James P. Duffy Knihy

They were the deadliest ships of World War II--nine German commerce raiders disguised as peaceful cargo ships, flying the flags of neutral and allied nations. In reality, these heavily armed warships roamed the world's oceans at will, like 20th-century pirates. They struck unsuspecting freighters and tankers out of the darkness of night or from behind a curtain of fog and mist. For almost three years they led the Royal Navy on a deadly chase from sea to sea, seeding Allied ports with hundreds of mines and, on one occasion, even bombarding a shore installation. Masquerading as unarmed merchantmen, the raiders carried an awesome array of weapons cleverly hidden behind false structures and concealed inside empty packing crates on their decks. Seaplanes and motorboats helped them seek out their victims on the vast seas. They then fed off of these unsuspecting targets, pumping fuel from their prey into their own tanks and taking food from captured pantries to feed their own crews and the thousands of prisoners that they picked up along the way. These secret ships also acted as supply ships for U-boats, helping their fellow hunters remain at large for longer periods. At sea for months--or even years--those raider sailors lucky enough to survive were hailed as heroes when they returned home.

Details the Third Reich's shocking plans for worldwide offensives using secret weapons, including Hitler's plan to bring World War II to the American homeland.

The infamous reign of Adolf Hitler occurred half a century ago, but how he managed to escape so many attempts on his life remains a mystery. "Target Hitler" addresses the subject anew and is the only book for general audiences which recounts this fascinating topic in depth. Duffy and Ricci have pulled together the known and hitherto unknown facts about the German resistance to create an absorbing tale.Although many Germans harbored deep hatred for the Nazis and risked their lives trying to topple the regime, most of these would-be assassins were forgotten or slighted in the history of that period. The authors wish to right that wrong. This eminently readable narrative concentrates on the efforts of a group of conspirators within the German army who first began to plot against Hitler in the fall of 1938, and whose story culminates in the famous July 1944 bombing. Bound together by their religious beliefs and a determination to rid their homeland of the Nazi scourge, some of these men were generals, one a field marshal. It is intriguing to think how the course of world history would have been altered had these men accomplished their mission. That fate denied such an outcome is tragic. But now, at least the bravery of those who tried to rid the world of the horror Hitler inflicted will be remembered as the heroes they are.

Detailed here for the first time are the Third Reich's plans for a projected series of worldwide offensives using the new secret weapons emerging from wartime research

Japan was determined to seize New Guinea as a cornerstone of the Empire's strategy. Allied Commander-in-Chief General Douglas MacArthur committed 340,000 Americans, as well as tens of thousands of Australian, Dutch and New Guinea troops, to defend New Guinea at all costs. Historian James P. Duffy chronicles the four-year campaign, involving some of the most horrific warfare in history, complicated by tropical disease, violent rainstorms and unforgiving terrain that punished both sides, filling a crucial gap in the history of World War II.

The dramatic story of General Douglas MacArthur's return to the Philippines and the nearly year-long bloody campaign to defeat over a quarter-million die- hard Japanese defenders of the multi-island archipelago