War Years

Many years ago, the great British philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin urged Herman Wouk to write his autobiography. Wouk responded, "Why me? I'm nobody." Berlin answered, "No, no. You've traveled. You've known many people. You have interesting ideas. It would do a lot of good."

This author's books have over 4,500 four- and five-star ratings on Amazon Nine Years after, the first of this series was selected by Amazon Kindle Reader's in 2023 It was also named a "Book to read" by Amazon editors Most post-apocalyptic novels deal with the immediate aftermath and they are gory. This one is different. I wondered about what happens long after "the day." A different take on an old theme, but still in the universe of the "Years After" series. This one is long time later. The main character was born small and weak, so faces the world from that viewpoint instead of being the ...

Well-loved author Tomie dePaola brings his childhood memories to audio in this collection of books 5-8 from his 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE series.

In 1959, agents acting for British Intelligence mastermind the famous escape of the Dalai Lama from Tibet. Three years later, Whitehall is again behind a spectacular secret mission against the occupying Chinese Forces…. Paul Chavasse is persuaded to return because he is the only man who knows about Tibet. Knows about the evil its oppressors are capable of. Knows just about enough to bring a vitally important scientist back to the West alive.

Most people have heard about the French and Indian War, but you will find that most history classes have “forgotten” to explore some of the most interesting and important facets of this conflict. Its little-told stories and often underrated importance in world history have begun to be buried over the centuries. Was this epic struggle simply another war among many others in history?

The 1930s are the darkest days of the Great Depression. Factories are closing their doors, millions of people are out of work, men are riding the rails searching for elusive jobs that seldom exist, and a thriving way of life that has been cherished is disappearing. Desperate people are doing desperate things just to survive, while labor strikes and veterans’ protests are turning violent. Roving gangs of outlaws have become celebrities to many people, who asked themselves why a man robbing a bank with a gun is any worse than a banker in a suit stealing someone’s life savings, home, or ...

This story is from The Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes (His Last Bow) collection. Further adventures by the master of observation and deduction, as faithfully recounted by his companion and greatest admirer, Dr. Watson. "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans," "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax", and "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" are among the stories. David Timson's award-winning performances continue with this series.

A singular life often circles around a singular moment, an occasion when one's life in the world is defined forever and the emotional vocabulary set. For the extraordinary writer James Salter, recipient of the PEN/Faulkner Award, this moment was contained in the fighter planes over Korea where, during his young manhood, he flew more than one hundred missions.

Peter Ratcliffe served in the SAS for 25 years. Blooded in Oman in the 1970s, he also saw action in Northern Ireland, in the Falklands War, and in the Gulf campaign. From his early days in the Paras to his time as Regimental Sergeant-Major in the Gulf, he has lived and fought by the motto 'who dares wins'. Eye of the Storm is his insider's account of that exceptional career.

Farzana had been banned from attending school as a child, but education would take her further than she could have imagined. Bilal's dream of becoming a journalist was about to come true, but it would also expose him to untold danger. Abdul was on the cusp of finally becoming a doctor after his studies were delayed by years of war. Jahan's shoe-shine business was beginning to take a completely unexpected turn. And Naqibullah's life in a quiet province was soon to be shattered by the arrival of Western forces.

The long war between France and England demonstrates the transition from the feudal order of society to the idea of national political organization. Its causes and the motives that kept it alive were rooted in a steadily growing sense of national unity and national honor.

Her plans for her Europe trip didn’t include falling in love! When Tiffany Gallagher flies to London to spend the holidays with her family, volunteering at a homeless shelter on Christmas Day isn’t part of her plan. Nor is having to travel to Edinburgh with Mac, the wounded and cynical Scottish photojournalist also volunteering at the shelter, to get the Scottish New Year's Eve she'd dreamed of, a real Hogmanay. Returning to London determined to prove to her family and to herself that she's good at something other than shopping, she sets up an ambitious back-to-work partnership between ...

An unbelievable series of events led to the establishment of the Northwest Electro-development Laboratory, later the U.S. Bureau of Mines Albany Research Center. Though the fledgling lab had difficulty securing staff due to World War II, world-renown metallurgist William J. Kroll was hired early on as a consultant after fleeing Nazi occupation. Kroll, who had pioneered a method for producing commercial titanium, worked with his core group of associates to develop malleable zirconium, just as a need arose for the little-known metal.

Acclaimed military writer Mark Urban explores the extraordinary story of these military pioneers; the toughest and deadliest infantrymen in Wellington's Army. Immortalised in Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels, the 95th Rifles were skirmishers tasked with acting as Wellington's advanced guard. It was new technology for the warfare of the time: they travelled light, moved rapidly, armed with the accurate rifles that would allow them to take shots from distance. The 95th Rifles were the prototype of the modern infantryman.

By early 1919, the hopeful cheers of Armistice Day have faded into a quiet, uneasy silence. Hettie returns to Canada, married to Alfred — a stranger in many ways — and haunted by the memory of her first husband, Geoffrey, whose death she never fully mourned. Burdened by unresolved grief, Hettie struggles to adjust to civilian life. As she attempts to piece together the remnants of her shattered past, she finds herself facing the cruel judgments of her new family who are hell-bent on making her feel like an outsider in her own home. Facing heartache and Alfred’s family’s cold cruelty...

The Treaty of Paris, in 1783, formally ended the American Revolutionary War, but it was the pivotal campaigns and battles of 1781 that decided the final outcome. 1781 was one of those rare years in American history when the future of the nation hung by a thread, and only the fortitude, determination, and sacrifice of its leaders and citizenry ensured its survival.

As 1862 dawned, the American republic was at death’s door. The federal government appeared overwhelmed, the U.S. Treasury was broke, and the Union’s top general was gravely ill. The Confederacy - with its booming economy, expert military leadership, and commanding position on the battlefield - had a clear view to victory. To a remarkable extent, the survival of the country depended on the judgment, cunning, and resilience of the unschooled frontier lawyer who had recently been elected president. Twelve months later, the Civil War had become a cataclysm but the tide had turned.

September 1939, troubled young Imogen Lockhart travels to Cornwall by train to deliver two small boys to their prep school, which has been evacuated to Silverwood House for the duration of the war. When she’s asked to stay on at the school as temporary cover for the usual matron she readily agrees. After all, it enables her to put off more serious decisions of what to do with her life. But her time at the school turns out to be more complicated than she’d imagined.

On the day after Halloween, in the year 1327, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. They are a thief, a bully, a boy genius, and a girl who wants to be a doctor. In the forest they see two men killed. As adults, their lives will be braided together by ambition, love, greed and revenge. They will see prosperity and famine, plague and war.

Author Doug Beed relates his memories of the men and missions during his year (1968-69) as a combat soldier with the First Infantry Division in Vietnam. After two years of college he couldn't afford to continue, so he was forced to relinquish his student deferment and enter the draft. He tried various strategies to get a non-combat job; nevertheless, he ended up in the infantry and was assigned to Vietnam. The stories in this book depict the year Doug spent in Alpha Company, where he spent days on patrols finding and killing North Vietnamese soldiers.