Sons and Soldiers

Sons and Soldiers
Author: Bruce Henderson
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2017-07-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0062419110

New York Times bestseller. The definitive story of the Ritchie Boys, as featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes. “A spellbinding account of extraordinary men at war.” —USA Today They were young Jewish boys who escaped from Nazi-occupied Europe and resettled in America. After the United States entered the war, they returned to fight for their adopted homeland and for the families they had left behind. Their stories tell the tale of one of the U.S. Army’s greatest secret weapons. These young men—known as the Ritchie Boys, after the Maryland camp where they trained—knew what the Nazis would do to them if they were captured. Yet they leapt at the opportunity to be sent in small, elite teams to join every major combat unit in Europe, where they collected key tactical intelligence on enemy strength, troop and armored movements, and defensive positions that saved American lives and helped win the war. A postwar army report found that nearly 60 percent of the credible intelligence gathered in Europe came from the Ritchie Boys. Sons and Soldiers draws on original interviews and extensive archival research to vividly re-create the stories of six of these men, tracing their journeys from childhood through their escapes from Europe, their feats and sacrifices during the war, and finally their desperate attempts to find their missing loved ones. Sons and Soldiers is an epic story of heroism, courage, and patriotism that will not soon be forgotten. “An irresistible history of the WWII Jewish refugees who returned to Europe to fight the Nazis.” —Newsday “Gripping . . . A story of courage and determination, revenge and redemption.” —The Boston Globe

Ritchie Boy Secrets

Ritchie Boy Secrets
Author: Beverley Driver Eddy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0811769976

In June 1942, the U.S. Army began recruiting immigrants, the children of immigrants, refugees, and others with language skills and knowledge of enemy lands and cultures for a special military intelligence group being trained in the mountains of northern Maryland and sent into Europe and the Pacific. Ultimately, 15,000 men and some women received this specialized training and went on to make vital contributions to victory in World War II. This is their story, which Beverley Driver Eddy tells thoroughly and colorfully, drawing heavily on interviews with surviving Ritchie Boys. The army recruited not just those fluent in German, French, Italian, and Polish (approximately a fifth were Jewish refugees from Europe), but also Arabic, Japanese, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Turkish, and other languages—as well as some 200 Native Americans and 200 WACs. They were trained in photo interpretation, terrain analysis, POW interrogation, counterintelligence, espionage, signal intelligence (including pigeons), mapmaking, intelligence gathering, and close combat. Many landed in France on D-Day. Many more fanned out across Europe and around the world completing their missions, often in cooperation with the OSS and Counterintelligence Corps, sometimes on the front lines, often behind the lines. The Ritchie Boys’ intelligence proved vital during the liberation of Paris and the Battle of the Bulge. They helped craft the print and radio propaganda that wore down German homefront morale. If caught, they could have been executed as spies. After the war they translated and interrogated at the Nuremberg trials. One participated in using war criminal Klaus Barbie as an anti-communist agent. Meanwhile, Ritchie Boys in the Pacific Theater of Operations collected intelligence in Burma and China, directed bombing raids in New Guinea and the Philippines, and fought on Okinawa and Iwo Jima. This is a different kind of World War II story, and Eddy tells it with conviction, supported by years of research and interviews.

A Ritchie Boy

A Ritchie Boy
Author: Linda Kass
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2020-08-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1631527401

From the author of Tasa’s Song, an extraordinary narrative about one young immigrant’s triumph in America, inspired by true events. 1938. Eli Stoff and his parents, Austrian Jews, escape to America just after Germany takes over their homeland. Within five years, Eli enlists in the US Army and, thanks to his understanding of the German language and culture, joins thousands of others like him who become known as Ritchie boys, young men who work undercover in Intelligence on the European front to help the Allies win World War II. In A Ritchie Boy, different characters tell interrelated stories that, together, form a cohesive narrative about the circumstances and people Eli encounters from Vienna to New York, from Ohio to Maryland to war-torn Europe, before he returns to the heartland of his new country to set down his roots. Set during the dawn of World War II and the disruptive decade to follow, A Ritchie Boy is the poignant, compelling tale of one young immigrant's triumph over adversity as he journeys from Europe to America, and from boyhood to manhood.

Inside War

Inside War
Author: Tony Maisey
Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers
Total Pages: 141
Release: 2021-10-01
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0768461936

Tony had mastered the art of hiding the frightened child, behind the mask of a fearless criminal. Years later, exhausted from holding up that same weary disguise, he headed for Peru in pursuit of freedom and truth in sheer desperation. Stumbling from bar to bar in hope of something, anything, Tony found a connection to take him to meet a shaman the following day. With a bottle of water in hand to a nurse significant hangover Tony boarded the cramped fishing boat No amount of hard living could have prepared him for what he would be spiritually subjected to deep in the Amazon Jungle. He had opened himself up to the realms of the demonic through torturous Ayahuasca ceremonies. When returning to London drenched in fear and darkness, suicide seemed to be the only escape from his vivid evil manifestations. One night alone and frightened he experienced a vision which promised him a way out. But there was something he needed to do first before it could happen. This is that true story.

Invisible Ink

Invisible Ink
Author: Guy Stern
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0814347606

Invisible Ink is the story of Guy Stern’s remarkable life. This is not a Holocaust memoir; however, Stern makes it clear that the horrors of the Holocaust and his remarkable escape from Nazi Germany created the central driving force for the rest of his life. Stern gives much credit to his father’s profound cautionary words, "You have to be like invisible ink. You will leave traces of your existence when, in better times, we can emerge again and show ourselves as the individuals we are." Stern carried these words and their psychological impact for much of his life, shaping himself around them, until his emergence as someone who would be visible to thousands over the years. This book is divided into thirteen chapters, each marking a pivotal moment in Stern’s life. His story begins with Stern’s parents—"the two met, or else this chronicle would not have seen the light of day (nor me, for that matter)." Then, in 1933, the Nazis come to power, ushering in a fiery and destructive timeline that Stern recollects by exact dates and calls "the end of [his] childhood and adolescence." Through a series of fortunate occurrences, Stern immigrated to the United States at the tender age of fifteen. While attending St. Louis University, Stern was drafted into the U.S. Army and soon found himself selected, along with other German-speaking immigrants, for a special military intelligence unit that would come to be known as the Ritchie Boys (named so because their training took place at Ft. Ritchie, MD). Their primary job was to interrogate Nazi prisoners, often on the front lines. Although his family did not survive the war (the details of which the reader is spared), Stern did. He has gone on to have a long and illustrious career as a scholar, author, husband and father, mentor, decorated veteran, and friend. Invisible Ink is a story that will have a lasting impact. If one can name a singular characteristic that gives Stern strength time after time, it is his resolute determination to persevere. To that end Stern’s memoir provides hope, strength, and graciousness in times of uncertainty.

Marijuanamerica

Marijuanamerica
Author: Alfred Ryan Nerz
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2013-04-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1613124708

“A delightfully weird . . . journey that includes crazed pharmacists, a guy named Buddha Cheese, and an interstate road trip with a trunk full of pot.” —A. J. Jacobs, New York Times–bestselling author Alfred Ryan Nerz is a Yale-educated author, journalist, and TV producer. He’s also a longtime marijuana enthusiast who has made it his mission to better understand America’s long-standing love-hate relationship with our favorite (sometimes) illegal drug. His cross-country investigation started out sensibly enough: taking classes at a cannabis college, hanging out with a man who gets three hundred pre-rolled joints per month from the federal government, and visiting the world’s largest medical marijuana dispensary. But his journey took an unexpected turn and he found himself embedded with one of the largest growers and dealers on the West Coast. He quickly transformed into an underworld apprentice—surrounded by pit bulls, exotic drugs, beanbags full of cash, and trunks full of weed. But while struggling to navigate the eccentric characters and rampant paranoia of the black market, he maintained enough equanimity to explore a number of vital questions: Is marijuana hurting or helping us? How is it affecting our lungs, our brains, and our ambitions? Is it truly addictive, and if so, are too many of us dependent on it? Should we legalize it? Does he need to quit? As entertaining as it is illuminating, Marijuanamerica is one man’s attempt to humanize the myriad hot-button topics surrounding the nation’s obsession with weed, while learning something about himself along the way. “These wacky accounts rival T.C. Boyle’s fine novel Budding Prospects in showing the highly misguided paranoia that can be cured—or accentuated—by consumption of the marijuana plant’s sticky blossoms.” —Pasatiempo

Gay Like Me

Gay Like Me
Author: Richie Jackson
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2020-01-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0062939807

Chosen by Town & Country as one of the most anticipated books of the year | Named "An LGBTQ Book That'll Change the Literary Landscape in 2020" by O: The Oprah Magazine In this poignant and urgent love letter to his son, award-winning Broadway, TV and film producer Richie Jackson reflects on his experiences as a gay man in America and the progress and setbacks of the LGBTQ community over the last 50 years. “My son is kind, responsible, and hardworking. He is ready for college. He is not ready to be a gay man living in America." When Jackson's son born through surrogacy came out to him at age 15, the successful producer, now in his 50s, was compelled to reflect on his experiences and share his wisdom on life for LGBTQ Americans over the past half-century. Gay Like Me is a celebration of gay identity and parenting, and a powerful warning for his son, other gay men and the world. Jackson looks back at his own journey as a gay man coming of age through decades of political and cultural turmoil. Jackson's son lives in a seemingly more liberated America, and Jackson beautifully lays out how far we’ve come since Stonewall -- the increased visibility of gay people in society, the legal right to marry, and the existence of a drug to prevent HIV. But bigotry is on the rise, ignited by a president who has declared war on the gay community and fanned the flames of homophobia. A newly constituted Supreme Court with a conservative tilt is poised to overturn equality laws and set the clock back decades. Being gay is a gift, Jackson writes, but with their gains in jeopardy, the gay community must not be complacent. As Ta-Nehisi Coates awakened us to the continued pervasiveness of racism in America in Between the World and Me, Jackson’s rallying cry in Gay Like Me is an eye-opening indictment to straight-lash in America. This book is an intimate, personal exploration of our uncertain times and most troubling questions and profound concerns about issues as fundamental as dignity, equality, and justice. Gay Like Me is a blueprint for our time that bridges the knowledge gap of what it’s like to be gay in America. This is a cultural manifesto that will stand the test of time. Angry, proud, fierce, tender, it is a powerful letter of love from a father to a son that holds lasting insight for us all.

Camp Sharpe's Psycho Boys

Camp Sharpe's Psycho Boys
Author: Beverley Driver Eddy
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2014-10-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781502813947

"Drawing on company histories, memoirs, and interviews, this book traces the history of the men of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Companies during World War II. It begins with the establishment of a secret camp in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the specialized training in military intelligence and propaganda services that the men received there. It then follows these men abroad: to further training in Britain, to the D-Day landings, Battle of the Bulge, Conquest of Germany, and liberation of the concentration camps."--P. [4] of cover.

The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club
Author: Richard Osman
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2021-08-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1984880985

A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture “Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining.” —Wall Street Journal “Don’t trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman’s own laugh-out-loud whodunit.” —Parade Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?

Wild Like Us

Wild Like Us
Author: Krista Ritchie
Publisher: K.B. Ritchie
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2020-11-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1950165248

One is new to love. One is bad at love. One denies love. Twenty-one-year-old, foul-mouthed Olympian, Sullivan Meadows, just made a huge mistake. She told her bodyguards—her buddies, her pals—they could take her virginity. Words forever engrained in her brain. And theirs. Akara Kitsuwon & Banks Moretti are best friends, sworn to protect each other and their client Sullivan. But upon hearing her confession, their reactions aren’t what Sulli expects. They’re all friends anyway. Just friends. Solid, good friends. Right? As the three embark on the road to Yellowstone, tension builds and close quarters leave no secrets behind. Feelings for her childhood friendship with Akara—that teasing, flirty leader—grow hotter, but so do her feelings for Banks, the rugged, heart-melting Marine. While Sulli is out west to free-solo her dad’s old climbing routes, the only true destination the three of them are certain of is Yellowstone. Love & romance are totally up in the air. Wild Like Us is an MFM Romance and Book 8 in the Like Us Series.