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Digging Up Mother: A Love Story
By Johnny Depp, Doug Stanhope. 2016
After enjoying early success as co-host of The Man Show with Joe Rogan, the past twenty years of Doug Stanhope's…
career can be seen as a subversive insider attack against the "bro-code" he helped to launch. Following a very singular career arc, Stanhope turned his back on Hollywood and toured relentlessly for years, performing up to 200 shows a year. He's a giant cult comedian with a fiercely loyal audience. His material is abrasive and often offensive, but it also relies on a bullshit-free, hardcore, outraged, truth-telling perspective in the tradition of the late Bill Hicks. Stanhope's memoir is sure to rub many the wrong way, but not without causing fits of uncontrollable laughter in the process.Ring Lardner: A Biography
By Donald Elder. 2017
This is more than a biography of the great humorist from Niles, Michigan. In a penetrating full-length portrait, Donald Elder…
has explored Ring Lardner’s whole world—the vibrant and inventive times in which he lived, the unforgettable people who surrounded him, and the impudent words that came from his typewriter.At the height of Lardner’s fame in the middle twenties he was known simultaneously as a baseball reporter unlike any the world had ever seen; a newspaper columnist part gadfly and part reporting etymologist; a writer of short stories as rich in native, idiom as they were polished in execution; and as a humorist who deplored the telling of “stories” as such. Whenever anyone said. “Stop me if you’ve heard this one, “Ring would never hesitate to say, “Stop.”Lardner spent an idyllic if somewhat unorthodox youth as the youngest among nine children—(at sixteen he knew how to say “Ich war ein und zwanzig Jahre alt,” to a gullible German-speaking local bartender). Mr. Elder chronicles the Lardner career from the earliest years through the sports-writing days in Chicago, his marriage and love of home life, and the continued flowering of his literary talents. Then comes the pathetic decrescendo in which he fought his appetite for liquor, tried to beat TB, and finally died at the age of 48, in 1933.Mr. Elder, who grew up in Ring Lardner's hometown, has included liberal selections from Lardner's writing all through the book, and there is a complete listing of all his published work at the end. Four years of meticulous research went into the writing of this valuable and entertaining appreciation of Ring Lardner's career.“A fine biography of Ring Lardner”—Kirkus ReviewA History of the Second Armored Division, 1940-1946
By Lt.-Col. E. A. Trahan. 2017
Originally published in 1946, this book is an official unit history for the 2d Armored Division in World War II,…
which was activated on 15 July 1940 and participated in campaigns in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and Sicily.Elements of the Division first saw action in North Africa, landing at Casablanca in November 1942, and later took part in the fighting at Beja, Tunisia, but as a whole did not enter combat until the invasion of Sicily, when it made an assault landing at Gela in July 1943 and saw action at Butera, Campobello, and Palermo.After the Sicilian campaign, the Division trained in England for the cross-Channel invasion, landed in Normandy D plus 3 on 9 June 1944, and went into action in the vicinity of Carentan. The Division raced across France in July and August, drove through Belgium, and attacked across the Albert Canal in September, crossing the German border at Schimmert to take up defensive positions near Geilenkirchen. In October, it launched an attack on the Siegfried Line from Marienberg, broke through, crossed the Wurm River, and seized Puffendorf and Barmen in November. It was holding positions on the Roer when it was ordered to help contain the German Ardennes offensive.The Division helped reduce the Bulge in January 1945, fighting in the Ardennes forest in deep snow, and cleared the area from Houffalize to the Ourthe River of the enemy. After a rest in February, the Division drove on across the Rhine in March, and was the first American Division to reach the Elbe at Schonebeck in April, where it was halted, on orders. In July 1945, the Division entered Berlin—the first American unit to enter the German capital city.Known as the "Hell on Wheels" division, the 2d Armored Division was one of the most famous American units in World War II.Richly illustrated throughout with photos of the 2d Armored Division, General George Patton, battle photographs and maps.The Sun and the Snow
By Anthony Kerrigan, Rodrigo Royo. 2017
NOVEL OF LOVE AND WAR AMONG THE MEN OF SPAIN'S BLUE DIVISION SENT BY SPAIN TO FIGHT IN RUSSIA IN…
1941First published in its English translation by Anthony Kerrigan in 1956, this novel is an account of the Spanish nationalists who fought against the Soviets—as well as loyalist refugees—on the Eastern Front during World War II.Here, Spanish journalist and writer Rodrigo Royo recounts vividly his experiences as a former member of the famed “Blue Division” that was sent by Spain to fight in Russia in 1941. After the war, he became attached to the United Nations in New York as correspondent for the Madrid daily, Arriba.Leningrad in the Days of the Blockade
By R. D. Charques, A. Fadeyev. 2017
The 900 day siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on the Baltic was perhaps one of the most iconic clashes…
of Nazi versus Soviet clashes to take place during the Second World War. Two and a half million Russians were trapped and encircled by Germand and Finnish forces, but despite freezing cold, scant supplies and little if any food, the city held out. In this book, noted Soviet author Alexander Alexandrovitch Fadeyev gives an eyewitness account of the horrific conditions of the city in the iron jaws of the Wehrmacht.Sailor Malan: A Biography
By Oliver Walker. 2017
This is a gripping biography of Adolph Gysbert Malan, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar (1910-1963), better known as ‘Sailor’…
Malan, a South African WWII fighter pilot and flying ace in the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the height of the Battle of Britain, No. 74 Squadron became one of the RAF's most accomplished squadrons under Captain Malan’s leadership, scoring 27 kills, seven shared destroyed, three probably destroyed and 16 damaged.“Sailor Malan was at the spearhead of that small ‘Worshipful Company of Fighter Pilots’ who smashed the overwhelming might of Goering’s squadrons in the darkest days of 1940. They scribbled history in vapour trails six miles above the Kentish hopfields, and it is fitting that that epic aerial scrawl should achieve the more enduring substance of print and in such graphic form.”—The Star, Johannesburg.“Why was A. G. ‘Sailor’ Malan so ruthlessly efficient a fighter pilot? What were the qualities that made him one of the best-known Battle of Britain pilots? How did he come to be national president of the Torch Commando? These are a few of the questions answered by Sailor Malan by Oliver Walker. It tells the fascinating story of the man who has twice gripped the imagination of the public of two countries—in England during the Battle of Britain, and in South Africa during the Battle of the Constitution.”—Eastern Province Herald“’A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country’—So, to some extent, it may be said of ‘Sailor’ Malan, one of the greatest air aces and tacticians of the Second World War. For that reason we are indebted to Oliver Walker for his short and attractive biography of this great fighter-pilot.”—the Friend, Bloemfontein.Under the Southern Cross: The Saga of the Americal Division
By Cpt. Francis D. Cronin. 2017
“THIS IS THE WORLD WAR II HISTORY OF AN ORGANIZATION CONSIDERED BY many as one of the unique and most…
colorful combat units ever to serve in the United States Army in time of war—the Americal Division.“Despite its early entry into combat on Guadalcanal in 1942, and its subsequent long period of service in the Pacific, the Americal, as a unit, cannot lay claim to having beaten the Japanese alone. Japan was beaten to her knees by the collective power of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, The Air Forces, and our allies. The Americal Division was a significant member of this powerful team of armed might which successfully overcame aggression in the Pacific.“The story of the Americal is primarily that of the humble riflemen of the infantry regiments, without whom the Division’s combat record would not be what it is today. No mere words of praise or of appreciation for their daily sacrifices are sufficient to express the gratitude in the hearts of those who have seen them in action.“The story of the Americal is also that of the many men who worked with the riflemen or for them, directly or indirectly. Theirs were thankless tasks, performed under hardships of all kinds, but without these valuable men the regiments could not have operated efficiently for long.“This history of the Americal Division represents the fruits of more than two years of work among records of the Division. As a whole, covering the entire life of the Division, it is as complete as time and space will allow. As such, it should stand primarily as a record, and a symbol, of the sincere courage and devotion to duty of all who served in the Americal.”A European Education
By Romain Gary. 2017
A NOVEL OF DESPERATE LOVE, BITTER HOPE, CHILLING COURAGE AND RELENTLESS BRAVERY“THIS quietly terrible parable for our times was first…
published in France fifteen years ago and was awarded the Prix de Critiques. It was translated into fourteen languages, but not into English. Since then M. Gary has won international fame with several other books. Now an entirely rewritten and, M. Gary hopes, a much improved version of A EUROPEAN EDUCATION is published in English for the first time.“A too hasty glance at A EUROPEAN EDUCATION might give the impression that no novel has ever borne a more sadly ironical title, because this is a story of innocence ‘educated’ in all the horrors and atrocities of modern war. But some of the graduates of the twentieth century’s school of despair learned something other than the subjects taught. They learned that man’s dream of freedom, of dignity and of love, is immortal; that his faith in a future without hatred cannot be destroyed.”—Orville Prescott in THE NEW YORK TIMES“A EUROPEAN EDUCATION is a story of unmitigated privation and terror. But it is also the story of the human heart’s triumph over evil even in the exercise of evil.“A EUROPEAN EDUCATION is about a group of partisans called the ‘green ones’ because they live in the forests of Poland. They hide in caves, steal food and sabotage every effort of the Germans.“Before the book ends, the hero has become a man; he has killed; he has learned how to steal without being caught, how to make friends with the Germans whom he intends to kill, and how to love.“The title is inherent in Janek’s bitter summing up of what he has learned; ‘...all this European education comes down to is to teach you how to find the courage to shoot a man who sits there with lowered head....’“This may not be Romain Gary’s most popular book, but it is a little masterpiece and may prove to be his.”—THE CHICAGO TRIBUNEA German Ace Tells Why: From Kaiserdom to Hitlerism [Second Edition]
By Leonhard Guenther, Frederick May Eliot. 2017
Why was Hitler able to obtain and hold the dictatorship in Germany?What are the real thoughts of this German people…
which has puzzled the world so frequently?In answer to these vital questions, Leonhard Guenther (pseud.), a native-born German doctor of philosophy and jurisprudence who emigrated to America for permanent residence, presents in A German Ace Tells Why.It contains the authentic diary entries (May 22, 1915 - September 3, 1939) of a high-ranking officer of the German Luftwaffe, who, at the time of first publication in 1942 was still in Germany. The original diary has been condensed and the author’s own experiences have been added. The picture thus obtained shows both the articulate and subconscious sentiments of the typical German of the better class.“This brief but eloquent chronicle of the development of political thinking in the mind of a typical educated German during the period between the First World War and the attack by Germany upon Poland seems to me of great value to every thoughtful American. […] The author, an ardent lover of American democracy, gives us a picture of Germany that should become a significant element in American thinking about the new order which must follow the victory of the democracies.”—FREDERICK MAY ELIOT, ForewordEyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units [Revised Edition]
By Maj. James F. Gebhardt. 2017
Eyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units is the 10th study in the Combat Studies Institute…
(CSI) Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Occasional Paper series. This work is an outgrowth of concerns identified by the authors of On Point: The United States Army in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Specifically, these authors called into question the use of long-range surveillance (LRS) assets by commanders during that campaign and suggested an assessment ought to be made about their continuing utility and means of employment. This revision contains some important additional information the author received after this book was originally published.Major (Retired) James Gebhardt, of CSI, researched and wrote this Occasional Paper with that end in view. In this study, Gebhardt surveys the US Army s historical experience with LRRP and LRS units from the 1960s Cold War and Vietnam War, through their resurgence in the 1980s and use in Operations JUST CAUSE and DESERT STORM, to the advent of the GWOT. The paper's analytical framework examines each era of LRS units in terms of doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership, and personnel. In doing so, the author makes a strong case for continuing the LRS capability in the Army s force structure.The variety of environments and enemies likely to be faced by the military in the GWOT continues to demand the unique human intelligence abilities of trained and organized LRS units. As the Army leads the Armed Forces of the United States in combating terrorists where they live, the lessons found in this survey remain timely and relevant.Memoirs of Napoleon: The Court of the First Empire, Vol. II (Memoirs of Napoleon #2)
By Baron C.-F. De Méneval. 2017
This present volume is the second in a series of three which combined document the eleven years that Méneval served…
as Napoleon I’s private secretary. First published in English in 1910, these memoirs are the raw material utilized by many historians and are widely considered key to any understanding of Napoleon's rise and fall.“OF the numberless books about Napoleon, this is one of the most interesting and authoritative, because intimate and sincere.“The author, Claude François, Baron de Méneval, was in the closest relations with that notable personage, as private secretary and confidential agent, familiar with his daily thoughts and acts, during his most active years of achievement—from April, 1802, until St. Helena in 1815.“De Méneval does not blink Napoleon’s greatest errors—the execution of D’Enghien, the disastrous Spanish seizure and war, and the Russian campaign—but, on the whole, the reader gets new views of perplexing problems and of noble traits in the colossus of intellect and ambition. Napoleon’s services in restoring a central power amidst revolution and anarchy, in establishing laws and institutions that have survived dynasties, and in the military glory making his name an emblem of splendid French achievement, enshrine him forever in France; while the rest of the world will never cease to wonder at his genius, and to study the puzzling contradictions of his nature.”The Court and Camp of Buonaparte
By Anon. 2017
Produced initially as an appendix to Sir Walter Scott’s Life of Napoleon Bonaparte as published in editions of Murray’s Family…
Library, this anonymous tome provides for an interesting collection of portraits of the inner circle of the Bonaparte family and the ministers, marshals and generals that supported Bonaparte’s reign.Clearly, from the date of publication and the title which uses the Corsican spelling of the Napoleon’s surname, it is written from and Anglo-centric viewpoint. Some caution should be used in the literal acceptance of all the facts that are alleged.A jaunty and interesting read.Farewell to Valley Forge
By David Taylor. 2017
A THRILLING NOVEL OF COURAGE, LOVE AND TREACHERY DURING THE YEARS OF OUR COUNTRY’S BIRTHThe desperate year of 1778. Philadelphia…
is occupied by the British. Not far away in Valley Forge the ragged and courageous army of George Washington is just coming through its bitter winter stand. Meanwhile the Continental Congress is being beleaguered by a number of officers and influential people to replace Washington as Commander of the patriot armies. At the center of this cabal is General Charles Lee.In this setting of intrigue and revolutionary passion, David Taylor has woven a sanguine and stirring narrative of young Captain Jonathan Kimball of Virginia, assigned to live as a servant in the house of Enoch Ladd, an imprisoned Patriot shipowner, and to spy on the British. With him in this enterprise is the lovely and daring Elizabeth Ladd, daughter of the household and a spy herself.Mutually suspicious at first, Jonathan and Elizabeth come to trust one another after each has been through some dangerous escapades. There is the time Elizabeth overhears some vital information at a masquerade ball she attends on a stolen invitation, and the time when Jonathan helps La Fayette out of a trap set by the British.With a wonderful insight into this exciting historical period Taylor tells of the British Fleet trying to evacuate the Delaware, of the bravery of Molly Pitcher, and the almost disastrous treachery of Lee. Climaxing the whole story is a blow-by-blow description of the illustrious Battle of Monmouth.Author Glenn Tucker’s interest in research on the War of 1812 was piqued whilst he was employed as a newspaperman…
in Washington, D.C.“I wanted to find out what truly occurred when the British occupied the American capital in 1814. Nothing like Ross’s seizure of the capital of a great power with a small attacking force has happened elsewhere in modern times. No other event gives so clear a view of the trials of our young government. Searching out the details of Ross’s conquest, I found them gripping, but meagerly reported and often with a farcical touch. Often the incidents, which many have regarded as humiliating and have wished forgotten, abound in human interest and pointed lesson.“The interest and significance of the story of the Ross expedition led me to the story of the entire war. Study of the war as a whole revealed strong contrast of cowardice and courage. I have been amazed by the poltroonery and incompetence of some of the generals and cabinet members; I have been stirred by the patriotic devotion of James Monroe, by the flashing genius of Henry Clay, by the patience and true greatness of James Madison. And I discovered that not only men of high position played exciting roles in the war. Soldiers, seamen, newsmen, couriers and many others, whose names are now obscure, played brilliant, if brief, scenes—some comic, some adventurous, some tragic.“The course of the War of 1812, like that of all wars, was determined as much by emotion as by economic and political pressures. Men acted and reacted violently, passionately. Today the wisdom and courage of some of their deeds evoke tremendous respect; the foolhardiness of others evokes laughter. Throughout these volumes I have made an effort to discern the thoughts and feelings of the people whose actions wove the variegated pattern of the war.”Forts and Forays: A Dragoon in New Mexico, 1850-1856
By James A. Bennett, Clinton E. Brooks. 2017
Forts and Forays is a rare account of frontier soldiering in the pre-Civil War Southwest by an enlisted man. James…
A. Bennett joined the regular army in 1849 and was stationed in New Mexico for six years before he deserted to Mexico. Assigned to the First Dragoons, he visited most major New Mexico posts such as Forts Union, Craig, and Fillmore. His company was stationed at or passed through Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Socorro, and other New Mexico settlements. In six years, his rank climbed from private to sergeant before an unknown infraction reduced him to the ranks. Bennett served under future Civil War generals Edwin V. Sumner, Richard S. Ewell, and John W. Davidson.During his service, Bennett waged war on the Kicarilla, Mogollon, Mescalero, and Mimbres Apaches, the Navajos, and the Utes, suffering serious wounds at the Battle of Cienguilla Forts and Forays is a unique glimpse into the routine duties and terrifying ordeals of soldiering in the antebellum Southwest.A Debonair Scoundrel: An Episode in the Moral History of San Francisco
By Lately Thomas. 2017
Originally published in 1962, this book tells the flamboyant story of Abe Ruef and San Francisco’s infamous era of graft.In…
the year 1906, San Francisco was rocked by two calamitous earthquakes. Nature herself was responsible for one; a man named Ruef was responsible for the other.Abraham Ruef (1864-1936), known as Abe Ruef, was a rogue of innumerable refinements. A classical scholar, a wit, a bon vivant, he was also a political boss who not only picked the city’s officials—among them, “Handsome Gene” Schmitz, San Francisco’s “bassoon mayor”—but picked the city’s pockets as well. When he was finally arraigned for graft, Ruef attempted to appoint himself District Attorney to prosecute the case!In A Debonair Scoundrel, Lately Thomas reconstructs the little known but fantastic career and its gaudy, dramatic setting: a city thrown into wild disorder; fighting in the courts reeking with corruption; kidnappings, and flying bullets with overtones of slapstick comedy and suspense.The men who saw to Ruef’s undoing were relics of a bygone West: millionaire Rudolph Spreckels, who tried to reform his own class; Fremont Older, the Evening Bulletin crusading editor—and others, such as Teddy Roosevelt and William Randolph Hearst.Their encounter with Abe Ruef is wittily described by Lately Thomas, author of The Vanishing Evangelist, who has brought his magnificently creative gifts to a book as brilliant and rambunctious as the fabulous era he describes.Chaplain Davis and Hood's Texas Brigade
By Nicholas A. Davis, Donald E. Everett. 2017
Presbyterian minister Nicholas A. Davis joined the Fourth Regiment of Texas Volunteers as chaplain in 1861. Soon after, the unit…
moved to Virginia, where they fought in the Seven Days Campaign, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg. Rev. Davis wrote his memoir two years into battle, drawing upon keen observational skills and a diary he kept faithfully. He delves deeply into little known topics such as religion in the field, the duties of army chaplains, the appalling condition of wounded men, and war-time Richmond.First published in 1863 and expanded by historian Donald E. Everett in 1962, this present volume has won acclaim from both scholars and history buffs.Theo Tams: Inside the Music
By Craig McConnell. 2009
After a summer of intense competition, Alberta’s Theo Tams emerged as the 2008 Canadian Idol champion. He had earned the…
admiration of the public and his fellow contestants with his soaring vocals, emotive piano playing and unmatched ability to mine the emotional core of a song. Theo Tams: Inside the Music is a candid and photo-rich look at the life experiences that prepared him for the Idol stage. It also provides a behind the scenes peek at the Idol experience itself, with testimonials and anecdotes from his fellow competitors and interviews with the Idol personalities. Theo Tams: Inside the Music is the first chapter in the career of an exciting new voice from the Canadian music scene. It includes excerpts from Theo’s private journals, adventures from his time in India, anecdotes from his fellow competitors, interviews with Idol personalities such as Ben Mulroney and Zack Werner, hundreds of candid photos and much, much more.No Ordinary Men: Special Operations Forces Missions in Afghanistan
By Colonel Bernd Horn, General T.J. Lawson. 2016
The first in-depth book that sheds light on Canada’s elite warriors who operate in the shadows. In 2001 the Canadian…
government sent elements of the elite Joint Task Force 2 counter-terrorist unit to Afghanistan to assist the United States in its global war on terror as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Withdrawn a year later, JTF 2 returned to Afghanistan in 2005 to once again assist the Americans with the desperate struggle in the shadows to capture or kill Taliban leaders, facilitators, and bomb makers. No Ordinary Men peels back the cloak of secrecy and reveals four untold special operations that JTF 2 operators conducted in 2005–06 in which their courage, tenacity, and impressive capabilities meant the difference between life and death. The book takes the reader to the Taliban sanctuaries deep in the Afghan hinterlands and provides a glimpse of Canada’s remarkable legacy in special operations.Claiming My Place: Coming Of Age In The Shadow Of The Holocaust
By Planaria Price, Helen Reichmann West. 2018
A Junior Library Guild selectionClaiming My Place is the true story of a young Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust…
by escaping to Nazi Germany and hiding in plain sight.Meet Barbara Reichmann, once known as Gucia Gomolinska: smart, determined, independent, and steadfast in the face of injustice. A Jew growing up in predominantly Catholic Poland during the 1920s and ’30s, Gucia studies hard, makes friends, falls in love, and dreams of a bright future. Her world is turned upside down when Nazis invade Poland and establish the first Jewish ghetto of World War II in her town of Piotrko´w Trybunalski. As the war escalates, Gucia and her family, friends, and neighbors suffer starvation, disease, and worse. She knows her blond hair and fair skin give her an advantage, and eventually she faces a harrowing choice: risk either the uncertain horrors of deportation to a concentration camp, or certain death if she is caught resisting. She decides to hide her identity as a Jew and adopts the gentile name Danuta Barbara Tanska. Barbara, nicknamed Basia, leaves behind everything and everyone she has ever known in order to claim a new life for herself. Writing in the first person, author Planaria Price brings the immediacy of Barbara’s voice to this true account of a young woman whose unlikely survival hinges upon the same determination and defiant spirit already evident in the six-year-old girl we meet as this story begins. The final portion of this narrative, written by Barbara’s daughter, Helen Reichmann West, completes Barbara’s journey from her immigration to America until her natural, timely death. Includes maps and photographs