Book picks similar to
Pan Am at War: How the Airline Secretly Helped America Fight World War II by Mark Cotta Vaz
history
aviation
non-fiction
world-war-ii
Voices from Stalingrad: Unique First-Hand Accounts from World War II's Cruellest Battle. Jonathan Bastable
Jonathan Bastable - 2006
Offering a record of one of the pivotal events of World War II, as told through the personal accounts of the German and Soviet soldiers who fought in it, this book features photographs from the Battle of Stalingrad, from both sides of the front.
Tail-End Charley: Stories from an American fighter pilot in World War II
James E. Brown - 2017
Brown tries to fake to his flight instructor that he has flown before. On his twenty-first birthday, Brown is on his way home after logging eighty-five missions in a P-47 fighter over Italy, France, and Germany. Brown’s stories surrounding his training and combat experiences in World War II reveal brushes with death, continuous peril and, ultimately, a coming of age for a young man whose freshman year in college becomes instead a heroic engagement with one of the fiercest enemies his country has ever encountered. Ever dutiful to the mother who tells him to “write it down, Jamie,” Brown notes his experiences in the journal she provides and adds detail later to deliver a firsthand account of life as a pilot in the final months of combat within the European Theater. Serving as Tail-End Charley – the last man out – in most of the missions he flew, Brown’s job was to record results for the interrogation officers afterward. But Brown offers much more insight in this memoir. Follow his triumphs and travails with colleagues who become lifelong compatriots during an indelible period in American history.
Spitfire Pilot: A Personal Account of the Battle of Britain
David M. Crook - 1942
The battle for the skies of Britain has just begun.At the outbreak of the Second World War D. M. Crook, of No. 609 Squadron AAF, was at Yeadon, still undergoing his training; by the winter of 1939-40, he had his wings.Successfully applying to return to his Squadron, then on defence duties in northern England, Crook began to familiarise himself with their new fighter: the Spitfire.Soon they were posted to RAF Northolt, and it was at this time that Crook, much to his chagrin, was left grounded, undergoing knee surgery as they flew over Dunkirk.Following the Allied evacuation from France, Crook returned to the air and found himself facing the relentless sorties as the skies above Britain transformed into a battlefield.In one particularly frank passage, Crook recounts how he mistakenly shot down a Blenheim, going on to illustrate how easy it was for pilots to misidentify aircraft.‘Spitfire Pilot’ is a remarkable account of one officer’s life in 609 Squadron, the excitement, the anxieties and the camaraderie, during one of the most famous battles of the Second World War.‘Crook and his colleagues committed acts of unimaginable bravery against the German aircraft. Many did not make it and the author describes the ansence they leave in the squadron with great poignancy. His descriptions of aerial conflict will rarely be bettered.’ Magazine'A brilliant first-hand account of the life of a fighter pilot before and during the Battle of Britain.' Spectator'A unique personal insight into one of the crucial periods of the war ... I cannot recommend this highly enough.' World War II MagazineFlt. Lt. David Moore Crook, D.F.C. (1914-1944) was commissioned into the Auxiliary Air Force in September 1938, as an Acting Pilot Officer. In May 1940 he was promoted Pilot Officer, in December of the same year Flight Officer, before reaching the rank of Flight Lieutenant a year later. One of ‘The Few’ who fought in the Battle of Britain, where he won the D.F.C., in December 1944 he failed to return to base: his Spitfire was reported to have dived into the sea. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
D-Day
Al Hine - 1962
Here is the dramatic story of that climatic battle and the men who planned and fought in it. The Normandy invasion altered the course of World War II and led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the Third Reich. It is a story of courage and fear, tragedy and determination.
The Raft
Robert Trumbull - 1942
A gripping account of three naval airmen adrift in the Pacific for 34 days.
The Battle of the Huertgen Forest
Charles B. MacDonald - 1984
This series of ferocious encounters on the Belgian-German border would not end until three months later, making it the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought. Over this contested fifty square mile area 120,000 American soldiers advanced against 80,000 battle-hardened German troops. Rugged terrain and atrocious weather slowed down the U.S. advance which was forced to combat heavily dug-in German positions, overcoming minefields, barbed wire, and booby-traps, hidden by the snow, as they attempted to move forward. Through the course of this bloody engagement the Allied forces suffered 24,000 battle causalities, plus a further 9,000 victims of weather. This carnage was closely equaled by massive Nazi casualties. It is little wonder that this battle has gone down in history as one of the bitterest and most fruitless battles of World War II. Charles MacDonald’s vivid account of the battle is a remarkable book that uncovers how the conflict developed and progressed over its three month duration. “An extraordinarily lucid account of battle.” — The Baltimore Sun In 1944 Charles MacDonald was a twenty-one year old captain, who commanded a rifle company in the 23rd Infantry Regiment. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his service through the course of the Second World War. After the war he became Deputy Chief Historian for the United States Army and wrote a number of books on the history of World War Two. The Battle of the Huertgen Forest was first published in 1963 and MacDonald passed away in 1990.
Isaac's Army: A Story of Courage and Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland
Matthew Brzezinski - 2012
For the next six years, separately and in concert, they waged a heroic war of resistance against Hitler’s war machine that culminated in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Isaac’s Army, Matthew Brzezinski delivers the first-ever comprehensive narrative account of that struggle, following a group of dedicated young Jews—some barely out of their teens—whose individual acts of defiance helped rewrite the ending of World War II. Based on first-person accounts from diaries, interviews, and surviving relatives, Isaac’s Army chronicles the extraordinary triumphs and devastating setbacks that befell the Jewish underground from its earliest acts of defiance in 1939 to the exodus to Palestine in 1946. This is the remarkable true story of the Jewish resistance from the perspective of those who led it: Isaac Zuckerman, the confident and charismatic twenty-four-year-old founder of the Jewish Fighting Organization; Simha Ratheiser, Isaac’s fifteen-year-old bodyguard, whose boyish good looks and seeming immunity to danger made him an ideal courier; and Zivia Lubetkin, the warrior queen of the underground who, upon hearing the first intimations of the Holocaust, declared: “We are going to defend ourselves.” Joined by allies on the left and right, they survived Gestapo torture chambers, smuggled arms, ran covert printing presses, opened illegal schools, robbed banks, executed collaborators, and fought in the two largest rebellions of the war. Hunted by the Germans and bedeviled by the “Greasers”—roving bands of blackmailers who routinely turned in resistance fighters for profit—the movement was chronically short on firepower but long on ingenuity. Its members hatched plots in dank basements, never more than a door knock away from summary execution, and slogged through fetid sewers to escape the burning Ghetto to the forests surrounding the city. And after the initial uprising was ruthlessly put down by the SS, they gambled everything on a bold plan for a citywide revolt—of both Jews and Gentiles—that could end only in victory or total destruction. The money they raised helped thousands hide when the Ghetto was liquidated. The documents they forged offered lifelines to families desperate to escape the horror of the Holocaust. And when the war was over, they helped found the state of Israel. A story of secret alliances, internal rivalries, and undying commitment to a cause, Isaac’s Army is history at its most heart-wrenching. Driven by an unforgettable cast of characters, it’s a true-life tale with the pulse of a great novel, and a celebration of the indomitable spirit of resistance.Advance praise for Isaac’s Army “Told with care and compassion, Matthew Brzezinski’s Isaac’s Army is a riveting account of the Jewish resistance in wartime Poland. This is an intense story that transcends the horror of the time and finds real inspiration in the bravery of those who fought back—some of whom lived to tell their stories. Highly recommended.”—Alan Furst, author of Mission to Paris
The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb
Sam Kean - 2019
In the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were alarmed to learn that Nazi Germany was far outpacing the Allies in nuclear weapons research. Hitler, with just a few pounds of uranium, would have the capability to reverse the entire D-Day operation and conquer Europe. So they assembled a rough and motley crew of geniuses - dubbed the Alsos Mission - and sent them careening into Axis territory to spy on, sabotage, and even assassinate members of Nazi Germany's feared Uranium Club.
The Brave Japanese
Kenneth Harrison - 1982
Ken Harrison’s experiences as a Prisoner of war take the reader to the work camps of Singapore, to Thailand “Death Railway” and to the dockyards of Nagasaki. His journey culminates in a visit to the bomb-devastated Hiroshima long before the arrival of the occupation forces.
The Blond Knight Of Germany: a biography of... Erich Hartmann
Raymond F. Toliver - 1970
Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.
Holocaust: A Jewish Survivor Testimony: The Truth of What Happened in Germany of World War 2
Dan Myers - 2015
She was only a young girl of 22 at the time that she was captured by German soldiers, and the events of her life since then, provide a picture of what it was like to experience the horror of the Holocaust first hand. You will find out about: - • What is was like to Run for your Life • Living in the Ghetto in Poland • Experiencing a Concentration Camp • Being an unwilling subject for Medical Experiments • How she Survived in the Death Camp • The Chance of Life after the Holocaust The Holocaust forever affected the Jewish community. It tore apart families and caused immense suffering and pain. In this book, you will find out about what it was like to experience torture every day, being part of a death march, living in a concentration camp and being captured. Read this book for FREE on Kindle Unlimited - Download NOW This book celebrates the memories of Regina, bringing to life the horrors of the holocaust. This is so that there can be remembrance, and for the voices of the Jewish to be heard. It is also an account celebrating hope, and how this can change life. Just scroll to the top of the page and select the Buy Button. Download Your Copy TODAY
The First and the Last
Adolf Galland - 1953
Now he offers an insider's look at the division's triumphs in Poland and France and the last desperate battle to save the Reich. "The clearest picture yet of how the Germans lost their war in the air".--Time. Illustrations. (War History)
The Long Way Home: A Journey Into History with Captain Robert Ford
Ed Dover - 1998
I sell NEW, personally autographed copies of The Long Way Home Revised Edition directly from my home. This new 2008 version combines and integrates previously listed addenda items and new information into the main body of the story, with additional photos of the Clipper, in a high quality paperback version.
The Ultimate Battle: Okinawa, 1945: The Last Epic Struggle of World War II
Bill Sloan - 2007
It is a gripping story of heroism, sacrifice, and death in the largest land-sea-air operation in US history.
Fighter
Len Deighton - 1977
Focuses on the important role of technology in warfare. Complete with photos, drawings, and detailed maps.