Read accounts of people and monumental events of the Second World War. These books are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.
Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy and a Collision of Lives in World War II by Adam Makos
Described as a natural-born shooter, a Pennsylvania corporal in the legendary 3rd Armored Division used his Pershing tank to lead the US Army into the fight for Cologne.
The Darkest Year: The American Home Front 1941-1942 by William K. Klingaman
For Americans on the home front, the twelve months following the attack on Pearl Harbor comprised the darkest year of WWII, a time when the nation suffered a nearly unbroken string of military setbacks and interest groups sought to turn the wartime emergency to their own advantage.
Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII’s Most Highly Decorated Spy by Larry Loftis
In 1942, British agent, Odette Sansom, landed in occupied France, completing mission after mission as she was hunted by the German secret police.
Rescue Board: The Untold Story of America’s Efforts to Save the Jews of Europe by Rebecca Erbelding
After more than a decade of immigration policy that kept most Jewish refugees out of America, in 1944, the War Refugee Board was created to use any means at their disposal to slice through red tape and allow Jewish refugees to escape to Palestine.
Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita and the Battle of Manila by James M. Scott
In 1945, the twenty-nine-day battle to liberate Manila, a city whose residents faced widespread starvation, resulted in catastrophic destruction and a rampage by Japanese forces that brutalized the civilian population.
The Tango War: The Struggle for the Hearts, Minds and Riches of Latin America during World War II by Mary Jo McConahay
The flow of raw materials in the Southern Hemisphere, military bases supporting campaigns in the Atlantic and protecting the Panama Canal were key to ensuring an Allied victory.
They Fought Alone: The True Story of the Starr Brothers, British Secret Agents in Nazi-Occupied France by Charles Glass
Of the many brave men and women who joined Churchill’s top-secret SOE after the defeat of the French Army, two Anglo-American recruits stood out as legendary guerillas, assassins and saboteurs.
Operation Columba: The Secret Pigeon Service by Gordon Corera
British intelligence secretly used sixteen thousand homing pigeons as part of a clandestine espionage operation to gather information, communicate and coordinate with members of the Resistance.
The Allies: Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin and the Unlikely Alliance that Won World War II by Winston Groom
Using letters and details of their personal lives, the author shows that although vastly different in upbringing and political beliefs, the great Allied leaders worked together to change the course of history.
Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in US Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man by Lynn Vincent
Sailing alone in the Philippine Sea, the USS Indianapolis was struck by two Japanese torpedoes and sank within minutes, beginning a fifty-year effort to find justice for the court-martialed skipper.
The Battle of Arnhem: The Deadliest Airborne Operation of World War II by Antony Beevor
In September 1944, Operation Market Garden planned to end the war by using American and British airborne divisions to capture bridges along the Rhine River in Holland, but the objectives were hampered by unexpected obstacles.
Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler’s Defeat by Giles Milton
Six men directed a top-secret organization with the purpose of destroying the German war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage.
Midnight in the Pacific: Guadalcanal, the World War II Battle That Turned the Tide of War by Joseph Wheelan
In 1942, Marines faced six months of bloody attacks in the stifling malarial jungles on Guadalcanal, the first US offensive of the war.
Castle of the Eagles: Escape from Mussolini’s Colditz by Mark Felton
In March 1943, a group of middle-aged POWs, imprisoned in a medieval fortress in the Tuscan hills, prepared to step into the escape tunnel they had been preparing for six months.
April 26, 2019