Download or read book The True Story of the Great Escape written by Jonathan F. Vance and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2019-08-30 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The real history behind the classic war movie and the men who plotted the daring escape from a Nazi POW camp. Between dusk and dawn on the night of March 24th–25th 1944, a small army of Allied soldiers crawled through tunnels in Germany in a covert operation the likes of which the Third Reich had never seen. The prison break from Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany was the largest of its kind in the Second World War. Seventy-nine Allied soldiers and airmen made it outside the wire—but only three made it outside Nazi Germany. Fifty were executed by the Gestapo. In this book Jonathan Vance tells the incredible story that was made famous by the 1963 film The Great Escape. It is a classic tale of prisoners and their wardens in a battle of wits and wills. The brilliantly conceived escape plan is overshadowed only by the colorful, daring (and sometimes very funny) crew who executed it—literally under the noses of German guards. From the men’s first days in Stalag Luft III and the forming of bonds among them, to the tunnel building, amazing escape, and eventual capture, Vance’s history is a vivid, compelling look at one of the greatest “exfiltration” missions of all time. “Shows the variety and depth of the men sent into harm’s way during World War II, something emphasized by the population of Stalag Luft III. Most of the Allied POWs were flyers, with all the technical, tactical and planning skills that profession requires. Such men are independent thinkers, craving open air and wide-open spaces, which meant that an obsession with escape was almost inevitable.” —John D. Gresham

Download or read book The Amazing Story of Lise Meitner written by Andrew Norman and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2021-07-07 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book describes how Lisa Meitner, of Jewish heritage, found herself working as a physicist at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin when the Nazis came to power in 1933; how she was hounded out of the country and forced to relocate to Sweden; how German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman continued with the project – on the effect of bombarding uranium (the heaviest known element at the time) with neutrons, a project which Lise herself had initiated, being the intellectual leader of the group. It describes how Hahn and Strassmann, with whom she kept in touch, came up with some extraordinary results which they were at a loss to explain; how Lise, and her nephew Otto Frisch, who was also a physicist, confirmed what they had achieved - the ‘splitting of the atom’, no less, and provided them with a theoretical explanation for it. This laid the foundation for nuclear power, medical-scanning technology, radiotherapy, electronics, and of course, the atomic bomb - the creation of which filled Lise with horror. It describes the crucial part that Lise played in our understanding of the world of atoms, and how deliberate and strenuous attempts were made to deny her contribution; to belittle her achievements, and to write her out of the history books, even though Albert Einstein said she was even ‘more talented than Marie Curie herself’. The author is fortunate and honoured to have been granted several interviews with Lise’s nephew Philip Meitner – himself a refugee from the Nazis - who with his wife Anne, provided much valuable information and many photographs.

Download or read book Amazing Diving Stories written by John Bantin and published by Fernhurst Books Limited. This book was released on 2012-07-27 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of true diving stories makes for compelling reading for all divers. Enjoy classic tales of this extreme watersport, from thrilling wreck discoveries to encounters with the bizarre and the beautiful. There are stories of death and disaster, as well as bravery and triumph. Tales of the exciting and the extreme rub shoulders with more poetic pieces about the people and places that make up the folklore of this fascinating sport. The author's global tour takes you everywhere, from Indonesia to the Caribbean and from the chill waters of Northern Europe to the reefs of the Pacific. Every ocean of the world is explored, making this essential reading – or a wonderful gift – for divers everywhere.

Download or read book Das Reich written by Max Hastings and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2013-06-15 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A world-renowned British historian recounts the actions of one of Hitler’s most elite armor units in one of World War II’s most horrific months. June 1944, the month of the D-Day landings carried out by Allied forces in Normandy, France. Germany’s 2nd SS Panzer Division, one of Adolf Hitler’s most elite armor units, had recently been pulled from the Eastern Front and relocated to France in order to regroup, recruit more troops, and restock equipment. With Allied forces suddenly on European ground, the division—Das Reich—was called up to counter the invasion. Its march northward to the shores of Normandy, 15,000 men strong, would become infamous as a tale of unparalleled brutality in World War II. Das Reich is Sir Max Hastings’s narrative of the atrocities committed by the 2nd SS Panzer Division during June of 1944: first, the execution of 99 French civilians in the village of Tulle on June 9; and second, the massacre of 642 more in the village of Oradour-sur-Glane on June 10. Throughout the book, Hastings expertly shifts perspective between French resistance fighters, the British Secret Service (who helped coordinate the French resistance from afar and on the ground), and the German soldiers themselves. With its rare, unbiased approach to the ruthlessness of World War II, Das Reich explores the fragile moral fabric of wartime mentality. Praise for Das Reich “A gripping blend of narrative and investigation.” —Evening Standard “This classic account of WWII is a microcosm of the global conflict. Hastings brings to life the horror that the 2nd SS Panzer division, Das Reich, inflicted upon the citizens living in a bucolic corner of France.” —Dennis Showalter, author of Patton and Rommel and Hitler’s Panzers

Download or read book A History of the Chaplain Corps United States Navy 1778 written by United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The History of the Chaplain Corps United States Navy 1939 1949 written by United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Johnnie Johnson s Great Adventure written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2020-12-14 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World War II fighter Ace’s previously unpublished draft—an account of the “Long Trek” from Normandy into the heart of the Third Reich itself. Having published two of his own books, Wing Leader and The Circle of Air Fighting, Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson co-authored several more with another fighter ace, namely Wing Commander P.B. “Laddie” Lucas. In 1997, the “AVM” suggested to his friend, the prolific author Dilip Sarkar, that the pair should collaborate on The Great Adventure. “Greycap Leader” was to produce a draft, after which Dilip would add the historical detail and comment. Sadly, the project was unfulfilled, because Johnnie became ill and passed away, aged eighty-five, in 2001. Years later, Johnnie’s eldest son, Chris, discovered the manuscript among his august father’s papers. In order to keep Johnnie’s memory evergreen, Chris turned to Dilip to finally see the project through to its conclusion. In this book Johnnie revisits certain aspects of his wartime service, including the development of tactical air cooperation with ground forces; his time as a Canadian wing leader in 1943, when the Spitfire Mk IX at last outclassed the Fw 190; and details his involvement in some of the most important battles of the defeat of Nazi Germany, including Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings in 1944, Operation Market Garden and the airborne assault at Arnhem, and the Rhine Crossings, throughout all of which Johnnie also commanded Canadian wings. Johnnie Johnson’s Great Adventure “brings to life the man of the book in such an interesting and heroic manner . . . if it wasn’t for these brave heroes we might not have won the war” (UK Historian).

Download or read book Vision Courage and Service written by Brigadier Satish K. Issar and published by Vision Books. This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born in a traditional Indian middle-class family in 1921, Tapishwar Narain ("Tappy") Raina rose to the pinnacle of the Indian Army in 1975. A decorated and battle-hardened soldier, Tappy Raina proved also to be a visionary Army Chief. He pushed through ground-breaking initiatives both for making the Indian Army future-ready and for the welfare of its officers and men. Equally, his quiet but firm stand against the Indian Army being drawn into the maelstrom of Indian politics during the period of Emergency was a truly signal service to India’s democracy. Tappy Raina was pitched into the 2nd World War at the very outset of his army career and saw action in the Middle East, Burma and the Far East. During this period he was wounded and lost his right eye but never let this early setback affect him professionally. His finest hour as a soldier came during India’s war with China in 1962. Amidst the ruins elsewhere along the borders, Brigadier Raina won laurels as a battlefield commander in Ladakh, where Indian Army blunted the Chinese PLA in the battle of Chushul. For this exemplary military leadership, Tappy Raina was conferred the country’s second highest gallantry award, the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC). Later, for his contribution in the war against Pakistan in 1971, then Lt General Raina was conferred the award of Padma Bhushan. Not even sixty yet, General Raina passed away in 1980 with his boots on while serving in India’s High Commissioner in Canada. Interspersed in the book are notes by Tappy Raina’s wife, Ninette, which etch out some personal facets of his life and reveal his innate decency, modesty and compassion. General T. N. Raina’s was an inspiring life of outstanding service to the nation, embodying vision, professional excellence and courage.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings written by Steve Sullivan and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-05-17 with total page 830 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volumes 3 and 4 of the The Encyclopedia of More Great Popular Song Recordings provides the stories behind approximately 1,700 more of the greatest song recordings in the history of the music industry, from 1890 to today. In this masterful survey, all genres of popular music are covered, from pop, rock, soul, and country to jazz, blues, classic vocals, hip-hop, folk, gospel, and ethnic/world music. Collectors will find detailed discographical data—recording dates, record numbers, Billboard chart data, and personnel—while music lovers will appreciate the detailed commentaries and deep research on the songs, their recording, and the artists. Readers who revel in pop cultural history will savor each chapter as it plunges deeply into key events—in music, society, and the world—from each era of the past 125 years. Following in the wake of the first two volumes of his original Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, this follow-up work covers not only more beloved classic performances in pop music history, but many lesser -known but exceptional recordings that—in the modern digital world of “long tail” listening, re-mastered recordings, and “lost but found” possibilities—Sullivan mines from modern recording history. The Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volumes 3 and 4 lets the readers discover, and, through their playlist services, from such as iTunes toand Spotify, build a truly deepcomprehensive catalog of classic performances that deserve to be a part of every passionate music lover’s life. Sullivan organizes songs in chronological order, starting in 1890 and continuing all the way throughto the present to include modern gems from June 2016. In each chapter, Sullivanhe immerses readers, era by era, in the popular music recordings of the time, noting key events that occurred at the time to painting a comprehensive picture in music history of each periodfor each song. Moreover, Sullivan includes for context bulleted lists noting key events that occurred during the song’s recording

Download or read book Behind the Mask of the Mattachine written by James T. Sears and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Take a revealing look at gay sex and gay history - and the man who helped kick-start gay activism in today's society. The Mattachine is the origin of the contemporary American gay movement. One of the major players in this movement was Hal Call, America’s first openly gay journalist and the man most responsible for the end of government censorship of frontal male nude photography through the mail. Behind the Mask of the Mattachine: The Early Movement for Homosexual Emancipation, the Hal Call Chronicles travels back to the times before Stonewall and its aftermath, to the beginnings of the modern homosexual movement and the lesser-known individuals who started it. This stunning chronicle boldly goes beyond the standard whitewashed/desexualized history usually provided by other gay historians, to give the unexpurgated - and sexually charged - history of the activists who organized homosexuals, using the biography of the controversial Hal Call as its springboard. Behind the Mask of the Mattachine provides a revealing illustration of gay life and gay sex in the past through an intergenerational history of the early gay men’s movement. Noted author James T. Sears generously weaves oral history, seldom seen historical documents, and rare photographs to provide a rich behind-the-scenes look at the first wave of Mattachine activists and the emerging gay pornography industry. This historical chronicle of a previously neglected era is packed with details of Call’s personal struggles, his celebration of the phallus, and his assertion linking homophobia and heteronormativity to our culture’s sex-negative tradition. The reader is transported to the sexual underworld of youthful hustlers, porno kingpins, spurned lovers, sex clubs, cruising grounds, secretive societies, and personal in-fighting over the direction of gay activism. This enthralling narrative is impeccably referenced. Behind the Mask of the Mattachine examines: the origins of the Mattachine Society the Mattachine Foundation of Harry Hay and others of the “Fifth Order” the Weimar Republic in Germany—the roots of the modern homosexual movement networking of homosexuals through correspondence clubs and speakeasies in Depression-era America the intense rivalries between San Francisco and New York City Mattachine groups censorship of books, magazines, and films much more! The book explores the lives of three generations of pre-Stonewall gay activists: Magnus Hirschfeld and Benedikt Friedländer Henry Gerber and Manual boyFrank Harry Hay and Hal Call Behind the Mask of the Mattachine is not only candid about gay sex and its impact on society but also puts a needed spotlight on a time in lesser-known gay history. This is important, illuminating reading for historians and gay persons interested in the undeniably sexually charged history of the early gay men’s movement. Take a look at these other James T. Sears books on LGBT issues: Growing Up Gay in the South online at http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=0502 and Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Issues in Education online at http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=5180

Download or read book The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr Petiot written by Thomas Maeder and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The chilling true story of a serial killer who preyed on men, women, and children desperate to escape Nazi-occupied Paris. On March 11, 1944, police were called to investigate foul-smelling smoke pouring from the chimney of an elegant private house near the Arc de Triomphe. In the basement of 21 rue Le Sueur, they made the first of many gruesome discoveries: a human hand dangling from the open door of a coal-burning stove. Proceeding to the rear of the home, detectives found rib cages, skulls, and internal organs strewn across the floor and large piles of quicklime mixed with fragments of bone and flesh. The Gestapo had two offices in the neighborhood—were Hitler’s henchmen responsible for the carnage? Or was it the work of French Resistance fighters purging Paris of traitors and German spies? As the investigation unfolded, a more sinister possibility emerged. The building’s owner, Dr. Marcel Petiot, was a handsome and charismatic physician whose past was littered with bizarre behavior and criminal activity. When he was finally captured eight months later, Dr. Petiot claimed he was a loyal member of the Resistance who helped kill Nazi collaborators. Prosecutors charged that he was a sadistic mass murderer who lured at least twenty-seven innocent people to their deaths with promises of escape. Estimates of the actual number of his victims ran as high as 150 men, women, and children. From the first stages of the investigation to the sensational trial in which Dr. Petiot’s superior intelligence and perverse wit were on full display, author Thomas Maeder meticulously reconstructs one of the twentieth century’s most fascinating and lurid murder cases. Drawing on classified police files and interviews with surviving participants, The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot is a riveting true crime saga that that “reads like a shocking psychological thriller” (Newsweek).

Download or read book Renegotiating First World War Memory written by Ashley Garber and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-06-29 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First World War-based ex-servicemen’s organisations found themselves facing an existential crisis with the onset of the Second World War. This book examines how two such groups, the British and American Legions, adapted cognitively to the emergence of yet another world war and its veterans in the years 1938 through 1946. With collective identities and socio-political programmes based in First World War memory, both Legions renegotiated existing narratives of that war and the lessons they derived from those narratives as they responded to the unfolding Second World War in real time. Using the previous war as a "learning experience" for the new one privileged certain understandings of that conflict over others, inflecting its meaning for each Legion moving forward. Breaking the Second World War down into its constituent events to trace the evolution of First World War memory through everyday invocations, this unprecedented comparison of the British and American Legions illuminates the ways in which differing international, national, and organisational contexts intersected to shape this process as well as the common factors affecting it in both groups. The book will appeal most to researchers of the ex-service movement, First World War memory, and the cultural history of the Second World War.

Download or read book Practical Radicalism and the Great Migration written by Thomas Aiello and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2023-02-15 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book’s predecessor, The Grapevine of the Black South, emphasized the owners of the Atlanta Daily World and its operation of the Scott Newspaper Syndicate between 1931 and 1955. In a pragmatic effort to avoid racial confrontation developing from white fear, newspaper editors developed a practical radicalism that argued on the fringes of racial hegemony, saving their loudest vitriol for tyranny that was not local and thus left no stake in the game for would-be white saboteurs. Thomas Aiello reexamined historical thinking about the Depression-era Black South, the information flow of the Great Migration, the place of southern newspapers in the historiography of Black journalism, and even the ideological and philosophical underpinnings of the civil rights movement. With Practical Radicalism and the Great Migration, Aiello continues that analysis by tracing the development and trajectory of the individual newspapers of the Syndicate, evaluating those with surviving issues, and presenting them as they existed in proximity to their Atlanta hub. In so doing, he emphasizes the thread of practical radicalism that ran through Syndicate editorial policy. Practical Radicalism and the Great Migration is a supplement to The Grapevine of the Black South, providing a fuller picture of the Scott Newspaper Syndicate and the Black press in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

Download or read book Hitler s Armed Forces Auxiliaries written by Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of Hitler's Wehrmachtsgefolge (armed forces auxiliaries) is less well known than that of Germany's other armed forces in World War II, such as the panzer divisions, the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine. The Organization Todt (construction company), Reichsarbeitsdienst (labor service), Nationalsozialistische Kraftfahrer Korps (driver's corp) and Volkssturm (people's militia) were given the status of armed forces auxiliaries to protect their members under the Geneva Conventions should they be taken prisoner. By 1944, the Wehrmachtsgefolge comprised 40 percent of the German armed forces, and their contribution to the war effort was far from negligible. This illustrated history documents the development, structure and organization, uniforms, regalia and technical data of these units and discusses their role in the war and during the prewar period.

Download or read book American Odyssey written by Wilhelm Reich and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2004-05 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new autobiographical work by one of the most original and controversial thinkers of our time. "I looked up every day from behind the bars to the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Her light shone brightly into a dark night." With these words, Wilhelm Reich described his experience as an "enemy alien" imprisoned on Ellis Island in the aftermath of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. American Odyssey, compiled from his correspondence and journals, chronicles Reich's first years in America. They were years of prodigious accomplishment in which he developed the orgone energy accumulator-the so-called orgone box; published his first books in English; made breakthroughs in his investigation of orgone energy in social pathology, physics, astronomy, and cancer; and interested none other than Albert Einstein in testing his theories. America brought a new marriage, a new son, a new group of students, and a new laboratory. But these were years of fierce struggle as well: the denial of an American medical license, the refusal of a patent on the orgone accumulator, and, finally, a slanderous article that would incite the Food and Drug Administration to the dogged attack on Reich that would continue until his death in another prison cell ten years later. American Odyssey reveals more than a period in the life of an embattled scientist. It discloses the social and intellectual life of a country in a tumultuous time in history.

Download or read book Quirky History written by John Quirk and published by Fernhurst Books Limited. This book was released on 2022-10-04 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Quirk loves history, drawing and boats and these three elements come together in this attractive and entertaining book. He has sought out obscure episodes or familiar events from the past and written engagingly about them, illustrated with his excellent colour cartoons. Where possible he relates the historical happenings and maritime moments to the present day, be it when tracing the history of the screw, misinformation (fake news) during the Second World War, plague ships in the fourteenth century, or Russia's ill-fated war with Japan in 1904. The events covered range from Henry V's invasion of France in 1415, consisting mainly of chartered French ships and paid for partially by Dick Whittington, to episodes in the Second World War, like the Somali Camel Corps capturing a German U-boat. Other historic figures involved include Horatio Nelson, Napoleon, Rudolf Diesel and Lawrence of Arabia. The 25 stories and over 100 cartoons are a treasure-trove of compelling, salt-infused, tales told with imagination and humour, with an eye on the present day, which will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in maritime history (or even just history).

Download or read book Competing Voices from World War II in Europe written by Harold J. Goldberg and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-03-23 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Obviously, there are many books written about World War II—but very few of them present 'competing voices'. Written for college-bound high-school students, first- and second-year undergraduates and general readers of military history, Competing Voices from World War II in Europe highlights the different perspectives and views of all belligerents in the military arena, as well as describing the impact of the war on daily life. The book begins in 1939 (with the invasion of Poland) and ends in 1945 (with Germany's surrender). However, an introductory chapter puts the war in perspective by examining key events preceding the invasion of Poland, and a concluding chapter looks at the controversy surrounding the Nuremberg Trials after the end of hostilities. Though well-known, the main events of the war often remain controversial, and minor events are still relatively unexplored. Though it is often assumed that Allied victory was inevitable, and that all the Allies worked together in a seamless fashion, this book provides evidence that contradicts these basic concepts. Presented with directly reported sources, together with all the contextual information, readers will be able to develop their own opinions about events such as the Munich Conference, the defeat of France, the debate over a second front, the D-Day events of 1944, the development of Soviet-American relations throughout the war and the origins of the Cold War.