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Last Stands from the Alamo to Benghazi: How Hollywood Turns Military Defeats into Moral Victories
by Frank Wetta Martin NovelliLast Stands from the Alamo to Benghazi examines how filmmakers teach Americans about the country’s military past. Examining twenty-three representative war films and locating them in their cultural and military landscape, the authors argue that Hollywood’s view of American military history has evolved in two phases. The first phase, extending from the very beginnings of filmmaking to the Korean War, projected an essential patriotic triumphalism. The second phase, from the Korean and Vietnam Wars to the present, reflects a retreat from consensus and reflexive patriotism. In describing these phases, the authors address recurring themes such as the experience of war and combat, the image of the American war hero, race, gender, national myths, and more. With helpful film commentaries that extend the discussion through popular movie narratives, this book is essential for anyone interested in American military and film history.
Last Stands from the Alamo to Benghazi: How Hollywood Turns Military Defeats into Moral Victories
by Frank Wetta Martin NovelliLast Stands from the Alamo to Benghazi examines how filmmakers teach Americans about the country’s military past. Examining twenty-three representative war films and locating them in their cultural and military landscape, the authors argue that Hollywood’s view of American military history has evolved in two phases. The first phase, extending from the very beginnings of filmmaking to the Korean War, projected an essential patriotic triumphalism. The second phase, from the Korean and Vietnam Wars to the present, reflects a retreat from consensus and reflexive patriotism. In describing these phases, the authors address recurring themes such as the experience of war and combat, the image of the American war hero, race, gender, national myths, and more. With helpful film commentaries that extend the discussion through popular movie narratives, this book is essential for anyone interested in American military and film history.
Last Stop Auschwitz: My story of survival from within the camp
by Eddy de Wind'How much I learned from this brave man... The ultimate Holocaust testimony.' HEATHER MORRIS, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's JourneyWith an Afterword by JOHN BOYNE, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas_______________ Eddy de Wind, a Dutch doctor and psychiatrist, was shipped to Auschwitz with his wife Friedel, whom he had met and married at the Westerbork labour camp in the Netherlands. At Auschwitz, they made it through the brutal selection process and were put to work. Each day, each hour became a battle for survival. For Eddy, this meant negotiating with the volatile guards in the medical barracks. For Friedel, it meant avoiding the Nazis’ barbaric medical experiments. As the end of the war approached and the Russian Army drew closer, the last Nazis fled, taking many prisoners with them, including Friedel. Eddy hid under a pile of old clothes and stayed behind. Finding a notebook and pencil, he began to write with furious energy about his experiences.Last Stop Auschwitz is an extraordinary account of life as a prisoner, a near real-time record of the daily struggle to survive but also of the flickering moments of joy Eddy and Friedel found in each other - passing notes through the fence, sometimes stealing a brief embrace. Documenting the best and the worst of humanity, it is a unique and timeless story that reminds us of what we as humans are capable of, but that there is hope, even in Hell. Thought to be the only complete book written within Auschwitz itself, it will linger with you long after the final page has been turned._______________'Powerful and moving.' WENDY HOLDEN, author of Born Survivors
The Last Summer: A mesmerising novel of love and loss
by Judith Kinghorn1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer...Judith Kinghorn's The Last Summer is a dramatic and moving novel set against the heartbreak of the First World War. The perfect read for fans of Kate Morton and Sarra Manning. 'Epic and enthralling' - Woman & Home Clarissa is 17, the world her own. Who would know that this could be the last summer?Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university, she is dazzled. Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa. As Tom and Clarissa's friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and soon the world - and all that they know - is rocked irrevocably by a war that changes their lives for ever.What readers are saying about The Last Summer:'A beautiful story of two people who were meant to be together despite all that life throws at them''A gripping storyline full of dilemmas, emotions and overwhelmingly moving events''Beautifully written, compelling, moving & evocative of the era in which it is set. The author deserves every positive accolade'
The Last Theorem
by Arthur C. Clarke Frederik PohlThe final work from the brightest star in science fiction’s galaxy. Arthur C Clarke, who predicted the advent of communication satellites and author of 2001: A Space Odyssey completes a lifetime career in science fiction with a masterwork.
Last to Die: A Defeated Empire, a Forgotten Mission, and the Last American Killed in World War II
by Stephen HardingOn August 18, 1945, US Army sergeant Anthony J. Marchione bled to death in the clear, bright sky above Tokyo. Marchione, a gunner in the US Air Forces, died like so many before him in World War II—quietly, cradled in the arms of a buddy. Though tragic, Marchione's death would have been no more notable than any other had he not had the dubious distinction of being the last American killed in World War II combat.Based on official American and Japanese histories, personal memoirs, and the author's exclusive interviews with many of the story's key participants, Last to Die is a rousing tale of air combat, bravery, cowardice, hubris, and determination, all set during the turbulent and confusing final days of World War II.
The Last Town on Earth: A Novel
by Thomas MullenSet against the dual backdrop of World War I and the devastating 1918 influenza epidemic, ‘The Last Town On Earth’ is a brilliantly drawn tale of morality and patriotism in a time of upheaval.
Last Tram to Lime Street: A moving saga of love and friendship from the streets of Liverpool (Molly and Nellie series, Book 2)
by Joan JonkerWhen a dubious family move onto their street, the consequences are greater than either Molly or Nellie could have ever imagined... Joan Jonker brings us another instalment of her hugely popular Molly and Nellie series in Last Tram to Lime Street, as the two friends get up to more mischief in their beloved Liverpool. Perfect for fans of Lindsey Hutchinson and Katie Flynn.Molly Bennett and Nellie McDonough are as close as can be. They sort out all the neighbours' problems, care for seven children between them, and still have time for a giggle and a gossip. So imagine the excitement when Nellie's son, Steve, proposes to Molly's daughter, Jill. But it's not long before unsettling events turn their attention again to friends in need. The Bradley family, who have moved in up the street, are a bad lot, and Molly and Nellie find their hands full with sorting out the troubles that ensue. Meanwhile, Molly's teenage daughter, Doreen, has fallen head over heels in love with a young lad named Philip. She hasn't been with anyone quite like him before, and she's in for a terrible shock when she finds out whose family he comes from... What readers are saying about Last Tram to Lime Street: 'I have followed the fortunes of Molly and Nellie through all of Joan's books, but this one is my favourite by far. As with all her books the characters are so vivid and easily identifiable, reading it takes me into their lives, watching as their dramas unfold''Could not put this book down ...The best read I've had for a long time'
Last True Hero (Battle Scars #1)
by Diana Gardin"With her usual charm and engaging storytelling Diana Gardin has once again proved why she's my new go-to author." --- #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken For seven years he's fought for his country. Now he'll fight for her.Army Ranger Dare Conners has been through hell. He's left combat behind, yet the memories that refuse to fade are proving just as dangerous. Ordered to take R&R, he joins his buddy for beaches, beers, and babes-if that can't cure him, nothing will. But when he meets Berkeley, a woman who affects him like no one else, a new kind of battle begins . . . An Admiral's daughter, Berkeley knows her life has been planned since birth. The right school, the right boyfriend-and now that she's graduated-the right marriage. But after years of being right, Berkeley is ready to be a little wrong. And Dare Conners has wrong written all over him. The sexy soldier has a body built for sin and secrets he won't share. What starts as a fling quickly grows into something more. But summer can't last forever, and when the truth comes out, both Berkeley and Dare could be in for quite a fall. "LAST TRUE HERO is the perfect escape. Diana Gardin is a fresh new voice in contemporary romance." --Lia Riley Battle Scars series:Book 1: Last True HeroBook 2: Saved by the SEALBook 3: Man of Honor
Last True Hero (Battle Scars #1)
by Diana Gardin"With her usual charm and engaging storytelling Diana Gardin has once again proved why she's my new go-to author." -- #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken For seven years he's fought for his country. Now he'll fight for her. Army Ranger Dare Conners has been through hell. He's left combat behind, yet the memories that refuse to fade are proving just as dangerous. Ordered to take R&R, he joins his buddy for beaches, beers, and babes-if that can't cure him, nothing will. But when he meets Berkeley, a woman who affects him like no one else, a new kind of battle begins . . . An Admiral's daughter, Berkeley knows her life has been planned since birth. The right school, the right boyfriend-and now that she's graduated-the right marriage. But after years of being right, Berkeley is ready to be a little wrong. And Dare Conners has wrong written all over him. The sexy soldier has a body built for sin and secrets he won't share. What starts as a fling quickly grows into something more. But summer can't last forever, and when the truth comes out, both Berkeley and Dare could be in for quite a fall. "Last True Hero is the perfect escape. Diana Gardin is a fresh new voice in contemporary romance." -- Lia Riley
The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam
by Martin WindrowIn December 1953 French paratroopers, who had been searching for the elusive Vietnamese army, were quickly isolated by them and forced to retreat into their out-gunned and desolate jungle base-a small place called Dien Bien Phu. The Vietnamese besieged the French base for five long and desperate months. Eventually, the demoralized and weakened French were utterly depleted and withdrew in defeat. The siege at Dien Bien Phu was a landmark battle of the last century-the first defeat of modern western forces by an Asian guerilla army.The Last Valley is the first new account of the battle since the 1970s. The author has incorporated much new material from French and Vietnamese sources, including veteran interviews, making this the most complete account to-date. And Martin Windrow has received widespread praise from top historians such as John Keegan and Max Hastings (below), as well as reviewers on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam
by Martin WindrowStalingrad in the jungle: the battle that doomed the French Empire and led America into VietnamIn winter 1953-54 the French army in Vietnam challenged its elusive enemy, General Giap's Viet Minh, to pitched battle. Ten thousand French paras and légionnaires, with artillery and tanks, were flown to the remote valley of Dien Bien Phu to build a fortress upon which Giap could smash his inexperienced regiments. The siege which followed became a Stalingrad in the jungle, and its outcome shocked the world.
The Last Veteran: Harry Patch And The Legacy Of War
by Peter ParkerThis moving and timely book explores the way the First World War has been thought about and commemorated, and how it has affected its own, and later, generations.
The Last Viking: The True Story of King Harald Hardrada
by Don Hollway'The Last Viking is a masterful and pulse-pounding narrative that transports the reader into the middle of the action.' Carl Gnam, Military HeritageHarald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway's most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.Combining Norse sagas, Byzantine accounts, Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and even King Harald's own verse and prose into a single, compelling story, Don Hollway vividly depicts the violence and spectacle of the late Viking era and delves into the dramatic events that brought an end to almost three centuries of Norse conquest and expansion.
The Last Viking: The True Story of King Harald Hardrada
by Don Hollway'The Last Viking is a masterful and pulse-pounding narrative that transports the reader into the middle of the action.' Carl Gnam, Military HeritageHarald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway's most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.Combining Norse sagas, Byzantine accounts, Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and even King Harald's own verse and prose into a single, compelling story, Don Hollway vividly depicts the violence and spectacle of the late Viking era and delves into the dramatic events that brought an end to almost three centuries of Norse conquest and expansion.
The Last Voice: Roy J. Glauber and the Dawn of the Atomic Age
by José Ignacio Latorre María Teresa Soto-SanfielMost human beings don’t manage to achieve fame. Roy J. Glauber did so for two different reasons. Glauber was not only a Nobel-Prize winning physicist, but also one of the last surviving scientists who worked in Los Alamos in the Theoretical Division of the Manhattan Project. He was a witness to all the events and knew all the scientists associated with the creation and launch of the first atomic bombs. This book is the product of a series of long interviews held with Roy over three years: in Benasque (Spain) in 2011, and later in Singapore and Cambridge (USA). Its pages give a first-hand account of a true protagonist, one who is independent, lucid, sagacious and committed to the truth. The authors have respectfully preserved his spirit: his voice is the one that matters. The authors asked the questions and they relay his answers. Their comments are confined to the footnotes and to brief explanatory paragraphs, added simply to provide certain relevant details. The importance of the events that Glauber describes here is indisputable, as therefore is the book itself. The events narrated in its pages will remain part of world history, perhaps for centuries or even millennia. We live today in the shadow of the decisions made at that time.
The Last War
by Sandipan DebThe Greatest Story Ever Told…Again Bombay 1955. Aging Parsi businessman Rustom Pestonjee chances upon brilliant archer Yash Kuru at the Gateway of India. Struggling to make ends meet to feed his two nephews and adopted son, Yash accepts Pestonjee’s offer to become a hitman for one night, the start of a unique relationship. When Pestonjee dies, Yash pledges to be regent of his mentor’s empire of crime, and hand it over one day to the most deserving man from a yet-unborn generation of Kurus. Yash’s august ‘dharma’ will now determine the destinies of three generations of Kuru men and women. Mumbai 2007. A family torn asunder and an empire up for grabs. Yash’s grand-nephews battle it out for control of the city’s underworld, as Rishabh, Vikram and Jeet try to reclaim what Rahul and Ranjit had seized from them through deceit. Can the wily Kishenbhai’s strategy defeat Karl Fernandes’ deadly warcraft? Will pitiless Jahn get the revenge she yearns for? Who will own Mumbai? A modern-day version of The Mahabharata, The Last War is a page-turning account of brothers in arms and families at war. In the gritty expanse of India’s most dynamic city, from its ritzy high-rises to its mean streets and slums, loyalties are tested, blood is drawn and only ‘dharma’ can justify the means to a devastating end.
Last Witnesses: Unchildlike Stories (Penguin Modern Classics Ser.)
by Svetlana AlexievichStunning stories about what it was like to be a Soviet child during the upheaval and horror of the Second World War, from Nobel Laureate Svetlana AlexievichI finished first grade in May of 41, and my parents took me for the summer to the Pioneer camp. I came there, went for a swim once, and two days later the war began. German planes flew over, and we shouted "Hurray!" We didn't understand that they could be enemy planes. Until they began to bomb us... Then all colours disappeared. All shades. What did it mean to grow up in the Soviet Union during the Second World War? In the late 1970s, Svetlana Alexievich started interviewing people who had experienced war as children, the generation that survived and had to live with the trauma that would forever change the course of the Russian nation. With remarkable care and empathy, Alexievich gives voice to those whose stories are lost in the official narratives, uncovering a powerful, hidden history of one of the most important events of the twentieth century.Published to great acclaim in the USSR in 1985 and now available in English for the first time, this masterpiece offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the human consequences of the war - and an extraordinary chronicle of the Russian soul.
The Last Word?: Essays on Official History in the United States and British Commonwealth (Contributions to the Study of World History)
by Jeffrey GreyOfficial history is a misunderstood genre of historical writing, which attracts much negative comment from (non-official) historians but about which very little detail is actually known. This book examines the development of official history programs in Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand over the course of the twentieth century, looking at the ways in which they developed and the contributions each made to their respective national historiography. The second part of the work develops some themes from the first and takes the official histories of the Second World War as case studies.Drawing on programs in Australia, Britain, and the United States, these essays examine the relationship between the histories, the historians, and their sponsoring institutions. They assess the impact of the histories on historical understanding of the Second World War. They also consider the impact that contemporary events during the Cold War had on the writing of the official history.
The Last Word (Hq Digital Ser.)
by A. L. MichaelTabby Riley’s online life was a roaring success. Her blog had hundreds of followers, and legions of young fans ardently awaited her every Tweet. Her real life was a bit more of a disappointment.
Late City: the last surviving veteran of WWI revisits his life in this moving story of love and fatherhood from the Pulitzer Prize winner
by Robert Olen ButlerA 115-year-old man lays on his deathbed as the 2016 election results arrive, and revisits his life in this moving story of love, fatherhood, and the American century from Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen ButlerA visionary and poignant novel centered around former newspaperman Sam Cunningham as he prepares to die, Late City covers much of the early twentieth century, unfurling as a conversation between the dying man and a surprising God. As the two review Sam's life, from his childhood in the American South and his time in the French trenches during World War I to his fledgling newspaper career in Chicago in the Roaring Twenties and the decades that follow, snippets of history are brought sharply into focus.Sam grows up in Louisiana, with a harsh father, who he comes to resent both for his physical abuse and for what Sam eventually perceives as his flawed morality. Eager to escape and prove himself, Sam enlists in the army as a sniper while still underage. The hardness his father instilled in him helps him make it out of World War I alive, but, as he recounts these tales on his deathbed, we come to realize that it also prevents him from contending with the emotional wounds of war. Back in the US, Sam moves to Chicago to begin a career as a newspaperman that will bring him close to all the major historical turns of the twentieth century. There he meets his wife and has a son, whose fate counters Sam's at almost every turn.As he contemplates his relationships - with his parents, his brothers in arms, his wife, his editor, and most importantly, his son - Sam is amazed at what he still has left to learn about himself after all these years.Praise for Robert Olen Butler'A thriller of great depth and intelligence' - Sunday Times'A morally complex and beautifully written thriller with a delicately portrayed love story at its heart. A cut above' - Mail on Sunday'Butler has not entered the significant and ever-growing canon of Vietnam-related fiction (he has long been a member) he has changed its composition forever' - Guardian'One of the most profoundly creative voices in fiction today' - Ann Patchett'A riveting thriller with impressively well-developed characters and such rich historical detail that is hard to put down' - Daily Express
Late Roman Infantryman vs Gothic Warrior: AD 376–82 (Combat)
by Murray DahmRavaged by civil war and pressure from the Huns to the east, in late summer AD 376 the Gothic tribe of the Theruingi – up to 200,000 people under their leader Fritigern – gathered on the northern bank of the River Danube and asked the Eastern Roman emperor, Valens, for asylum within the empire. After agreeing to convert to Arian Christianity and enrol in the Roman Army, the Goths were allowed to cross the Danube and settle in the province of Thrace. Far more people crossed the Danube than the Romans expected, however, and with winter approaching, the local Roman commander, Lupicinus, lacked the resources to feed the newcomers and did not possess sufficient troops to control them. Treated poorly and running out of food, the Goths very quickly lost faith in the Roman promises. Meanwhile, other Gothic tribes also sought permission to cross the Danube. The Greuthungi were refused permission, but soon learned that local Roman garrisons had been depleted to supervise the march of the Theruingi to the town of Marcianopolis, close to the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Taking advantage of this, the Greuthungi also entered Roman territory. Camping outside Marcianopolis, Lupicinus denied the Goths access to the town's food stores, provoking the Theruingi to begin skirmishing with the Roman troops. Fritigern convinced Lupicinus to let the Gothic leaders go and calm their people, but they did nothing to quell the warlike temper of his warriors. Lupicinus summoned troops to him, but in late 376 these Roman forces were defeated – the first of several defeats for the Romans that would culminate in the fateful battle of Adrianople in August 378, at which Roman forces led by the emperor himself confronted the Gothic host. The aftermath and repercussions of Adrianople have been much debated, but historians agree that it marks a decisive moment in the history of the Roman world. This fully illustrated book investigates the fighting men of both sides who clashed at the battles of Marcianopolis, Ad Salices and Adrianople, as the fate of the Western Roman Empire hung in the balance.
Late Roman Infantryman vs Gothic Warrior: AD 376–82 (Combat)
by Murray DahmRavaged by civil war and pressure from the Huns to the east, in late summer AD 376 the Gothic tribe of the Theruingi – up to 200,000 people under their leader Fritigern – gathered on the northern bank of the River Danube and asked the Eastern Roman emperor, Valens, for asylum within the empire. After agreeing to convert to Arian Christianity and enrol in the Roman Army, the Goths were allowed to cross the Danube and settle in the province of Thrace. Far more people crossed the Danube than the Romans expected, however, and with winter approaching, the local Roman commander, Lupicinus, lacked the resources to feed the newcomers and did not possess sufficient troops to control them. Treated poorly and running out of food, the Goths very quickly lost faith in the Roman promises. Meanwhile, other Gothic tribes also sought permission to cross the Danube. The Greuthungi were refused permission, but soon learned that local Roman garrisons had been depleted to supervise the march of the Theruingi to the town of Marcianopolis, close to the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Taking advantage of this, the Greuthungi also entered Roman territory. Camping outside Marcianopolis, Lupicinus denied the Goths access to the town's food stores, provoking the Theruingi to begin skirmishing with the Roman troops. Fritigern convinced Lupicinus to let the Gothic leaders go and calm their people, but they did nothing to quell the warlike temper of his warriors. Lupicinus summoned troops to him, but in late 376 these Roman forces were defeated – the first of several defeats for the Romans that would culminate in the fateful battle of Adrianople in August 378, at which Roman forces led by the emperor himself confronted the Gothic host. The aftermath and repercussions of Adrianople have been much debated, but historians agree that it marks a decisive moment in the history of the Roman world. This fully illustrated book investigates the fighting men of both sides who clashed at the battles of Marcianopolis, Ad Salices and Adrianople, as the fate of the Western Roman Empire hung in the balance.
Latin America and the Second World War: Volume 1: 1939 - 1942 (History and Politics in the 20th Century: Bloomsbury Academic)
by R. A. HumphreysThis authoritative work examines the experiences of the Latin American countries during the Second World War, their reactions to its outbreak and the extent of their involvement. Although the war was fought far from Latin America, the area had immense economic and strategic significance for the great powers and witnessed a fierce struggle between them for influence and advantage.In this volume, R.A. Humphreys covers the period from the eve of war to the end of the Rio de Janeiro Conference of American Foreign Ministers in 1942, when all Latin American states, with the exception of Argentina and Chile, had either declared war on the Axis Powers or severed relations with them. This account is based on a wide variety of sources, including the author's own war-time study of the Latin American press and the records of the British Foreign Office.
Latin America and the Second World War: Volume 2: 1942 - 1945 (History and Politics in the 20th Century: Bloomsbury Academic)
by R. A. HumphreysIn the first volume of this work, Professor Humphreys showed the economic and strategic importance of the Latin American countries in the Second World War, covering the struggle for supremacy in the area between the great powers up to the Rio de Janeiro Conference in 1942.This second volume opens with the Battle of the Caribbean and continues the story to 1945. The impact of the War on Mexico and Brazil – each of which sent fighting forces abroad – is examined in detail, along with other aspects such as the Bolivian revolution of 1943 and the rise of military dictatorship and Colonel Perón in Argentina. The book ends with a discussion of Latin American aspirations at the time of transition from war to peace in 1945.