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“A good read both to aviators in general and to the Lightning fraternity in particular” (Royal Air Force Historical Society).…
According to a recent international study, the Lightning is the fifth most popular military aircraft of all time. With over twenty individual stories from former Lightning pilots, this book relates the highs and lows, the dramas and the demands of those who operated this iconic aircraft until its sharp end. Tales include the recollections of an aerobatic display pilot, an implausible yet true account of telepathic communication, and an extraordinary episode in which a Lightning pilot on an exchange program with the French Air Force became embroiled in a mid-air collision. An unverified, but likely genuine, world record is also revealed in one of the chapters. In addition to the original photographs that accompany the text, the renowned aviation artist Chris Stone, a former Lightning pilot himself, has provided a unique sketch as well as copies of some of his paintings, offering a look at this amazing aircraft that will appeal to the general reader as well as the enthusiast.Masculinity, Militarism and Eighteenth-Century Culture, 1689–1815
By Banister Julia. 2018
This book investigates the figure of the military man in the long eighteenth century in order to explore how ideas…
about militarism served as vehicles for conceptualizations of masculinity. Bringing together representations of military men and accounts of court martial proceedings, this book examines eighteenth-century arguments about masculinity and those that appealed to the 'naturally' sexed body and construed masculinity as social construction and performance. Julia Banister's discussion draws on a range of printed materials, including canonical literary and philosophical texts by David Hume, Adam Smith, Horace Walpole and Jane Austen, and texts relating to the naval trials of, amongst others, Admiral John Byng. By mapping eighteenth-century ideas about militarism, including professionalism and heroism, alongside broader cultural concerns with politeness, sensibility, the Gothic past and celebrity, Julia Banister reveals how ideas about masculinity and militarism were shaped by and within eighteenth-century culture. Provides a multifaceted discussion of the ideas surrounding the figure of the military man in the long eighteenth century. Investigates ideas of masculinity through case studies of five court-martials of such men as Admiral John Byng. Draws on the work of a range of writers from Hume to Austen as well as other less often studied printed sources.The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son
By Pat Conroy. 2013
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader's Circle for author chats and…
more. Pat Conroy's great success as a writer has always been intimately linked with the exploration of his family history. As the oldest of seven children who were dragged from military base to military base across the South, Pat bore witness to the often cruel and violent behavior of his father, Marine Corps fighter pilot Donald Patrick Conroy. While the publication of The Great Santini brought Pat much acclaim, the rift it caused brought even more attention, fracturing an already battered family. But as Pat tenderly chronicles here, even the oldest of wounds can heal. In the final years of Don Conroy's life, the Santini unexpectedly refocused his ire to defend his son's honor. The Death of Santini is a heart-wrenching act of reckoning whose ultimate conclusion is that love can soften even the meanest of men, lending significance to the oft-quoted line from Pat's novel The Prince of Tides: "In families there are no crimes beyond forgiveness." Praise for The Death of Santini "A brilliant storyteller, a master of sarcasm, and a hallucinatory stylist whose obsession with the impress of the past on the present binds him to Southern literary tradition."--The Boston Globe "A painful, lyrical, addictive read that [Pat Conroy's] fans won't want to miss."--People "Conroy's conviction pulls you fleetly through the book, as does the potency of his bond with his family, no matter their sins."--The New York Times Book Review "Vital, large-hearted and often raucously funny."--The Washington Post "Conroy writes athletically and beautifully, slicing through painful memories like a point guard splitting the defense."--Minneapolis Star TribuneFrom the Trade Paperback edition.The inspiring story of a young American who volunteered to fight in the Israel Defense Forces, lost his arm in…
combat, and then returned to the battlefield.Combining refreshing candor with self-deprecating wit, this inspiring memoir will encourage readers to live up to their aspirations despite seemingly impossible odds.On January 8, 2009, Izzy Ezagui--an American who had enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at nineteen--lost his arm in a mortar attack on the border of the Gaza Strip. In this stirring and wryly humorous memoir, Izzy recounts his tortuous trek through rehabilitation to re-enlistment as a squad commander in the IDF. He became the world's only one-armed Special Forces sharpshooter.This isn't a typical war chronicle, full of macho bluster and the usual hero tropes. Izzy wrote this book with his fellow millennials in mind--not necessarily those with military ambitions, but everyone facing life's daily battles. His message is universal: if a self-described "nerd" and "one-armed basket case" like him can accomplish what he set his mind to, then anyone can become a hero in his or her own life.Growing up in a religious household in Miami, Izzy's early life was plagued by self-doubt, family drama, and (far too few) girl troubles. His search for direction eventually led him to that explosion on the Gaza border, changing his life forever.In the midst of disaster, Izzy discovered a deep well at his core, from which he could draw strength. Through his motivational speeches across the world, and now through this book, he encourages people to seek their own power, and to face whatever adversity life throws at them.Target Patton: The Plot To Assassinate General George S. Patton
By Robert K. Wilcox. 2008
The death of General George S. Patton is shrouded in mystery. While officially the result of an unfortunate car accident,…
the evidence points to a far more malevolent plot: murder. So says investigative and military journalist Robert K. Wilcox in his book: "Target: Patton: The Plot to Assassinate General George S. Patton." Written like a WWII spy thriller and meticulously researched, "Target: Patton" leads you through that fateful December day in 1945, revealing a chilling plan to assassinate General Patton. Backing up this shocking story with facts, photos, and eyewitness statements, Wilcox reveals long-hidden documents and accounts that explain how secrets Patton knew--and his strong anti-Soviet views--may have cost him his life.Coffin Corner Boys: One Bomber, Ten Men, and Their Harrowing Escape from Nazi-Occupied France
By Carole Engle Avriett, Capt. George W. Starks. 2018
A story of adventure, survival, loyalty, and brotherhood... Taking off from England on March 16, 1944, young Lt. George Starks…
and the nine-man crew of his Flying Fortress were assigned to the "coffin corner," the most exposed position in the bomber formation headed for Germany. They never got there. Shot down over Nazi-occupied France, the airmen bailed out one by one, scattered across the countryside. Miraculously, all ten survived, but as they discarded their parachutes in the farmland of Champagne, their wartime odyssey was only beginning. Alone, with a broken foot and a 20mm shell fragment in his thigh, twenty-year-old Starks set out on an incredible 300-mile trek to Switzerland, making his way with the help of ordinary men and women who often put themselves in great danger on his behalf. Six weeks later, on the verge of giving up, Starks found himself in the hands of a heroic member of the French Resistance—he calls him "the bravest man I've ever known"—who got him safely across the heavily guarded border. Similar ordeals awaited the other nine crewmen, who faced injury, betrayal, captivity, hunger, and depression. It was nothing short of miraculous that all ten came home at the end of the war. George Starks emerged from his ordeal with two passions—to stay in touch with his crew whatever the obstacles and to return to France to find and thank the brave souls to whom he owed his life. His enduring loyalty enabled him to do both. "The story of George Starks is one that brings to life the fighting spirit, heroism, and patriotism shown by the U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII. This book is inspirational and a must-read for anyone interested in WWII history in general and the Mighty Eighth Air Force in particular." —HENRY SKIPPER, President and CEO of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force "Rarely do we read true stories about the fearsome, persevering, enduring, unselfish love of country displayed by Dr. George Starks. He doesn't like to be called a hero, but no other word can rightly portray him better. He is my hero and after reading this book, he will be yours too." —BRENDA ELMGREN, former chief administrative of cer of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force "...readers will catch a glimpse into rst-hand accounts of what very young men did in serving our country at a time when the world was at war—and how brave people abroad responded to their mission. You will be inspired and engrossed at every turn of the page of this remarkable book." —BILL FREDERICK, former Mayor of OrlandoGettysburg Rebels: Five Native Sons Who Came Home to Fight as Confederate Soldiers
By Tom Mcmillan. 2017
Gettysburg Rebels is the gripping true story of five young men who grew up in Gettysburg, moved south to Virginia…
in the 1850s, joined the Confederate army - and returned "home" as foreign invaders for the great battle in July 1863. Drawing on rarely-seen documents and family histories, as well as military service records and contemporary accounts, Tom McMillan delves into the backgrounds of Wesley Culp, Henry Wentz and the three Hoffman brothers in a riveting tale of Civil War drama and intrigue.Muskets and Applejack: Spirits, Soldiers, and the Civil War
By Mark Will-Weber. 2017
"I wish some of you would tell me the brand of whiskey that Grant drinks. I would like to send…
a barrel of it to my other generals."- President Abraham Lincoln, when confronted about General Ulysses Grant's excessive drinking.Blood, gunfire, and whiskey: they are the three things that defined Civil War battlefields. In this fascinating, booze-drenched history of the war that almost tore America apart, historian Mark Will-Weber (author of Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt) weaves together lighthearted stories of drunken generals and out-of-control soldiers with the gritty reality of battlefields where whiskey was the only medicine-and sometimes the only food.Muskets and Applejack paints a full, complex picture of the surprisingly large role alcohol played in the Civil War: how it helped heal physical and emotional wounds, form friendships, and cause strife. Interspersed between stories from the battlefield are authentic recipes of soldiers' favorite drinks-from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line.The Last Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Final Combat Mission of World War II
By Don Brown, Capt. Jerry Yellin. 2017
*On the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list!*The New York Post calls The Last Fighter Pilot a "must-read" book. From April to…
August of 1945, Captain Jerry Yellin and a small group of fellow fighter pilots flew dangerous bombing and strafe missions out of Iwo Jima over Japan. Even days after America dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, the pilots continued to fly. Though Japan had suffered unimaginable devastation, the emperor still refused to surrender. Bestselling author Don Brown (Treason) sits down with Yelllin, now ninety-three years old, to tell the incredible true story of the final combat mission of World War II. Nine days after Hiroshima, on the morning of August 14th, Yellin and his wingman 1st Lieutenant Phillip Schlamberg took off from Iwo Jima to bomb Tokyo. By the time Yellin returned to Iwo Jima, the war was officially over—but his young friend Schlamberg would never get to hear the news. The Last Fighter Pilot is a harrowing first-person account of war from one of America's last living World War II veterans.LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay
By Warren Kozak. 2009
Kozak’s biography of U.S. Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay (1906–1990) won’t convert those utterly convinced that he was a…
bomb-happy maniac. The more open-minded, however, will find in it a broader perspective on this controversial officer than we have had elsewhere. His outstanding competence as leader and organizer of strategic airpower in World War II and during the cold war is convincingly presented; so are his limitations in the Pentagon and his poor judgment in being George Wallace’s running mate in 1968.A Warrior's Faith
By Robert W. Vera. 2015
An exhilarating story of a young Navy SEAL whose relentless faith transformed his life and inspired everyone who knew his…
courageous story.In A Warrior's Faith, Ryan Job's close friend, Robert Vera, recounts how the highly decorated Navy SEAL's unstoppable sense of humor, positive attitude, and fierce determination helped him survive after being shot in the face by an enemy sniper on a roof in Ramadi, Iraq. Though blinded, the irrepressible Job recovered from his wounds and began facing a new set of obstacles with his characteristic humor and resolve. He married the girl of his dreams, hunted elk, climbed Mt. Rainier, graduated college with honors, influenced countless people around him, and was looking forward to being a father--before his life was tragically cut short by a hospital medical error.Vera's raw, often funny, and heartfelt account of his friend's life offers readers a way to find hope in the middle of life's raging storms.Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography
By Craig L Symonds. 1992
"Riveting. . . . A thoughtful biography." --New York Times Book Review General Joseph E. Johnston was in command of…
Confederate forces at the South's first victory--Manassas in July 1861--and at its last--Bentonville in April 1965. Many of his contemporaries considered him the greatest southern field commander of the war; others ranked him second only to Robert E. Lee. But Johnston was an enigmatic man. His battlefield victories were never decisive. He failed to save Confederate forces under siege by Grant at Vicksburg, and he retreated into Georgia in the face of Sherman's march. His intense feud with Jefferson Davis ensured the collapse of the Confederacy's western campaign in 1864 and made Johnston the focus of a political schism within the government. Now in this rousing narrative of Johnston's dramatic career, Craig L. Symonds gives us the first rounded portrait of the general as a public and private man.African Kaiser: General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918
By Robert Gaudi. 2017
The incredible true account of General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his exploits in World War I Africa with the legendary…
"Schutztruppe." As World War I ravaged the European continent, a completely different theater of war was being contested in Africa. And from this very different kind of war, there emerged a very different kind of military leader...At the beginning of the twentieth century, the continent of Africa was a hotbed of international trade, colonialism, and political gamesmanship. So when World War I broke out, the European powers were forced to contend with each other not just in the bloody trenches—but in the treacherous jungle. And it was in that unforgiving land that General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck would make history.With the now legendary "Schutztruppe" (Defensive Force), von Lettow-Vorbeck and a small cadre of hardened German officers fought alongside their fanatically devoted native African allies as equals, creating the first truly integrated army of the modern ageThe Lion of Africa is the almost-forgotten true account of Wiemar Germany’s military escapades on the dark continent. A story of thousand-mile marches through the harshest landscapes; of German officers riding bicycles into battle through the bush; of battleships hidden in jungle rivers teeming with crocodiles; of improbable Zeppelin voyages; of desperate men living off hippo lard and facing dangers in both man and nature.But mostly it is the story of von Lettow-Vorbeck—the only undefeated German commmander in the field during World War I, and the last to surrender his arms in final defeat.American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U. S. Military History
By Jim Defelice, Chris Kyle, Scott Mcewen. 2013
A celebration of the remarkable life and legacy of fallen American hero Chris Kyle This commemorative memorial edition of Kyle's…
bestselling memoir features the full text of American Sniper, plus more than eighty pages of remembrances by those whose lives he touched personally--including his wife, Taya; his parents, brother, and children; Marcus Luttrell and other fellow Navy SEALs; veterans and wounded warriors; lifelong friends; and many others. He was the top American sniper of all time, called "the legend" by his Navy SEAL brothers, and a hero by those he served on the home front . . .From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle's masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the greatest war memoirs of all time. A native Texan who learned to shoot on childhood hunting trips with his father, Kyle was a champion saddle-bronc rider prior to joining the Navy. After 9/11, he was thrust onto the front lines of the War on Terror, and soon found his calling as a world-class sniper who performed best under fire. He recorded a personal-record 2,100-yard kill shot outside Baghdad; in Fallujah, Kyle braved heavy fire to rescue a group of Marines trapped on a street; in Ramadi, he stared down insurgents with his pistol in close combat. Kyle talks honestly about the pain of war--of twice being shot, and experiencing the tragic deaths of two close friends.American Sniper also honors Kyle's fellow warriors, who raised hell on and off the battlefield. And in moving first-person accounts throughout, Kyle's wife, Taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their marriage and children, as well as on Chris. Adrenaline-charged and deeply personal, American Sniper is a thrilling eyewitness account of service and sacrifice that only one man could tell.Eyes Behind the Lines: L Company Rangers in Vietnam, 1969
By Gary Linderer. 1991
In mid-December 1968, after recovering from wounds susatined in a murderous mission, Gary Linderer returned to Phu Bai to comlpete…
his tour of duty as a LRP. His job was to find the enmy, observe him, or kill him--all the while behind enemy lines, where success could be as dangerous as discovery.From the Paperback edition.Knife Fights
By John A. Nagl. 2014
From one of the most important army officers of his generation, a memoir of the revolution in warfare he helped…
lead, in combat and in WashingtonWhen John Nagl was an army tank commander in the first Gulf War of 1991, fresh out of West Point and Oxford, he could already see that America's military superiority meant that the age of conventional combat was nearing an end. Nagl was an early convert to the view that America's greatest future threats would come from asymmetric warfare--guerrillas, terrorists, and insurgents. But that made him an outsider within the army; and as if to double down on his dissidence, he scorned the conventional path to a general's stars and got the military to send him back to Oxford to study the history of counterinsurgency in earnest, searching for guideposts for America. The result would become the bible of the counterinsurgency movement, a book called Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife.But it would take the events of 9/11 and the botched aftermath of the Iraq invasion to give counterinsurgency urgent contemporary relevance. John Nagl's ideas finally met their war. But even as his book began ricocheting around the Pentagon, Nagl, now operations officer of a tank battalion of the 1st Infantry Division, deployed to a particularly unsettled quadrant of Iraq. Here theory met practice, violently. No one knew how messy even the most successful counterinsurgency campaign is better than Nagl, and his experience in Anbar Province cemented his view. After a year's hard fighting, Nagl was sent to the Pentagon to work for Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, where he was tapped by General David Petraeus to coauthor the new army and marine counterinsurgency field manual, rewriting core army doctrine in the middle of two bloody land wars and helping the new ideas win acceptance in one of the planet's most conservative bureaucracies. That doctrine changed the course of two wars and the thinking of an army.Nagl is not blind to the costs or consequences of counterinsurgency, a policy he compared to "eating soup with a knife." The men who died under his command in Iraq will haunt him to his grave. When it comes to war, there are only bad choices; the question is only which ones are better and which worse. Nagl's memoir is a profound education in modern war--in theory, in practice, and in the often tortured relationship between the two. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about the fate of America's soldiers and the purposes for which their lives are put at risk.Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan
By John Bruning, Sean Parnell. 2012
In combat, men measure up. Or don't. There are no second chances. In this vivid account of the U.S. Army's…
legendary 10th Mountain Division's heroic stand in the mountains of Afghanistan, Captain Sean Parnell shares an action-packed and highly emotional true story of triumph, tragedy, and the extraordinary bonds forged in battle. At twenty-four years of age, U.S. Army Ranger Sean Parnell was named commander of a forty-man elite infantry platoon-a unit that came to be known as the Outlaws-and was tasked with rooting out Pakistan-based insurgents from a mountain valley along Afghanistan's eastern frontier. Parnell and his men assumed they would be facing a ragtag bunch of civilians, but in May 2006 what started out as a routine patrol through the lower mountains of the Hindu Kush became a brutal ambush. Barely surviving the attack, Parnell's men now realized that they faced the most professional and seasoned force of light infantry the U.S. Army had encountered since the end of World War II. What followed was sixteen months of close combat, over the course of which the platoon became Parnell's family: from Staff Sergeant Greg Greeson, the wise, chain-smoking veteran who never lost his cool; to Specialist Robert Pinholt, a buttoned-down conservative with the heart of a warrior and the mind of an economist; to Staff Sergeant Phil Baldwin, the platoon's voice of calm and reason, a man who sacrificed everything following the events of 9/11-career, home, financial stability-to serve his country. But the cost of battle was high for these men: Over 80 percent were wounded in action, putting their casualty rate among the highest since Gettysburg, and not all of them made it home. A searing and unforgettable story of friendship in battle, Outlaw Platoon brings to life the intensity and raw emotion of those sixteen months, showing how the fight reshaped the lives of Parnell and his men and how the love and faith they found in one another ultimately kept them alive.Hoosier Aviator Paul Baer: America’s First Combat Ace (Military)
By Tony Garel-Frantzen. 2017
Indiana native Paul Baer was an American pilot of many firsts. Born into a modest midwestern family in the late…
1800s, Baer grew up short and shy in Fort Wayne. Not short on ambition, he volunteered to join a new breed of combatant: the fighter pilot. Dogfighting in the skies over France during World War I, Baer earned a giant reputation as the first-ever American to shoot down an enemy plane and the first to earn the title of "combat ace" for earning five victories--before being shot down himself. Author Tony Garel-Frantzen celebrates the 100th anniversary of Baer's aerial heroics with rarely seen images, a previously unpublished POW letter from Baer himself and a look at the restless raptor's life of roaming.Battle Diary: From D-Day and Normandy to the Zuider Zee and VE
By Charles Cromwell Martin, Roy Whitsed. 1994
A fast-paced account by a soldier who was twice decorated. Charlie Martin, company sergeant-major in the Queen’s Own, was with…
his beloved A Company in all of the significant Normandy actions.The Regiment
By Farley Mowat, Lee Windsor. 2016
The story of an astonishing band of Canadian soldiers and their part in the Allied victory in Italy. The Hastings…
and Prince Edward Regiment (the Hasty Ps) was Canada’s most decorated regiment in the Second World War, winning thirty-one battle honours. Famed for their role in the Allied invasion of Sicily and the conquest of Italy, for six years the members of the regiment suffered brutal conditions, fighting bravely in the face of fierce opposition from the enemy, and ultimately triumphing. In The Regiment (originally published in 1955), Farley Mowat, famed Canadian fiction writer and regiment member, tells the story of the Hasty Ps, from their recruitment in September 1939 until the end of the war. Mowat was a second lieutenant and platoon leader with the regiment, and writes movingly of the great suffering his fellow soldiers endured, their bravery in battle, and the lasting friendships he forged as a member of the group.