The Airmen and the Headhunters

The Airmen and the Headhunters PDF Author: Judith M. Heimann
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547416067
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
A true story of downed B-24s in Japanese-occupied Borneo and a native tribe that “makes us—like the airmen—rethink our definitions of civilized and savage” (Entertainment Weekly). November 1944: Their B-24 bomber shot down on what should have been an easy mission off the Borneo coast, a scattered crew of Army airmen cut themselves loose from their parachutes—only to be met by loincloth-wearing natives silently materializing out of the mountainous jungle. Would these Dayak tribesmen turn the starving airmen over to the hostile Japanese occupiers? Or would the Dayaks risk vicious reprisals to get the airmen safely home in a desperate game of hide-and-seek? A cinematic survival story featuring a bamboo airstrip built on a rice paddy, a mad British major, and a blowpipe-wielding army that helped destroy one of the last Japanese strongholds, The Airmen and the Headhunters is also a gripping tale of wartime heroism unlike any other you have read.

The Airmen and the Headhunters

The Airmen and the Headhunters PDF Author: Judith M. Heimann
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547416067
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book Here

Book Description
A true story of downed B-24s in Japanese-occupied Borneo and a native tribe that “makes us—like the airmen—rethink our definitions of civilized and savage” (Entertainment Weekly). November 1944: Their B-24 bomber shot down on what should have been an easy mission off the Borneo coast, a scattered crew of Army airmen cut themselves loose from their parachutes—only to be met by loincloth-wearing natives silently materializing out of the mountainous jungle. Would these Dayak tribesmen turn the starving airmen over to the hostile Japanese occupiers? Or would the Dayaks risk vicious reprisals to get the airmen safely home in a desperate game of hide-and-seek? A cinematic survival story featuring a bamboo airstrip built on a rice paddy, a mad British major, and a blowpipe-wielding army that helped destroy one of the last Japanese strongholds, The Airmen and the Headhunters is also a gripping tale of wartime heroism unlike any other you have read.

The Most Offending Soul Alive

The Most Offending Soul Alive PDF Author: Judith M. Heimann
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 9780824821999
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 486

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Book Description
An English eccentric and adventurer, Tom Harrisson (1911-1976) sought knowledge and renown in a dizzying number of fields, while breaking most of the rules of civilized society. He was a precursor in the field of modern market research; he won the DSO for his World War II service in Borneo; he led efforts to save the orangutan, the green sea turtle, and other endangered species; he discovered the oldest modern human skull known at the time. This hugely enjoyable story of Harrisson's extravagant, controversial life offers a sympathetic and insightful look at a charismatic figure who offended as many people as he impressed at the twilight of colonialism on the fringes of the British empire.

The Candy Bombers

The Candy Bombers PDF Author: Andrei Cherny
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440635951
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 612

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Book Description
In the tradition of the great narrative storytellers, Andrei Cherny recounts the exhilarating saga of the unlikely men who made the Berlin Airlift one of the great military and humanitarian successes of American history. “What an exciting, inspiring, and wonderfully-written book this is....Each page has lessons for today, and it is also a thrilling narrative to read.”—Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Steve Jobs The Candy Bombers is a remarkable story with profound implications for our own time. Cherny tells the tale of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and secondstringers who not only saved millions of desperate people from a dire threat, but also won the hearts of America’s defeated enemies, inspired people around the world to believe in America’s fundamental goodness, avoided World War III, and won the greatest battle of the Cold War without firing a shot. With newly unclassified documents, unpublished letters and diaries, and fresh primary interviews, The Candy Bombers takes readers along as American pilots, with only a few small rickety planes, manage to feed and supply West Berlin completely by air for nearly a year; as Harry Truman exploits the very real threat of war to win an upset reelection campaign; as America’s first secretary of defense descends into madness in the midst of a dangerous military crisis; and as a lovesick American pilot shows that acts of basic human kindness can send powerful ripples through the course of history.

Lost Airmen

Lost Airmen PDF Author: Charles E. Stanley
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1684512824
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Late in 1944, thirteen U.S. B-24 bomber crews bailed from their cabins over the Yugoslavian wilderness. Bloodied and disoriented after a harrowing strike against the Third Reich, the pilots took refugee with the Partisan underground. But the Americans were far from safety. Holed up in a village barely able to feed its citizens, encircled by Nazis, and left abandoned after a team of British secret agents failed to secure their escape, the airmen were left with little choice. It was either flee or be killed. In The Lost Airmen, Charles Stanely Jr. unveils the shocking true story of his father, Charles Stanely-and the eighteen brave soldiers he journeyed with for the first time. Drawing on over twenty years of research, dozens of interviews, and previously unpublished letters, diaries, and memoirs written by the airmen, Stanley recounts the deadly journey across the blizzard-swept Dinaric Alps during the worst winter of the Twentieth Century-and the heroic men who fought impossible odds to keep their brothers in arms alive.

Quartered Safe Out Here

Quartered Safe Out Here PDF Author: George MacDonald Fraser
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007325762
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
‘There is no doubt that [Quartered Safe Out Here] is one of the great personal memoirs of the Second World War’ John Keegan

Soldiers of a Different Cloth

Soldiers of a Different Cloth PDF Author: John F. Wukovits
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268103968
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description
“This riveting account of the heroic contributions of thirty-five chaplains and missionaries during World War II is nearly impossible to put down . . . inspiring.” —The Boston Pilot In Soldiers of a Different Cloth, New York Times-bestselling author and military historian John Wukovits tells the inspiring story of thirty-five chaplains and missionaries who, while garnering little acclaim, performed extraordinary feats of courage and persistence during World War II. Ranging in age from twenty-two to fifty-three, these University of Notre Dame priests and nuns were counselor, friend, parent, and older sibling to the young soldiers they served. These chaplains experienced the horrors of the Death March in the Philippines and the filthy holds of the infamous Hell Ships. They dangled from a parachute while descending toward German fire at Normandy and shivered in Belgium’s frigid snows during the Battle of the Bulge. They languished in German and Japanese prison camps, and stood speechless at Dachau. Based on a vast collection of letters, papers, records, and photographs in the archives of the University of Notre Dame, as well as other contemporary sources, Wukovits brings to life these nearly forgotten heroes who served wherever duty sent them and wherever the war dictated. Wukovits intertwines their stories on the battlefronts with their memories of Notre Dame. In their letters to their superior in South Bend, Indiana, they often asked about campus, the Grotto, and the football team. Soldiers of a Different Cloth will fascinate and engage all readers interested in the history of World War II and alumni, friends, and fans of the Fighting Irish.

Agent Garbo

Agent Garbo PDF Author: Stephan Talty
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0547614810
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
Describes the life of Juan Pujol, a poultry farmer who opposed the Nazis and concocted a series of staggering lies that lead to his becoming one of Germany's most valued spies, while actually acting as a double-agent for the Allies.

Frozen in Time

Frozen in Time PDF Author: Mitchell Zuckoff
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062133411
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A gripping true story of survival, bravery, and honor in the vast Arctic wilderness during World War II, from Mitchell Zuckoff, the author of New York Times bestseller Lost in Shangri-La On November 5, 1942, a US cargo plane slammed into the Greenland Ice Cap. Four days later, the B-17 assigned to the search-and-rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on board survived, and the US military launched a daring rescue operation. But after picking up one man, the Grumman Duck amphibious plane flew into a severe storm and vanished. Frozen in Time tells the story of these crashes and the fate of the survivors, bringing vividly to life their battle to endure 148 days of the brutal Arctic winter, until an expedition headed by famed Arctic explorer Bernt Balchen brought them to safety. Mitchell Zuckoff takes the reader deep into the most hostile environment on earth, through hurricane-force winds, vicious blizzards, and subzero temperatures. Moving forward to today, he recounts the efforts of the Coast Guard and North South Polar Inc.—led by indefatigable dreamer Lou Sapienza—who worked for years to solve the mystery of the Duck’s last flight and recover the remains of its crew. A breathtaking blend of mystery and adventure Mitchell Zuckoff's Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II is also a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of our military personnel and a tribute to the everyday heroism of the US Coast Guard.

Gaddafi's Harem

Gaddafi's Harem PDF Author: Annick Cojean
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802121721
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Follows a fifteen-year-old girl who, after presenting Gaddafi with a bouquet of flowers during a visit to her school, was summoned to his compound where she, along with a number of young women, was violently abused, raped, and degraded.

A Conscript in Korea

A Conscript in Korea PDF Author: Neville Williams
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781526766625
Category : Korean War, 1950-1953
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This remarkable story begins with as a young National Serviceman in 1951, the author walked through the gates at the Welch Brigade Training Centre, Brecon, and ends when he walked back into Civvy Street in 1953. Between these dates he went through many life-changing experiences, in particular the twelve months he spent with the 1st Battle Welch Regiment in Korea. He tells his story of this almost forgotten war in graphic detail. Temperatures could drop to -45 with biting Siberian snow-laden winds. In the spring came the monsoons followed by a humid mosquito-laden period. The Welch Regiment at that time were part of the Commonwealth Division which allied to the American and Korean ROK armies were tasked with holding a line north of the 38th Parallel whilst politicians tried to broker a deal. The Chinese were well dug in and were a resourceful determined enemy, never missing a chance to edge forward even if it meant serious casualties. Artillery exchanges were often fierce and information and fighting patrols often clashed. As a lance corporal infantry signaler, the author was involved at all levels of operational and company activity and he gives the reader a real insight into the events and circumstances of war and the thoughts of a young man caught up in a desperate and dangerous conflict. The tenacity and spirit of young National Servicemen and their Regular partners, shines through as they face life-threatening and exhausting situations and conditions.