World War II

D-Day and a dead dog

I should have known that Double Cross wasn't going to be an easy read when I first picked it up. Books about elusive people whose actual lives meander from one disreputable pursuit to another, who then assume the identities of people who never existed at all are usually the literary equivalent of a dense London fog.  At least they are for me. I had read Ben Macintyre's earlier books, Agent Zigzag and Operation Mincemeat, both of which expertly drew me into the world of spies and deception and people who never took a breath of life, so I decided to risk encountering the occasional fog bank.

Double Cross didn't disappoint even if it took some self-discipline to settle into its labyrinthine narrative and I had to pause frequently to recall what code name belonged to which agent. (READ MORE)

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Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies By Ben Macintyre Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780307888778
Availability: Click Title for IN STORE Location
Published: Crown - May 14th, 2013

Into Dust and Fire

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Into Dust and Fire: Five Young Americans Who Went First to Fight the Nazi Army By Rachel S. Cox Cover Image
$16.00
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ISBN: 9780451239341
Published: Dutton Caliber - April 2nd, 2013

The World War II generation is fast disappearing and each day more stories are lost; except when a skilled and motivated researcher decides to ask questions. This is a beautiful, evocative, almost wistful story but with a careful realism that prevents it from becoming sappy or sentimental. One to remember. Perfect compliment to Lynne Olson's CITIZENS OF LONDON. ~ Reviewed by Bill Lewis


Lost in Shangri-La

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Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II By Mitchell Zuckoff Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780061988356
Availability: IN WAREHOUSE - Usually Ships in 3-7 Business Days
Published: Harper Perennial - April 24th, 2012

A military aircraft with 24 people aboard crashes into the jungle in New Guinea during World War II. The three injured survivors must make their way through an unforgiving terrain inhabited by natives who have remained completely untouched by centuries of human progress. Spellbinding adventure tale, all the more impressive because it is completely true. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves


The End

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The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945 By Ian Kershaw Cover Image
$24.00
ISBN: 9780143122135
Availability: Special Order
Published: Penguin Books - August 28th, 2012

Why in the name of common sense and simple humanity did Germany fight on long after the war was hopelessly lost ? An absolutely brilliant study of fanatical and delusional Nazis, a cowed military, and of course a weary, fearful, citizenry just hoping it would all end. Kershaw's finest work since his unexcelled biography of Hitler. ~ Reviewed by Bill Lewis


Pacific Crucible

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Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (The Pacific War Trilogy #1) By Ian W. Toll Cover Image
$25.00
ISBN: 9780393343410
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Published: W. W. Norton & Company - November 26th, 2012

The tumultuous year following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is chronicled in this meticulously researched book. Although America was caught totally unawares on December 7, 1941, its fleet of carriers was at sea. It would prove to be a decisive factor in the Battle of the Coral Sea and at Midway the following year. Mr. Toll recounts the conflict from both the American and Japanese perspectives and presents a harrowing and hellish picture of warfare at sea. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves


Inferno

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Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945 By Max Hastings Cover Image
$23.00
ISBN: 9780307475534
Availability: IN WAREHOUSE - Usually Ships in 3-7 Business Days
Published: Vintage - October 2nd, 2012

One of the finest World War II historians delivers his long awaited singlevolume history - and it's been worth the wait. Brilliant insights, masterful command of sources, superb writing that wears its scholarship lightly. Certain to take its place in the front ranks of works of its kind. ~ Reviewed by Bill Lewis


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