For over a century, Altoona, Pennsylvania, was a bustling industrial hotbed. The town thrived as a gem of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which constructed some 6,000 steam locomotives. However, like so many communities in the wake of World War II, Altoona struggled amidst deindustrialization and cultural shifts. The 1968 end of the Pennsylvania Railroad, a decreasing population, and a dying downtown slowly made the city a shadow of its former self. However, recent developments reveal potential...

In early June 1863, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia launched a summer campaign that brought horrific war to the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In just over three days of cataclysmic battle, 51,000 individuals were killed, wounded, or captured. Although the fighting concluded by July 4, 1863, the struggle to recover continues to the present day. On November 19, 1863, the dedication of a new Soldiers National Cemetery marked a critical point in American history. From its concept...

The picturesque Gettysburg Battlefield has long been memorialized as an iconic landscape of America's national identity. The tumultuous Civil War battle and Abraham Lincoln's subsequent address transformed the country in profound ways that continue to echo throughout the ages. In the aftermath of the struggle, Gettysburg National Military Park was embraced by citizens not only as a shrine of commemoration but also as a public space utilized for leisure, education, politics, and discovery. ...

Major Dick Winters of the 101st Airborne gained international acclaim when the tale of he and his men were depicted in the celebrated book and miniseries Band of Brothers. Hoisted as a modest hero who spurned adulation, Winters epitomized the notion of dignified leadership. His iconic World War II exploits have since been depicted in art and commemorated with monuments.Beneath this marble image of a reserved officer is the story of a common Pennsylvanian tested by the dail...

Popular media can spark the national consciousness in a way that captures people’s attention, interests them in history, and inspires them to visit battlefields, museums, and historic sites. This lively collection of essays and feature stories celebrates the novels, popular histories, magazines, movies, television shows, photography, and songs that have enticed Americans to learn more about our most dramatic historical era.From Ulysses S. Grant’s Memoirs to Abraham Lin...

Fans of Stephen E. Ambrose’s Band of Brothers will be drawn to this complex portrait of the controversial Ronald Speirs, an iconic commander of celebrated Easy Company during D-Day and beyond, whose ferocious courage and drive across three wars were matched by a devotion to duty and a hidden heart shadowed by lost love.Fight Like You Mean to WinHis comrades called him “Killer.” Of the elite paratroopers who served in the venerated ...

The compelling WWII correspondence of Major Dick Winters, commander of the Band of Brothers.Major Dick Winters of the 101st Airborne gained international acclaim when the tale of he and his men were depicted in the celebrated book and miniseries Band of Brothers. Hoisted as a modest hero who spurned adulation, Winters epitomized the notion of dignified leadership. His iconic World War II exploits have since been depicted in art and commemorated with monume...

They are called the Greatest Generation, but they were also ordinary men, responding to the call of duty. These are their unforgettable stories—first-person accounts from the last of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who fought the most dreadful war in history, all collected by a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.The idea was simple: travel across the country with a 1945 M1 Garand, the basic U.S. fighting rifle of World War II, ask combat veterans of that war to ...

In the predawn darkness of D-Day, an elite fighting force struck the first blows against Hitler's Fortress Europe. Braving a hail of enemy gunfire and mortars, bold invaders from the sky descended into the hedgerow country and swarmed the meadows of Normandy. Some would live, some would die, but all would fight with the guts and determination that made them the most famous U.S. Army division in World War II: the 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles."George Koskimaki was part of the 101...

From D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge and more, here is the authorized biography of one of the most celebrated paratroopers of Easy Company, Sergeant Shifty Powers, the legendary sharpshooter from the Band of Brothers.Look for the Band of Brothers miniseries, now available to stream on Netflix!As a boy, Darrell “Shifty” Powers’s goal was to become the best rifle shot he could be. His father trained him to listen to the woods, to “s...

**The New York Times bestseller that tells the true story of the life of Major Dick Winters, the man who led the Band of Brothers in World War II.Look for the Band of Brothers miniseries, now available to stream on Netflix!**In every band of brothers, there is always one who looks out for the others.They were Easy Company, 101st Army Airborne—the World War II fighting unit legendary for their bravery against nearly insurmountable odds and ...

"ONE OF THE BEST VIETNAM WAR STORIES I'VE EVER READ, one damn good, compelling read. It's almost something out of a Clancy novel, yet it's true. The best thing I can say about it is I didn't want it to end."--Col. David Hackworth, New York Times bestselling author of About FaceBy the spring of 1970, American troops were ordered to pull out of Vietnam. The Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel "Wild Bill" Drumright, were assigned to cover th...