplies and reinforcements that would allow the Americans to prove their mettle at the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe.
Into the Rising Sun: In Their Own Words, World War II's Pacific Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat
Patrick K. O'Donnell - 2002
Now, with Into the Rising Sun, O'Donnell tells the story of the brutal Pacific War, based on hundreds of interviews spanning a decade. The men who fought their way across the Pacific during World War II had to possess something more than just courage. They faced a cruel, fanatical enemy in the Japanese, an enemy willing to use anything for victory, from kamikaze flights to human-guided torpedoes. Over the course of the war, Marines, paratroopers, and rangers spearheaded D-Day-sized beach assaults, encountered cannibalism, suffered friendly-fire incidents, and endured torture as prisoners of war. Though they are truly heroes, they claim no glory for themselves. 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 a hard, 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. Together with detailed maps of each battle, Into the Rising Sun offers a complete yet deeply personal account of the war in the Pacific, and a ground-level view of some of history's most brutal combat.
Shinano!: The Sinking of Japan's Secret Supership
Joseph F. Enright - 1987
At a displacement weight of over 75,000 tons, she was the biggest ship ever built to that time, with 18" guns that could hurl 4,000 pound projectiles over 25 miles. A battleship-converted-to-carrier, the Shinano was a military marvel that the Japanese hoped would reverse the war fortunes of an entire nation. On her maiden voyage she was escorted by three battle-savvy destroyers and manned by a crew of thousands. Who could have ever foretold that she would sink within days of leaving drydock?
The BIG Horror Box Set (5 books) (Damienverse, #1-5)
Iain Rob Wright - 2015
#1 Best Seller - Horror Anthologies. From a Top 100 Most Popular Author in Horror. Add it to your cart NOW because it is available for a limited time! This 500,000-word collection is over 1000 pages long, full of chills, thrills, and spine-tingling terror. All books are standalone stories, but also form part of a larger connected universe. You have to read them all to get the full picture. 5 bestsellers with over 1000 5-star reviews between them! Check out individual descriptions below. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SAM (Book 1) First came The Exorcist. Then came The Omen. Now there's another creepy child to keep you awake at night. You'll never see the ending coming. When a washed-up priest and a skittish ghost hunter are summoned to a vast countryside estate, they have no idea what to expect. A grief-stricken mother wants them to help her sick child and investigate a recent string of accidents around her home. It's clear that something unexplained is going on, but their initial observations point only to a single suspect: 8-year old Sammie. Yet, while it's clear that little Sammie is a very peculiar child, there's surely no way he could have been behind the long list of accidents and deaths. He's just a child... Sammie has a secret. Want to hear it? ASBO (Book 2) A terrifying novel for fans of Eden Lake, the Girl Next Door, and the Purge. A gentle family man's life is forever changed when he refuses to buy a pack of cigarettes for the local gang of youths. Led by the emotionally unstable and sadistic Frankie, the gang target the man and his family in an escalating campaign of terror and violence that will threaten their very lives. If only he’d bought those damn cigarettes. ASBO. Your fear is their entertainment... THE FINAL WINTER (Book 3) Iain Rob Wright's debut novel is a masterclass in suspense and is sure to keep you guessing What would you do if it started snowing in every country in the world? Would you panic? For a ragtag group of strangers at a run-down English pub, the best solution is a pint of beer with a shot of denial -- but one by one they will be left with no choice but to accept that something sinister is lurking outside in the snow. Something that will never let them see light of day. THE HOUSEMATES (Book 4) Ten days, twelve competitors, two million in cash. What at first seems like a wonderful opportunity for Damien Banks turns out to be the worst nightmare he can imagine. Trapped inside a house with eleven strangers and a booming voice known only as 'The Landlord', Damien is forced to compete not only for the money, but for his life. Let the games begin... SEA SICK (Book 5) A novel unlike anything else. A story that is equal parts Dawn of the Dead and Groundhog Day. An unforgettable classic. Police Officer Jack Wardsley’s life ended the moment his partner died. His recent record of brutality, and a reputation for not following the rules, has prompted his seniors to give him an ultimatum: find a way to let go of all the anger – or find another job.