Download or read book The First Christmas After the War written by Alan Simon and published by Alan Simon Books. This book was released on 2015-07-06 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The First Christmas of the War written by Alan Simon and published by . This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SPECIAL PEARL HARBOR 75TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH ALL-NEW BONUS MATERIAL From USA Today bestselling author Alan Simon ‘Twas the week of Christmas, Nineteen forty-one; The season’s joy overshadowed by the war just begun. The Great Depression years finally behind them, the entire Coleman family of Pittsburgh has been looking forward to this Christmas for almost the entire year. For the first time in more than a decade, Gerald and Irene Coleman have tucked away enough extra money to make up for all the lean years of disappointingly modest Christmas gifts for their children. But December 7, 1941 has changed everything, and for the past two weeks the entire family has followed with despair the Japanese advances all over the Pacific as well as America finally being dragged into the two-year old European war. Though a few glimmers of hope can be found amidst the ominous war news, both parents fear not only for the country’s fate as this new war begins but also, more personally, for the fate of their sons who will likely soon be joining the fighting in one war theater or another. Still, despite the sense of dread hanging over almost every aspect of the family’s daily affairs, Irene Coleman is determined that if indeed this will be the last Christmas that the family spends together––at least until after the war, or perhaps even forever––then she will do everything in her power to make Christmas, 1941, the first Christmas of the war, a happy one for her children and her entire family. Come spend the week leading up to Christmas, 1941 with the Coleman family including: Jonathan––The eldest son at nineteen, Jonathan fatalistically realizes the inevitability of his military days arriving very soon, whether he succumbs to the pressure to enlist or if he waits until he is drafted. But Jonathan has other problems on his mind as well. His long-time girlfriend Francine Donner, whom only days from now he plans to ask to marry him, broke a date with him this past weekend to go out with one of Jonathan’s best friends from high school (and one of her own former boyfriends), because he is headed off to boot camp right after Christmas. Jonathan has ominous feelings about this turn of events...and he’s right. Charlene––The third child in the family and the oldest daughter, Charlene has just become secretly engaged at the age of sixteen to her boyfriend who is soon headed to boot camp. She shares the news of her engagement with her cousin Lorraine Walker, but Lorraine quickly breaks her promise to keep the news secret. When Irene Coleman learns of her daughter’s engagement and the circumstances surrounding it, she has yet another problem to confront. Irene––In many ways, the backbone of the family...the classical 1930s-1940s matriarch who runs her household her way, no questions asked. Like her husband, Irene is mortified by the ominous war news and does her best to occupy the hours of her day with an endless string of tasks and chores, trying to keep her mind off her own fears for her sons’ safety. …and the others. December 20-26, 1941: The First Christmas of the War
Download or read book When Christmas Comes Again written by Beth Seidel Levine and published by Scholastic. This book was released on 2002 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teenage Simone's diaries for 1917 and 1918 reveal her experiences as a carefree member of New York society, then as a "Hello girl," a volunteer switchboard operator for the Army Signal Corps in France.
Download or read book The Christmas Truce written by Terri Blom Crocker and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2015-11-10 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In late December 1914, German and British soldiers on the western front initiated a series of impromptu, unofficial ceasefires. Enlisted men across No Man's Land abandoned their trenches and crossed enemy lines to sing carols, share food and cigarettes, and even play a little soccer. Collectively known as the Christmas Truce, these fleeting moments of peace occupy a mythical place in remembrances of World War I. Yet new accounts suggest that the heartwarming tale ingrained in the popular imagination bears little resemblance to the truth. In this detailed study, Terri Blom Crocker provides the first comprehensive analysis of both scholarly and popular portrayals of the Christmas Truce from 1914 to present. From books by influential historians to the Oscar-nominated French film Joyeux Noel (2006), this new examination shows how a variety of works have both explored and enshrined this outbreak of peace amid overwhelming violence. The vast majority of these accounts depict the soldiers as acting in defiance of their superiors. Crocker, however, analyzes official accounts as well as private letters that reveal widespread support among officers for the détentes. Furthermore, she finds that truce participants describe the temporary ceasefires not as rebellions by disaffected troops but as acts of humanity and survival by professional soldiers deeply committed to their respective causes. The Christmas Truce studies these ceasefires within the wider war, demonstrating how generations of scholars have promoted interpretations that ignored the nuanced perspectives of the many soldiers who fought. Crocker's groundbreaking, meticulously researched work challenges conventional analyses and sheds new light on the history and popular mythology of the War to End All Wars.
Download or read book Pearl Harbor Christmas written by Stanley Weintraub and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas 1941 came little more than two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The shock -- in some cases overseas, elation -- was worldwide. While Americans attempted to go about celebrating as usual, the reality of the just-declared war was on everybody's mind. United States troops on Wake Island were battling a Japanese landing force and, in the Philippines, losing the fight to save Luzon. In Japan, the Pearl Harbor strike force returned to Hiroshima Bay and toasted its sweeping success. Across the Atlantic, much of Europe was frozen in grim Nazi occupation. Just three days before Christmas, Churchill surprised Roosevelt with an unprecedented trip to Washington, where they jointly lit the White House Christmas tree. As the two Allied leaders met to map out a winning wartime strategy, the most remarkable Christmas of the century played out across the globe. Pearl Harbor Christmas is a deeply moving and inspiring story about what it was like to live through a holiday season few would ever forget.
Download or read book The War on Christmas written by John Gibson and published by Sentinel. This book was released on 2006-10 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated with new material, this book delineates a Fox News Channel host's claim that the push to secularize Christmas is a liberal plot.
Download or read book Christmas 1914 written by John Hudson and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2014-10-06 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By December 1914, it had become clear to even the most optimistic observer that the war would not be over by Christmas. That month brought the first enemy inflicted deaths on the home front, when German warships bombarded three north-east coastal towns; meanwhile, the recently invented aeroplane was being put to fearsome use in raids over the south east. In Europe, Mons, the Marne and Ypres had given a taste of the devastating power of modern warfare – a reality to which troops in the trenches on both sides tried to turn a blind eye in the famous Christmas truce. This book uses contemporary newspapers and magazines, diaries and other records to present a comprehensive image of this extraordinary Christmas, both at home and abroad.
Download or read book The Midwife s Tale and Other Christmas Stories written by W. Edward Harris and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Sketch written by and published by . This book was released on 1917 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gettysburg 1913 written by Alan Simon and published by Alan Simon Books. This book was released on 2014-12-03 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A USA Today bestseller from the author of The First Christmas of the War and its sequels: July 1-3, 1863: The famed Battle of Gettysburg turns the tide of the Civil War, but not before approximately 50,000 soldiers from both sides become casualties during those three terrible days of carnage. June 29-July 4, 1913: To commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Battle of Gettysburg, more than 50,000 Civil War veterans ranging in age from 61 to more than 100 years old converge on the scene of that titanic battle half a century earlier in an occasion of healing that was known as the Great Reunion. Abraham Lincoln had incorrectly surmised in his famed Gettysburg Address that "the world will little note nor long remember what we say here" four months after the battle itself, but those very words could well be said about the Great Reunion that occurred half a century later. Though at the time the 1913 gathering was a widely anticipated, momentous commemoration with 50,000 spectators joining the 50,000 veterans, the grandest of all gatherings of Civil War veterans has been all but forgotten in the nearly 100 years since that occasion. Until now. GETTYSBURG, 1913: THE COMPLETE NOVEL OF THE GREAT REUNION (originally published as a 3-part serialized novel) _______ Travel back in time to meet and spend the occasion of the Great Reunion with the following unforgettable characters in this meticulously researched tale: Doctor Samuel Chambers, a young unmarried Philadelphia physician thrust into great responsibility as Pennsylvania's chief planner of medical and aid facilities for more than 50,000 Civil War veterans, averaging 70 years of age...all of whom will be spending the duration of The Great Reunion encamped in outdoor tents under temperatures expected to approach or even exceed 100 degrees. Louisa May Sterling, a Gettysburg nurse and the young widow of a West Point-educated Army officer whose untimely death from typhoid left her alone with only her son Randall for companionship...but for whom The Great Reunion opens up an unexpected second chance at happiness when she meets Samuel Chambers. Angus Findlay, now just past his 85th birthday but during the Battle of Gettysburg a dashing cavalry officer serving with the Army of Northern Virginia directly under the legendary J.E.B. Stuart...and who became a leading figure in Virginia politics during Reconstruction. Chester Morrison, a classic Gilded Age Titan of Industry (and recent widower) from Philadelphia who decades earlier had been a green private facing battle for the first time at Gettysburg. Edgar and Johnny Sullivan, brothers from Illinois who had been members of the Union Cavalry Division that arrived at Gettysburg the day before the battle began. Years later, the Sullivans became allies of the Earp brothers in Tombstone and were first-hand witnesses to the evolution of Arizona from the Old West to the early 20th century. Ned Tomlinson, a Confederate veteran from Norfolk, Virginia who lost his left leg during the ill-fated assault known ever since as Pickett's Charge before being taken prisoner by the Yankees. John K. Tener, the real-life Governor of Pennsylvania - born in County Tyrone, Ireland, only weeks after the Battle of Gettysburg - who was a former Major League baseball player and under whose leadership The Great Reunion was planned and held.
Download or read book The First Christmas written by and published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bible text has been illustrated to create the story of the birth of Jesus and the first Christmas.
Download or read book Silent Night written by Stanley Weintraub and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001-11-11 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From an acclaimed military historian comes the astonishing story of World War I's 1914 Christmas truce—a spontaneous celebration when enemies became friends. It was one of history's most powerful—yet forgotten—Christmas stories. It took place in the improbable setting of the mud, cold rain, and senseless killing of the trenches of World War I. It happened in spite of orders to the contrary by superiors. It happened in spite of language barriers. And it still stands as the only time in history that peace spontaneously arose from the lower ranks in a major conflict, bubbling up to the officers and temporarily turning sworn enemies into friends. Silent Night, by renowned military historian Stanley Weintraub, magically restores the 1914 Christmas Truce to history. It had been lost in the tide of horror that filled the battlefields of Europe for months and years afterward. Yet, in December 1914, the Great War was still young, and the men who suddenly threw down their arms and came together across the front lines—to sing carols, exchange gifts and letters, eat and drink and even play friendly games of soccer—naively hoped that the war would be short-lived, and that they were fraternizing with future friends. It began when German soldiers lit candles on small Christmas trees, and British, French, Belgian, and German troops serenaded each other on Christmas Eve. Soon they were gathering and burying the dead, in an age-old custom of truces. But as the power of Christmas grew among them, they broke bread, exchanged addresses and letters, and expressed deep admiration for one another. When angry superiors ordered them to recommence the shooting, many men aimed harmlessly high overhead. Sometimes the greatest beauty emerges from deep tragedy. Surely the forgotten Christmas Truce was one of history's most beautiful moments, made all the more beautiful in light of the carnage that followed it. Stanley Weintraub's moving re-creation demonstrates that peace can be more fragile than war, but also that ordinary men can bond with one another despite all efforts of politicians and generals to the contrary.
Download or read book The Truce written by Chris Baker and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2014-09-15 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating new study of the events leading up to and during one of the most poignant events of the First World War, the Christmas Truce 1914.
Download or read book God Rest Ye Merry Soldiers written by James McIvor and published by Viking Adult. This book was released on 2005 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Documents an inspiring event just after Christmas in 1862 when closely camped Union and Confederate armies, having endeavored to out-sing one another with contrasting patriotic songs, joined together in a shared round of "Home Sweet Home."
Download or read book The First Christmas Stocking written by Elizabeth Winthrop and published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2006 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Dream your dreams, my child, and knit them into the wool." A long time ago a girl named Claire learned to knit by her mother's side. As the mother knit mittens, scarves and all sorts of clothing for the wealthy people of the town, Claire set about knitting stockings to keep her toes warm. Claire, her mother and father, you see, were poor. They lived in a stone hut, with little wood to burn and meagre food to eat. So Claire knit stockings and--with Christmas approaching--heeded her mother's words to knit her Christmas dreams into the wool. Soon Claire became known as the stocking girl--with many orders for stockings to fill. One such order ensured her a handsome payment. Enough to fill her family's hut with light and food. But as she trudged through the snow to deliver the stockings on Christmas Eve, Claire was stirred to share her knitted dreams with someone truly in need. From the Hardcover edition.
Download or read book Consumer s Guide written by and published by . This book was released on 1944 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Postwar Soldiers written by Jörg Echternkamp and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2020-03-20 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary historians have transformed our understanding of the German military in World War II, debunking the “clean Wehrmacht” myth that held most soldiers innocent of wartime atrocities. Considerably less attention has been paid to those soldiers at the end of hostilities. In Postwar Soldiers, Jörg Echternkamp analyzes three themes in the early history of West Germany: interpretations of the war during its conclusion and the occupation period; military veteran communities’ self-perceptions; and the public rehabilitation of the image of the German soldier. As Echternkamp shows, public controversies around these topics helped to drive the social processes that legitimized the democratic postwar order.