Battle of Britain

DVD, Blu-Ray

There's something about this film that's so irresistible, despite its grandiose manipulation. Maybe because it recounts the greatest air battle in history, achieving the greatest aerial battle in film history. Maybe because it has such a terrific cast. Maybe because it's so technically well-made.

The Longest Night:

The Bombing of London on May 10, 1941

Paperback (384 pages), kindle

The untold story of the horrific bombing raid that almost brought Britain to military collapse - using extensive survivors' testimony and previously classified documents to reveal just how close the Luftwaffe came to total victory.

The Blitz:

London's Longest Night

DVD

From PBS Home Video. The story of the war's most concentrated aerial attack on London in 1941 and how the city nearly perished under the German barrage.

Hitler's Rockets:

The Story of the V-2s

Paperback (448 pages), kindle

The story of the V-2, the technically brilliant but hated weapon, the ancestor and forerunner of all subsequent ballistic missiles. The author reveals the devious power-play within the German armed forces and the Nazi establishment that so influenced the creation of the rockets.

Reluctant Witness:

Memoirs from the Last Year of the European Air War, 1944-45

Paperback (537 pages), kindle

Lt Col James Mahoney, the 859th Squadron Commander, 492nd Bomb Group, wrote his memoirs of the war, writing (as the title suggests) about what he witnessed and very little about himself, including the day that seven of the B-24 Liberators he sent out on a bombing mission to Germany failed to return. Seventy men lost.

Operation Pied Piper:

The Wartime Evacuation of Schoolchildren from London and Berlin 1938-46

Paperback (240 pages)

When war came, authorities in both London and Berlin carried out evacuation schemes that sent children to rural areas or out of the country. The evacuation schemes were bold, controversial and - considering their distinct political contexts - surprisingly similar; as were some of their consequences.

My War:

From Bismarck to Britain and Back

Paperback (364 pages), kindle

Ruth Register volunteered for the American Red Cross after her husband was killed in the Pacific. Her war story is a round trip ticket from North Dakota to Europe and back.

Patton's Panthers:

The African-American 761st Tank Battalion In World War II

Paperback (368 pages), kindle

On the battlefields of WWII, the men of the African-American 761st Tank Battalion under General Patton broke through enemy lines with the same courage with which they broke down the racist limitations set upon them by others -- proving themselves as tough, reliable, and determined to fight as any tank unit in combat.

Latin America During World War II

Paperback (246 pages)

The first full-length study of World War II from the Latin American perspective; how each country responded to the Axis threat to national order, the extent of military cooperation with the Allies, and the war's impact on the national economy and domestic political and social structures.

And If I Perish:

Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II

Paperback (528 pages), kindle

A dramatic narrative that at last brings to light the critical role that U.S. Army nurses played throughout the war on the frontlines with grit, humor, and great heroism. A long overdue work of history and a powerful tribute to these women and their inspiring legacy.

A WASP Among Eagles:

A Woman Military Test Pilot in World War II

Paperback (132 pages), kindle

The first-person account of how Ann Baumgartner Carl learned to fly, trained as a WASP, and became one of the earliest jet-age pioneers.

Secret Weapons and World War II:

Japan in the Shadow of Big Science

Hardcover (335 pages)

Japan's failure to keep pace with Allied scientific and technological advancement ultimately led to its defeat in World War II, ironically through the dropping of American-developed atomic bombs.

The Night of the Long Knives:

Forty-Eight Hours That Changed the History of the World

Paperback (240 pages), audiobook

The story of how Hitler seized control in Germany during his ruthless quest for world domination by murdering SA head Ernst Röhm and other "enemies of the party" and consolidating his power.

Citizen-in-Chief:

The Second Lives of the American Presidents

Paperback (384 pages)

Dramatic, little-known, sometimes inspiring, and often heartrending post-presidential lives of former Oval Office occupants; true stories that show that great leaders are often far from fading away once they leave the White House.

Classic Willys Jeep

Adorn your desk with this!

An authentic and highly detailed 4" long 1:32 replica of the popular World War II military jeep, fully assembled.

Our Wartime Days:

The WAAF in World War II

Paperback (208 pages)

Told through the eyes of those serving at the time, this is the story of the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during the years of World War II. Reminiscences and anecdotes describe in vivid detail what their lives were like from recruiting to demobilization, and a wealth of photographs, mostly taken by the women themselves.

The Code Book:

The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

Paperback (432 pages), kindle

The most powerful intellectual weapon ever known remains SECRECY. Learn the history of encryption and the evolution and dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives from ancient times to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredibly simple breakthrough that made Internet commerce secure.

Helicopters of the Third Reich

Hardcover (224 pages)

A comprehensive account of the development of auto-gyros and helicopters in Germany between 1930-1945. By the end of WWII, despite minimal funding, lukewarm official support and bitter inter-service rivalries, the Germans were, undoubtedly, technologically way ahead of their American counterparts in the development of rotating wing aircraft, though they never managed to put them into service.

Colditz:

The Full Story

Paperback (368 pages)

Written by an ex-POW of the huge Colditz Castle POW camp, this book recounts his experiences and memories with amazing detail and some good humor. Some of the escape stories are wonderful.

When Titans Clashed:

How the Red Army Stopped Hitler

Paperback (384 pages)

The first full account of the epic struggle of what the USSR called "Great Patriotic War" from the Soviet perspective. Based on unprecedented access to formerly classified Soviet sources, they counter the German perspective that has dominated previous accounts and radically revise our understanding of the Soviet experience during World War II.