Book picks similar to
Cutting Edge: Japanese Swords in the British Museum by Victor Harris
military-history
recommendations
swords
Danny: The Virtues Within
Jer Dunlap - 2013
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they
The Crippled Tanker
D.A. Rayner - 1971
But Captain John Murrell’s H.M.S. Hecate was towing a crippled tanker whose cargo was as dangerous as it was precious — four million gallons of high-octane gas!The U-boat commander was desperate: his career depended on sinking the tanker. If he failed, the Luftwaffe would send new long-range Heinkels to destroy the Hecate and her tow.Murrell’s cunning fight against incredible odds soon became a nightmarish eternity of cat-and-mouse moves and countermoves. His agonizing duel to the death makes this one of the most brilliant and memorable sea sagas to come out of World War II.About the author: Denys Arthur Rayner was a Royal Navy officer who fought throughout the Battle of the Atlantic. After intensive war service at sea, Rayner became a writer, a farmer, and a successful designer and builder of small sailing craft.
Ours to Hold It High: The History of the 77th Infantry Division in World War II
Max Myers - 2002
The soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division saw some of the bloodiest action of the Second World War. Ours to Hold It High is brilliant history of the division’s actions through the course of World War Two as it island-hopped its way towards victory in the face of ferocious Japanese resistance. The story begins in America in 1942 when the division was re-activated and the units were formed and given training before they sailed west to fight. Part one of the book covers these initial two years and the various forms of rigorous training that the men went through to prepare them for the amphibious warfare that they would meet in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Parts two, three, four, and five of the book provides brilliant insight into the combat history of the unit from Guam to Okinawa. The actions of each unit of the division are uncovered to give a thorough overview of the tumultuous and chaotic action that the men saw. This is account is not written by a historian sitting at a desk in the United States, instead it was written by the soldiers who were there on the frontlines. Max Myers, the unit historian, has compiled their accounts to form this fascinating book. The actions of the 77th have become famous throughout the globe, particularly with the assistance of films such as Hacksaw Ridge that have immortalized the division. Almost every member of the 77th contributed in one way or another to this history. The Commanding General and members of his staff, the commanders and staff members from the organizations, and many other individuals devoted some of their time to revision and correction of preliminary manuscripts. Ours to Hold It High was initially published in 1947 and Max Myers, the main editor, passed away in 2011.
My So Called Mum: Child abuse, Love & My Great Britain
Joseph Kane - 2019
Out of respect for the dead, this story has been told exactly how it happened. I was born in 1985 in Lancashire, England, to two alcoholic parents. Having selfish parents left me exposed to abuse, poverty and crime. My loving grandparents helped me the best they could at the weekends, but life was barely survivable. Spending most of my life on a rough estate, bad influence pulled me between good and evil. Falling in love during a life of hell, my heart filled like a balloon that carried me to a greater good. What you will read is no sweet lullaby. It will repulse and shock you. I fought with every ounce of strength to survive with betrayal and evil around every corner.
I Felt No Sorrow - This Was War: Burma 1942-45
Gordon Heynes - 2019
He trained as a tank gunner and was drafted overseas to join the Allied campaign in South Asia. After further training in India, his regiment, the 25th Dragoons, was deployed to Burma, taking part in deadly combat as the Allies fought to contain the invading Japanese forces. Gordon was seriously injured, but recovered to be able to re-join his squadron, before eventually returning home after almost four years, when the war ended.Some time after returning to civilian life Gordon Heynes wrote a fascinating account of experiences, and it is that account that is contained in this book, published by his grandsons, Neal and Gary Bircher. Gordon’s story serves as a valuable historical document, but is also much more than that. His captivating matter-of-fact style – for example, infusing depictions of bloody battle scenes with observations of local wildlife – brings his story starkly to life, and it makes for truly compelling reading.
Dear Grace
Clare Swatman - 2021
The most unexpected consequences.When Anna’s husband cheats on her, she’s sure she’ll never be happy again. But then she meets 94-year-old Grace. Despite an age gap of more than fifty years, the pair set out together on a life-changing journey halfway across the country in search of some answers. Sometimes the only way to move on is to revisit the past. But will Anna and Grace be prepared for what they find? A story about love, female friendship, heartbreak and learning to forgive.
The Adrian Mole Collection: The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole/True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole/Adrian Mole: The Wilderness
Sue Townsend - 2000
I pushed my sausages away untouched.
Charting nearly ten years in the life of Adrian Mole, from his increasingly troubled adolescence and schooling to his first job as newt counter for the DoE, from his parents' marital troubles to his own difficult relationship with Pandora, from the failure of his early poems to the even grander failure of his epic novels, these three novels in one volume provide a hilarious portrait of one young man's coming of age.
'He will be remembered some day as one of England's great diarists. No matter what your troubles may be Adrian Mole is sure to make you feel better' Evening Standard
The Enemy: A Novel of Life Aboard a U.S. Navy Destroyer in World War II
Wirt Williams - 1951
Navy destroyer, the USS Dee (based on the author's experiences while serving aboard the USS Decatur in the North Atlantic). The ships' mission is to locate and destroy German submarines while protecting an aircraft carrier. The book details life aboard the destroyer and the inevitable conflicts that arise between men at sea for long periods. The ship also encounters and engages enemy submarines, receiving slight damage. Following author Wirt Williams' service aboard the USS Decatur, he was transferred to the Pacific theater where he captained a Landing Ship. After the war, Williams worked as a reporter, then became an English professor in California. He continued to write and published six novels, and was nominated for three Pulitzer Prizes, once for his reporting and twice for his novels. The Enemy was his first novel. Williams passed away in 1986 at the age of 64.
The Genesis Inquiry
Olly Jarvis - 2021
The Inquiry quickly becomes the greatest challenge of her life – solving the mystery of Genesis.Facing danger at every turn, can Ella find the answers to the riddles and clues left by the missing genius?Reunited with her estranged daughter, the Inquiry sends them on a quest across the world and through ancient texts.What is the secret that binds us all?Who is behind the dark forces that will stop at nothing to prevent the world from knowing the truth?
A Shetland Winter Mystery (The Shetland Sailing Mysteries Book 10)
Marsali Taylor - 2021
To Dare a Rogue
Tarah Scott - 2016
THE HIGHLANDER’S IMPROPER WIFE by Tarah Scott and KyAnn WatersA proper young lady should never attend a Masque...Aphrodite is no lady. Upon the death of her betrothed Lord Blackhall, Lady Caroline Wilmont is promised to his brother. But she refuses to allow her first taste of desire to be at the hands of a man who hates her. Taran Robertson scorns marriage to the Sassenach heiress. The night before his wedding he attends a masque. The vixen he meets and seduces has secrets...secrets that may reveal he’s to have an improper wife.THE LOVE OF A RAKE by Linda Rae SandeAt thirty-five, Randall Roderick, Marquess of Reading, decides it's time to trade in his life as the ‘Rake of Reading’ for the life of a married man. Trouble is, his reputation precedes him. When Constance meets him in the park, she's intrigued by the gentleman she thinks is a well-to-do cit with a fascination for horse racing. Determined to discover what’s become of her inheritance and then return to her home and horses to live as an independent woman, she’s not interested in being courted. Or is she? It may take a bit of horse sense for these two to get on the right track in “The Love of a Rake”.A QUESTION OF LOVE by Angeline FortinThough widowhood freed her from the prison her life had become, Eve was still floundering, trying to rediscover the lively girl she'd once been when her first love Francis MacKintosh, Earl of Glenrothes reappeared in her life. Tempted by passion and the longing to truly live again, Eve struggles between her old self and the new, between yearning to be with him and a determination never to put herself under the thumb of another man - even one she discovers she still loves as much as her Glenrothes. MYRIAH FIRE by Claudy ConnIt started with a stolen kiss.Fiery Myriah Whitney is wild of nature, contrary, and independent. But when her father catches her kissing the handsome Sir Roland (how else is she to determine if he is the one who will make her feel thunder and lightning, hear bells and music?), he declares that her days of headstrong independence are over. She will, he commands, announce her engagement to Sir Roland—immediately.But in an age where marriages are about alliances rather than affection, practicality not passion, Myriah wants more—she wants to fall in love. And she does not love Sir Roland. So she runs away to her grandfather with her faithful manservant, Tabson, at her side. A wrong turn in the fog, however, leads to the discovery of an injured young man, and before she knows it Myriah is caught up in world of intrigue and secrets. And when she meets the young man's older brother, the mysterious Lord Kit Wimborne, the sparks fly. Their first encounter—in his bed, both of them naked, no less!—is an explosion of wills, and it is what finally sets Myriah on fire.She has, it seems, finally found her thunder and lightning. LOVING THE MARQUESS by Suzanna MedeirosTo save her family from destitution, Louisa Evans must turn to the head of the family that ruined hers. But the Marquess of Overlea hides a secret that will turn her whole world upside down.
The Gunny: A Vietnam Story
Raymond Hunter Pyle - 2001
Then, if he makes it, life doesn’t get easier—he gets tougher. He may get to do the toughest job around: combat infantry. And in 1966, he will almost certainly end up in Vietnam. Frank Evans is a Navy sailor willing to do whatever is necessary to become a Marine. He’s tough enough—and he has a General interested in his success. But success is measured in many ways. Frank finds out combat and the Marine Corps’ definition of success change a man. Some of the changes are a matter of pride. Others—well, you learn to live with them.
The Mortarmen
Michael Connelly - 2005
The book details the fighting history of the men of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion. The battalion was armed with the powerful 4.2 mortars and following its landing on Utah Beach on D-Day fought in every major engagement in France, Belgium, and Germany. The 4.2 mortar battalions were the most sought after fire support units in Europe. The 87th was in combat for 326 days and the book follows each of the four companies as they participate in the Battle for Normandy, the fight for Cherbourg, the battles of Aachen and the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and finally the crossing of the Rhine and the final victory in Germany. The book contains excepts of diaries and quotations from the men who fought in the unit and from some of the German soldiers who opposed them. It is a story of heroism, tragedy, and the triumph of soldiers fighting for freedom.
Linebacker: The Untold Story of the Air Raids over North Vietnam
Karl J. Eschmann - 1989
The beginning of the end. By the end of Day 9, the bombing of North Vietnam had taken an enormous toll. The planners were running out of suitable targets because the damage inflicted on most targets was higher than initially predicted. It became questionable whether those few targets remaining in the high threat areas were even of sufficient worth to continue attacking. The commander of the air force in the Pacific even suggested that it was time to look for targets in lower threat areas. As on previous days, the TACAIR support effectively countered the enemy defenses. The few MiGs which had managed to get airborne were driven away by the American fighter patrols. Although up to 70 SAMs had been fired at the B-52’s, the accuracy was noticeably poorer. The last desperate attempts to defend Hanoi were being made and it appeared the offensive was rapidly coming to a conclusion. In late 1972, the Vietnam peace talks were stalled, with the war at perhaps its most crucial point. The United States was searching for a way to strangle North Vietnam’s war-waging capabilities by shutting down its supply pipelines in order to force it back to the negotiating table. The solution: Linebacker II, a massive, intricately coordinated twelve-day assault by over 700 combat aircraft against vital targets around Hanoi and Haiphong, enemy cities heavily guarded by MiGs, SAM missiles, and radar-guided antiaircraft. Here is an unprecedented look at one of the most critical campaigns of modern air warfare, a previously untold story, documented in rich, fascinating detail. It is told in the vividly personal words of the pilots and crews who flew the missions — men who dramatically helped to end the American role in the Vietnam conflict and to bring the POWs home. Praise for Linebacker “Military buffs will appreciate this minutely detailed report of the American bombing raids over North Vietnam and the daring helicopter rescues.” –
Publishers Weekly
Karl J Eschmann graduated from Texas A&M University in 1971 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering, and a Master’s Degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology in Logistics Management in 1989. As a Second Lieutenant in 1972-73, he was a flight line maintenance officer responsible for two squadrons of F-4E Phantom IIs during the Linebacker I & II air offensives, as well as the Cambodian and Laotian campaigns. Since then he has had a distinguished air force career. He retired as a Full Colonel in 1998.
Triple Sticks: Tales of a Few Young Men in the 1960s
Bernie Fipp - 2010
The author assures us it is not!Three years before they came together, four young American men left their fraternities and college campuses for an adventure exceeding their imaginations. Wanting something more than the draft and unknown to each other, they chose Naval Aviation as the next step in their lives. Generally, they were better than their navy peers, all qualifying for high performance aircraft to be flown from steel decks over foreign seas. They would become the pointy end of the stick in aerial battles over North Vietnam, the most heavily defended patch of real estate in the history of aerial warfare. They were to do this in 1967, the year in which Naval Aviation experienced its greatest losses.These four young men, now Lieutenants Junior Grade, United States Navy, were ordered to Attack Squadron 34 to fly A4 Skyhawks into combat. They were assigned Junior Officer's stateroom 0111 aboard USS Intrepid, a venerable aircraft carrier with a distinguished history. This "bunkroom" better known to them as Triple Sticks was the repository for a log (in navy terms) or journal written by these four young aviators. Forty years later this log was the genesis of this memoir.In the lethal environment over the northern reaches of North Vietnam or ashore in the Officer's clubs and bars of Asia, the writing brings to life wonderful humor, bizarre behavior, vivid aerial battles, uncommon loyalty, anger, frustration and respect. One survived or did not according to his skill and luck.