Drawing on previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, prizewinning historian Donald L. Miller has written what critics are calling one of the most powerful accounts of warfare ever published. Here are the horror and heroism of World War II in the words of the men who fought it, the journalists who covered it, and the civilians who were caught in its fury. Miller gives us an up-close, deeply personal view of a war that was more savagely fought—and whose outcome was in greater doubt—than readers might imagine. This is the war that Americans at the home front would have read about had they had access to the previously censored testimony of the soldiers on which Miller builds his gripping narrative. Miller covers the entire war—on land, at sea, and in the air—and provides new coverage of the brutal island fighting in the Pacific, the bomber war over Europe, the liberation of the death camps, and the contributions of African Americans and other minorities. He concludes with a suspenseful, never-before-told story of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, based on interviews with the men who flew the mission that ended the war.

Forty-five scenes from the battle of Britain, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, battle of Stalingrad, Allied invasion of France, dropping of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, the fall of Berlin, and more.

“The Griffin” was Paul Rosbaud’s code name as a spy. Rosbaud (1896-1963) was a distinguished science editor for the German publishing firm Springer Verlag, a close friend of leading physicists who worked on nuclear fission, and, apparently, a pillar of Nazi society. But he was also Britain’s most valuable spy in Germany during World War II. Rosbaud supplied the British with the “Oslo Report” which disclosed, early in the war, details about Germany’s military technology, including the rockets developed at Peenemünde that would devastate London. It was from Rosbaud that the British first learned of the German intent to make the atomic bomb. When they failed to grasp the principles of the bomb, Rosbaud reported that to the British as early as 1942. He passed his reports to Norwegian and French underground couriers who brought them to England. He helped Lise Meitner, the Austrian Jewish scientist who first interpreted the German experiments on nuclear fission, escape from Hitler’s Reich. He even visited concentration camps on errands of mercy. None of this was done for money (when he died, Rosbaud left £500) or for fame (the British Secret Service has kept his record closed), but rather through compassion for humanity and a burning hatred of Nazism. “Among the plethora of intelligence-related volumes to have appeared within the past decade, Arnold Kramish’s carefully researched and closely reasoned biography of Paul Rosbaud... must be viewed as one of the most original and valuable.” — Donal J. Sexton, The Journal of Military History “Kramish has assiduously gathered details of Rosbaud’s life and has delved into the murky world of Intelligence with considerable success. He has discovered much about Rosbaud that I for one did not know, even though I saw the most crucial of Rosbaud’s reports that were successfully transmitted during the war, and though I came to know him fairly well afterwards when he lived in London... Kramish has performed a welcome service in ensuring a wider appreciation of those genuine and important contributions that Rosbaud so courageously made.” — R. V. Jones, Nature (during World War II, R. V. Jones was with the British Air Staff, responsible for scientific intelligence) “Despite Kramish’s careful research, which included interviews with approximately 500 of those who knew Rosbaud, it is an ironic tribute to this bookish spy’s mastery of his trade that the Griffin remains a surprisingly shadowy figure, one who continues to defy the effort to capture him.” — Gregg Herken, The Washington Post “A fascinating tale of a pioneering breakthrough in technological espionage — and also of sheer courage... the events recounted... still retain their underlying tension. Rosbaud’s story is a remarkable demonstration of human ingenuity and bravery — and of the enduring values of the West — under the most adverse conditions” — James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense and former CIA Director “One of the most interesting and important books on World War II published for years — a story more thrilling than any thriller I have read for a long time.” — Walter Laqueur, author of World of Secrets: The Uses and Limits of Intelligence “This tour-de-force of a book reveals a hitherto-secret chapter in the history of the resistance against Hitler, telling for the first time how one strategically placed scientist in Germany, with the help of a small number of Norwegian and German anti-Nazis, contributed substantially to British intelligence about Germany’s fearful new weapons.” — Arvid Brodersen, leading figure in the Norwegian Resistance in World War II “This book reads with the fascination of a good detective novel. It will stimulate controversial discussion among all those who want to know something of the beginning of our nuclear age and among those few who helped bring it about.” — General Gerd Schmückle, panzer division officer on the Russian front during World War II, later NATO deputy commander under General Alexander Haig “The author has accomplished a mammoth task in knitting together material from 500 interviews and more than 100 archival sources, and he has succeeded in creating an intricate and sometimes fascinating picture of intelligence activities inside Germany and the occupied countries during the war.” — Peter Goodchild, Los Angeles Times

For Christmas of 1988 my wife, Doris, and our children Ronn, Carolyn and Phyllis gave me a tape recorder in order that I might record my story of the war. So during the winter of 1989, I taped the story of my experiences of the time leading up to World War II and the time I spent as a Destroyer Escort Sonar Man in the Navy. My story ended up being 22 ninety-minute tapes. Over the course of 4 months during the winter of 2011-12, Erma Akey, my sister-in-law, transcribed my story using these tapes. My daughter, Phyllis Akey Gregg and her husband, K.T. (Tom) Gregg, edited this story. Thanks go to Erma, Phyllis and Tom for the time they spent on my memoirs of WWII. Additional thanks goes to my granddaughter, Cynthia Kiesel, and her sister-in-law, Janet Kiesel, for designing and publishing this book.

Ilene Brown says, "I am a retired teacher, not an author. You can probably tell when you read my book." The only World War II war widow that she knows of in the East Texas area, Ilene felt compelled to write of her life, beginning as a young war bride and continuing through 66 years of marriage. Her story is one of both heartache and joy. She especially wants to emphasize the blessing of freedom that Americans enjoy each day. She says, "We owe our freedom first to God and then to our brave World War II heroes who endured so much to save us. Many never returned. Their bodies lie in graves all over the world." Ilene lives on a farm outside Canton, TX. a United States flag flies everyday in her front yard in memory of Doug and his war buddies.

Laura Hillenbrand tells the one-of-a-kind life story of Louis Zamperini, Olympic athlete, World War II fighter pilot, castaway, and prisoner of war. Thorough research and penetrating insight into the human condition combine to make the narrative non-fiction account come alive. Even the strangest and most unusual events in Zamperini’s life become relatable when brought to life by Hillenbrand’s pen. Unbroken is a story of survival, first on the mean streets of Depression-era Los Angles, then in the cockpit of a massive B-24 bomber. From a raft cut adrift in the middle of Atlantic Ocean to a Japanese POW camp where there is always too little food and medical supplies, Zamperini’s indomitable spirit is always at the heart of the narrative. Learn how he overcame the many challenges in his life and went on to forgive his captors and become a whole person once more. Experience: The Behind the Story Effect After reading a BTS... You feel inspired to follow your hearts and dreams... — Arshi Ever been backstage at a concert? Here you go -- in written form. — Author, Editor I felt enriched with knowledge about the book, and I felt like I knew more about the book. — Aspiring Author It makes me discover new things, and when I re-read the book, my emotions are different, deeper now that I understand what's behind the book. — Karlen I felt closer to the writer knowing more about them as a person and why they wrote what they wrote. — The Beta Reading Club I felt like the Behind the Story offered a new look into the book, and appreciated that, as most of the time, that angle is unexplored. — Aspiring Author Get ready for one of the most unique experiences you will ever have... this is definitely CliffNotes and SparkNotes on Steroids. — Author, Editor

British and American commanders first used modern special forces in support of conventional military operations during World War II. Since then, although special ops have featured prominently in popular culture and media coverage of wars, the academic study of irregular warfare has remained as elusive as the practitioners of special operations themselves. This book is the first comprehensive study of the development, application, and value of Anglo-American commando and special forces units during the Second World War. Special forces are intensively trained, specially selected military units performing unconventional and often high-risk missions. In this book, Andrew L. Hargreaves not only describes tactics and operations but also outlines the distinctions between commandos and special forces, traces their evolution during the war, explains how the Anglo-American alliance functioned in the creation and use of these units, looks at their command and control arrangements, evaluates their impact, and assesses their cost-effectiveness. The first real impetus for the creation of British specialist formations came in the desperate summer of 1940 when, having been pushed out of Europe following defeat in France and the Low Countries, Britain began to turn to irregular forces in an effort to wrest back the strategic initiative from the enemy. The development of special forces by the United States was also a direct consequence of defeat. After Pearl Harbor, Hargreaves shows, the Americans found themselves in much the same position as Britain had been in 1940: shocked, outnumbered, and conventionally defeated, they were unable to come to grips with the enemy on a large scale. By the end of the war, a variety of these units had overcome a multitude of evolutionary hurdles and made valuable contributions to practically every theater of operation. In describing how Britain and the United States worked independently and cooperatively to invent and put into practice a fundamentally new way of waging war, this book demonstrates the two nations’ flexibility, adaptability, and ability to innovate during World War II.

Most World War II submarine stories are glorifications of war written by submarine captains about their own boats. But the USS Pampanito was not a typical submarine. The sub and its crew caused plenty of destruction, but they found the pinnacle of their honor and fame in a dramatic sea rescue. Gregory F. Michno relates the experiences of the crewmen—both enlisted men and officers—who served on the USS Pampanito. The Pampanito story begins with the boat's construction in 1943, continues through its six combat missions, and concludes with its decommissioning after the war in 1945. The heart of the book is the September 12, 1944, attack on a Japanese convoy carrying English and Australian POWs from the Burma-Siam Railway (of Bridge on the River Kwai fame) to prison camps in Japan. The Pampanito helped sink two of the prison ships, unwittingly killing hundreds of Allied soldiers, but then returned to rescue the survivors. The crew picked a record seventy-three men from the sea.

This is the thrilling saga of war in the air in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II told from the Japanese point of view. It is the story of the men who created, led, and fought in the deadly Zero fighter plane. In their own words, Jiro Horikoshi (who designed the Zero), Masatake Okumiya (leader of many Zero squadrons), and Saburo Sakai (Japan's leading surviving fighter ace) as well as many other men, tell the inside story of developing the Zero and Japan's air force. They tell what it felt like to bomb American ships and to shoot down American airplanes -- and then of their shock when the myth of invincibility was shattered by the new Lightning, Hellcat, and Corsair fighters. They tell of the fight against the growing strength of a remorseless American enemy; and how, in desperation the Japanese High Command ordered the creation of deadly suicide squadrons, the Kamikaze. And finally they reveal their reaction to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.