THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
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New Release Books on WW2
An April 2022 release:
by Lawrence PatersonDescription:
The accepted historical narrative of the Second World War predominantly assigns U-boats to the so-called Battle of the Atlantic, almost as if the struggle over convoys between the new world and the old can be viewed in isolation from simultaneous events on land and in the air. This has become an almost accepted error. The U-boats war did not exist solely between 1940 and 1943, nor did the Atlantic battle occur in seclusion from other theatres of action. The story of Germany's second U-boat war began on the first day of hostilities with Britain and France and ended with the final torpedo sinking on May 7 1945. U-boats were active in nearly every theatre of operation in which the Wehrmacht served, and within all but the Southern Ocean. Moreover, these deployments were not undertaken in isolation from one another; instead they were frequently interconnected in what became an increasingly inefficient German naval strategy.
This fascinating new book places each theater of action in which U-boats were deployed into the broader context of the Second World War in its entirety while also studying the interdependence of the various geographic deployments. It illustrates the U-boats' often direct relationship with land, sea and aerial campaigns of both the Allied and Axis powers, dispels certain accepted mythologies, and reveals how the ultimate failure of the U-boats stemmed as much from chaotic German military and industrial mismanagement as it did from Allied advances in code-breaking and weaponry.
A November release:
by Jerry WhiteDescription:
Britain and Germany were at war for almost six long years. For Londoners these were years of intermittent anxiety, disruption, deprivation and sacrifice. For prolonged periods of time - from September 1940 to May 1941, and again from December 1943 to March 1945 - London was under sustained, sometimes unrelenting, aerial bombardment by night and by day. By the end of the war, one in two of the nation's civilian war dead had been Londoners, nearly 30,000 people. Throughout the war, London was the nation's front line, and the capital and its people bore the brunt of the nation's suffering.
Yet if the bombing defined the era for those who lived through it, the months of terror were outnumbered by those spent knitting together the skein of daily life at work, in the home, on the allotment, in the cinema or theatre and, not least, standing in those interminable queues for daily necessities that were such a feature of London's war.
Much has been written about 'the Myth of the Blitz', but Jerry White has unearthed what actually happened during those years, getting close up to the daily lives of ordinary people, telling the story through their own voices. And despite the terror and the hardship, for every Londoner who stayed in the capital it was the time of their lives: 'I would rather have been in London under siege between 1940 and 1945 than anywhere else,' recalled the literary critic John Lehmann some years later, 'except perhaps Troy in the time that Homer celebrated.'
Jerome wrote: "A November release: by Jerry WhiteDescription:
Britain and Germany were at war for almost six long years. For Londoners these wer..."
Thanks, Jerome – that looks really good.
Hello all- have you seen these?
Liam wrote: "Hello all- have you seen these?[bookcover:The Fieseler ..."
Thanks, Liam. The Arado Ar-196 was a successful float plane in service with several nations. The Finns loved them.
Coming this fall: Battleship CommanderThe Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr.
By Paul Stillwell
https://www.usni.org/press/books/batt...
Sounds good Gregg, thanks for the heads up!
The following book on an aspect of the Second World War that is still too often overlooked or marginalized, will be released next October 15th ---"Proud Warriors: African American Combat Units in World War II" - Alexander M Bielakowski
This book has special resonance for me because my late father fought as a GI in Europe with a segregated combat unit that was a part of General Patton's Third Army. My father had arrived in the UK sometime in the spring of 1944 and at the time of D-DAY was stationed in Hull, England. Two weeks later, his unit would ship out from Southampton for Normandy, landing on Omaha Beach.
The War for my father began in Normandy, extended after the Breakout (Operation Cobra) across France with a detour in Belgium (where my father's unit saw action in the Battle of the Bulge), and ended on V-E DAY in Czechoslovakia.
I've already put in an order for this book and keenly look forward to reading it.
Sounds like another good book Komet, thanks for posting the details.
An April 2022 release:
by Barrett TillmanDescription:
In forty-four months between December 1941 and August 1945, the Pacific Theater of Operations absorbed the attention of the American nation and military longer than any other. Despite the Allied grand strategy of "Germany first," after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. especially was committed to confronting Tokyo as a matter of urgent priority.
But from Oaho to Tokyo was a long, sanguinary slog, averaging an advance of just three miles per day. The U.S. human toll paid on that road reached some 108,000 battle deaths, more than one-third the U.S. wartime total. But by the summer of 1945 on both the American Homefront and on the frontline there was hope. The stunning announcements of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 seemed sure to force Tokyo over the tipping point since the Allies' surrender demand from Potsdam, Germany, in July. What few understood was the vast gap in the cultural ethos of East and West at that time. In fact, most of the Japanese cabinet refused to surrender and vicious dogfights were still waged in the skies above Japan.
Amidst the devastation of the nuclear bombings came the news of the Soviet invasion of Japanese-held Manchuria. Barrett Tillman details how it was this total abandonment of the previous peaceful relations between Russia and Japan is what ultimately convinced the Japanese emperor to agree to unconditional surrender. His decision was in defiance of many military and political key figures and even in the face of attempted coup.
This fascinating new history tells the dramatic story of the final weeks of the war, detailing the last brutal battles on air, land and sea with evocative first-hand accounts from pilots and ordinary sailors caught up in these extraordinary events. Barrett Tillman then expertly details the first weeks of a tenuous peace and the drawing of battle lines with the forthcoming Cold War as Soviet forces concluded their invasion of Manchuria. When the Shooting Stopped retells all these dramatic events drawing on accounts from all sides to relive the days when the war finally ended and the world was forever changed.
Barrett has been a colleague and friend for many years, and wrote some forewords and assisted with some of my books. Great historian. In 2007 we did a History Channel show together.
A March 2022 release:
by Halik KochanskiDescription:
Across the whole of Nazi-ruled Europe the experience of occupation was sharply varied. Some countries - such as Denmark - were within tight limits allowed to run themselves. Others - such as France - were constrained not only by military occupation but by open collaboration. In a historical moment when Nazi victory seemed permanent and irreversible, the question 'why resist?' was therefore augmented by 'who was the enemy?'.
Resistance is an extraordinarily powerful, humane and haunting account of how and why all across Nazi-occupied Europe some people decided to resist the Third Reich. This could range from open partisan warfare in the occupied Soviet Union to dangerous acts of defiance in the Netherlands or Norway. Some of these resistance movements were entirely home-grown, others supported by the Allies.
Like no other book, Resistance shows the reader just how difficult such actions were. How could small bands of individuals undertake tasks which could lead not just to their own deaths but those of their families and their entire communities?
Filled with powerful and often little-known stories, Halik Kochanski's major new book is a fascinating examination of the convoluted challenges faced by those prepared to resist the Germans, ordinary people who carried out exceptional acts of defiance and resistance.
Jerome wrote: "A March 2022 release: by Halik KochanskiDescription:
Across the whole of Nazi-ruled Europe the experience..."
Sounds like a book to keep an eye-out for Jerome, thanks for posting the details.
I've already pre-ore red a copy of this new release:
The Pathfinders: The Greatest Untold Story of the Air War against the Nazis by Will IredaleDescription:
The Pathfinders were ordinary men and women from a range of nations who revolutionised the efficiency of the Allies' air campaign over mainland Europe. They elevated Bomber Command - initially the only part of the Allied war effort capable of attacking the heart of Nazi Germany - from an impotent force on the cusp of disintegration in 1942 to one capable of razing whole German cities to the ground in a single night, striking with devastating accuracy, inspiring fear and loathing in Hitler's senior command.
With exclusive interviews with remaining survivors, personal diaries, previously classified records and never-before seen photographs, The Pathfinders brings to life the characters of the airmen and women - many barely out of their teens - who took to the skies in legendary British aircraft such as the Lancaster and the Mosquito, facing almost unimaginable levels of violence from enemy fighter planes to strike at the heart of the Nazi war machine.
The untold story of the elite force that spearheaded almost every British bombing raid over Nazi Germany, by the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Kamikaze Hunters. Perfect for fans of John Nichol's Spitfire, Patrick Bishop's Fighter Boys and Dambusters.
Richard Overy has a new book due out on the Second World War"
A New History of the Second World War by Richard Overy
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Richard Overy has a new book due out on the Second World War"A New History of the Second World War by [author:Richard Ove..."vibe: always nice to read Overy, but how much new can he have to tell in an overview, so... paperback?
I will have to wait till I can thumb through a copy before I make any decision on a purchase.
A December release:
by Aaron BatesDescription:
Operation Market Garden – the Allied airborne invasion of German-occupied Holland in September 1944 – is one of the most famous and controversial Allied failures of the Second World War. Many books have been written on the subject seeking to explain the defeat. Historians have generally focused on the mistakes made by senior commanders as they organized the operation. The choice of landing zones has been criticized, as has the structure of the airlift plan. But little attention has been paid to the influence that combat doctrine and training had upon the relative performance of the forces involved. And it is this aspect that Aaron Bates emphasizes in this perceptive, closely argued, and absorbing reevaluation of the battle.
As he describes each phase of the fighting he shows how German training, which gave their units a high degree of independence of action, better equipped them to cope with the confusion created by the surprise Allied attack. In contrast, the British forces were hampered by their rigid and centralized approach which made it more difficult for them to adapt to the chaotic situation.
Aaron Bates’s thought-provoking study sheds fresh light on the course of the fighting around Arnhem and should lead to a deeper understanding of one of the most remarkable episodes in the final stage of the Second World War in western Europe.
Jerome wrote: "A December release: by Aaron BatesDescription:
Operation Market Garden – the Allied airborne invasion..."
Thanks, Jerome, that's very interesting. Now on my TBR list!
Jerome wrote: "A December release: by Aaron BatesDescription:
Operation Market Garden – the Allied airborne invasion..."
Tall order. Will he surpass It Never Snows in September: The German View of Market-Garden and the Battle of Arnhem, September 1944 thanks to an extra generation of scholarship ?
A May 2022 release:
by Stephen L. MooreDescription:
In March 1943, in their first fight with the Germans, American soldiers in North Africa were pushed back fifty miles by Rommel’s Afrika Korps and nearly annihilated. Only the German decision not to pursue them allowed the Americans to maintain a foothold in the area. General Eisenhower, the supreme commander, knew he needed a new leader on the ground, one who could raise the severely damaged morale of his troops. He handed the job to a new man: Lieutenant General George Patton.
Charismatic, irreverent, impulsive, and inspiring, Patton possessed a massive ego and the ambition to match. But he could motivate men to fight. He had just ten days to whip his dispirited troops into shape, then throw them into battle against the Wehrmacht’s terrifying Panzers, the speedy and powerful German tanks that U.S. forces had never defeated. Patton, who believed he had fought as a Roman legionnaire in a previous life, relished the challenge to turn the tide of America’s fledgling war against Hitler—and the chance to earn a fourth star.
Released on August the 31st 2021Haven't seen it mentioned here yet!
The Battle for Shaggy Ridge : The extraordinary story of the Australian campaign against the Japanese in New Guinea's Finisterre mountains in 1943-44 by Phillip Bradley
Amazon just informed me of this release:SBS – Silent Warriors: The Authorised Wartime History by Saul David. So new it doesn't even have a cover image!
I wonder if its an updated edition to this book:
On Shaggy Ridge: The Australian Seventh Division In The Ramu Valley From Kaiapit To The Finisterres by Phillip Bradley
Some nice new books there Jerome, Leigh and Jonny!
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I wonder if its an updated edition to this book:[book:On Shaggy Ridge: The A..."Could be makes sense... releasing it independent of the Australian army History series.
An April 2022 release:
by Lawrence PatersonDescription:
In the early years of the Third Reich, Hermann Göring, one of the most notorious leaders of the Third Reich, worked to establish his own personal army to rival Himmler’s SS and Reichswehr. The result: a private Prussian police force which grew into one of the most powerful armored units in Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht.
This unit fought throughout the Second World War, meeting Anglo-American forces in vicious battles across the European theaters of Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy before finally being defeated by the Red Army on the Eastern Front. The Hermann Göring Panzer Division incorporates technical details of these battles with the turbulent politics and Machiavellian maneuvering of Hitler’s inner circle, giving military-history enthusiasts fresh insights into the development and role of this unusual division through the war.
Drawing on first-hand accounts and extensive archive material, World War II historian Lawrence Paterson presents a comprehensive and unbiased history of the establishment of the famous 1. Fallschirm-Panzer Division
Jerome wrote: "An April 2022 release: by Lawrence PatersonDescrip..."
Could be one worth while checking out.
Here is a September 2021 release that may be on some interest to group members; "A Dangerous Enterprise: Secret War at Sea".
A Dangerous Enterprise: Secret War at Sea by Tim SpicerDescription:
Between 1942 and 1944 a very small, very secret, very successful clandestine unit of the Royal Navy, operated between Dartmouth in Devon, and the Brittany Coast in France. It was a crossing of about 100 miles, every yard of it dangerous. The unit was called the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla: crewed by 125 officers and men, it became the most highly decorated Royal Naval unit of the Second World War.
The 15th MGBF was an extraordinary group of men thrown together in the most secret of adventures. Very few were regular Royal Naval officers: instead the unit was made up of mostly Royal Naval Volunteer Officers and 'duration only' sailors. Their home was a converted paddle steamer and luxury yacht, but their work could not have been more serious.
Their mission was to ferry agents of SIS and SOE to pinpoint landing sites on the Brittany coast in Occupied France. Once they had landed their agents, together with stores for the Resistance, they picked up evaders, escaped POWs who had had the good fortune to be collected by escape lines run by M19, as well as returning SIS and SOE agents.
It is a story that is inextricably entwined with that of the many agents they were responsible for - Pierre Hentic, Yves Le Tac, Virginia Hall, Albert Hué, Jeannie Rousseau, Suzanne Warengham, François Mitterrand and Mathilde Carré, as well as many others. Without the Flotilla, such intelligence gathering networks as Jade Fitzroy and Alliance would never have developed, and SOE's VAR Line and MI9's Shelburne Escape Line would never have been realised.
Drawing on a huge amount of research on both sides of the Channel, including private archives of many of the families involved, A Dangerous Enterprise brings the story of this most clandestine of operations brilliantly to life.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Here is a September 2021 release that may be on some interest to group members; "A Dangerous Enterprise: Secret War at Sea".[book:A D..."Sounds brilliant – thanks, AR.
My pleasure Gary :)
Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945Is anyone else reading the non-vampire Twilight (Twilight of the Gods by Toll)? This is such a well done history. I'm only about 300 pages in but his accounts of a hostile press to FDR (reversed compared to present biases), US strategy, Japanese strategy, Kamikaze development and execution, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf so far are superb. I haven't read a WW2 history this good since Antony Beevor.
Darin wrote: "Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945Is anyone else reading the non-vampire Twilight (Twilight of the Gods by Toll)? This is such a well done history. I'm on..."
A trilogy that I am yet to read but looking forward to it :)
Darin wrote: "Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945Is anyone else reading the non-vampire Twilight (Twilight of the Gods by Toll)? This is such a well done history. I'm on..."
I've read them - Toll is always very, very good!
If you like Prof Toll, may I recommend his
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. NavyIt's about the first 6 frigates commissioned into the US Navy, including the USS Constitution.
A June 2022 release:
by Anthony Tucker-JonesDescription:
The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive in the West. Launched in the depths of winter to neutralize the overwhelming Allied air superiority, three German armies attacked through the Ardennes, the weakest part of the American lines, with the aim of splitting the Allied armies and seizing the vital port of Antwerp within a week. It was a tall order, as the Panzers had to get across the Our, Amblève, Ourthe and Meuse rivers, and the desperate battle became a race against time and the elements, which the Germans would eventually lose.
This new study of the famous battle focuses on the German experience, telling the story from the perspective of the German infantrymen and Panzer crewmen fighting on the ground in the Ardennes, through to the senior commanders such as SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich and General Hasso von Manteuffel whose operational decisions did so much to decide the fate of the offensive.
Darin wrote: "Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945Is anyone else reading the non-vampire Twilight (Twilight of the Gods by Toll)? This is such a well done history. I'm on..."
Yes finished all 3 of Ian Toll's books. War from US view not normally my thing but these are superbly written, pageturners.
Another June 2022 release:
by Craig L. SymondsDescription:
The most cataclysmic and consequential war in history produced more than its share of fascinating characters and great leaders. Some have hardened into legend, others fallen below the radar. Somewhere in-between sits Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of both the Pacific Fleet and the Pacific Ocean Area from 1941 to 1945. Nimitz demanded and received less attention than his Army counterpart, Douglas MacArthur, whose self-promotion was prodigious. He seemed less colorful than some of his subordinates, such as Admiral Bill “Bull” Halsey and General Holland “Howlin' Mad” Smith. Yet Nimitz's was the guiding hand of Allied forces in the Pacific War, and the central figure in the victory against Japan.
Craig L. Symonds's full-length portrait of Nimitz, from the precarious early months following Pearl Harbor, when Nimitz assumed command of the Pacific Fleet, to the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay, is the first in more than fifty years. Using Nimitz's headquarters-the eye of the hurricane-as the
vantage point, Symonds covers the major campaigns, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. He captures Nimitz's calm, discipline, homespun wisdom, and uncanny sense of when to project authority and when to pull back, illuminating how this helped him direct one of the largest and most complex campaigns in military history, fought against an implacable foe. The pressures Nimitz faced were crushing, involving tactical and strategic decision-making, visualizing success while mindful of the welfare of those who served under him-soldiers, sailors, and Marines. He had to corral assertive subordinates and keep them focused on the larger objectives, and maintain a strong working relationship with his own superiors, including the equally formidable Admiral Ernest J. King and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In addition, Nimitz had to deal with the public spectacle of war, managing the expectations of a nation both expecting victory and longing for the carnage to end.
In retrospect it seems impossible to imagine anyone else could have accomplished all this. As Symonds' absorbing, dynamic, and authoritative portrait reveals, it took leadership asked of-and exhibited by-few others. Behind Nimitz's unflappable professionalism and reservoirs of charm were a resolve and audacity that became evident when most needed.
Another:
by Brian WalterDescription:
For three millennia the Mediterranean Sea served as the center of western civilization and the scene of many colossal wars and naval battles. In the early summer of 1940, this ancient body of water again played host to a new and extensive conflict as the Kingdom of Italy challenged Britain for dominance within the region. With France on the verge of collapse and Britain facing the prospect of imminent invasion, the Italians hoped to re-establish control over the Mediterranean. The only thing standing in their way was the heavily outnumbered British Mediterranean Fleet and the equally outnumbered British ground and air forces present in the region. Together, these forces would determine whether the Mediterranean reverted back to Italian control or whether the Allies would prevail and retain supremacy over this great body of water for themselves.
This book tells the story of this epic struggle. This was a prolonged and colossal conflict waged at differing times against the combined forces of Italy, Germany and Vichy France over a wide area stretching from the coastal waters of Southern Europe in the north to Madagascar in the south and Africa's Atlantic coast in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east. Utilizing a variety of weapons including surface warships, submarines, and aircraft along with sizable merchant fleets, the British and their subsequent American partners maintained vital seaborne lines of communication, conducted numerous amphibious landings, interdicted Axis supply activities and eventually eliminated all semblances of Axis maritime power within the theatre. In turn, these actions facilitated multiple Allied victories that helped secure the defeat of the European Axis.
A February 2022 release:
by Christopher L. KolakowskiDescription:
From December 1943 to August 1944, Allied and Japanese forces fought the decisive battles of World War II in Southeast Asia. Fighting centered around North Burma, Imphal, Kohima and the Arakan, involving troops from all over the world along a battlefront the combined size of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The campaigns brought nations into collision for the highest stakes: British and Indian troops fighting for Empire, the Indo-Japanese forces seeking a prestige victory with an invasion of India and the Americans and Chinese focused on helping China and reopening the Burma Road. Events turned on the decisions of the principal commanders - Admiral Louis Mountbatten and Generals Joseph Stilwell, William Slim, Orde Wingate, Mutaguchi Renya, among many others. The impact of the fighting was felt in London, Tokyo and Washington, among other places far away from the battlefront, with effects that presaged postwar political relationships. This was also the first U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, and Stilwell's operations in some ways foreshadowed battles in Vietnam two decades later.
The Burma and India battles of 1944 offer dramatic and compelling stories of people fighting in difficult conditions against high odds, with far-reaching results. They also proved important to the postwar future of the participant nations and Asia as a whole, with effects that still reverberate decades after the war.
Jerome wrote: "Another June 2022 release: by Craig L. SymondsDescription:
The most cataclysmic and consequen..."
Thank you for posting these upcoming releases Jerome! Can't wait for this one.
Jerome wrote: "Another June 2022 release: by Craig L. SymondsDescription:
The most cataclysmic and consequen..."
I've enjoyed most of Symonds books so this may well be worth while keeping an eye out for.
Peter Hart has a new title set for release in May 2022. It may interest a few group members:
Burning Steel: A Tank Regiment at War, 1939-45 by Peter HartDescription:
This is the story of a tank regiment: the 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry in the Second World War. Raw and visceral personal recollections from the men themselves recall some of the most dramatic and horrific scenes imaginable - the sheer nerve-wracking tension of serving in highly inflammable Sherman tanks, the sudden impact of German shells, the desperate scramble to bail out, and the awful fate of those who couldn't. Even if they made it out of the tank, they were still vulnerable to being brutally cut down by German infantry.
Yet amidst these horrors, the humanity of these men shines through. And as we follow in their tracks, through letters, diaries and eye-witness accounts, they will change how we think about tank warfare forever.
Running behind Holland Rick? Still Peter had a knack for getting the best from his interviewees, so it'll certainly be worth a look.
I think it would be worth while checking out :)
An April 2022 release:
by Paul KennedyDescription:
In this engaging narrative, brought to life by marine artist Ian Marshall’s beautiful full-color paintings, historian Paul Kennedy grapples with the rise and fall of the Great Powers during World War II. Tracking the movements of the six major navies of the Second World War—the allied navies of Britain, France, and the United States and the Axis navies of Germany, Italy, and Japan—Kennedy tells a story of naval battles, maritime campaigns, convoys, amphibious landings, and strikes from the sea. From the elimination of the Italian, German, and Japanese fleets and almost all of the French fleet, to the end of the era of the big-gunned surface vessel, the advent of the atomic bomb, and the rise of an American economic and military power larger than anything the world had ever seen, Kennedy shows how the strategic landscape for naval affairs was completely altered between 1936 and 1946.
Jerome wrote: "An April 2022 release: by Paul KennedyDescription:
In this engaging n..."
Sounds like another good book!
A January 11, 2022 release ---"Immortal Valor: The Black Medal of Honor Winners of World War II" by Robert Child
SUMMARY
In 1945, when Congress began reviewing the record of the most conspicuous acts of courage by American soldiers during World War II, they recommended awarding the Medal of Honor to 432 recipients. Despite the fact that more than one million African-Americans served, not a single black soldier received the Medal of Honor. The omission remained on the record for over four decades.
But recent historical investigations have brought to light some of the extraordinary acts of valor performed by black soldiers during the war. Men like Vernon Baker, who single-handedly eliminated three enemy machine guns, an observation post, and a German dugout. Or Sergeant Reuben Rivers, who spearhead his tank unit's advance against fierce German resistance for three days despite being grievously wounded. Meanwhile Lieutenant Charles Thomas led his platoon to capture a strategically vital village on the Siegfried Line in 1944 despite losing half his men and suffering a number of wounds himself.
Ultimately, in 1993, a U.S. Army commission determined that seven men, including Baker, Rivers and Thomas, had been denied the Army's highest award simply due to racial discrimination. In 1997, more than 50 years after the war, President Clinton finally awarded the Medal of Honor to these seven heroes, sadly all but one of them posthumously.
These are their stories.
Jerome wrote: "A February 2022 release: by Christopher L. KolakowskiDescription:
From December ..."
I interviewed VC recipient Umrao Singh who earned his medal in Burma in 1944, I am going to work the script for a film on him once I finish the next two in progress.
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
Books mentioned in this topic
Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War (other topics)Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War (other topics)
1942: Hitler's Gamble for Victory (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Richard Hargreaves (other topics)
Richard Hargreaves (other topics)
Andrew Faltum (other topics)
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Description:
In the long-awaited follow-up to the widely praised December 1941, Craig Shirley's April 1945 paints a vivid portrait of America--her people, faith, economy, government, and culture. The year of 1945 bought a series of watershed events that transformed the country into an arsenal of democracy, one that no longer armed the world by necessity but henceforth protected the world by need.
At the start of 1945, America and the rest of the world were grieving millions of lives lost in the global conflict. As President Roosevelt was sworn into his fourth term, optimism over an end to the bloody war had grown--then, in April, several events collided that changed the face of the world forever: the sudden death of President Roosevelt followed by Harry S. Truman's rise to office; Adolph Hitler's suicide; and the horrific discoveries of Dachau and Auschwitz. Americans doubled down on their completion of the atomic bomb and their plans to drop them on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the destruction ultimately leading the Japanese Empire to surrender on V-J day and ending World War II for good.
Combining engaging anecdotes with deft research and details that are both diminutive and grand, April 1945 gives readers a front-row seat to the American stage at the birth of a brand-new world.