Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade posted to northeastern Afghanistan's Kunar Province. Battle Company, the best within the Brigade, was assigned the toughest Area of Operations. It was called the Korengal Valley. During their 15-month tour, Battle Company saw more combat than any unit since Vietnam. Raw and unapologetic, To Quell The Korengal is a first-hand account of life on the front lines. Written by a grunt on the ground, it is rife with gun fights, grueling foot patrols, a villainous Company Commander, the austere routines of the American Soldier, and the kind of humor only a war could love. Though equally appealing to combat-hardened readers, the story is told in a manner any civilian can comprehend. It was the author's wish that the book could serve as a bridge of understanding for a veteran's wife or mom, or anyone curious about the conflict and sacrifices of our nation's troops.

    Hasey was the first American citizen to shed his blood to free France from the oppression of the Nazi Regime. For his actions he became the first American to receive France’s highest World War II honor and become a Companion of the Ordre de la Libération. But why was Hasey fighting for France and why was he spilling his blood for the cause of the French people? John F. Hasey’s remarkable memoir Yankee Figher is a brilliant account of his life in Europe in the late 1930s and through the beginning of the Second World War. Yet, Hasey’s first taste of conflict was not during that terrible global war, as in 1939 he joined the Iroquois Ambulance Corps, with other young Americans, to assist the Finns during the Russo-Finnish War. When Hitler’s forces launched their attacks upon Western Europe Hasey immediately signed up with De Gaulle’s Free French Forces and headed to the Middle East to fight for France. The value of his contribution to France’s war effort can be demonstrated in these comments from his citations: “He has the qualities of a man, of a soldier, and of a leader. He has won a place in the hearts of his comrades. Loved and respected by them, as well as by his leaders, Lieutenant John Hasey is the perfect type of foreigner, for whom the love of France is not vain words.” “In the Battle of the Enghiahat … his Captain and First Lieutenant being wounded, he remained the only officer valid. His absolute indifference to danger inspired and galvanized his men.” “During the siege of Massawa, he led his platoon with magnificent bravery in an assault upon enemy positions, which he captured along with a large number of prisoners.” This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the fascinating story of one man’s fight to preserve freedom in the early years of the Second World War and the much less well known Russo-Finnish War. “A young American reports on his part, as ambulance man and then as a fighter for de Gaulle, in the campaigns of Finland, Ethiopia and Syria. An unpretentious yet revealing book.” Foreign Affairs After the events of Yankee Fighter: The Story of an American in the Free French Foreign Legion John F. Hasey worked as a liaison between de Gaulle and Eisenhower. In August 1943, he became an aide-de-camp on the staff of General Marie Pierre Koenig, and remained with Koenig during his term as military Governor of Paris, August 1944. After the war he worked for the CIA and passed away in 2005. Joseph F. Dinneen was co-author of the book and worked as a journalist for the Boston Globe, he passed away in 1964. Yankee Fighter: The Story of an American in the Free French Foreign Legion was first published in 1942.

    

     The Spanish Civil War is sometimes seen as merely a precursor to World War II, and it’s easy to understand why. The troops of the extreme right fought against those of the extreme left, and the soldiers and military hardware of Germany, Italy, and Russia faced off on Spanish battlefields many years before they fought each other on the Russian steppes. For the first time, the world would see bombings of civilians to create terror. There were secret police forces on both sides and large numbers of arbitrary executions, and the use of imprisonment without trial and torture as a means of establishing state power became almost routine. But the Spanish Civil War was much more than just an overture to World War II. It was a war born out of schisms in Spanish society between rich and poor, monarchists and Republicans, the right and the left, and between those who supported the church and those who saw it as an instrument of oppression. For all its brutality and horror, the Spanish Civil War was a conflict between ideals often fought by volunteers on each side who truly believed that they were helping to build a better world. Inside you will read about... ✓ Taking Positions ✓ Outside Intervention ✓ The Terror ✓ Nationalists Triumphant in the North ✓ The Republicans Fight Back ✓ The End of the War And much more! This book provides an overview of the causes which led to the war, the significance of outside intervention, and the main events which took place between July 1936 and April 1939. This is not an exhaustive history of the war, but it’s rather a succinct introduction for anyone interested in an overview of this confusing but important European war.

    "What They Did There: Profiles From the Battle of Gettysburg" offers a unique view of its subject, telling the story of the battle not through convention narrative but via 170 mini-bios of not only combatants blue and gray, but of civilians, doctors, nurses, artists, photographers, Samaritans; saints, sinners and the moral terrain in-between.

    Jordan details life as an Air Force Mortuary Non Commissioned Officer. In his stunning debut Jordan forces the reader to walk beside him on his journey in this gruesome world. Jordan holds nothing back, and shares in graphic detail how he honored Americas heroes, both at deployed locations and stateside. This book will pry your eyes wide open as you gasp from the sheer horror he faced daily, from dealing with the families of the fallen, to witnessing the embalming and preparations of the deceased. Jordan also shares how this job taxed his mental well being, as he suffered in silence, longing not to care. Jordan is still serving on Active Duty and suffers from the crippling effects of PTSD, his story will enlighten you, it will touch you, and yes, you will cry.

    Everyone knows about Navy SEALs and Green Berets but nobody knows about the deep recce, sabotage, and direct action missions conducted by the Rhodesian SAS. The Rhodesian Light Infantry was a killing machine, participating in combat jumps every night during the heat of the Bush War. The Selous Scouts were perhaps the most innovative and daring unconventional warfare unit in history which would pair white soldiers with turncoat black “former” terrorists who would then infiltrate enemy camps.US military veteran and historian Dan Tharp covers each of these three units in depth.(18,000 words)

    But the historic landfall of October 1492 was only a secondary event of the year. The preceding January, they had accepted the surrender of Muslim Granada, ending centuries of Islamic rule in their peninsula. And later that year, they had ordered the expulsion or forced baptism of Spain's Jewish minority, a cruel crusade undertaken in an excess of zeal for their Catholic faith. Europe, in the century of Ferdinand and Isabella, was also awakening to the glories of a new age, the Renaissance, and the Spain of the "Catholic Kings" - as Ferdinand and Isabella came to be known - was not untouched by this brilliant revival of learning. Here, from the noted historian Malveena McKendrick, is their remarkable story.

    . . [with] new information, photographs and first-hand accounts." --FlypastDuring the 1950s, plans were being drawn at North American Aviation in Southern California for an incredible Mach-3 strategic bomber. The concept was born as a result of General Curtis LeMay's desire for a heavy bomber with the weapon load and range of the subsonic B-52 and a top speed in excess of the supersonic medium bomber, the B-58 Hustler. However, in April 1961, Defense Secretary McNamara stopped the production go-ahead for the B-70 because of rapid cost escalation and the USSR's newfound ability to destroy aircraft at extremely high altitude using either missiles or the new Mig-25 fighter. Nevertheless, in 1963 plans for the production of three high-speed research aircraft were approved and construction proceeded. In September 1964 the first Valkyrie, now re-coded A/V-1, took to the air for the first time and in October went supersonic.This book is the most detailed description of the design, engineering and research that went into this astounding aircraft. It is full of unpublished details, photographs and firsthand accounts from those closely associated with the project. Although never put into full production, this giant six-engined aircraft became famous for its breakthrough technology, and the spectacular images captured on a fatal air-to-air photo shoot when an observing Starfighter collided with Valkyrie A/V-2 which crashed into the Mojave Desert."Well-illustrated with numerous diagrams and black and white photographs, the book provides an interesting insight into one of the so-called 'white elephant' projects of the 1960s." --Jets Monthly

    Their mission is simply to provide a temporary Top Secret special intelligence communications center to support U.S. members of a high level Allied war planning meeting.An easy mission quickly goes awry. Only two months after the Allied assault and occupation of Casablanca (Operation TORCH), the city remains a hotbed of Vichy and German sympathizers and spies. One unexpected event leads to another. Things get dicey, with life threatening situations, shots fired and dead bodies. Tony is diverted from Casablanca on a brief classified fact-finding mission to a neutral country's island. That mission gets complicated and ultimately results in spy catching and another death. Returning to Casablanca, events result in Tony meeting Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.Between "Casablanca's" covers are communications intelligence, counter-intelligence, military politics, diplomatic tension, WWII history, family dynamics, and in the final analysis, a very exciting, twisting and fast moving story.

    A must-read screenplay for fans of cinema, World War II, and art-lovers, “Monument Men” provides an insightful look into the value and importance we place on art in our society using historical fiction. A labor of love, we spent years knocking on Hollywood doors trying to spark interest in our story. After years of being told the material “had no audience”, it is gratifying to see the story of the Monuments Men finally being released as a feature film this coming December. Although the version on the big screen is based upon the book “The Monuments Men – Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, And The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History” by Robert M. Edsel, and is unrelated to our version, we encourage you to read our script and judge for yourself which you prefer. We think you’ll love “Monument Men”!

    Army. He did so at a time when the country was pro-Vietnam and serving seemed an honorable thing to do. Little did he know that the tide would turn a mere six months later as drastically as it did. VIETNAM: THERE AND BACK is a candid account of the time when he and several other combat vets found themselves conducting operations in the jungles of Vietnam during and after the Tet Offensive. Purtell describes in gritty detail what it was like to live and fight with an infantry company only to return to anti-Vietnam sentiment so strong that he and his fellow veterans felt nobody cared about them or the sacrifices they made.

    'I don't want to appear fussy, but are we going to be greeted by cheers and kisses from Norwegian blondes, or a hail of gunfire from invisible Huns?' he remarked to his officers on approaching the small town of Andalsnes. returncharacterreturncharacterHis next task - in command first of a corvette and then a destroyer - was escorting East Coast convoys, and his experiences reflect the danger of this work against the menaces of E-boats, enemy aircraft and mines. He then took part in the landings at Anzio and the Normandy landings in 1944; finally, he rescued internees from the Japanese prison camp on Stanley, Hong Kong. His career was much helped by his highly developed sixth sense for danger, the deep affection of his crews and his affinity with cats which he believed brought him luck. returncharacterreturncharacterThis record of varied and almost incessant action ranks among the most thrilling personal stories of the war at sea.

    His single mother checked into the hospital as a vibrant young woman and checked out as a full-blown opioid addict. From that day forward, Sean's life became a silent nightmare of abuse, neglect, chronic hunger, and slow, helpless withdrawal from everything and everyone he loved.In Rising Above, Green Beret Sean Rogers chronicles the toughest battle of his life: the long, painful fight to confront his darkest fears and reclaim his life. After struggling as a young man to accept the raw trauma of his past, he eventually learned to understand and embrace it, ultimately using it to become an elite Special Forces operator.Through this profoundly honest and inspiring memoir, Rogers explores what it means to make the pain of your past work for you, showing you how to harness the truth of your own reality and take control of your destiny.

    In many ways, this war, and the subsequent peace of Westphalia, would set the stage for the balance of power in Europe until the First World War in 1914. Fully illustrated to capture both the majesty and the horror of The Thirty Years' War.