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Our Fathers' War: Growing Up in the Shadow of the Greatest Generation
by Tom MathewsIt is fair to say that Tom Mathews's relations with his father, a veteran of World War II's fabled 10th Mountain Division, were terrible. He came back from the war to a young son he'd barely met and proceeded to bully and browbeat him--for his own good, he thought. In the course of puzzling out almost fifty years of intermittent conflict, Mathews came to understand that their problems were not simply personal, they were generational--and widely shared by millions of other baby boomer sons.
Our Friend the Enemy: A detailed account of ANZAC from both sides of the wire
by David W. CameronOur Friend the Enemy is the first detailed history of the Gallipoli campaign at Anzac since Charles Bean’s Official History. Viewed from both sides of the wire and described in first-hand accounts. Australian Captain Herbert Layh recounted that as they approached the beach on 25 April that, once we were behind cover the Turks turned their .. [fire] on us, and gave us a lively 10 minutes. A poor chap next to me was hit three times. He begged me to shoot him, but luckily for him a fourth bullet got him and put him out of his pain. Later that day, Sergeant Charles Saunders, a New Zealand engineer, described his first taste of battle, The Turks were entrenched some 50-100 yards from the edge of the face of the gully and their machine guns swept the edges. Line after line of our men went up, some lines didn’t take two paces over the crest when down they went to a man and on came another line. Gunner Recep Trudal of the Turkish 27th Regiment wrote of the fierce Turkish counter-attack on 19 May designed to push the Anzac’s back into the sea, It started at morning prayer call time, and then it went on and on, never stopped. You know there was no break for eating or anything … Attack was our command. That was what the Pasha said. Once he says “Attack”, you attack, and you either die or you survive.
Our Friends Beneath the Sands: The Foreign Legion in France's Colonial Conquests 1870-1935
by Martin WindrowThe gripping true story of the French Foreign Legion in the Sahara.Ever since the 1920s the popular legend of the French Foreign Legion has been formed by P.C. Wren's novel BEAU GESTE - a world of remote forts, warrior tribes, and desperate men of all nationalities enlisting under pseudonyms to fight and die under the desert sun. As with all clichés, the reality is far richer and more surprising than this. In this book Martin Windrow describes desert battles and famous last stands in gripping detail - but he also shows exactly what the Foreign Legion were doing in North Africa in the first place. He explains how French colonial methods there actually had their roots in the jungles of Vietnam, and how the political pressures that kept the empire expanding can be traced to battles on the streets of Paris itself. His description of the Berber tribesmen of Morocco also reveals some disturbing modern parallels: the formidable guerrillas of the 1920s were inspired by an Islamic fundamentalist who was adept at using the world's media to further his cause.Martin Windrow's previous book THE LAST VALLEY received fabulous reviews across the English-speaking world. This unique book, which is the first to examine the 'golden age' of the Foreign Legion has followed suit.
Our Friends Beneath the Sands: The Foreign Legion in France's Colonial Conquests 1870-1935
by Martin WindrowThe gripping true story of the French Foreign Legion in the Sahara.Ever since the 1920s the popular legend of the French Foreign Legion has been formed by P.C. Wren's novel BEAU GESTE - a world of remote forts, warrior tribes, and desperate men of all nationalities enlisting under pseudonyms to fight and die under the desert sun. As with all clichés, the reality is far richer and more surprising than this. In this book Martin Windrow describes desert battles and famous last stands in gripping detail - but he also shows exactly what the Foreign Legion were doing in North Africa in the first place. He explains how French colonial methods there actually had their roots in the jungles of Vietnam, and how the political pressures that kept the empire expanding can be traced to battles on the streets of Paris itself. His description of the Berber tribesmen of Morocco also reveals some disturbing modern parallels: the formidable guerrillas of the 1920s were inspired by an Islamic fundamentalist who was adept at using the world's media to further his cause.Martin Windrow's previous book THE LAST VALLEY received fabulous reviews across the English-speaking world. This unique book, which is the first to examine the 'golden age' of the Foreign Legion has followed suit.
Our Friends the Enemies: The Occupation of France after Napoleon
by Christine HaynesThe Battle of Waterloo was just the beginning of a long transition to peace. Christine Haynes offers the first comprehensive history of the post-Napoleonic occupation of France. Transforming former European enemies into allies, the mission established Paris as a cosmopolitan capital and foreshadowed postwar reconstruction in the twentieth century.
"Our Gallant Doctor": Surgeon-Lieutenant George Hendry and HMCS Ottawa, 1942
by James GoodwinDuring the Battle of the Atlantic, Dr. George Hendry had just finished performing two major surgical operations on board the destroyer HMCS Ottawa when his ship was ambushed by 13 German U-boats. Canadian warships like Ottawa had inadequate radar sets that were incapable of detecting submarines approaching in the dark. On September 13, 1942, U-91 stole in and torpedoed Ottawa, sinking her in 20 minutes. utterly exhausted, Dr. Hendry was lost along with 113 of his shipmates. George Hendry was a much-loved man, a great university athlete, and a very good doctor. Unfortunately, he was also naive and too trusting. One night in January 1941, he committed a very foolish indiscretion. He would spend the rest of his tragically short life making amends for this mistake.
Our Germans: Project Paperclip and the National Security State
by Brian E. CrimA gripping history of one of the United States' most controversial Cold War intelligence operations.Project Paperclip brought hundreds of German scientists and engineers, including aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun, to the United States in the first decade after World War II. More than the freighters full of equipment or the documents recovered from caves and hastily abandoned warehouses, the German brains who designed and built the V-2 rocket and other "wonder weapons" for the Third Reich proved invaluable to America's emerging military-industrial complex. Whether they remained under military employment, transitioned to civilian agencies like NASA, or sought more lucrative careers with corporations flush with government contracts, German specialists recruited into the Paperclip program assumed enormously influential positions within the labyrinthine national security state. Drawing on recently declassified documents from intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, the FBI, and the State Department, Brian E. Crim's Our Germans examines the process of integrating German scientists into a national security state dominated by the armed services and defense industries. Crim explains how the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency enticed targeted scientists, whitewashed the records of Nazis and war criminals, and deceived government agencies about the content of security investigations. Exploring the vicious bureaucratic rivalries that erupted over the wisdom, efficacy, and morality of pursuing Paperclip, Our Germans reveals how some Paperclip proponents and scientists influenced the perception of the rival Soviet threat by volunteering inflated estimates of Russian intentions and technical capabilities. As it describes the project's embattled legacy, Our Germans reflects on the myriad ways that Paperclip has been remembered in culture and national memory. As this engaging book demonstrates, whether characterized as an expedient Cold War program born from military necessity or a dishonorable episode, the project ultimately reflects American ambivalence about the military-industrial complex and the viability of an "ends justifies the means" solution to external threats.
Our Good Name: A Company's Fight to Defend Its Honor and Get the Truth Told About Abu Ghraib
by J. Phillip London CaciteamIn April 2004, an illegally leaked U.S. Army report thrust CACI, an information technology company, into the international spotlight by casting suspicion on a CACI employee for being "either directly or indirectly responsible" for the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. At the same time, pictures from the abuses were shown on national television and tarnished anyone associated with Abu Ghraib--including CACI.What ensued was a media frenzy rarely seen by any company in recent decades. The media twisted the unsupported allegations into a guilty verdict without regard for the facts or the truth, creating a damning public perception of CACI. Our Good Name recounts how CACI battled to defend itself against erroneous and malicious reports by a rampaging media, how it responded to the wide-ranging government investigations, and how it overcame misplaced anger and criticism that put the company's dedicated employees and excellent reputation--even it's future--at risk.Faced with constant accusations, exaggerations, and false reports, CACI refused to allow the media storm and uninformed opportunists to drag it down. The company condemned the behavior depicted in the infamous prison photos. If any employee had been culpable of any wrongdoing, the company would respond forcefully and accordingly, but only adhering to the rule of law. There would be no witch hunts, no lynch mobs, and no kangaroo courts.Spearheaded by its long-time leader, chairman, president, and CEO Dr. J. Phillip London, the company mounted a concentrated campaign to address the allegations and make the facts known. CACI used innovative methods of crisis management and consistent communications to push back against the distortions and mistakes. CACI would also rely upon its long-established, proven culture of ethics and integrity to direct its activities and set the record straight.Our Good Name is CACI's story of facing one of the biggest scandals in recent history...and coming out honorably with its head high.
Our Jungle Road To Tokyo [Illustrated Edition]
by General Robert L. EichelbergerIncludes over 250 illustrations, maps and charts of the fighting in Buna, New Guinea and the Philippines.This is story of General Robert L. Eichelberger, the tough, hard-bitten commander of the US I Corps in the Pacific and then the US Eighth Army. Given the responsibility for the critical Buna front in 1942 by General MacArthur with the words “Bob, I want you to take Buna, or not come back alive”. Under his energetic and dynamic leadership much of New Guinea was retaken and thereafter most of the southern Philippines was liberated. With victory assured, General Eichelberger was given command of American and Allied forces in the Japanese Home Islands. His story provides a rare look at the strategy of General MacArthur, the problems of inter-Allied and inter-service cooperation and the decision making process of America’s high command in World War II.A fine autobiography of one of the heroes of the Pacific War.
Our Kid: The bestselling and completely heartwarming story of one family in 1930s Manchester... (Hopkins Family Saga #3)
by Billy HopkinsA STORY OF WARMTH, WIT AND THE SPIRIT OF A WORKING-CLASS COMMUNITY.PERFECT for fans of TV's Call The Midwife and The Pursuit of Love - and readers of Nadine Dorries, Nancy Revell and Anne Baker will adore the Hopkins family! READERS LOVE OUR KID!***** 'After just a few pages gripped me like pliers' - AMAZON READER REVIEW ***** 'Beautifully written. Hard to put down. Many laughs, and touching moments' - AMAZON READER REVIEW ***** 'Give an insight into a Northern life of a different world written with a sense of hardship, sadness, humour and real emotion' - AMAZON READER REVIEW ***** 'I was howling with laughter one minute and in tears the next ... It's my favourite book'___________________________________________Billy Hopkins' Our Kid is a warm-hearted and nostalgic tale of a boy's life: from the 1920s Manchester slums, through tough times as an evacuee during World War II, to the challenges of the post-war world for a hard-up family.'How wonderful to have a book like this... A glimpse of a lost reality' - Manchester Evening NewsIt was on a Sunday night in 1928 that Billy Hopkins made his first appearance. Billy's tenement home on the outskirts of Manchester would be considered a slum today, but he lived there happily with his large Catholic family, hatching money-making schemes with his many friends.When war came, and the Luftwaffe dominated the night sky, Billy was evacuated to Blackpool. There he lived on a starvation diet while his own rations went to feed his landlady's children - 'I might as well be in Strangeways!'But even the cruel blows that were to be dealt to the family on his return to Manchester would not destroy Billy's fighting spirit - or his sense of humour. What readers are saying about Our Kid: 'Billy Hopkins is a masterful storyteller who draws you into his world of a working class household coping with, and surviving, the ups and downs of life''The characters are brilliant - I will never ever forget this book for as long as I live''The best read ever'
Our Kid (The Hopkins Family Saga): The bestselling and completely heartwarming story of one family in 1930s Manchester...
by Billy HopkinsA STORY OF WARMTH, WIT AND THE SPIRIT OF A WORKING-CLASS COMMUNITY.PERFECT for fans of TV's Call The Midwife, All Creatures Great and Small and The Pursuit of Love - and readers of Nadine Dorries, Nancy Revell and Anne Baker will adore the Hopkins family!READERS LOVE OUR KID!***** 'After just a few pages gripped me like pliers' - AMAZON READER REVIEW ***** 'Beautifully written. Hard to put down. Many laughs, and touching moments' - AMAZON READER REVIEW ***** 'Give an insight into a Northern life of a different world written with a sense of hardship, sadness, humour and real emotion' - AMAZON READER REVIEW ***** 'I was howling with laughter one minute and in tears the next ... It's my favourite book'___________________________________________Billy Hopkins' Our Kid is a warm-hearted and nostalgic tale of a boy's life: from the 1920s Manchester slums, through tough times as an evacuee during World War II, to the challenges of the post-war world for a hard-up family.'How wonderful to have a book like this... A glimpse of a lost reality' - Manchester Evening NewsIt was on a Sunday night in 1928 that Billy Hopkins made his first appearance. Billy's tenement home on the outskirts of Manchester would be considered a slum today, but he lived there happily with his large Catholic family, hatching money-making schemes with his many friends.When war came, and the Luftwaffe dominated the night sky, Billy was evacuated to Blackpool. There he lived on a starvation diet while his own rations went to feed his landlady's children - 'I might as well be in Strangeways!'But even the cruel blows that were to be dealt to the family on his return to Manchester would not destroy Billy's fighting spirit - or his sense of humour.What readers are saying about Our Kid: 'Billy Hopkins is a masterful storyteller who draws you into his world of a working class household coping with, and surviving, the ups and downs of life''The characters are brilliant - I will never ever forget this book for as long as I live''The best read ever'
Our Lady of the Night: A Novel
by Mayra Santos-FebresFrom internationally-acclaimed novelist Mayra Santos-Febres comes a carnal, epic novel about the life of Isabel “La Negra” Luberza--a legendary Puerto Rican madam who, by the end of World War II, became the most powerful woman on the island.Born into poverty and then abandoned by her mother, Isabel "La Negra" Luberza blossoms into a supremely sensual young woman. Obsessed with attaining aristocratic status—armed with incredible physical presence, indomitable ambition, and keen intelligence—she meets Fernando Fornarís, the man who will forever change her life. With a parcel of land given to her by her rich, white married lover, Isabel transforms herself into a hard-edged and merciless businesswoman—abandoning her own newborn son to become Puerto Rico's most feared and respected madam, a collector of society's secrets, a queen of the notorious brothel that emerges as the island's true political and economic heart.Set against the rich backdrop of the Caribbean and the United States during the tumultuous years of World War II, Mayra Santos-Febres's Our Lady of the Night is a breathtaking novel of passion, power, and the devastating price of achieving everything one wishes for.
Our Latest Longest War: Losing Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan
by Aaron B. O'ConnellThe first rule of warfare is to know one’s enemy. The second is to know thyself. More than fifteen years and three quarters of a trillion dollars after the US invasion of Afghanistan, it’s clear that the United States followed neither rule well. America’s goals in Afghanistan were lofty to begin with: dismantle al Qaeda, remove the Taliban from power, remake the country into a democracy. But not only did the mission come completely unmoored from reality, the United States wasted billions of dollars, and thousands of lives were lost. Our Latest Longest War is a chronicle of how, why, and in what ways the war in Afghanistan failed. Edited by historian and Marine lieutenant colonel Aaron B. O’Connell, the essays collected here represent nine different perspectives on the war—all from veterans of the conflict, both American and Afghan. Together, they paint a picture of a war in which problems of culture and an unbridgeable rural-urban divide derailed nearly every field of endeavor. The authors also draw troubling parallels to the Vietnam War, arguing that deep-running ideological currents in American life explain why the US government has repeatedly used armed nation-building to try to transform failing states into modern, liberal democracies. In Afghanistan, as in Vietnam, this created a dramatic mismatch of means and ends that neither money, technology, nor the force of arms could overcome. The war in Afghanistan has been the longest in US history, and in many ways, the most confounding. Few who fought in it think it has been worthwhile. These are difficult topics for any American or Afghan to consider, especially those who lost friends or family in it. This sobering history—written by the very people who have been fighting the war—is impossible to ignore.
Our Man in Camelot
by Anthony PriceWhen a US Air Force plane mysteriously disappears on a flight from British base, taking its ace pilot with it, the CIA hasten to investigate. But they make some odd findings.
Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South
by Christopher DickeyBetween the Confederacy and recognition by Great Britain stood one unlikely Englishman who hated the slave trade. His actions helped determine the fate of a nation. When Robert Bunch arrived in Charleston to take up the post of British consul in 1853, he was young and full of ambition, but even he couldn't have imagined the incredible role he would play in the history-making events to unfold. In an age when diplomats often were spies, Bunch's job included sending intelligence back to the British government in London. Yet as the United States threatened to erupt into Civil War, Bunch found himself plunged into a double life, settling into an amiable routine with his slavery-loving neighbors on the one hand, while working furiously to thwart their plans to achieve a new Confederacy. As secession and war approached, the Southern states found themselves in an impossible position. They knew that recognition from Great Britain would be essential to the survival of the Confederacy, and also that such recognition was likely to be withheld if the South reopened the Atlantic slave trade. But as Bunch meticulously noted from his perch in Charleston, secession's red-hot epicenter, that trade was growing. And as Southern leaders continued to dissemble publicly about their intentions, Bunch sent dispatch after secret dispatch back to the Foreign Office warning of the truth--that economic survival would force the South to import slaves from Africa in massive numbers. When the gears of war finally began to turn, and Bunch was pressed into service on an actual spy mission to make contact with the Confederate government, he found himself in the middle of a fight between the Union and Britain that threatened, in the boast of Secretary of State William Seward, to "wrap the world in flames." In this masterfully told story, Christopher Dickey introduces Consul Bunch as a key figure in the pitched battle between those who wished to reopen the floodgates of bondage and misery, and those who wished to dam the tide forever. Featuring a remarkable cast of diplomats, journalists, senators, and spies, Our Man in Charleston captures the intricate, intense relationship between great powers on the brink of war.From the Hardcover edition.
Our Man in Iraq
by Robert Perisic Will Firth"Robert Perisic depicts, with acerbic wit, a class of urban elites who are trying to reconcile their nineties rebellion with the reality of present-day Croatia. . . . The characters' snide remarks could easily sound cynical but the novel has a levity informed by the sense of social fluidity that comes with democracy."-The New Yorker"Robert Perisic is a light bright with intelligence and twinkling with irony, flashing us the news that postwar Croatia not only endures but matters."-Jonathan Franzen"This jivey-and I should say x-rated-story stays with us."-Alan Cheuse, "All Things Considered" NPR"Despite the serious themes, the novel is largely comic and in many ways falls into the same genre of satirical anti-war novels that includes The Good Soldier by Jaroslav Hasek and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. Perisic constructs a series of long and entertaining scenes full of quirky dialogue and rhythmic interior monologue."-The Times Literary Supplement"In this raucous and funny novel about an entire country's post-traumatic stress syndrome, Toni discovers that you can't entirely escape your past no matter how must you try to live your life in fast forward."-Huffington Post"In addition to being a delightfully acerbic primer on a literarily underrepresented part of Europe, Our Man in Iraq may well prove to be one of those rare cases where something is actually gained in translation."-Toronto Star"Given the uncountable billions of words they have dedicated to the war in Iraq, it might be easy for Americans to think of it as belonging solely to them. Even its possession by the Iraqis can feel tenuous at times. So it is a refreshing reminder of the new global village to read a novel like Robert Perisic's Our Man in Iraq, which studies the fighting in Baghdad from the distant shores of Croatia."-Boston Globe"A must-read... brilliantly captures modern-day Zagreb." -The GuardianOne of The Millions most anticipated books of 2013"How deeply satisfying it is to hear Perisic's wry voice take a different angle, and tell a different story."-ZYZZYVA"This smart, cutting book powerfully illustrates the horrible hangover of war."-Publishers WeeklySaddam is a young villager from the outskirts of Basra, named after the president. What can he do? He spreads his hands wide like a scarecrow, and I spread mine too, and we chat like two scarecrows in the field, except there are no crops, no grass, and no birds for us to scare away, only sand and scrap iron, and his village, said Saddam, is in a bad place. So he stuck all his goats in a pickup truck and took to the road like Kerouac, except there's no literature here, and no shade.2003: As Croatia lurches from socialism into globalized capitalism, Toni, a cocky journalist in Zagreb, struggles to balance his fragile career, pushy family, and hotheaded girlfriend. But in a moment of vulnerability he makes a mistake: volunteering his unhinged Arabic-speaking cousin Boris to report on the Iraq War. Boris begins filing Gonzo missives from the conflict zone and Toni decides it is better to secretly rewrite his cousin's increasingly incoherent ramblings than face up to the truth. But when Boris goes missing, Toni's own sense of reality-and reliability-begins to unravel.Our Man In Iraq, the first of Robert Perisic's novels to be translated into English, serves as an unforgettable introduction to a vibrant voice from Croatia. With his characteristic humor and insight, Perisic gets to the heart of life made and remade by war.
Our Man in New York: The British Plot to Bring America into the Second World War
by Henry Hemming'A revelatory and wholly fascinating work of history. Superbly researched and written with gripping fluency, this lost secret of World War II espionage finally has its expert chronicler.' - WILLIAM BOYD'Gripping and intoxicating, it unfolds like the best screenplay.'- NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE'This is excellent, surprising and timely. Henry is a proper talent.' - DAN SNOW'This is a fascinating and gripping book, and deserves to be a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic.' - JOHN O'FARRELL'In Hemming's sure hands, America's uncertain progress towards direct engagement in the second world war becomes riveting history.' - SPECTATOR'A galloping story that Henry Hemming tells with clarity and aplomb.' - NEW STATESMANThe gripping story of a propaganda campaign like no other: the covert British operation to manipulate American public opinion and bring the US into the Second World War.When William Stephenson - "our man in New York" - arrived in the United States towards the end of June 1940 with instructions from the head of MI6 to 'organise' American public opinion, Britain was on the verge of defeat. Surveys showed that just 14% of the US population wanted to go to war against Nazi Germany. But soon that began to change...Those campaigning against America's entry into the war, such as legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, talked of a British-led plot to drag the US into the conflict. They feared that the British were somehow flooding the American media with 'fake news', infiltrating pressure groups, rigging opinion polls and meddling in US politics.These claims were shocking and wild: they were also true. That truth is revealed here for the first time by bestselling author Henry Hemming, using hitherto private and classified documents, including the diaries of his own grandparents, who were briefly part of Stephenson's extraordinary influence campaign that was later described in the Washington Post as 'arguably the most effective in history'. Stephenson - who saved the life of Hemming's father - was a flawed maverick, full of contradictions, but one whose work changed the course of the war, and whose story can now be told in full.
Our Man in New York: The British Plot to Bring America into the Second World War
by Henry HemmingThe gripping story of a propaganda campaign like no other: the covert British operation to manipulate American public opinion and bring the US into the Second World War.When William Stephenson - "our man in New York" - arrived in the United States towards the end of June 1940 with instructions from the head of MI6 to 'organise' American public opinion, Britain was on the verge of defeat. Surveys showed that just 14% of the US population wanted to go to war against Nazi Germany. But soon that began to change...Those campaigning against America's entry into the war, such as legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, talked of a British-led plot to drag the US into the conflict. They feared that the British were somehow flooding the American media with 'fake news', infiltrating pressure groups, rigging opinion polls and meddling in US politics.These claims were shocking and wild: they were also true. That truth is revealed here for the first time by bestselling author Henry Hemming, using hitherto private and classified documents, including the diaries of his own grandparents, who were briefly part of Stephenson's extraordinary influence campaign that was later described in the Washington Post as 'arguably the most effective in history'. Stephenson - who saved the life of Hemming's father - was a flawed maverick, full of contradictions, but one whose work changed the course of the war, and whose story can now be told in full.(P)2019 Quercus Editions Limited
Our Man in Tehran: The Truth Behind the Secret Mission to Save Six Americans During the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Ambassador Who Worked with the CIA to Bring Them Home
by Robert WrightThe world watched with fear in November 1979, when Iranian students infiltrated and occupied the American embassy in Tehran. The Americans were caught entirely by surprise, and what began as a swift and seemingly short-lived takeover evolved into a crisis that would see fifty four embassy personnel held hostage, most for 444 days. As Tehran exploded in a fury of revolution, six American diplomats secretly escaped. For three months, Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador to Iran-along with his wife and embassy staffers-concealed the Americans in their homes, always with the prospect that the revolutionary government of Ayatollah Khomeini would exact deadly consequences. The United States found itself handcuffed by a fractured, fundamentalist government it could not understand and had completely underestimated. With limited intelligence resources available on the ground and anti-American sentiment growing, President Carter turned to Taylor to work with the CIA in developing their exfiltration plans. Until now, the true story behind Taylor's involvement in the escape of the six diplomats and the Eagle Claw commando raid has remained classified. InOur Man in Tehran,Robert Wright takes us back to a major historical flashpoint and unfolds a story of cloak-and-dagger intrigue that brings a new understanding of the strained relationship between the Unites States and Iran. With the world once again focused on these two countries, this book is the stuff of John le Carreacute; and Daniel Silva made real.
Our Man In Tokyo: An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor
by Steve KemperWinner of the American Academy of Diplomacy’s Dillon Book Award"Gripping history, offering both drama and suspense." —Wall Street JournalA riveting, behind-the-scenes account of the personalities and contending forces in Tokyo during the volatile decade that led to World War II, as seen through the eyes of the American ambassador who attempted to stop the slide to war.In 1932, Japan was in crisis. Naval officers had assassinated the prime minister and conspiracies flourished. The military had a stranglehold on the government. War with Russia loomed, and propaganda campaigns swept the country, urging schoolchildren to give money to procure planes and tanks. Into this maelstrom stepped Joseph C. Grew, America’s most experienced and talented diplomat. When Grew was appointed ambassador to Japan, not only was the country in turmoil, its relationship with America was rapidly deteriorating. For the next decade, Grew attempted to warn American leaders about the risks of Japan’s raging nationalism and rising militarism, while also trying to stabilize Tokyo’s increasingly erratic and volatile foreign policy. From domestic terrorism by Japanese extremists to the global rise of Hitler and the fateful attack on Pearl Harbor, the events that unfolded during Grew’s tenure proved to be pivotal for Japan, and for the world. His dispatches from the darkening heart of the Japanese empire would prove prescient—for his time, and for our own. Drawing on Grew’s diary of his time in Tokyo as well as U.S. embassy correspondence, diplomatic dispatches, and firsthand Japanese accounts, Our Man in Tokyo brings to life a man who risked everything to avert another world war, the country where he staked it all—and the abyss that swallowed it.
Our Man in Yugoslavia: The Story of a Secret Service Operative (Studies in Intelligence)
by Sebastian RitchieAs a fully documented study of a Second World War Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) operative, Our Man in Yugoslavia is absolutely unique. Its subject is Owen Reed, an army officer recruited into SIS in the summer of 1943 and then parachuted in to German-occupied Croatia to work with Tito's Partisans and other Allied secret organisations. After reporting back to London in July 1944, Reed returned to Yugoslavia to find relations with the Partisans deteriorating. His erstwhile comrades began working against him and the intelligence he passed to the SIS came increasingly to focus on the communist takeover. Reed found himself at the centre of the first great confrontation of the Cold War. Blending biography and operational history, Our Man in Yugoslavia is a remarkable case study, illustrating how SIS operatives were recruited and trained, and describing their work in detail.
Our Mothers’ War
by Emily YellinRosie the Riveter wasn't the only American woman contributing to the World War II effort; others were spies, nurses, prostitutes, entertainers, pilots, baseball players, politicians, and prisoners of war. After her mother died, author Yellin found a diary and hundreds of letters she'd written while she was a Red Cross nurse in the Pacific. Yellin, a journalist, uses her mother's story as an anchor for a larger narrative which shows that many of the conflicts American society wrestles with today--such a...
Our Only Shield
by Michael J. GoodspeedSet in the desperate days at the outset of the Second World War, Our Only Shield brings back Rory Ferrall, the resourceful Canadian spy from Michael J. Goodspeed’s debut novel, Three to a Loaf. Hastily recalled from a successful career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Rory arrives in Britain only to find a war that is being prosecuted with political indecision and wishful thinking. The skills he displayed as a spy in the Great War are once again sorely needed by a small group of far-sighted but frustrated military planners. Our Only Shield is a fascinating journey that takes us from an early wartime Britain still reeling from a string of catastrophic defeats into the once-peaceful Netherlands. In 1940, Holland was a prosperous country where an industrious and innocent population simply yearned for peace and the chance to lead tranquil lives. Believing they could escape the havoc and violence of a world gone berserk, they awoke to find themselves governed by a new, terrifyingly brutal regime. Inserted into this shocked and traumatized community, Rory Ferrall soon finds himself caught up with two unforgettable characters: Annika Hammerstein, a gifted musician who refuses to watch passively as atrocities are inflicted on her family and her country, and Reinhold Neumann, a dangerously anxious but clever and ambitious Nazi policeman whose aspirations are unrestrained by conscience. Our Only Shield is a meticulously researched story of how ordinary people marshal their talents to fight against ruthlessly efficient evil. Rich in historical detail, peopled with enduring characters, this powerful narrative gains steadily in momentum and tension and moves to a gripping conclusion. It’s an enthralling and satisfying story as well as a meditation on the timeless nature of organized violence.
Our Philosopher
by Gert HofmannThe time is the 1930s. Our philosopher is Herr Veilchenfeld, a renowned thinker and distinguished professor, who, after his sudden dismissal from the university, has retired to live quietly in a country town in the east of Germany. Our narrator is Hans, a clever and inquisitive boy. He relates a mix of things he witnesses himself and things he hears about from his father, the town doctor, who sees all sorts of people as he makes his rounds, even Veilchenfeld, with his troubled heart. Veilchenfeld is in decline, it&’s true—he keeps ever more to himself—but the town is in ever better shape. After the defeat of the Great War and the subsequent years of poverty, things are looking up. The old, worn people are heart-ened to see it. The young are exhilarated. It is up to them to promote and patrol this new uplifting reality—to make it safe from the likes of Veilchenfeld, whose very existence is an affront to it. And so the doctor listens, and young Hans looks on.
Our Tortured Souls: The 29th Infantry Division in the Rhineland, November–December 1944
by Joseph BalkoskiContinues Balkoski's acclaimed multivolume history of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division in World War II.