World War II was the defining event of the twentieth century. For everyone it was a time of confusion, fear, destruction, and death on a scale never before seen. Much has been written of the generals, campaigns, and battles of the war, but it was young, ordinary American kids who held our freedom in their hands as they fought for liberty across the globe. Forgotten Heroes of World War II offers a personal understanding of what was demanded of these young heroes through the stories of rank-and-file individuals who served in the navy, marines, army, air corps, and merchant marine in all theaters of the war. Their tales are told without pretense or apology. At the time, each thought himself no different from those around him, for they were all young, scared, and miserable. They were the ordinary, the extraordinary—the forgotten.

"The story of women serving in the United States military begins before the founding of the country. Though early laws prohibited women from becoming soldiers, they still found ways to serve, even disguising themselves as men in order to participate in active battle. Women Heroes of the US Army chronicles the critical role women have played in strengthening the US Army from the birth of the nation to today. These smart, brave, and determined women led the way for their sisters to enter, grow and prosper in the forces defending the United States. Through the profiles highlighting the achievements of these trailblazers throughout history, young women today can envision an equitable future"--

In Chemical Heroes Andrew Bickford analyzes the US military's attempts to design performance enhancement technologies and create pharmacological "supersoldiers" capable of withstanding extreme trauma. Bickford traces the deep history of efforts to biologically fortify and extend the health and lethal power of soldiers from the Cold War era into the twenty-first century, from early adoptions of mandatory immunizations to bio-protective gear, to the development and spread of new performance enhancing drugs during the global War on Terrorism. In his examination of government efforts to alter soldiers' bodies through new technologies, Bickford invites us to contemplate what constitutes heroism when armor becomes built in, wired in, and even edited into the molecular being of an American soldier. Lurking in the background and dark recesses of all US military enhancement research, Bickford demonstrates, is the desire to preserve US military and imperial power.

From the bloody fields of the Civil War to the global conflicts of the modern age, "Heroes" presents the stories of the 100 Army Medal of Honor winners--a pantheon of true heroes for every fan of military history and military fiction. Illustrated throughout with photographs.

Band of Giants brings to life the founders who fought for our independence in the Revolutionary War. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin are known to all; men like Morgan, Greene, and Wayne are less familiar. Yet the dreams of the politicians and theorists only became real because fighting men were willing to take on the grim, risky, brutal work of war. We know Fort Knox, but what about Henry Knox, the burly Boston bookseller who took over the American artillery at the age of 25? Eighteen counties in the United States commemorate Richard Montgomery, but do we know that this revered martyr launched a full-scale invasion of Canada? The soldiers of the American Revolution were a diverse lot: merchants and mechanics, farmers and fishermen, paragons and drunkards. Most were ardent amateurs. Even George Washington, assigned to take over the army around Boston in 1775, consulted books on military tactics. Here, Jack Kelly vividly captures the fraught condition of the war—the bitterly divided populace, the lack of supplies, the repeated setbacks on the battlefield, and the appalling physical hardships. That these inexperienced warriors could take on and defeat the superpower of the day was one of the remarkable feats in world history.

A boy asks his father for help after his teacher asks each of her pupils to name a veteran whom he or she knows. The boy soon discovers that many of the familiar people who work in his neighborhood are heroes who have served in the country's military.

From bestselling author Max Brooks, the riveting story of the highly decorated, barrier-breaking, historic black regiment—the Harlem Hellfighters In 1919, the 369th infantry regiment marched home triumphantly from World War I. They had spent more time in combat than any other American unit, never losing a foot of ground to the enemy, or a man to capture, and winning countless decorations. Though they returned as heroes, this African American unit faced tremendous discrimination, even from their own government. The Harlem Hellfighters, as the Germans called them, fought courageously on—and off—the battlefield to make Europe, and America, safe for democracy. In THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS, bestselling author Max Brooks and acclaimed illustrator Caanan White bring this history to life. From the enlistment lines in Harlem to the training camp at Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the trenches in France, they tell the heroic story of the 369th in an action-packed and powerful tale of honor and heart.

The story of two men who are usually given only one or two lines in most books but were truly American heroes and who, unlike many on that fateful morning, were not asleep.' - Donald M. Goldstein, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh and co-author of 'At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor, ' 'God's Samuai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor' and 'Dec. 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor.' 'Meek begins his story a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and presents the two pilots as ... young officers who had the 'chutzpah' to act on their own ... ' - Dr. George M. Watson Jr., Senior Historian, Air Force Historical Studies. ' ... 'The Other Pearl Harbor, the Army Air Corps & its Heroes on Dec. 7, 1941, ' makes up a good bit for the poor coverage the Army personnel and facilities have been given before.' - Col. Gail Halvorsen USAF Ret., Famed 'Candy Bomber' of the Berlin Airlift. 'Through seventy years what happened to the Army Air Corps during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor ... mostly disappeared. But Author John Martin Meek ... puts it into perspective with the Navy's vast and tragic losses.' - Astronaut/Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford USAF Ret. WERE OUR TWO MILITARY LEADERS AT PEARL HARBOR LEFT OUT OF THE LOOP? 'Smoking Guns' May Answer the Question For seventy years there has been the question about why our military in Hawaii was not prepared and on alert when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. Both Army Lt. Gen. Walter Short and Navy Vice Adm. Husband Kimmel had publicly boasted they could protect Hawaii from an aerial attack. Author John Martin Meek in ten years of research has found several 'smoking guns' showing their strategies deeply flawed, not operative and numerous warning signs of a possible Japanese attack ignored."

The tale of an all-black battalion whose crucial contributions at D-Day have gone unrecognised to this day.