Though hundreds of miles away from the death and destruction of the battlefield, Seneca County, New York, contributed more than its share for the preservation of the Union. Many brave men left home to fight, suffering hardships and casualties. John Hoster was captured in 1864 and held at the infamous Andersonville prison camp, and his journal has provided invaluable insight into what soldiers held there endured. At home, Seneca farmers fed Lincoln's hungry army, and the legend of the Scyth...

Located in the Finger Lakes region of New York, Seneca County has a fascinating history. Early settlers courageously fought off wild animals from wolves to panthers to tame the land and keep the new settlements safe. The rise and fall of the mill industry led to the demise of ghost towns like the Kingdom. The jailhouse murder of John Walters in 1887 fostered improved conditions in the county jail. From the first home-run hitter in major-league baseball to the insidious activity of the Ku K...

Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States began to prepare to enter World War II. When the army decided to build a depot in Seneca County in 1941, dozens of families were given only days to vacate the homes they loved and land they had farmed for generations. The depot provided vital jobs for residents, but it also continued to cause controversy even after it was established--all while providing critical support for the army through the Persian Gulf War. Since the base clos...

The New York Times bestselling memoir of survival and heroism at Pearl Harbor"An unforgettable story of unfathomable courage." — Reader's DigestIn this, the first memoir by a USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers an inspiring and unforgettable eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack and his remarkable return to the fight.At 8:10 a.m. on Decem...

National Bestseller * Goodreads Choice Awards FinalistA groundbreaking new history of the role of American servicewomen in WWII, illuminating their forgotten yet essential contributions to the Allies’ victory, hailed as "an ingenious look at WWII” (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review)Includes a chapter on the famed Six Triple Eight, America's all-black, all-women battalion led by Charity AdamsValiant Wome...

Army, Air Force, or Marine—read all about them in the latrine!Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Coast Guard—the patriotic folks at the Bathroom Readers Institute have stormed the proverbial beaches of Normandy and beyond to bring you this salute to the greatest force for good on planet Earth! Make your way through the ranks and read about the history, triumphs, trials, trivia, and humor of those who serve. At nearly 500 pages, this is the book you want by you...

On Hallowed Ground opens with the long-delayed funeral of four servicemen, brought home for final honors at Arlington National Cemetery almost forty years after they disappeared in Vietnam. To understand how this tradition of extraordinary care for our war dead began, Robert Poole traces the founding of Arlington Cemetery on what had been the family plantation of Robert E. Lee. After resigning his commission in the U.S. Army, Lee left Arlington to command the Army of Northern Virg...

They became America’s first black paratroopers. Why was their story never told? Sibert Medalist Tanya Lee Stone reveals the history of the Triple Nickles during World War II.World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on the home front, the injustice of discrimination against African Americans plays out as much on Main Street as in the military. Enlisted black men are segregated ...

**Foreword by Naomi Ostwald Kawamura of DenshoIntroduction by William Fujioka of JANMAfterword by Jonathan EigThe first comprehensive biography of unjustly forgotten Japanese American war hero Ben Kuroki, who fought the Axis powers during World War II and battled racism, injustice, and prejudice on the home front.WINNER OF THE NEBRASKA BOOK AWARD**Ben Kuroki was a twenty-four-year-old Japanese American farm boy whose heritage was never a problem in r...

In this riveting narrative history, women veterans from the world wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq tell their extraordinary stories.Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee spent fifteen years combing through archives, journals, histories, and news reports, and gathering thousands of eyewitness accounts, letters, and interviews for this unprecedented chronicle of America’s “few good women.” Women today make up more than fifteen percent of the U.S. armed forc...

On April 16, 1947, a small fire broke out among bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in the hold of the ship Grandcamp as it lay docked at Texas City, Texas. Despite immediate attempts to extinguish the fire, it rapidly intensified until the Grandcamp exploded in a blast that caused massive loss of life and property. In the ensuing chaos, no one gave much thought to the ship in the next slip, the High Flyer. It exploded sixteen hours later. The story of the Texas City explosions—America's w...

Secret Heroes is a remarkable compendium by Paul Martin, former Executive Editor of National Geographic Traveler, that illuminates the lives of thirty forgotten American heroes. Gathering together remarkable stories about unknown champions, explorers, inventors, and innovators who never made the pages of American history textbooks—not George Washington, but the tailor who saved his life…twice; the first African-American combat pilot; the 62-year-old female muckraking journalist who refused...