World War II has left an indelible mark on the fabric of human history. The exploits of men like Hitler and Mussolini, Roosevelt and Churchill are chronicled in countless books and movies. Their names and their actions will never be forgotten-and for good reason. To gain a deeper understanding of the war's impact, however, we must look beyond the names that grace the pages of textbooks and recognize the sacrifices of the anonymous soldiers who risked life and limb to serve the country they loved.

With each passing year, their stories-which persist only through the oral history passed from generation to generation-fade into the ether of time. As a boy, author William S. Murray listened to his grandfather's stories about training as a pilot during World War II with rapt attention. In an effort to preserve these memories, Murray sat down with his grandfather, Thomas Stewart, to record these stories for posterity. Stewart shares memories both happy and bittersweet, from his beginnings in Byhalia, Mississippi, through his experiences as a pilot during the war years.

"Journey to War" is not the story of familiar heroes like Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur. This is the story of one ordinary man doing his part to serve his country during extraordinary times. This is the story of Second Lieutenant Thomas Stewart and the men with whom he served.

Sixteen-year-old twins, Frank, Jr. and Gerry wanted to help their mother make ends meet after their father became estranged from their Boston family. The year was 1942; America was at war in Europe and the South Pacific. The twins saw the chance to earn military pay to send back home to Mom. There was one problem. The minimum age for enlistment in the United States military was 17. Together they hatched a plan to enlist. Gerald is accepted into the US Navy. Frank finds a way into the US Coast Guard. These are Frank's stories, sometimes funny, of the brave young men and women he served with until President Harry Truman announced the end of World War II on September 2, 1945.

This account of the amphibious operations carried out in Iraq (then called Mesopotamia) against the Turks in the Great War is replete with names all too familiar to us today: Basra, Nasiriya, Baghdad. For then, as now, British sailors and soldiers were fighting a neglected, thankless campaign in a tough environment where, according to the author who commanded it: 'there was too much water for the soldiers and not enough for the sailors'. Vice-Admiral Nunn, in his elegant sloop of a gunboat Espiegle, commanded a mixed force that, along with irregulars he calls 'our Arab allies' fought their way up the great twin TIgris and Euphrates rivers against stubborn and determined Turkish resistance. Despite disappointments, such as the failure to re-take the town of Kut al Amara, lost with all its garrison early in the war, the campaign was eventually crowned with success with the capture of Baghdad in 1917. This is a book that will interest all Great War buffs, as well as those studying amphibious operations and anyone serving in Iraq today.

Ten days before the D-day landings at Normandy, Lt. Henry Woodrum woke early to fl y a combat mission that culminated in being shot down over the northern suburbs of Paris. Expected to be captured as he hung suspended in his parachute over Nazi-occupied France, Lt. Woodrum never lost hope-even as he realized the Germans were trying to kill him before he hit the ground.

Lt. Woodrum's thirty-fifth combat mission flying the Martin Maruder B-26 was supposed to last just a few hours, but it ended up continuing three months as he struggled to survive in war-torn France. In his fascinating war memoir, Woodrum shares his true account of how he managed to evade capture while being aided by the French Underground-some of whom paid the ultimate price for their loyalty to the downed American pilot.

"Walkout" not only relays the incredible story of a young American behind enemy lines during pivotal months of World War II but also illustrates the quiet heroism displayed by American airmen and the French Resistance during an unforgettable time in history.

"A true story of a B-26 pilot's escape from the Nazis after bailing out over Paris. A must read " -Col. William F. Nicol, USAFR, MC (Ret)

At about 11:30 on a Sunday morning in 1815, a few shots rang out as the curtain-raiser to one of Europe's most titanic military clashes. By late afternoon, at the close of the Battle of Waterloo, nearly 40,000 men lay dead or wounded. Until that day, the army of Napoleon Bonaparte seemed almost invincible. Indeed, by mid-afternoon, victory for the French seemed a distinct possibility. But the Allied army, led by the Duke of Wellington and ably assisted by Marshal Blucher, finally delivered a fatal blow that not only defeated the French forces but destroyed for ever Napoleon's dreams of conquest and glory, in which he would stand astride Europe like a colossus. Events that day confirmed the Duke of Wellington as a military genius and Blucher as an eccentric but loyal ally. For the British, the Battle of Waterloo was one of our greatest ever victories and the story of that extraordinary day,.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Mel Amler was a sociable and motivated dental student completing his first semester at New York University. The following spring, the US Army commissioned him and thousands of his classmates nationwide in the Medical Administrative Corps (MAe Reserve. Their coursework was accelerated to supply the armed forces with critically needed dental officers. Upon graduation, the newly minted dentists were whisked off to basic training and to combat zones worldwide. Armed with a .45 automatic and carbine, his newly gained profession, and a commission as a First Lieutenant, Mel found himself deep in the jungles of Mindanao, The Philippines. Standing watch duty in the pitch-black rain-flooded midnight, he wondered how this city boy who loved science and music had come to this.

This book-a Leonaur original-contains three rare works by members of Wellington's green sharpshooters. The first was written by Rifleman Knight-a personality who rarely appears in histories of the regiment-but who fought at Waterloo and took part in the pursuit of the French Army to Paris. He subsequently went to Portugal to fight as a mercenary and his account of his adventures on campaign and on the battlefield make riveting reading. Henry Curling wielded the pen that brought to the public the well known memoirs of Rifleman Benjamin Harris. This book contains more military anecdotes recorded by Curling from reports of other British soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars including several more by Harris himself. The final piece is a short history of the Rifles by Jonathan Leach who was an officer of the regiment and his history directly recounts events in which he was a personal and active participant.

* Commissioned a 2nd Lt. in British Army during French-Indian War by King George II. * Commanded an American regiment in 7 major battles during Revolutionary War. * Crossed the Delaware River with George Washington to attack the Hessians at Trenton. * Acting commander of the brigade at Valley Forge * Commissioner dealing with two Indian Treaties. * Stopped Shays's attack on Springfield Armory. * Served in fifth, sixth and seventh Congress.

The history of the 110th Mahratta Light Infantry during the Great War was a tragic one as the Regiment was one of the Indian army formations caught up in the disaster at Kut-al-Asmara in Mesopotamia (today's Iraq) in which a garrison commended by General Sir Charles Townshend was bottled up and compelled to surrender by the Turks. After the tragedy of Kut - in which many soldiers perished in Turkish captivity - the regiment was re-formed from its surviving remnants and saw service in the Palestinian campaign in the closing months of the war. Unit histories of Indian Army regiments are comparatively rare, and this one will be prized by all interested in the Raj and the Great War in Iraq.

This is the story of a small town, Midwestern, provincial young man who, over sixty years ago, was plucked out of his quiet, workaday life by the explosion of World War II. He found himself fastened to the conveyor belt that was transforming civilian men into pilots of heavy bombers. Initially terrified, he gradually adjusted to the process, and found to his surprise that he was enjoying it. It changed from an ordeal into a privilege. In spite of himself, he found a whole new world of exciting experiences far beyond his wildest dreams. A few brushes with violent death in the high altitudes were the spice that sweetened survival and enriched each day's happenings. Sherman was mostly right about war being hell, but for a few lucky ones, it was almost fun.

The Zulu War-by possibly its most authentic historians
Most written histories intend to be accurate, but they often suffer from the bias of perspective, and whilst this history of the Anglo-Zulu War is no exception, it is exceptional in that it is decidedly not a view of the conflict from an Imperial British standpoint. Francis Colenso was the daughter of Bishop Colenso, whose Bishopric included Zululand at the time of the war. She knew the Zulu nation well, had an affection for it and in company with her father was an ardent advocate in its cause. She was well aware of the many shameful calumnies perpetrated against it by the British including the bringing about of the war of 1879 itself. This history, written by an author who was on the spot, was originally published very shortly after the events themselves took place. It provides a very different view, far removed from a story of Imperial glory or folly. Ultimately the traditional Zulu way of life was destroyed by the war and the injustice and tragedy of that is painfully elaborated in these pages. 'Fanny' Colenso had a close personal relationship with Colonel Anthony Durnford, who fell at Isandlwhana and who became one of Lord Chelmsford's scapegoats for the disaster. For the military aspects of her history she called upon the assistance of Durnford's brother, Edward-also a soldier-to provide vital expertise, credibility, accuracy and authority. This is the first and possibly the most important history of the Zulu War and the events that bought it about and is an essential component of any library of the history of South Africa.

Napoleon's lightning conquest of Prussia, accomplished within a month in the autumn of 1806, was perhaps his most spectacularly successful campaign. The twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt, won on the same day, October 14th, by Napoleon himself and his most able Marshal, Davout, annihilated the Prussian army and on 25th October, exactly a month after invading Prussia, Napoleon entered Berlin and enforced a humiliating peace on his beaten enemy. In his classic account of the campaign, published exactly 100 years ago, F. Loraine Petre explains how Prussia's once vaunted military might ossified in the twenty years after Frederick the Great's death, leading to timidity and political paralysis. What Field-Marshal Roberts in his foreword calls 'a selfish and suicidal policy' of ignoring France as she picked off neighbouring Austria led to defeat and occupation, but ultimately to much needed reform and the re-birth of the Prussian army with its ultimate revenge on Napoleon at Leipzig and Waterloo.

Slim though this unit history is, it covers a lot of ground - from the raising of the battalions of this distinguished Indian regiment by that brilliant soldier Gen. Sir Charles Napier in 1844 down to the campaign against a post-Second World War Communist takeover of Greece in 1944-46. En route, the Battalion saw service on many a bloodstained battlefield including campaigns against their fellow countrymen around the famous North-West frontier in the 19th century, to both world wars. A fascinating history of a fierce fighting unit which will be snapped up by all those interested in India and her soldiers.

Kel Palmer is a proud Mancunian. On retirement in 2000, he and Rosemarie planned to move from their 17th century haunted Sussex cottage to the sunshine of Cyprus or Kauai, but chose Wales This memoir, covering the 76 years he can remember, is written so that chapters may be read in isolation avoiding autobiographic boredom.

It depicts life during WW2 as seen through the eyes of a young boy, via roller-coaster days at Grammar School, spurning a sporting career to join the RAF leading to commissioning and flying training.

His first superiors were men wearied by war, facing new challenges as the jet replaced the piston and the WP replaced Nazism. It was a time before aircraft technology had mushroomed, before ejection seats, and electronic wizardry, but in which the flying was immensely exciting and life as a young officer was about fun and fulfillment. He flew mainly fighters with a mix of frontline squadrons, Operational conversion, Flying College, and service with the USAF and US Navy. He was a pioneer of fighter in-flight refueling in the heady days when RAF squadrons deployed worldwide.

Later he held Command posts, served in MOD Operational Requirements, Directed the Air Warfare College, and was Chief of Nuclear Plans at SHAPE, leading to his career in the defence industry. On cancellation of Nimrod AEW he left air defence switching to maritime patrol and battlefield surveillance as those roles became increasingly important. During the 90s life caught up with him and he enjoyed a triple heart bypass, divorced and re-married, and watched his four children complete their education and grow into adulthood.

He retired in 2000 to become involved in Community affairs, Youth, the environment and social housing, receiving The Queens Award for Voluntary Service.

He has lived in the USA, Germany, Belgium and Cyprus, travelled to 111 countries, and been an accomplished and versatile sportsman playing his last game of rugby at 46 and soccer at 61.An enthusiastic dancer, Kel is a great lover of music and of furry friends. He published his memoirs in 2005, updating them in the light of much reflection and some repercussions.

Survival, the IISS's bimonthly journal, challenges conventional wisdom and brings fresh, often controversial, perspectives on strategic issues of the moment. In this issue: Barry Posen argues that Europe is better placed to defend itself militarily than many, including the IISS, have portrayed it to be Kori Schake examines the prospects of Republican politics in a post-Trump America Daniel Byman and Aditi Joshi call for protocols to curb the abuse of social media by malign agents and states Nigel Gould-Davies explains Russia's stance on Belarus with reference to Moscow's long history of involving itself in its neighbours' affairs And nine more thought-provoking pieces, as well as our regular book reviews and Noteworthy column. Editor: Dr Dana Allin Managing Editor: Jonathan Stevenson Associate Editor: Carolyn West Assistant Editor: Jessica Watson