Explore the rich history of the legendary railroad that spanned the American Midwest in this beautifully illustrated volume.Beginning operations in the mid-nineteenth century, the Rock Island Line served farms and small-town America for more than 140 years. One of the earliest railroads to build westward from Chicago, it was the first to span the Mississippi, advancing the frontier, bringing settlers into the West, and hauling their crops to market.Rock Islan...

**A remarkable eyewitness account of the most brutal combat of the Pacific War, from Peleliu to Okinawa, this is the true story of R.V. Burgin, the real-life World War II Marine Corps hero featured in HBO®'s The Pacific.“Read his story and marvel at the man...and those like him.”—Tom Hanks**When a young Texan named R.V. Burgin joined the Marines 1942, he never imagined what was waiting for him a world away in the Pacific. There, amid steamy jungles, he encountered ...

**WINNER OF THE ARTHUR ROSS BOOK AWARD FROM THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS • ACCLAIMED AS ONE OF THE YEAR’S 10 BEST BOOKS BY THE WASHINGTON POST • 12 ESSENTIAL NONFICTION BOOKS BY THE NEW YORKER • 100 NOTABLE BOOKS BY THE NEW YORK TIMES • BEST BOOKS BY THE ECONOMIST, FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, AND AIR MAIL • 10 ESSENTIAL BOOKS BY THE TELEGRAPH • MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE FINALIST • CUNDILL HISTOR...

A thoughtful, reflective narrative of a reluctant soldier that captures the rhythms of life in war as well as the boredom and chaos of Vietnam.At the height of the Vietnam War, Charles Carr left graduate school to serve in the army in Southeast Asia, knowing that if he didn't, another man would go—and possibly die—in his place. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 47th Infantry (Mechanized) in the northern Mekong Delta for a tour of forcing himself through r...

A general-turned-historian reveals the remarkable battlefield heroics of Major General Maurice Rose, the World War II tank commander whose 3rd Armored Division struck fear into the hearts of Hitler's panzer crews.“The Panzer Killers is a great book, vividly written and shrewdly observed.”—The Wall Street JournalTwo months after D-Day, the Allies found themselves in a stalemate in Normandy, having suffered enormous casualti...

**From the bestselling author of Devotion, now a Major Motion Picture, comes an unflinching firsthand chronicle of the heroic US Marines who fought on Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and in other pivotal battles during the Pacific War, a classic book now expanded with new stories from the flyboys overhead and the home front at war.Look for The Pacific miniseries, now available to stream on Netflix!**Following fifteen Marines from Pearl Harbor, through thei...

**The astonishing untold story of the WWII airmen who risked it all in the deadly race to become the greatest American fighter pilot."A heart-pounding narrative of the courage, sacrifice, and tragedy of America's elite fighter pilots." —James M. Scott, New York Times bestselling author of The War Below**In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces"—the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker—offered a bottle of bourbon to the first U.S. fighter pilot t...

An epic, groundbreaking account of the ethnic and state violence that followed the end of World War I and shaped the course of the twentieth century.Winner of the Tomlinson Book PrizeA Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2016In The Vanquished, a highly original and gripping work of history, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War. In large part it was not...

A story of heroism, friendship, and courage in World War 2—as seen in the award-winning HBO miniseries The Pacific.In 1944, the U.S. Marines were building the 5th Marine Division—also known as “The Spearhead”—in preparation for the invasion of the small, Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima...When Chuck Tatum began Marine boot camp, he was just a smart-aleck teenager eager to serve his country. Little did he know that he would be training under a livin...

From Robert Leckie, the World War II veteran and New York Times bestselling author of Helmet for My Pillow, whose experiences were featured in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, comes this vivid narrative of the astonishing six-month campaign for Guadalcanal.From the Japanese soldiers’ carefully calculated—and ultimately foiled—attempt to build a series of impregnable island forts on the ground to the tireless efforts of the Americans who struggled against a...

On the morning of November 20, 1943, the U.S. 2d Marine Division undertook the first modern amphibious assault against a well-defended beachhead. The objective was tiny Betio Island in Tarawa Atoll. The result was a tragedy and near defeat turned around into an epic of victory and indomitable human spirit. Although the admirals commanding the Tarawa invasion fleet had assured the Marines that Betio would be pounded to dust by a massive naval and air bombardment the largest of its kind seen to...

From the bestselling author of Shoot for the Moon and A Terrible Glory comes the dramatic story of the courageous paratroopers and glidermen of the 82nd Airborne, who risked their lives to seize and secure a small, centuries-old bridge in France that played a pivotal role in the success of D-Day.In June 1944, German and American forces converged on an insignificant bridge a few miles inland from the invasion beaches. If taken by the Nazis, the bri...