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They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence
by Lauren BentonA sweeping account of how small wars shaped global order in the age of empiresImperial conquest and colonization depended on pervasive raiding, slaving, and plunder. European empires amassed global power by asserting a right to use unilateral force at their discretion. They Called It Peace is a panoramic history of how these routines of violence remapped the contours of empire and reordered the world from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries.In an account spanning from Asia to the Americas, Lauren Benton shows how imperial violence redefined the very nature of war and peace. Instead of preparing lasting peace, fragile truces ensured an easy return to war. Serial conflicts and armed interventions projected a de facto state of perpetual war across the globe. Benton describes how seemingly limited war sparked atrocities, from sudden massacres to long campaigns of dispossession and extermination. She brings vividly to life a world in which warmongers portrayed themselves as peacemakers and Europeans imagined &“small&” violence as essential to imperial rule and global order.Holding vital lessons for us today, They Called It Peace reveals how the imperial violence of the past has made perpetual war and the threat of atrocity endemic features of the international order.
They Called Us "Lucky": The Life and Afterlife of the Iraq War's Hardest Hit Unit
by Jim DeFelice Ruben GallegoFrom the Arizona Congressman, a "powerful" and "searing" (PW) chronicle of the eternal bonds forged between the Marines of Lima Company, the hardest-hit unit of the Iraq WarAt first, they were “Lucky Lima.” Infantryman Ruben Gallego and his brothers in Lima Company—3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, young men drawn from blue-collar towns, immigrant households, Navajo reservations—returned unscathed on patrol after patrol through the increasingly violent al Anbar region of Iraq, looking for weapons caches and insurgents trying to destabilize the nascent Iraqi government. After two months in Iraq, Lima didn't have a casualty, not a single Purple Heart, no injury worse than a blister. Lucky Lima.Then, in May 2005, Lima’s fortunes flipped. Unknown to Ruben and his fellow grunts, al Anbar had recently become a haven for al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The bin Laden-sponsored group had recruited radicals from all over the world for jihad against the Americans. On one fateful day, they were lured into a death house; the ambush cost the lives of two men, including a platoon sergeant. Two days later, Ruben’s best friend, Jonathon Grant, died in an IED attack, along with several others. Events worsened from there. A disastrous operation in Haditha in August claimed the lives of thirteen Marines when an IED destroyed their amphibious vehicle. It was the worst single-day loss for the Marines since the 1983 Beirut bombings. By the time 3/25 went home in November, it had lost more men than any other single unit in the war. Forty-six Marines and two Navy Corpsmen serving with the battalion in Iraq were killed in action during their roughly nine-month activation.They Called Us “Lucky” details Ruben Gallego’s journey and includes harrowing accounts of some of the war’s most costly battles. It details the struggles and the successes of Ruben—now a member of Congress—and the rest of Lima Company following Iraq, examining the complicated matter of PTSD. And it serves as a tribute to Ruben’s fallen comrades, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. With its gripping accounts of some of the war's most costly battles, They Called Us 'Lucky' is a must-read for anyone interested in military history and the politics of war. It offers a firsthand perspective on the Iraq War and the struggles faced by soldiers like Ruben Gallego, who served in the hardest hit company of the hardest hit battalion of the war and occupation.
They Came To Kill The Story of Eight Nazi Saboteurs in America: The Story of Eight Nazi Saboteurs in America
by Eugene RachlisThey Came to Kill, first published in 1961, is the fascinating World War II story of the U-boat landings of eight Nazi spies on beaches on Long Island and in Florida in June 1942, equipped with explosives and a large amount of U.S. money. Their mission, known as Operation Pastorius, was to disrupt and destroy vital war manufacturing plants and railways in the Tennessee Valley and elsewhere in the United States. The men were quickly rounded up by the F.B.I., in part due to the voluntary surrender of one of the group’s leaders, George Dasch. Following their arrest, the men were tried before a specially created military tribunal; all eight were found guilty and initially sentenced to death. Six of the men were executed in the electric chair, while President Roosevelt reduced the sentences of two of the men due to their turning themselves in to authorities. Included are 8 pages of illustrations.
They Dared Return: An extraordinary true story of revenge and courage in Nazi Germany
by Patrick K O' DonnellIt's July 1943. Frederick Mayer, a German-born Jew is recruited to secret operations unit, the OSS. Along with 4 other German-Jews, he volunteers for behind-enemy-lines operations. All have family members in concentration camps. All want revenge. Mayer and his comrades are dropped into the 'Alpine Redoubt' area of Austria, where Hitler plans to gather his SS units and make a desperate last stand against the Allies. This is the most heavily-policed area of the Third Reich, swarming with Gestapo. Capture means certain death; and for Fred and the other Jews, it means a horrible death. Yet under Hitler's nose this tiny army blows up trains, steals secrets and even impersonates German officers. Eventually Mayer is captured and tortured by the Gestapo, but still he does not break. Meanwhile the Allies are approaching, sounding the end for Nazi Germany. Mayer, in his greatest act of chutzpah, convinces his tormentor, the commander of German forces in Innsbruck, to surrender his forces to him, convincing the officer that it would be better to surrender early than risk being shot defending a lost cause. This is a great World War Two story of derring-do and revenge. And it's never before been told.
They Dared Return: The True Story of Jewish Spies Behind the Lines in Nazi Germany
by O'Donnell Patrick K.At the height of World War II, with the Third Reich’s final solution in full operation, a small group of Jews who had barely escaped the Nazis did the unthinkable: They went back. Spies now, these men took on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. They Dared Return is their story-a tale of adventure, espionage, love, and revenge.
They Died with Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Douglas D. Scott P. Willey Melissa A. ConnorMore than a hundred years after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, its secrets continue to unfold. In this book, Douglas D. Scott, P. Willey, and Melissa A. Connor blend historic sources, archeological evidence, and physical data to present new revelations about the men who rode and died with Custer. Although dead men tell no tales, their skeletons whisper entire life stories. Through painstaking analysis of the skeletal remains, the authors construct composite biographies of the soldiers, identifying their true ages, heights, states of health, and how they died. A vast selection of illustrations, including photographs, battlefield maps, drawings, & graphs, enhance the discussion. The authors also move beyond individual stories to consider our views regarding the appropriate treatment for the dead. They explain how Custer Battlefield National Monument, now Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, has always reflected shifts in cultural values. The planned monument to the American Indians who fought against the Seventh Cavalry is perhaps the most notable example. THEY DIED WITH CUSTER is important because it humanizes the cavalrymen who until now have been mere statistics. The first study of its kind, this volume not only makes a significant contribution to Little Bighorn scholarship but also offers a general model for new ways to interpret the past. Douglas D. K. Scott is Great Plains Team Leader, Midwest Archeological Center, National Park Service. He is widely know as an expert on military archeology. P. Willey is Professor of Anthropology, Chico State University, California. His specialties include forensic anthropology and human skeletal biology. Melissa A. Connor, an Archeologist with the Midwest Archeological Center, is currently studying the application of archeology to forensic work and the recovery of recent human remains.
They Flew Hurricanes
by Adrian StewartA celebration of the renowned WWII aircraft and the aviators who flew them—includes rare photographs. The Hawker Hurricane, together with the Spitfire, is the most famous aircraft of the Second World War. Many pilots, including Douglas Bader, thought it was superior to the Spit—but together they saved Britain from Nazi invasion and possible defeat. Adrian Stewart has produced a gloriously atmospheric and nostalgic book capturing the spirit of these great aircraft and the pilots who flew them. It tracks the aircraft as it was developed and improved, and follows it to the many theaters of the war where it saw service. Among the lesser-known are Burma and hazardous convoy protection in the Arctic and Mediterranean, flying from makeshift carriers. This book will fascinate specialist aviation historians and those who enjoy a rattling good war story, and includes a superb selection of rare photographs.
They Followed the Call
by Al Lohn<p>A widowed single mother must leave her toddler son stateside in order to serve as a US Army medic in Iraq in this contemporary wartime romance.<p> <p>When Marisa enlisted in the Army Reserves to pay her way through nursing school, she never imagined how hard it would be to leave her young son behind when she’s called to serve as an Army medic in the Iraq War. Trading her family life in America for the dangers of desert warfare, Marisa faces new challenges every day—and fresh heartbreak every time she calls home and hears her son’s voice. Only the camaraderie of her fellow soldiers gets her through—as well as the strong connection she feels to Lieutenant O’Rourke. Soon a forbidden romance begins between them—a bond that only grows when they are drawn together on a mission to save a group of orphaned boys. Suddenly Marisa is filled with a sense of purpose that fuels her hope that she will make it home alive to see her precious son once more.<p>
They Fought Alone: A True Story Of A Modern American Hero
by John KeatsThe time: 1942.The place: The Japanese-occupied island of Mindanao in the Philippines.The Story: A stirring true account of a man who refused to be defeated.When the American forces in the Philippines surrendered in May, 1942, a mining engineer named Wendell Fertig chose to take his chances in the jungle. What happened to him during nearly three years far behind enemy lines is the amazing story that John Keats tells in They Fought Alone.For Fertig, with the aid of a handful of Americans who also refused to surrender, led thousands of Filipinos in a seemingly hopeless war against the Japanese. They made bullets from curtain rods; telegraph wire from iron fence. They fought off sickness, despair and rebellion within their own forces. Their homemade communications were MacArthur's eyes and ears in the Philippines. When the Americans finally returned to Mindanao, they found Fertig virtually in control of one of the world's largest islands, commanding an army of 35,000 men, and at the head of a civil government with its own post office, law courts, currency, factories, and hospitals.John Keats, who also served in the Philippines, has captured all the pain, brutality, and courage of this incredible drama, in which many memorable men and women play their parts. But They Fought Alone is essentially the story of one man--a testament to the ingenuity and sheer guts of an authentic American hero."This remarkable story of guerrilla fighting in the Philippines during WWII...it is absorbing reading. . . . More remarkable still, though it contains death, torture, and desolation, it bubbles with humor." --S. L. A. Marshall, The NY Times Book Review"A true and admirably researched account of an American hero who refused to accept defeat. His courage was incredible and his resourcefulness equally so. . . . I have read scores of books in this genre and Keats' is one of the best." --Chicago Tribune
They Fought Alone: The True Story of the Starr Brothers, British Secret Agents in Nazi-Occupied France
by Charles Glass“Highly detailed and fast-paced, Charles Glass’s They Fought Alone is a must-read for those whose passion is the Resistance literature of World War II.” —Alan Furst, author of A Hero of FranceFrom the bestselling author of Americans in Paris and The Deserters, the astounding story of Britain's Special Operations Executive, one of World War II's most important secret fighting forcesAs far as the public knew, Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) did not exist. After the defeat of the French Army and Britain's retreat from the Continent in June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the top-secret espionage operation to "set Europe ablaze." The agents infiltrated Nazi-occupied territory, parachuting behind enemy lines and hiding in plain sight, quietly but forcefully recruiting, training, and arming local French résistants to attack the German war machine. SOE would not only change the course of the war, but the nature of combat itself. Of the many brave men and women conscripted, two Anglo-American recruits, the Starr brothers, stood out to become legendary figures to the guerillas, assassins, and saboteurs they led.While both brothers were sent across the channel to organize against the Germans, their fates in war could hardly have been more different. Captain George Starr commanded networks of résistants in southwest France, cutting German communications, destroying weapons factories, and delaying the arrival of Nazi troops to Normandy by seventeen days after D-Day. Younger brother Lieutenant John Starr laid groundwork for resistance in the Burgundy countryside until he was betrayed, captured, tortured, and imprisoned by the Nazis in France and sent to a series of concentration camps in Germany and Austria. Feats of boldness and bravado were many, but appalling scandals, including George's supposed torture and execution of Nazis prisoners, and John's alleged collaboration with his German captors, overshadowed them all. At the war's end, Britain, France, and the United States awarded both brothers medals for heroism, and George would become one of only three among thousands of SOE operatives to achieve the rank of colonel. Yet, their battle honors did little to allay postwar allegations against them, and when they returned to England, their government accused both brothers of heinous war crimes.Here, for the first time, is the story of one of the great clandestine organizations of World War II, and of two heroic brothers whose ordeals during and after the war challenged the accepted myths of Britain's wartime resistance in occupied France. Written with complete and unrivaled access to only recently declassified documents from Britain's SOE files, French archives, family letters, diaries, and court records, along with interviews from surviving wartime Resistance fighters, They Fought Alone is a real-life thriller. Renowned journalist and war correspondent Charles Glass exposes a dramatic tale of spies, sabotage, and the daring men and women who risked everything to change the course of World War II.
They Fought in Colour / La Guerre en couleur: A New Look at Canada's First World War Effort / Nouveau regard sur le Canada dans la Première Guerre mondiale
by Peter Mansbridge Daniel Poliquin The Vimy Foundation Paul GrossIconic photos from the First World War, newly colourized. See seminal images of Canada’s First World War experience in a new light — offered in full colour for the first time — with contributions from Margaret Atwood, Tim, Cook, Charlotte Gray, Paul Gross, Peter Mansbridge, and many others. Canadians today see the First World War largely through black and white photography. Colourizing these images brings a new focus to our understanding and appreciation of the role Canada played during the First World War. It makes the soldier in the muddy trench, the nurse in the field hospital, and those who waited for them at home come to life. Immediately, their expressions, mannerisms, and feelings are familiar. They become real. They Fought in Colour is a new look at Canada’s experience during the Great War. A more accessible look. A more contemporary look.
They Fought in the Fields: The Story of a Forgotten Victory
by Nicola Tyrer Queen Elizabeth"The Women's Land Army" was the forgotten victory of the Second World War. While troops fought on the front line, a battalion of young women joined up to take their place as agricultural workers. Despite many of them coming from urban backgrounds, these fearless, cheerful girls learnt how to look after farm land, operate and repair machinery, rear and manage farm animals, harvest crops and provide the work force that was badly needed in the years of the war. Back-breaking work such as thinning crops, continuous hoeing and digging made way for disgusting tasks such as rat-killing. Yet despite it all, the land girls were exuberant, fun-loving and hard-working, and became known for their articulate, feisty, humorous and modest attitude. It therefore comes as no surprise that despite hostility and teasing at the beginning, these robust farm workers won the hearts of the nation, and at the disbandment of the Land Army in the 1950s, the farming community were forced to eat their words. With delightful photographs documenting the camaraderie of the Land Army and real-life memories from those who joined, this nostalgic look at one of the real success stories of the Second World War will make modern women stand proud of what their grandmothers achieved in an era before our own.
They Gave Me a Seafire
by Commander R. "Mike" Crosley&“Superb . . . one of the most honest, candid, and truly delightful memoirs . . . the perfect memorial to one of the Fleet Air Arm&’s greats.&”—Aircrew Book Review A classic in every sense of the word, this book charts Commander R. &“Mike&” Crosley&’s service career in the Fleet Air Arm during the entire period of the Second World War. Part of his service saw him in action aboard HMS Eagle, flying Sea Hurricanes on the Harpoon and Pedestal Malta convoys of June and August 1942. It was during this time that he shot down his first enemy aircraft and survived the dramatic sinking of HMS Eagle. From there he graduated on to Seafires, (the Naval equivalent of the Spitfire), and flew this type in Combat Air Patrols over Norway and ramrod strikes from Operation Torch (the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942), through to D-Day in June 1944 in the European Theatre of Operations, and then in the Pacific abroad HMS Implacable as part of the British Pacific Fleet in 1945 until the end of the Pacific War, by which time he had command of his own combined squadron, 801 and 880. They Gave Me a Seafire sets to bring the endeavors of Crosley to a whole new generation of enthusiasts, and it should appeal across the board to fans of aviation, naval history and families and friends of Armed Forces, past and present. &“The fascinating publication details Mike&’s incredible capacity for survival, and sheer skill as a pilot, which were remarked on at the time, securing him a number of decorations.&”—Island Life Magazine
They Have Their Exits: The Best Selling Escape Memoir of World War Two (Pen & Sword Military Classics)
by Airey NeaveThe author of Saturday at M.I.9 and former British soldier recounts his escape from Nazi captivity during World War II in this military memoir. Wounded and captured at Calais in May 1940, Second Lieutenant Airey Neave wasted little time before attempting to escape. Always a thorn in his captors&’ sides, he earned his place in the &“escape-proof&” Colditz Castle. Undeterred, he had the distinction of being the first British officer to make a &“home run,&” via Switzerland, Vichy France, and Spain. Soon back in France working with the French Resistance as a member of M.I.9, rescuing Allied airmen, he found himself playing a leading role saving stranded survivors of 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem. Neave&’s extraordinary memoir continues even after Germany&’s surrender. Having arrested the directors of the mighty Krupp empire, he served with the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal where he came into personal contact with leading Nazis, gaining a unique insight into their characters and deeds. If ever there was a great and true story well told, it is They Have Their Exits. Reprinted once again it is a fitting memorial to a man of exceptional energy, initiative, and courage.Praise for They Have Their Exits&“One of the best escape memoirs to emerge from the Second World War, combining the adventure story of most with a deeper examination of the mental impact of captivity and escape, and the stresses and risks all the way along the escape routes.&” —History of War
They Just Don't Get It
by David HuntNo more politics--just the truth about what we can and must do to protect ourselves.Fox News military analyst Colonel David Hunt has dedicated his career to fighting terrorism. A twenty-nine-year U.S. Army veteran, he has helped take out an active terrorist camp, trained the FBI and Special Forces in counterterrorism tactics, and served as security adviser to six different Olympic Games. And Colonel Hunt is angry. Why? Because even after the terrorist attacks on our country and on Americans around the world, the people charged with protecting us--the politicians and the bureaucrats in military and intelligence--still aren't getting the job done. They Just Don't Get It provides a much-needed wake-up call to all Americans. As politicians posture and pundits bicker, we're losing sight of the fundamental problem: We're still not equipped to win the War on Terror. In fact, the terrorist threat is far worse than we feared, as made frighteningly clear by the fifty pages of documents published here for the first time--including a shocking manual taken from the terrorists themselves.But instead of just complaining, Colonel Hunt tells us exactly what we must do--without regard to political game-playing--to emerge victorious in the challenge that history has given us. These are changes we can make at every level--as individual citizens, as a government, and as a military power. As he shows in this book, while the government and our military lead the fight to protect us, ordinary citizens can and must contribute.They Just Don't Get It reveals:* What you can do to keep your family safe* How many of the government's recent "reforms" are mere window dressing or, worse, counterproductive* How we can fight this war and still safeguard our civil liberties and the American way of life* How to fix the intelligence disaster (and yes, the politicians in D.C. still haven't fixed it)* How we got into this mess in the first place: it's mostly because our government let the problem fester for three decadesColonel Hunt is no cautious bureaucrat or finger-pointer looking for political gain. He is a straight shooter with deep insight into what's happening in the War on Terror--on the ground and in the government. They Just Don't Get It lays out in clear and compelling terms the steps we must take--all of us--to win the War on Terror and ensure our survival as a free, proud, and strong nation.From They Just Don't Get ItWe're fighting a war for our very survival, so we'd better figure out how to win. That's why I'm writing this book--to show us how we can win, how we can protect ourselves. As a Fox News military analyst, I'm paid to offer insight into how our armed forces are conducting the fight against our enemies. But this book shows that to win the War on Terror we need to concern ourselves with more than just military tactics. For one thing, we need to look at what our political leaders are doing. The sad truth is that they still don't get it. Then there's intelligence. You've heard about our intelligence failures, but I doubt you know how bad it really is--even after the "reforms." I'm going to tell you. And another critical dimension to this story usually gets overlooked--what you can do. The fact is, you can do a lot. Hell, you must do a lot. A selection of American CompassFrom the Hardcover edition.
They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace Vietnam and America October 1967
by David MaranissHere is the epic story of Vietnam and the sixties told through the events of a few tumultuous days in October 1967. David Maraniss takes the reader on an unforgettable journey to the battlefields of war and peace. With meticulous and captivating detail, They Marched Into Sunlight brings that catastrophic time back to life while examining questions about the meaning of dissent and the official manipulation of truth, issues that are as relevant today as they were decades ago. In a seamless narrative, Maraniss weaves together three very different worlds of that time: the death and heroism of soldiers in Vietnam, the anger and anxiety of antiwar students back home, and the confusion and obfuscating behavior of officials in Washington. In the literature of the Vietnam era, there are powerful books about soldiering, excellent analyses of American foreign policy in Southeast Asia, and many dealing with the sixties' culture of protest, but this is the first book to connect the three worlds and present them in a dramatic unity. To understand what happens to the people of this story is to understand America's anguish. In the Long Nguyen Secret Zone of Vietnam, a renowned battalion of the First Infantry Division is marching into a devastating ambush that will leave sixty-one soldiers dead and an equal number wounded. On the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, students are staging an obstructive protest at the Commerce Building against recruiters for Dow Chemical Company, makers of napalm and Agent Orange, that ends in a bloody confrontation with club-wielding Madison police. And in Washington, President Lyndon Johnson is dealing with pressures closing in on him from all sides and lamenting to his war council, "How are we ever going to win?" Based on thousands of primary documents and 180 on-the-record interviews, the story unfolds day by day, hour by hour, and at times minute by minute, with a rich cast of characters -- military officers, American and Viet Cong soldiers, chancellors, professors, students, police officers, businessmen, mime troupers, a president and his men, a future mayor and future vice president -- moving toward battles that forever shaped their lives and evoked cultural and political conflicts that reverberate still.
They Never Had It So Good
by Jack W. SheridanThey Never Had It So Good, first published in 1946, is a first-hand account of the activities—both in the air and on the ground—of a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber Squadron during nearly three years of World War Two. The Squadron, based at an airfield in southern England, took part in over 300 missions, including bombing runs in support of the D-day landings in Normandy and the embattled allied forces at the Battle of the Bulge, to wide-ranging, hazardous missions over Germany, Norway, Belgium, and Romania. The book, written as a unit history by a member of the ground-crew, details the daily activities of the Squadron but adds many stories of the men while at work or on leave, beginning with the group's formation and training at various bases in the U.S. until the time they reach New York city following the war's end.They Never Had It So Good provides an insightful, inside look at an American airbase in England during the Second World War.
They Shall Not Have Me: The Capture, Forced Labor, and Escape of a French Prisoner in World War II
by Deborah Rosenthal Jacqueline Helion Jean HelionThe French painter Jean Hélion's unique and deeply moving account of his experiences in Nazi prisoner-of-war camps prefigures the even darker stories that would emerge from the concentration camps. This serious adventure tale begins with Hélion's infantry platoon fleeing from the German army and warplanes as they advanced through France in the early days of the war. The soldiers chant as they march and run, "They shall not have me!" but are quickly captured and sent to hard labor. Writing in English in 1943, after his risky escape to freedom in the United States, Hélion vividly depicts the sights, sounds, and smells of the camps, and shrewdly sizes up both captors and captured. In the deep humanity, humor, and unsentimental intelligence of his observations, we can recognize the artist whose long career included friendships with the likes of Mondrian, Giacometti, and Balthus, and an important role in shaping modern art movements. Hélion's picture of almost two years without his art is a self-portrait of the artist as a man.
They Shall Not Pass
by Ben HughesIn 1937 a group of idealistic British volunteers sailed from England to fight thedark threat of dictatorship in Spain. In the olive groves of Jarama they achieved the first victory against Franco's army. It was Fascism's first defeat. Hardly remembered today, it was possibly the crucial military turning point of the 20th century. For the first time, Ben Hughes reconstructs the battle in a vivid blow-by-blow account, and considers its fascinating aftermath. This near forgotten struggle, which took place in February 1937 south of Madrid, proved for the firsttime that fascism and its ilk, which up until then had steamrollered all opposition from the Rhineland to Addis Ababa, could in fact be stopped. Although the Spanish Republicans would eventually lose the Civil War, their efforts, and those of the International Brigades who fought alongside them, paved the way for the more celebrated victories that followed. Without them, 20th century history would have followed a very different course. This lively account fromthe author of Conquer or Die! is sure to interest any reader wishing to learn more about this tumultuous period in world history.From the Hardcover edition.
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front, 1914–1918
by Ian SumnerThis graphic collection of first-hand accounts sheds new light on the experiences of the French army during the Great War. It reveals in authentic detail the perceptions and emotions of soldiers and civilians who were caught up in the most destructive conflict the world had ever seen. Their testimony gives a striking insight into the mentality of the troops and their experience of combat, their emotional ties to their relatives at home, their opinions about their commanders and their fellow soldiers, the appalling conditions and dangers they endured, and their attitude to their German enemy. In their own words, in diaries, letters, reports and memoirs - most of which have never been published in English before - they offer a fascinating inside view of the massive life-and-death struggle that took place on the Western Front. Ian Sumner provides a concise narrative of the war in order to give a clear context to the eyewitness material. In effect the reader is carried through the experience of each phase of the war on the Western Front and sees events as soldiers and civilians saw them at the time. This emphasis on eyewitness accounts provides an approach to the subject that is completely new for an English-language publication. The authors pioneering work will appeal to readers who may know something about the British and German armies on the Western Front, but little about the French army which bore the brunt of the fighting on the allied side. His book represents a milestone in publishing on the Great War.
They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45
by Richard J. Evans Milton Mayer“When this book was first published it received some attention from the critics but none at all from the public. Nazism was finished in the bunker in Berlin and its death warrant signed on the bench at Nuremberg.” That’s Milton Mayer, writing in a foreword to the 1966 edition of They Thought They Were Free. He’s right about the critics: the book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1956. General readers may have been slower to take notice, but over time they did—what we’ve seen over decades is that any time people, across the political spectrum, start to feel that freedom is threatened, the book experiences a ripple of word-of-mouth interest. And that interest has never been more prominent or potent than what we’ve seen in the past year. Mayer, an American journalist of German descent, traveled to Germany in 1935 in attempt to secure an interview with Hitler. He failed, but what he saw in Berlin chilled him. He quickly determined that Hitler wasn’t the person he needed to talk to after all. Nazism, he realized, truly was a mass movement; he needed to talk with the average German. He found ten, and his discussions with them of Nazism, the rise of the Reich, and mass complicity with evil became the backbone of this book, an indictment of the ordinary German that is all the more powerful for its refusal to let the rest of us pretend that our moment, our society, our country are fundamentally immune. A new foreword to this edition by eminent historian of the Reich Richard J. Evans puts the book in historical and contemporary context. We live in an age of fervid politics and hyperbolic rhetoric. They Thought They Were Free cuts through that, revealing instead the slow, quiet accretions of change, complicity, and abdication of moral authority that quietly mark the rise of evil.
They Too Served: 496th Fighter Training Group, 1943-45
by Major David H. Kelley USAFIn-theater combat crew replacement centers (CCRC) represented a brief but important stop for aircrews training as replacements for personnel lost in the European theater during World War II. The Eighth Air Force's 496th Fighter Training Group operated a fighter CCRC at Goxhill, England, and illustrated the unique challenges and successes of the CCRC mission. The 496th Fighter Training Group overcame maintenance shortfalls, aircraft shortages, and persistent morale issues to train more than 2,400 fighter pilots for combat duty in the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and North American P-51 Mustang.
They Went on Together
by Robert NathanThey Went On Together, first published in 1941, is a moving novel of a mother and her two young children, Paul and Marie Rose, ages 11 and 4, as they flee the advancing German army during the early days of World War II in France. The family meets and befriends a young girl, Sylvie, who has no family. During a bombing raid, Paul and Sylvie are separated from the family and struggle to survive on their own while Paul’s mother searches desperately for them. They Went On Together is a heart-warming story of family, courage, innocence, and friendship in the face of terrible odds. Robert Nathan (1894-1985) was the author of many books for adults and children, screenplays, and poetry.“Robert Nathan has written his most realistic book, and struck chords of universal resonance with his most moving simplicity...It is touched with the idyllic beauty, lightened with the smiling normality, made challenging by the reflective thought which belong to all Robert Nathan’s best work; and its resonance is of innate human hope and the recognition of human brotherhood.”—Katherine Woods, New York Times
They Were Expendable
by W. L. WhiteHere is the first great story of our war as seen by the men fighting it. When the first Japanese planes roared over Manila Bay, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 went into action. And when General MacArthur was ordered to Australia, Squadron 3-what was left of it- was picked to take him on the perilous trip out of Bataan. Squadron 3 fought on the sea, but its members talked, in the comradeship of battle, with the men who fought on land and in the air. The result is more than the adventure story of this single squadron, for in the background is the whole tragic panorama of the Philippine Campaign-the hopelessness and the flaming courage around America's little Dunkirk. W. L. White has interviewed four of the survivors of Squadron 3-Bulkeley, Kelly, Akers, and Cox, names already known throughout the nation-and woven their fighting accounts into a memorable and moving pattern. Mr. White has never done a finer job of writing. He has caught the very accents of experience. It is plain talk, which becomes gallant talk for all that it does not say as well as for what is said. they were expendable is a document to stir all of us-a brave and grim story to put against all complacency.
They Were Heroes
by SgtMaj David K. Devaney Usmc Ret.Sergeant Major Devaney’s They Were Heroes presents moving portraits of warriors who have not been fully celebrated. His stories recognize the heroism of those who fought in these deadly conflicts and placed their lives at risk to assure the safety of their fellow Marines. For these Marines, no Medal of Honor is enough for their bravery. Nonetheless, though not his main purpose, Devaney calls attention to the practice of awarding medals itself, that often these warriors received awards that were below what their deeds merited. No less disturbing is the revelation that medals were often awarded by rank, and not always by action. The lives presented in Devaney’s book call attention to the fact that many heroes of these deadly conflicts have gone unrecognized.