American Studies- 20th Century Resources: World War II

The bestselling author of The First Wave tells the untold story of the four most decorated soldiers of World War I - Medal of Honor recepients all - from North Africa to Hitler's own mountaintop fortress.

Recounts the role of the United States in World War II at sea, from encounters in the Atlantic before the country entered the war to the surrender of Japan.

The first book to tell the full story of Eleanor Roosevelt's unprecedented and courageous trip to the Pacific Theater during World War II. On August 27, 1943, news broke in the United States that First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was on the other side of the world. A closely guarded secret, she had left San Francisco aboard a military transport plane headed for the South Pacific to support and report the troops on WW2's front lines.  Americans had believed she was secluded at home. As Allied forces battled the Japanese for control of the region, Eleanor was there on the frontlines, spending five weeks traveling, on a mission as First Lady of the United States to experience what our servicemen were experiencing... and report back home. "The most remarkable journey any president's wife has ever made." --Washington Times-Herald, September 28, 1943 "Mrs. Roosevelt's sudden appearance in New Zealand well deserves the attention it is receiving. This is the farthest and most unexpected junket of a First Lady whose love of getting about is legendary." --Detroit Free Press, August 28, 1943 "By a happy chance for Australia, this famous lady's taste for getting about, her habit of seeing for herself what is going on in the world, and, most of all, her deep concern for the welfare of the fighting men of her beloved country, have brought her on the longest journey of them all--across the wide, war-clouded Pacific." --Sydney Morning Herald, September 4, 1943 "No other U.S. mother had seen so much of the panorama of the war, had been closer to the sweat and boredom, the suffering." --Time, October 4, 1943

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The most important book ever written about the Catholic Church and its conduct during World War II."--Daniel Silva "Kertzer brings all of his usual detective and narrative skills to [The Pope at War] . . . the most comprehensive account of the Vatican's relations to the Nazi and fascist regimes before and during the war."--The Washington Post "Tolstoyan."--Cynthia Ozick Based on newly opened Vatican archives, a groundbreaking, explosive, and riveting book about Pope Pius XII and his actions during World War II, including how he responded to the Holocaust, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Pope and Mussolini WINNER OF THE JULIA WARD HOWE AWARD * LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD * A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR When Pope Pius XII died in 1958, his papers were sealed in the Vatican Secret Archives, leaving unanswered questions about what he knew and did during World War II. Those questions have only grown and festered, making Pius XII one of the most controversial popes in Church history, especially now as the Vatican prepares to canonize him. In 2020, Pius XII's archives were finally opened, and David I. Kertzer--widely recognized as one of the world's leading Vatican scholars--has been mining this new material ever since, revealing how the pope came to set aside moral leadership in order to preserve his church's power. Based on thousands of never-before-seen documents not only from the Vatican, but from archives in Italy, Germany, France, Britain, and the United States, The Pope at War paints a new, dramatic portrait of what the pope did and did not do as war enveloped the continent and as the Nazis began their systematic mass murder of Europe's Jews. The book clears away the myths and sheer falsehoods surrounding the pope's actions from 1939 to 1945, showing why the pope repeatedly bent to the wills of Hitler and Mussolini. Just as Kertzer's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Pope and Mussolini became the definitive book on Pope Pius XI and the Fascist regime, The Pope at War is destined to become the most influential account of his successor, Pius XII, and his relations with Mussolini and Hitler. Kertzer shows why no full understanding of the course of World War II is complete without knowledge of the dramatic, behind-the-scenes role played by the pope. "This remarkably researched book is replete with revelations that deserve the adjective 'explosive,'" says Kevin Madigan, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard University. "The Pope at War is a masterpiece."

National Bestseller * Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist A 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 Adams Valiant Women is the story of the 350,000 American women who served in uniform during World War II. These incredible women served in every service branch, in every combat theater, and in nearly two-thirds of the available military occupations at the time. They were pilots, codebreakers, ordnance experts, gunnery instructors, metalsmiths, chemists, translators, parachute riggers, truck drivers, radarmen, pigeon trainers, and much more. They were directly involved in some of the most important moments of the war, from the D-Day landings to the peace negotiations in Paris. These women--who hailed from every race, creed, and walk of life--died for their country and received the nation's highest honors. Their work, both individually and in total, was at the heart of the Allied strategy that won World War II. Yet, until now, their stories have been relegated to the dusty shelves of military archives or a passing mention in the local paper. Often the women themselves kept their stories private, even from their own families. Now, military analyst Lena Andrews corrects the record with the definitive and comprehensive historical account of American servicewomen during World War II, based on new archival research, firsthand interviews with surviving veterans, and a deep professional understanding of military history and strategy.

This defining period in world history is explored and explained as never before. World War II is captured in hundreds of compelling images, presenting the people, places, and politics involved in the epic conflict. Inside this complete visual guide is chronological coverage of the lead up to war, major military battles around the globe, and the aftermath that still influences and impacts our world today. You'll meet the key players in thought-provoking profiles and discover their experiences firsthand, from national leaders sounding the orders to combatants on the frontline and civilians left behind. Standout moments, including Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and the D-Day landings, are revealed in rarely seen color photographs and unforgettable eyewitness accounts.

 Explosive photography, international maps, accessible text, and supporting timelines combine to show the most destructive event ever known in unprecedented depth and detail. Although the complexities of World War II can be hard to fathom, this standout reference is organized in a logical order and the supporting captions are concise and clear throughout to aid understanding.
 World War II: The Definitive Visual Guide provides an unparalleled account of this devastating conflict so we never forget and continue to learn from the past.

The author includes many personal accounts of the Second World War, discusses battlefield tactics, and describes deadly weapons such as tanks, fighters, and German missiles.

A different way to understand the magnitude of World War II. Countless books exist about the Second World War and in those can be found all of the statistics to be had: numbers killed, bombs dropped, battles won and lost, ad infinitum. But to see these numbers as infographics gives the reader a fresh perspective on the war. World War II in Numbers uses color graphics and succinct text to tell the key stories of the battles that engulfed the globe and affected virtually everyone alive during the 1940s. To see the war set out in numbers tells the story with a new certainty: how the Polish Home Army carried out more than 700,000 acts of sabotage the large number of Japanese lost in the Pacific War how Allied tanks stood up to the armor-piercing power of the Panzerfaust the damage the Kamikaze inflicted on Allied ships during the Okinawa Campaign the number of unexploded bombs reported on the island of Malta that in 1944 alone 914,637 tons of bombs were dropped on German cities by how much the Allied forces outnumbered the Germans in Normandy how the ten costliest land battles in WWII compare with those of WWI. The book sets out six chapters with topics discussed in two- and four-page infographics spreads, including certainty: Preparation for War -- Territorial skirmishes, shifting borders, militarism and alliances. Land Campaigns -- Key battles and the military might that fought them. Weapons and Innovations - From the Polish Calvary to the A-Bomb. In the Air -- Aces and blitzes. At Sea -- The war expands to the world's oceans. Costs -- The price of war and its legacy. Compelling, a superb teaching tool, ideal for casual reading and a must-have for military hobbyists, World War II in Numbers is an exciting and powerful perspective on the global conflict.