Secret Weapons of World War II


Gerald Pawle - 1957
     For the next four years they would become instrumental in the secret war against Germany, developing a wide array of armaments to give Britain the upper hand against the might of the Axis forces. Under the guidance of Charles Goodeve, a remarkable Canadian with a flair for picking out which invention could tip the war in the Allies’ favor, these scientists and inventors worked tirelessly, and even put their lives on the line, in the quest to give Churchill’s military the knockout weapon. As Nevil Shute, who was an engineer with the Wheezers and Dodgers stated, “If any one quality was a common requirement for the officers in this unusual department I would say it was imagination — the imagination to look forward and to visualize what might happen.” Not all of their inventions were successful, indeed Sir Charles Madden, who served as staff officer to the Director of the Department stated that during his time there he dealt with “a medley of suggestions ranging from the impractical to the lunatic.” Yet, despite some mishaps, the Wheezers and Dodgers were instrumental in aiding the Allies to victory, with their degaussing method of protecting ships from mines to their Hedgehog weapon that destroyed over forty-five enemy submarines. Secret Weapons of World War II records all of the Department’s developments through the course of the conflict, both successful and not, and is written with humor and insight. “Their story has the fascination of the unexpected, in a British well-played spirit.” Kirkus Reviews Gerald Pawle worked with the Wheezers and Dodgers through the course of World War Two. This work was first published under the title The Secret War: 1939-1945 in 1957. Pawle passed away in 1991.

The Nuremberg Trials: The Nazis brought to justice


Alexander MacDonald - 2015
    Twenty-one Nazi leaders were charged with crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity - and with having a common plan or conspiracy to commit those crimes. It was the first time judges and members of the judiciary had been charged with enforcing immoral laws. Doctors too stood in the dock for the many hideous medical experiments conducted in concentration camps, while members of the death squads were tried for the indiscriminate murder of civilians. The Nuremberg Trails brought closure to the Second World War.

HMS Rodney: Slayer of the Bismarck and D-Day Saviour (Warships of the Royal Navy)


Iain Ballantyne - 2012
    

Lion Rampant: The Memoirs of an Infantry Officer from D-Day to the Rhineland


Robert Woollcombe - 1970
    Vividly evoking the confusion, horror and comradeship of war - from the killing fields of Normandy bocage, through house-to-house fighting in shattered Flemish towns, to the final Rhine crossing - Lion Rampant is a powerful, authentic and moving story, telling with extraordinary clarity how the author, his fellow officers and the men of his company lived through one of the most bitter campaigns in history.

Joe Foss Flying Marine: The Story of his Flying Circus


Joe Foss - 1943
     With 26 victories to his name, he became the first pilot to equal Eddie Rickenbacker’s American World War I record. In October 1942, Foss and his regiment were sent into the heat of battle at Guadalcanal. Foss quickly gained a reputation for aggressive close-in fighter tactics and uncanny gunnery skills and rose to become the lead pilot of what was called Foss’ Flying Circus. Foss’ book Joe Foss Flying Marine: The Story of his Flying Circus is a remarkable work that demonstrates just how tough life could be for a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater of World War One. Through the course of the book Foss explains how he became a pilot, despite the fact he was initially deemed too old, why he, and men like him, chose to fight the war in the air and what it was like to engage in dogfights with Japanese pilots. “His remarkable flying skill, inspiring leadership and indomitable fighting spirit were distinctive factors in the defense of strategic American positions on Guadalcanal.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, President, United States. Joe Foss’ citation read: “For extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flights with Marine Fighting Squadron 121 in the Solomon Islands area. During the period Oct. 13 to Oct. 20, 1942, inclusive, Captain Foss shot down six enemy Zero fighters and one enemy bomber in aerial combat. His constant aggressiveness, skill, and leadership during these engagements were worthy of the highest traditions of the Naval Service.” Joe Foss was a United States Marine Corps major and the leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. His book Joe Foss Flying Marine: The Story of his Flying Circus was first published in 1943. Foss passed away in 2003.

The Second World War, Vol. 3: The War at Sea (Essential Histories Book 1)


Philip D. Grove - 2003
    The war at sea was a critical contest, as sea-lanes provided the logistical arteries for British and subsequent Allied armies fighting on the three continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Land forces ultimately won World War II, but the battles at sea fundamentally altered the balance of military power on the ground.

Stalingrad: The Battle that Shattered Hitler's Dream of World Domination


Rupert Matthews - 2012
    The relentless and unstoppable German advances that had seen the panzers sweep hundreds of miles into Russia was finally brought to a halt. The elite German 6th Army was first fought to a standstill, then surrounded and forced to surrender.Over 1.5 million people lost their lives during the six months of fighting, many of them civilians caught up in the campaign. For the first time in the war, the German army had been defeated on the field of battle. Before Stalingrad the Russians never won; after Stalingrad they could not lose.This book looks at the titanic struggle that ended in the total destruction of the second city of the Soviet Union, the greatest battle the world has ever seen.

Inferno: The Fall of Japan 1945


Ronald Henkoff - 2016
    atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the ensuing death and destruction that led to the end of World War II. The events that culminated in the fall of Japan - which forever changed the course of diplomacy, geopolitics, and warfare in the twentieth century - are vividly recreated through dramatic first-hand accounts of the major participants on both sides of the Pacific. They include: Harry Truman, the inexperienced American president who made the decision that would lead to unprecedented death and destruction; the war-mongering, but mysterious, Japanese Emperor Hirohito, who ultimately presided over his country's surrender; General Leslie Groves, the no-nonsense director of the Manhattan Project; and Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the plane, the Enola Gay, which dropped the very first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945.

Treasure (Fox Book 5)


Adam Hardy - 2016
    Lieutenant George Abercrombie Fox was no exception. It began well with a sharp action and a prize taken. Then things began to go wrong. A lee shore and an escape against desperate odds. Treachery, death and the treasure. Always the treasure. FOX IS NOT THE NOBLE HERO OF TRADITIONAL FICTION. FOX IS A FIGHTING MAN WHO TRANSCENDS HEROISM — HE DOESN’T CARE HOW HE WINS AS LONG AS HE WINS. HE’S MEAN, CUNNING AND MOST VICIOUS WHEN TRAPPED. THERE’S NO WAY TO OUTFOX FOX! Adam Hardy was a pen name used by Kenneth Bulmer (1921-2005). A prolific writer, Bulmer wrote over 160 novels and many short stories, both under his real name and various pen names. He is best known for science fiction, including his long-running Dray Prescot series of planetary romances, but he wrote in many genres.

Spectre 07: Memoir of a Risk-Taker


Robert Reneau - 2019
    Air Force Lt. Col. (Ret) Bob Reneau began writing this story as his autobiography for his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and succeeding generations. However, he was convinced by many friends to turn it into book form for anyone. Bob has spent twenty-five years as an Air Force pilot. He was an original AC-130 pilot in Laos and Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. As an Airlifter flying the C-130, Bob was stationed and flew out of Sewart AFB, Tennessee, Evreux AB in France, Naha AB; Okinawa (now Japan), and Patrick AFB, Florida, where he flew Gemini Space Mission support. He was on top of all but one splashdown as telemetry and voice relay. Bob was also stationed at Ubon AB, Thailand, Rhein-Main, Germany, and Pope AFB, North Carolina. He flew all over Europe, Southeast Asia, North Africa, South Africa, Australia, and the United States. He has flown around the world two times, He was also a Reconnaissance and Special Operations pilot, logging over 8000 flying hours. He has served in most of the major air commands. His medals include the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, twelve Air Medals, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (individual award), and many other awards and decorations. Bob hopes to leave more information for his progeny than his father did. Although he talked freely to his sons about his war experiences, Bob’s father neglected to mention them in his limited biography. He served as an unarmed chaplain during WWII. He went ashore onto Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion where his landing craft was blown out from under him. He made it onto the beach on a floating pontoon and served through many famous battles including the Battle of the Bulge, The Ardennes Forest and others. This is Bob’s interesting, funny, poignant, and informative story.

Welcome To Dong Tam (Jayhawk Two One Book 1)


Michael Trout - 2014
    This is the first in a series of true stories about a young helicopter pilot’s tour of duty in Vietnam.

Over and Out


James F. Jordan - 2013
    A first hand account of my tour of duty in Vietnam.

Tan Tru


Larry Brooks - 2013
    Originally written as a piece of our family history, it chronicles events that unfolded during 1968 and early 1969 while serving as a young infantryman with the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam's Mekong Delta and relates how experiences on the US home front impacted and were affected by the aggressive military tactics of 1968. Most of all the book tells the true stories of young soldiers engaged in mortal combat and the daily struggle to survive..

Barbara's War Box Set


Fenella J. Miller - 2015
    This is historical fiction set in World War 2 and shows Barbara Sinclair coming-of-age and learning to deal with the problems life throws at her. Barbara's War As war rages over Europe, Barbara Sinclair is desperate to escape from her unhappy home which is a target of the German Luftwaffe. Caught up by the emotion of the moment she agrees to marry John, her childhood friend, who is leaving to join the RAF, but a meeting with Simon Farley, the son of a local industrialist, and an encounter with Alex Everton, a Spitfire pilot, complicate matters. With rationing, bombing and the constant threat of death all around her, Barbara must unravel the complexities of her home life and the difficulties of her emotional relationships in this gripping coming-of-age wartime drama. The Middle Years Barbara's War - The Middle Years - is the second book in a three book series. The third and final book in this series will be released in September 2014. The phony war is over and Hitler is beginning his rampage through Europe. Barbara Sinclair is determined to 'do her bit' for the war effort but circumstances send her down another, unexpected path. She leaves her home to start a new life as a married woman but when the bombing raids begin, tragedy follows. The Resolution If Barbara's secret is discovered it will destroy her family, but no one can keep a secret forever. Her husband Alex, a Spitfire pilot, would reject her and her marriage will be over. A tragedy almosts rips the family apart and then Alex is posted abroad. Barbara has to learn to live without him. A series of domestic catastrophes, bad news and the unexpected appearance of her childhood friend, John Thorogood, cause her further heartache. Can she find a happy resolution to her problems?

Prisoner in the mud: A young German's diary from 1945


Herwarth Metzel - 2020
    The front lines are collapsing all around, bombs are falling. On Thuringia too, a state in the centre-east of Germany. The Second World War is nearing its end. Boys of fifteen and sixteen from the Jungvolk and Hitler Youth movements set off in the belief that they can still save the fatherland – they are determined to defend it, bravely and loyally. Inadequately armed, however, they are forced to retreat from the advancing enemy in an entirely pointless march. They are taken prisoner and transferred to one of the infamous camps near Bad Kreuznach. Conditions in the camp are tough. The diarist is fortunate enough to survive and to be released relatively early, at the end of June 1945. Germany, spring 2005. The fatherland too has survived and has been reunified. It is a year of commemoration days, of monuments and memorials, and in the run-up to the sixtieth anniversary it is already being declared by all the media as a year of remembrance of the downfall of the ‘Third Reich’. Inspired by this, the diarist, now seventy-five years old, remembers the notes and diary entries kept at that time by his fifteen-year-old self. Originally written on scraps of toilet paper, he copied them out after his fortunate return in July 1945, and has not looked at them since. The notes are very personal and honest and, above all, authentic. They give an insight into the experiences and the thoughts of a young boy who by his own admission left as a ‘proud soldier’ and returned home as a ‘pitiful vagabond’. It is a historical document. It is not the story of an individual fate. Thousands had the same experiences. That is why the diarist decided, with some hesitation, to publish his diary as a part of the historical truth, even if there already existed numerous reports and publications about the camps in Bad Kreuznach, Bretzenheim, Dietersheim, Bingen, Heidesheim and the other ‘Rhine Meadows camps’. All these records are testament to the fact that tyranny often abounds when one group of people is given unchecked power over another. According to Livy, as many as 2400 years ago the Gaulish king Brennus called to the defeated Romans: ‘Vae victis!’ – woe to the vanquished! Herwarth Metzel