Island Infernos

Island Infernos
Author: John C. McManus
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 657
Release: 2021-11-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 069819277X

In Fire and Fortitude—winner of the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History—John C. McManus presented a riveting account of the US Army's fledgling fight in the Pacific following Pearl Harbor. Now, in Island Infernos, he explores the Army’s dogged pursuit of Japanese forces, island by island, throughout 1944, a year that would bring America ever closer to victory or defeat. “A feat of prodigious scholarship.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Wonderful.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch • “Outstanding.”—Publishers Weekly • “Rich and absorbing.”—Richard Overy, author of Blood and Ruins • “A considerable achievement, and one that, importantly, adds much to our understanding of the Pacific War.”—James Holland, author of Normandy ’44 After some two years at war, the Army in the Pacific held ground across nearly a third of the globe, from Alaska’s Aleutians to Burma and New Guinea. The challenges ahead were enormous: supplying a vast number of troops over thousands of miles of ocean; surviving in jungles ripe with dysentery, malaria, and other tropical diseases; fighting an enemy prone to ever-more desperate and dangerous assaults. Yet the Army had proven they could fight. Now, they had to prove they could win a war. Brilliantly researched and written, Island Infernos moves seamlessly from the highest generals to the lowest foot soldiers and in between, capturing the true essence of this horrible conflict. A sprawling yet page-turning narrative, the story spans the battles for Saipan and Guam, the appalling carnage of Peleliu, General MacArthur’s dramatic return to the Philippines, and the grinding jungle combat to capture the island of Leyte. This masterful history is the second volume of John C. McManus’s trilogy on the US Army in the Pacific War, proving McManus to be one of our finest historians of World War II.

Fire and Fortitude

Fire and Fortitude
Author: John C. McManus
Publisher: Dutton Caliber
Total Pages: 642
Release: 2019
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0451475046

"John C. McManus, one of our most highly-acclaimed historians of World War II, takes readers from Pearl Harbor--a rude awakening for a ragtag militia woefully unprepared for war--to Makin, a sliver of coral reef where the Army was tested against the increasingly-desperate Japanese. In between were nearly two years of punishing combat as the Army transformed, at times unsteadily, from an undertrained garrison force into an unstoppable juggernaut, and America evolved from an inward-looking nation into a global superpower."--Provided by publisher.

The Dead and Those about to Die

The Dead and Those about to Die
Author: John C. McManus
Publisher: Dutton Caliber
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2019-05-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1524745502

Provides a detailed, harrowing account of the D-Day assault on Omaha Beach from the perspective of the soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division as well as from the Gap Assault Team engineers who dealt with mines and other dangerous obstacles.

Deadly Sky

Deadly Sky
Author: John C. McManus
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-08-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 045147564X

“From the training camps to the combat missions, this is war from the perspective of the young Americans who lived through it: the pilots, the bombardiers, the navigators, and the gunners of all the combat services in both Europe and in the Pacific. It is an engaging and vivid portrayal of war in the skies from 1941 to 1945.”—Craig L. Symonds, Author of World War II at Sea John C. McManus, author of The Dead and Those About to Die and September Hope, reveals the terror and triumph that shared the fiery skies of World War II—from the first dogfights over Europe to the last Kamikaze attacks over the Pacific. This insightful chronicle takes readers inside the experiences of America’s fighter pilots and bomber crews, an incredible assortment of men who, in nearly four years of warfare all over the globe, suffered over 120,000 casualties with over 40,000 killed. Their stories span the earth into every corner of the combat theaters in both Europe and the Pacific. And the aircraft explored are as varied, tough, and legendary as the men who flew them­—from the indomitable heavy-duty warhorse that was the B-17 Flying Fortress to the sleek, lethal P-51 Mustang fighter. In Deadly Sky, master historian John C. McManus goes beyond the familiar tales of aerial heroism, capturing the sights and sounds, the toil and fear, the adrenaline and the pain of the American airmen who faced death with every mission. In this important, thoroughly-researched work, McManus uncovers the true nature of fighting—and dying—in the skies over World War II.

The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 1899-1902

The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 1899-1902
Author: Brian McAllister Linn
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2000-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780807849484

After defeating the Philippine Republic's conventional forces in 1899, the U.S. Army was broken up into small garrisons to prepare Luzon for colonial rule. The Filipino nationalists transformed their resistance into a guerrilla warfare that varied so grea

Grunts

Grunts
Author: John C. McManus
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780451227904

A professor, historian and contributor to World War II magazine describes the history of the American soldier during four decades of warfare, from the Battle of the Bulge to counterinsurgency combat in Iraq.

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal
Author: Richard B. Frank
Publisher: Penguin Books
Total Pages: 844
Release: 1992-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780140165616

“Brilliant...an enormous work based on the most meticulous research.”—LA Times Book Review The battle at Guadalcanal—which began eight months to the day after Pearl Harbor—marked the first American offensive of World War II. It was a brutal six-month campaign that cost the lives of some 7,000 Americans and over 30,000 Japanese. This volume, ten years in the writing, recounts the full story of the critical campaign for Guadalcanal and is based on first-time translations of official Japanese Defense Agency accounts and recently declassified U.S. radio intelligence, Guadalcanal recreates the battle—on land, at sea, and in the air—as never before: it examines the feelings of both American and Japanese soldiers, the strategies and conflicts of their commanders, and the strengths and weaknesses of various fighting units.

Inferno at Sea

Inferno at Sea
Author: Gretchen F. Coyle
Publisher: Down the Shore Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Shipwreck victims
ISBN: 9781593220617

It was the great disaster of the 1930s, a horrific experience for all those aboard the ill-fated liner Morro Castle. Sailing to New York from anything-goes Cuba, the luxurious cruise ship was filled with passengers finding an escape from the Great Depression. But, the night before arriving home, the ship became a scene of panic as a raging fire quickly spread, killing 137 and sending many overboard. The aftermath literally floated into public view ¿ on the beach at Asbury Park, where the Jersey Shore resort town filled with rescuers, press, and gawking curiosity-seekers from throughout the northeast. The charred, smoldering ship became a tourist attraction; hawkers sold souvenirs and photographs, and the dramatic story filled front pages for weeks. Controversy and intrigue surrounded the death of the captain, as well as the cause of the fire itself, and much of the mystery has endured for nearly eighty years. But for many of those who survived, it was a closed subject; they rarely spoke of the events. In Inferno at Sea -- a large-format hardcover, filled with never-before-seen photographs -- we finally hear those personal accounts. Survivors tell their stories, family and friends share narratives of those lost that night, rescuers and volunteers all contribute to give us a rare glimpse into the events of September 8, 1934. The fading, maritime mystery of the Morro Castle fire remains, but those closest to the disaster speculate about what really happened, and we gain a new perspective on a famous and tragic shipwreck.

Angels Against the Sun

Angels Against the Sun
Author: James M. Fenelon
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 514
Release: 2023-04-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1684512069

In the tradition of Band of Brothers, historian and former paratrooper James M. Fenelon offers a grunt’s-eye view of the 11th Airborne’s heroic campaign to liberate the Philippines in World War II. A soldier’s history at its best. A Grunt’s-Eye View of Pacific Warfare The Pacific theater of World War II pitted American fighting men against two merciless enemies: the relentless Japanese army and the combined forces of monsoons, swamps, mud, privation, and disease. General Joseph Swing’s rowdy paratroopers of the 11th Airborne Division— nicknamed the “Angels”—fought in some of the war’s most dramatic campaigns, from bloody skirmishes in Leyte’s unforgiving rainforests to the ferocious battles on Luzon, including the hellish urban combat of Manila. The Angels were trained as elite shock troops, but high American casualties often forced them into action as ground-pounding infantrymen. Surviving on airdropped supplies and reinforcements, the Angels fought their way across nearly impassable terrain, emerging as one of the most lethal units in the Pacific War. Their final task was the occupation of Japan, where they were the first American boots on the ground. Angels Against the Sun is an unforgettable account of the liberation of the Philippines. In the tradition of Band of Brothers, historian and former paratrooper James M. Fenelon offers a grunt’s-eye view of the war. This is a soldier’s history at its best.