The Last Stand of Fox Company

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Author :
Publisher : Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN 13 : 1555849121
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (558 download)

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Book Synopsis The Last Stand of Fox Company by : Bob Drury

Download or read book The Last Stand of Fox Company written by Bob Drury and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2009-11-10 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The authors of the bestselling Halsey’s Typhoon do a fine job recounting one brutal, small-unit action during the Korean War’s darkest moment.” —Publishers Weekly November 1950, the Korean Peninsula. After General MacArthur ignores Mao’s warnings and pushes his UN forces deeper into North Korea, his 10,000 First Division Marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge that will need to be held open at all costs. The mission is handed to Captain William Barber and the 234 Marines of Fox Company, a courageous but undermanned unit of the First Marines. Barber and his men climb seven miles of frozen terrain to a rocky promontory overlooking the pass, where they will endure four days and five nights of nearly continuous Chinese attempts to take Fox Hill. Amid the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox’s Marines are killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looks like they will be overrun, Lt. Colonel Raymond Davis, a fearless Marine officer who is fighting south from Chosin, volunteers to lead a daring mission that will seek to cut a hole in the Chinese lines and relieve the men of Fox. This is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism in the face of impossible odds.

The Last Stand of Fox Company

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Author :
Publisher : Grove Press
ISBN 13 : 9780802144515
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (445 download)

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Book Synopsis The Last Stand of Fox Company by : Bob Drury

Download or read book The Last Stand of Fox Company written by Bob Drury and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers the story of the courageous mission of 234 Marines of Fox Company who found themselves surrounded by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near Chosin Reservoir, the incredible steps they took to fend them off for five nights and the major losses they suffered in their desperate struggle before finally being relieved. Reprint.

Last Men Out

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Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 143916102X
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Last Men Out by : Bob Drury

Download or read book Last Men Out written by Bob Drury and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-04-03 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Last Men Out" tells the riveting story of the last 11 United States soldiers to escape South Vietnam on April, 30, 1975, the day America ended its combat presence.

Fighting Fox Company

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Author :
Publisher : Casemate
ISBN 13 : 1612002137
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Fighting Fox Company by : Terry Poyser

Download or read book Fighting Fox Company written by Terry Poyser and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2014-01-19 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Intense . . . anyone familiar with the Band of Brothers story will want to read this book” (Military Review). Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division has become one of the most famous small units in US history. But fewer people are aware of Fox Company of that same regiment—the men who fought alongside Easy Company through every step of the war in Europe, and who had their own stories to tell. WWII vet Bill Brown decided to research the fate of a childhood friend who had served in Fox Company. Along the way, he met Terry Poyser, who was on a similar mission to research the combat death of a Fox Company man from his hometown. Together, the two authors proceeded to locate and interview every surviving Fox Company vet they could find. The ultimate result was this book, a decade in the making, offering a wealth of fascinating firsthand accounts of WWII combat as well as new perspectives on Dick Winters and others of the “Band.” Told primarily through the words of participants, Fighting Fox Company takes us through some of the most horrific close-in fighting of the war, beginning with the chaotic nocturnal paratrooper drop on D-Day. After fighting through Normandy, the drop into Holland saw prolonged, ferocious combat and even more casualties; and then during the Battle of the Bulge, Fox Company took its place in line at Bastogne during one of the most heroic against-all-odds stands in US history. As always in combat, each man’s experience is different, and the nature of the German enemy is seen here in its equally various aspects. From ruthless SS fighters to meek Volkssturm to simply expert modern fighters, the Screaming Eagles encountered the full gamut of the Wehrmacht. The work is also accompanied by rare photos and useful appendices, including rosters and lists of casualties, to give the full look at Fox Company that has long been overdue.

On Desperate Ground

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Author :
Publisher : Anchor
ISBN 13 : 0385541163
Total Pages : 458 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (855 download)

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Book Synopsis On Desperate Ground by : Hampton Sides

Download or read book On Desperate Ground written by Hampton Sides and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers, a chronicle of the extraordinary feats of heroism by Marines called on to do the impossible during the greatest battle of the Korean War. "Superb ... A masterpiece of thorough research, deft pacing and arresting detail...This war story—the fight to break out of a frozen hell near the Chosin Reservoir—has been told many times before. But Sides tells it exceedingly well, with fresh research, gritty scenes and cinematic sweep." —The Washington Post On October 15, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of UN troops in Korea, convinced President Harry Truman that the Communist forces of Kim Il-sung would be utterly defeated by Thanksgiving. The Chinese, he said with near certainty, would not intervene in the war. As he was speaking, 300,000 Red Chinese soldiers began secretly crossing the Manchurian border. Led by some 20,000 men of the First Marine Division, the Americans moved deep into the snowy mountains of North Korea, toward the trap Mao had set for the vainglorious MacArthur along the frozen shores of the Chosin Reservoir. What followed was one of the most heroic--and harrowing--operations in American military history, and one of the classic battles of all time. Faced with probable annihilation, and temperatures plunging to 20 degrees below zero, the surrounded, and hugely outnumbered, Marines fought through the enemy forces with ferocity, ingenuity, and nearly unimaginable courage as they marched their way to the sea. Hampton Sides' superb account of this epic clash relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of Marines and Koreans who survived the siege. While expertly detailing the follies of the American leaders, On Desperate Ground is an immediate, grunt's-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances. Hampton Sides has been hailed by critics as one of the best nonfiction writers of his generation. As the Miami Herald wrote, "Sides has a novelist's eye for the propulsive elements that lend momentum and dramatic pace to the best nonfiction narratives."

Breakout

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0140292594
Total Pages : 465 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Breakout by : Martin Russ

Download or read book Breakout written by Martin Russ and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2000-05-01 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On General Douglas MacArthur's orders, a force of 12,000 U.S. Marines were marching north to the Yalu river in late November 1950. These three regiments of the 1st Marine Division--strung out along eighty miles of a narrow mountain road--soon found themselves completely surrounded by 60,000 Chinese soldiers. Despite being given up for lost by the military brass, the 1st Marine Division fought its way out of the frozen mountains, miraculously taking thier dead and wounded with them as they ran the gauntlet of unceasing Chinese attacks.This is the gripping story that Martin Russ tells in his extraordinary book. Breakout is an unforgettable portrayal of the terror and courage of men as they face sudden death, making the bloody battles of the Korean hills and valleys come alive as they never have before. Of interest will be the new PBS American Experience Documentary "The Battle of Chosin", which premiered on November 1, 2016.

For Country and Corps

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Author :
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1612511767
Total Pages : 396 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (125 download)

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Book Synopsis For Country and Corps by : Gail B Shisler

Download or read book For Country and Corps written by Gail B Shisler and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2009-10-01 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oliver P. Smith fought at Peleliu and Okinawa and then commanded the 1st Marine Division in Korea during the assault at Inchon, the recapture of Seoul, and the breakout from the Chosin Reservoir. Called one of the twentieth century’s great Marine leaders, Smith was known as an outstanding combat commander and a man of great intellect and moral courage. This biography, written by the granddaughter he helped raise, illuminates the general’s remarkable life. It draws on interviews, oral histories and a thorough examination of letters held by the family and not previously available to researchers. Gail Shisler’s investigation of Smith’s relationship with his Army superiors in Korea and with his Marine Corps peers and superiors takes exception to previously published descriptions and adds new insights into the Corps’ postwar battle for survival.

Death to the French

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Author :
Publisher : DigiCat
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 155 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (596 download)

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Book Synopsis Death to the French by : C. S. Forester

Download or read book Death to the French written by C. S. Forester and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-08-10 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Death to the French" is an absorbing historical novel about the Peninsular War. It narrates the experiences of a British soldier, Rifleman Dodd, who gets separated from the army, joins the guerrillas and becomes their leader to avoid being caught by the French. The soldier and the story of his adventures is fictionalized, but the events are somewhat based on real historical events.

Colder Than Hell

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Author :
Publisher : US Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 9781557504166
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (41 download)

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Book Synopsis Colder Than Hell by : Joseph R. Owen

Download or read book Colder Than Hell written by Joseph R. Owen and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2012-04-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joe Owen tells it like it was in this evocative, page-turning story of a Marine rifle company in the uncertain early days of the Korean War. His powerful descriptions of close combat on the snow-covered mountains of Chosin Reservoir and of the survival spirit of his Marines provide a gritty real-life view of frontline warfare. As a lieutenant who was with them from first muster, Owen was in a unique position to see the hastily assembled mix of regulars and raw reservists harden into a superb company known as Baker-One-Seven. His fast-moving narrative describes enemy night assaults, foxhole fights, patrols through Chinese lines, and dramatic examples of Medal of Honor gallantry, and he supports his account with tales from other survivors.

The Frozen Chosen

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 147281438X
Total Pages : 326 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

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Book Synopsis The Frozen Chosen by : Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Download or read book The Frozen Chosen written by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-07-28 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on unpublished first-hand accounts of the battle, this is a dramatic retelling of the desperate Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, where the heavily outnumbered US 1st Marine Division held off vastly superior Chinese forces before successfully withdrawing in good order. In November 1950 The US 1st Marine Division was trapped in the Chosin Reservoir following the intervention of Red China in the Korean War. Fought during the worst blizzard in a century, the ensuing battle is considered by the United States Marine Corps to be 'the Corps' Finest Hour.' The soldiers who fought there would later become known as the 'Frozen Chosen'. This incredible story is based on first hand interviews from surviving veterans, telling of heroism and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds, as a handful of Marines fought desperately against wave after wave of Chinese forces. Sometimes forced into desperate hand to hand combat, the fighting retreat from Chosin marked one of the darkest moments for Western forces in Korea, but would go on to resonate with generations of Marines as a symbol of the Marine Corps' dogged determination, fighting skill, and never-say-die attitude on the battlefield.

The Heart of Everything That Is

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Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1451654685
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (516 download)

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Book Synopsis The Heart of Everything That Is by : Bob Drury

Download or read book The Heart of Everything That Is written by Bob Drury and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Draws on Red Cloud's autobiography, which was lost for nearly a hundred years, to present the story of the great Oglala Sioux chief who was the only Plains Indian to defeat the United States Army in a war.

Blackhorse Riders

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Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1429940956
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Blackhorse Riders by : Philip Keith

Download or read book Blackhorse Riders written by Philip Keith and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2012-02-14 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of a US Army unit’s effort to rescue an outnumbered troop under heavy fire in Vietnam—and the thirty-nine-year odyssey to recognize their bravery. Winner of the 2013 Silver Medal in History from the Military Writer’s Society of America Finalist, 2013 Colby Award Winner of the 2012 USA Best Book Award for Military History Deep in the jungles of Vietnam, Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry, the famed Blackhorse Regiment, was a specialized cavalry outfit equipped with tanks and armored assault vehicles. On the morning of March 26, 1970, they began hearing radio calls from an infantry unit four kilometers away that had stumbled into a hidden North Vietnamese Army stronghold. Outnumbered at least six to one, the eighty-seven-man American company was quickly surrounded, pinned down, and fighting for its existence. Captain John Poindexter, Alpha Troop’s twenty-five-year-old commander, realized that his outfit was the only hope for the trapped company. With the courage and determination that makes legends out of ordinary men, they effected a daring rescue and fought a pitched battle—at considerable cost. Many brave deeds were done that day, and Captain Poindexter tried to make sure his men were recognized for their actions. Thirty years later, Poindexter was made aware that his award recommendations and even the records of the battle had somehow gone missing. Thus began the second phase of this remarkable story: a “battle” to ensure that his brave men’s accomplishments would never be forgotten again. Praise for Blackhorse Riders “Keith’s compelling storytelling breathes life into the personalities involved, so that minute by minute, following both rescuers and rescued, you keep turning pages to find out who lives and who dies.” —Karl Marlantes, New York Times–bestselling author of Matterhorn and What It Is Like to Go to War “One of the finest and best-told combat stories to come out of Vietnam. . . . For those of us who were there, this is the kind of book we would be proud to pass on to our children.” —Nelson DeMille “A definite must-read.” —Booklist

The Battle of Mogadishu

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Author :
Publisher : Presidio Press
ISBN 13 : 0345459660
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (454 download)

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Book Synopsis The Battle of Mogadishu by : Matt Eversmann

Download or read book The Battle of Mogadishu written by Matt Eversmann and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2005-07-26 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “No matter how skilled the writer of nonfiction, you are always getting the story secondhand. Here’s a chance to go right to the source. . . . These men were there.” –MARK BOWDEN (from the Foreword) It started as a mission to capture a Somali warlord. It turned into a disastrous urban firefight and death-defying rescue operation that shocked the world and rattled a great nation. Now the 1993 battle for Mogadishu, Somalia–the incident that was the basis of the book and film Black Hawk Down–is remembered by the men who fought and survived it. Six of the best in our military recall their brutal experiences and brave contributions in these never-before-published, firstperson accounts. “Operation Gothic Serpent,” by Matt Eversmann: As a “chalk” leader, Eversmann was part of the first group of Rangers to “fast rope” from the Black Hawk helicopters. It was his chalk that suffered the first casualty of the battle. “Sua Sponte: Of Their Own Accord,” by Raleigh Cash: Responsible for controlling and directing fire support for the platoon, Cash entered the raging battle in the ground convoy sent to rescue his besieged brothers in arms. “Through My Eyes,” by Mike Kurth: One of only two African Americans in the battle, Kurth confronted his buddies’ deaths, realizing that “the only people whom I had let get anywhere near me since I was a child were gone.” “What Was Left Behind,” by John Belman: He roped into the biggest firefight of the battle and considers some of the mistakes that were made, such as using Black Hawk helicopters to provide sniper cover. “Be Careful What You Wish For,” by Tim Wilkinson: He was one of the Air Force pararescuemen or PJs–the highly trained specialists for whom “That Others May Live” is no catchphrase but a credo–and sums up his incomprehensible courage as “just holding up my end of the deal on a bad day.” “On Friendship and Firefights,” by Dan Schilling: As a combat controller, he was one of the original planners for the deployment of SOF forces to Mogadishu in the spring of 1993. During the battle, he survived the initial assault and carnage of the vehicle convoys only to return to the city to rescue his two closest friends, becoming, literally, “Last Out.” With America’s withdrawal from Somalia an oft-cited incitement to Osama bin Laden, it is imperative to revisit this seminal military mission and learn its lessons from the men who were there and, amazingly, are still here.

Valley Forge

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Author :
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1501152726
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Valley Forge by : Bob Drury

Download or read book Valley Forge written by Bob Drury and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The #1 New York Times bestselling authors of The Heart of Everything That Is return with “a thorough, nuanced, and enthralling account” (The Wall Street Journal) about one of the most inspiring—and underappreciated—chapters in American history: the Continental Army’s six-month transformation in Valley Forge. In December 1777, some 12,000 members of America’s Continental Army stagger into a small Pennsylvania encampment near British-occupied Philadelphia. Their commander in chief, George Washington, is at the lowest ebb of his military career. Yet, somehow, Washington, with a dedicated coterie of advisers, sets out to breathe new life into his military force. Against all odds, they manage to turn a bobtail army of citizen soldiers into a professional fighting force that will change the world forever. Valley Forge is the story of how that metamorphosis occurred. Bestselling authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin show us how this miracle was accomplished despite thousands of American soldiers succumbing to disease, starvation, and the elements. At the center of it all is George Washington as he fends off pernicious political conspiracies. The Valley Forge winter is his—and the revolution’s—last chance at redemption. And after six months in the camp, Washington fulfills his destiny, leading the Continental Army to a stunning victory in the Battle of Monmouth Court House. Valley Forge is the riveting true story of a nascent United States toppling an empire. Using new and rarely seen contemporaneous documents—and drawing on a cast of iconic characters and remarkable moments that capture the innovation and energy that led to the birth of our nation—Drury and Clavin provide a “gripping, panoramic account” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) of the definitive account of this seminal and previously undervalued moment in the battle for American independence.

The New Breed

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Author :
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1787207730
Total Pages : 652 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (872 download)

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Book Synopsis The New Breed by : Andrew Geer

Download or read book The New Breed written by Andrew Geer and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-31 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a Marine combat veteran and a successful writer of fiction and non-fiction, Andrew Geer was ideally suited to tell this story of the U.S. Marines in Korea. In preparing this book, which was first published in 1952, Geer had access to the complete file of Marine combat reports and was able to gather material at first hand as an active Marine field officer during the dreadful winter, spring and summer of 1950-51 in Korea. He interviewed 697 Marines individually in preparing this history. “Military history generally deals with campaigns; with the factors affecting the situation; with the decisions of higher commanders; and with an analysis of the results accomplished. The human reactions of the thousands of lesser actors are as a rule painted with a broad brush only. The details are usually left to the historical novel or quasi-historical novel. Yet the actual story is far more convincing than any fictional account. What Andrew Geer has done in The New Breed is to picture vividly the real-life, not fictional, Marine, as he fought the bitter battles of the Naktong, struggled with the mud flats and sea walls of Inchon, crushed the enemy barricades in Seoul, and cut his way through a Chinese army from the Chosin Reservoir to the sea. In telling this detailed story, however, Major Geer has not neglected the broad picture. The New Breed is a definite contribution to the history of the Korean War.”—OLIVER P. SMITH, Major-General, U.S. Marine Corps

Lightning Down

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Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1250151279
Total Pages : 425 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (51 download)

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Book Synopsis Lightning Down by : Tom Clavin

Download or read book Lightning Down written by Tom Clavin and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2021-11-02 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An American fighter pilot doomed to die in Buchenwald but determined to survive. On August 13, 1944, Joe Moser set off on his forty-fourth combat mission over occupied France. Soon, he would join almost 170 other Allied airmen as prisoners in Buchenwald, one of the most notorious and deadly of Nazi concentration camps. Tom Clavin's Lightning Down tells this largely untold and riveting true story. Moser was just twenty-two years old, a farm boy from Washington State who fell in love with flying. During the War he realized his dream of piloting a P-38 Lightning, one of the most effective weapons the Army Air Corps had against the powerful German Luftwaffe. But on that hot August morning he had to bail out of his damaged, burning plane. Captured immediately, Moser’s journey into hell began. Moser and his courageous comrades from England, Canada, New Zealand, and elsewhere endured the most horrific conditions during their imprisonment... until the day the orders were issued by Hitler himself to execute them. Only a most desperate plan would save them. The page-turning momentum of Lightning Down is like that of a thriller, but the stories of imprisoned and brutalized airmen are true and told in unforgettable detail, led by the distinctly American voice of Joe Moser, who prays every day to be reunited with his family. Lightning Down is a can’t-put-it-down inspiring saga of brave men confronting great evil and great odds against survival.

Cult of Glory

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101979879
Total Pages : 481 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis Cult of Glory by : Doug J. Swanson

Download or read book Cult of Glory written by Doug J. Swanson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Swanson has done a crucial public service by exposing the barbarous side of the Rangers.” —The New York Times Book Review A twenty-first century reckoning with the legendary Texas Rangers that does justice to their heroic moments while also documenting atrocities, brutality, oppression, and corruption The Texas Rangers came to life in 1823, when Texas was still part of Mexico. Nearly 200 years later, the Rangers are still going--one of the most famous of all law enforcement agencies. In Cult of Glory, Doug J. Swanson has written a sweeping account of the Rangers that chronicles their epic, daring escapades while showing how the white and propertied power structures of Texas used them as enforcers, protectors and officially sanctioned killers. Cult of Glory begins with the Rangers' emergence as conquerors of the wild and violent Texas frontier. They fought the fierce Comanches, chased outlaws, and served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War. As Texas developed, the Rangers were called upon to catch rustlers, tame oil boomtowns, and patrol the perilous Texas-Mexico border. In the 1930s they began their transformation into a professionally trained police force. Countless movies, television shows, and pulp novels have celebrated the Rangers as Wild West supermen. In many cases, they deserve their plaudits. But often the truth has been obliterated. Swanson demonstrates how the Rangers and their supporters have operated a propaganda machine that turned agency disasters and misdeeds into fables of triumph, transformed murderous rampages--including the killing of scores of Mexican civilians--into valorous feats, and elevated scoundrels to sainthood. Cult of Glory sets the record straight. Beginning with the Texas Indian wars, Cult of Glory embraces the great, majestic arc of Lone Star history. It tells of border battles, range disputes, gunslingers, massacres, slavery, political intrigue, race riots, labor strife, and the dangerous lure of celebrity. And it reveals how legends of the American West--the real and the false--are truly made.