Albert Polzen had entertained hopes of becoming a professional composer for much of his life before answering the call of duty as an officer in the German army. When he is captured by the Russians and becomes a POW, he turns to his music for solace. With little hope of returning to his new wife, Seldi, he immerses himself in the composition of an operetta to mentally escape his captivity as he could not physically. At the same time, military intelligence and political manipulation twist and reshape the progress of the German war effort. Meanwhile, Albert's former lover, Hannilore, uses coded information obtained from her husband to uncover a high-level Nazi official who has become a spy for the Soviets. "Phoenix Arising" examines the mind of a man who has been thrown into the depths of despair but finds his salvation in the creation of music that will become his legacy. Love, music, and espionage intertwine to tell the gripping story of power plays and personal choices that will decide the fate of all involved.

Collected for the first time, classic short stories set during the clash of Wellington's British & Napoleon's French armies Join the experiences of common infantry men in war torn Spain. Here are tales of the siege of Badojoz, of retreating armies, guerrillas, spies and lost gold. This evocative collection concludes with a story of honour lost and found on the bloody fields of Quatre Bras & Waterloo.

During the Vietnamese War, a Washington-approved sanctuary for enemy troops in Laos and Cambodia is a recipe for disaster, but a covert CIA operation made up of Special Forces volunteers deemed expendable, penetrates the borders and neutralizes the enemy's advantage. The Green Berets, Rick Barinelli, Warren Fahey, and Bob Akamura, make a pact: If any one of them goes missing, the others will commit to, "rescue, ransom, or revenge."

Barinelli, conflicted with a growing passion for a beautiful Vietnamese woman, Ai Dao, gains distinction for intel successes that disrupt the Tet Offensive and becomes known to the enemy as "the Gray Ghost." Hanoi orders General Wong to capture or kill him regardless of cost, and the brilliant and sadistic Wong spins an elaborate trap. He orchestrates the kidnapping of Ai Dao, but captures the headstrong Akamura instead. Now, against harrowing odds, it's up to Barinelli and Fahey to attempt their rescue.

Racing to a shattering climax, "Hunting With Tigers" illustrates how ordinary men can rise to acts of selfless heroism within the savagery of war.

Nearly fifty years old and widowed for the last ten, Lilly Larsen understands that Roger Hartec could be a heartbreaker. First, there's his age. Roger is more than ten years younger than she. And the rumor mill in Ashland Falls, Minnesota, says he might have a penchant for violence, which she witnesses him exercise.

At the local museum, Roger, a Vietnam War veteran, throws a park bench through a plate-glass window that had been protecting a display of the American flag being desecrated. In spite of his violent action, Lilly finds herself attracted to this tall, strong man because of the tenderness he displays with the crying Cub Scout in her charge. With the help of two close friends, Lilly is determined to make a new life with this enigmatic and troubled veteran.

Together Lilly and Roger embark on a journey of creating a diverse family of rejected individuals. Surmounting one obstacle after another, with the help of an ever-growing circle of friends, this loving couple has no idea of the far-reaching impact their union has made on their community. A story of confession and redemption, A Lost Generation showcases the struggle for survival of a Vietnam combat veteran as he reenters society.

Seven more excursions into the Napoleonic world through the pen of a master
Honore de Balzac was quite literally a child of the Napoleonic age. Born in 1799 he grew to be one of the most highly regarded French writers of any age and his works are acknowledged influences on several authors of renown who followed him including Zola, Flaubert, Henry James and even Jack Kerouac His most frequently referenced writer in the English language was, however, Charles Dickens. Those who are familiar with Balzac's work need no introduction to it here, but for those less familiar with it, this favourable comparison reveals that here was one who knew how to tell a good story filled with real, well crafted, rounded characters who are authentic to their age. This collection of Balzac's fiction contains only those stories which are set in the Napoleonic era itself. Having grown up in this period and having about him a plethora of living reference sources in the form of those who took an active part in it, these highly entertaining tales, combined with Balzac's own genius can be nothing other than pure reading pleasure. Several of Balzac's pieces have been filmed including some of those collected here.
This second volume of Balzac's Napoleonic stories begins with 'An Historical Mystery, ' beginning in1806 it is a satisfying tale of the abduction of a senator of the Empire, of detection, trial and punishment. The second tale, 'Farewell, ' draws the reader to the disastrous Russian campaign, its retreat through winter and the crossing of the Berezina by the shattered remnants of the Grand Army. 'A Second Home' is followed by 'The Recruit' and 'A Passion in the Desert, ' a brilliantly memorable story of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt. 'El Verdugo' moves the scene back to Europe and the war in the Iberian peninsula before the volume concludes with 'Colonel Chabert, ' the bizarre account of brave soldier's return from among the dead of the Battle of Eylau.
Available in soft cover and good quality hard back with dust jacket for collectors.

A profoundly moving celebration of love under the darkest of circumstances

From the moment they met in 1940 in Ravensbrück concentration camp, Milena Jesenska and Margarete Buber-Neumann were inseparable. Czech Milena was Kafka's first translator and epistolary lover, and a journalist opposed to fascism. A non-conformist, bi-sexual feminist, she was way ahead of her time. With the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, her home became a central meeting place for Jewish refugees. German Margarete, born to a middle-class family, married the son of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber. But soon swept up in the fervor of the Bolshevik Revolution, she met her second partner, the Communist Heinz Neumann. Called to Moscow for his "political deviations," he fell victim to Stalin's purges while Margarete was exiled to the hell of the Soviet gulag. Two years later, traded by Stalin to Hitler, she ended up outside Berlin in Ravensbrück, the only concentration camp built for women.

Milena and Margarete loved each other at the risk of their lives. But in the post-war survivors' accounts, lesbians were stigmatized, and survivors kept silent. This book explores those silences, and finally celebrates two strong women who never gave up and continue to inspire. As Margaret wrote: "I was thankful for having been sent to Ravensbrück, because it was there I met Milena."

"It is 1943, and World War II rages on battlefields across the globe. But in America, another bloody, divisive battle rages as stepped-up wartime production lures legions of poor blacks from the rural South to defense jobs in the North-to a so-called "promised land" of opportunity. The wartime migration has a profound impact, transforming America's cities into both "arsenals for democracy" and cauldrons of racial conflict.

Set against this conflicted backdrop, two men embark on separate journeys to begin a new chapter in their lives. Roosevelt Turner is a poor black migrant who flees the Jim Crow South to work in Pittsburgh's bustling steel mills. Jacob Perlman is a Jewish physician forced to escape Nazi-occupied Europe. As each seeks to escape his harrowing past and rebuild his life in a country struggling to fulfill its own promise, their paths unwittingly cross during a violent racial conflict. In an instant, their destinies are reshaped forever.

As Roosevelt and Jacob are thrust into the crucible of the civil rights movement, they courageously join forces in an effort to crush a terrorist hate group and exorcise the ghosts from their pasts."

Aware that his dark past is about to catch up with him, a psychopathic KGB agent requests a transfer to Southern Africa. Soon after arriving, the ruthless Morozov leads a small band of guerrillas across the Zambezi River. Their mission: to shoot down another civilian passenger aircraft

Within hours of the tragedy, the Rhodesian military activates a hot-pursuit operation. Dax Hunter, a young Air Force helicopter pilot, makes contact with the killer gang on the banks of the Zambezi. He sets in motion a sequence of events that will forever entwine his fate with that of the crazed Russian

Events sweep the two men across the globe in a dangerous journey of intrigue and betrayal. Meanwhile, maneuvering between the Cold War’s fragile ententes, the CIA’s shadowy dealings continue to influence events in Central America. Along with Apple Lacroix – a feisty and resourceful agent – the two are unwittingly drawn into a questionable CIA operation