Alex Kershaw Knihy

V říjnu 1944 byla již ponorka Tang legendou. Potopila nejvíce japonských lodí a unikla před mnoha útoky nepřátelských plavidel. Na její páté misi ji však potkala katastrofa v podobě zásahu vlastním, nefunkčním torpédem. Polovina z 87 námořníků na palubě byla okamžitě mrtva. Ostatní se pokoušeli uniknout z více než padesátimetrové hloubky. Podařilo se to pouze devíti z nich, ty však čekala další těžká zkouška. Byli vyzvednuti japonskou lodí a umístěni do vyšetřovacího tábora a podrobeni nekonečným výslechům.

Hrdinové Dne D, kteří prošlapávali cestu k vítězství ve II. světové válce. Děj První vlny začíná za rozbřesku 5. června 1944 v místnosti, kde padlo ono finální rozhodnutí. Sleduje příběhy mužů, na jejichž ramenou spočíval úspěch následujícího Dne D. Mezi tyto dnes často zapomenuté hrdiny patřil např. první americký výsadkář, který se dotkl půdy v Normandii, pilot kluzáku, jenž přes protiletadlovou palbu nechal dosednout svůj stroj až u životně důležitého mostu Pegasus, bratři vedoucí své jednotky na pláži Juno pod smrtelnou palbou nebo francouzské komando vracející se osvobodit rodnou zemi. Kniha vás nechá zažít hrůzu ostřelovaných normandských pláží, hrdinské dobytí dělostřelecké baterie u Merville, řadu okamžiků, kdy se vše zdálo být ztraceno. Muži „první vlny“ vsadili na nejistou kartu. Svou obětí určili osud invaze do Hitlerovy „pevnosti Evropa“ – a samotného dvacátého století. Výsledkem je epos boje muže proti muži viděný z první linie, příběh mimořádné odvahy jednotlivců. Alex Kershaw mohl při psaní využít svůj detailní přehled o událostech června 1944 postavený i na blízkém přátelství s přeživšími Dne D. Vytvořil tak ojedinělý portrét „nejdelšího dne“ druhé světové války.

Beginning in the predawn darkness of June 6, 1944, The First Wave follows the remarkable men who carried out D-Day's most perilous missions. The charismatic, unforgettable cast includes the first American paratrooper to touch down on Normandy soil; the glider pilot who braved antiaircraft fire to crash-land mere yards from the vital Pegasus Bridge; the brothers who led their troops onto Juno Beach under withering fire; as well as a French commando, returning to his native land, who fought to destroy German strongholds on Sword Beach and beyond. Readers will experience the sheer grit of the Rangers who scaled Pointe du Hoc and the astonishing courage of the airborne soldiers who captured the Merville Gun Battery in the face of devastating enemy counterattacks. The first to fight when the stakes were highest and the odds longest, these men would determine the fate of the invasion of Hitler's fortress Europe-and the very history of the twentieth century. The result is an epic of close combat and extraordinary heroism. It is the capstone Alex Kershaw's remarkable career, built on his close friendships with D-Day survivors and his intimate understanding of the Normandy battlefield. For the seventy-fifth anniversary, here is a fresh take on World War II's longest day

The untold story of the bloodiest and most dramatic march to victory of the Second World War—now a Netflix original series starring Jose Miguel Vasquez, Bryan Hibbard, and Bradley James “Exceptional . . . worthy addition to vibrant classics of small-unit history like Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers.”—Wall Street Journal Written with Alex Kershaw's trademark narrative drive and vivid immediacy, The Liberator traces the remarkable battlefield journey of maverick U.S. Army officer Felix Sparks through the Allied liberation of Europe—from the first landing in Italy to the final death throes of the Third Reich. Over five hundred bloody days, Sparks and his infantry unit battled from the beaches of Sicily through the mountains of Italy and France, ultimately enduring bitter and desperate winter combat against the die-hard SS on the Fatherland's borders. Having miraculously survived the long, bloody march across Europe, Sparks was selected to lead a final charge to Bavaria, where he and his men experienced some of the most intense street fighting suffered by Americans in World War II. And when he finally arrived at the gates of Dachau, Sparks confronted scenes that robbed the mind of reason—and put his humanity to the ultimate test.

"A spellbinding portrait."--The Sunday Times Robert Capa (1913-1954), one of the finest photojournalists and combat photographers of the twentieth century, covered every major conflict from the Spanish Civil War to the early conflict in Vietnam. Always close to the action, he created some of the most enduring images ever made with a camera--perhaps none more memorable than the gritty photos taken on the morning of D-Day. But the drama of Capa's life wasn't limited to one side of the lens. Born in Budapest as Andre Freidman, Capa fled political repression and anti-Semitism as a teenager by escaping to Berlin, where he first picked up a Leica camera. He founded Magnum, which today remains the most prestigious photographic agency of its kind. He was a gambler and seducer of several of his era's most alluring icons, including Ingrid Bergman, and his friends included Irwin Shaw, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and John Huston. From Budapest in the twenties to Paris in the thirties, from postwar Hollywood to Stalin's Russia, from New York to Indochina, Blood and Champagne is a wonderfully evocative account of Capa's life and times.

*The instant New York Times bestseller*The untold story of four of the most decorated soldiers of World War II—all Medal of Honor recipients—from the beaches of French Morocco to Hitler’s own mountaintop fortress, by the national bestselling author of The First Wave“Pitch-perfect.”— The Wall Street Journal • “Riveting.”— World War II magazine • “Alex Kershaw is the master of putting the reader in the heat of the action.”—Martin DugardAs the Allies raced to defeat Hitler, four men, all in the same unit, earned medal after medal for battlefield heroism. Maurice “Footsie” Britt, a former professional football player, became the very first American to receive every award for valor in a single war. Michael Daly was a West Point dropout who risked his neck over and over to keep his men alive. Keith Ware would one day become the first and only draftee in history to attain the rank of general before serving in Vietnam. In WWII, Ware owed his life to the finest soldier he ever commanded, a baby-faced Texan named Audie Murphy. In the campaign to liberate Europe, each would gain the ultimate accolade, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Tapping into personal interviews and a wealth of primary source material, Alex Kershaw has delivered his most gripping account yet of American courage, spanning more than six hundred days of increasingly merciless combat, from the deserts of North Africa to the dark heart of Nazi Germany. Once the guns fell silent, these four exceptional warriors would discover just how heavy the Medal of Honor could be—and how great the expectations associated with it. Having survived against all odds, who among them would finally find peace?

Recounts events surrounding the 1944-45 Battle of the Bulge in Ardennes, France, during World War II, and the plight of eighteen men of a single platoon who were captured and survived in German POW camps through the end of the war.

The Few tells the dramatic and unforgettable story of eight young Americans who joined Britain's Royal Air Force, defying their country's neutrality laws and risking their U.S. citizenship to fight side-by-side with England's finest pilots in the summer of 1940-over a year before America entered the war. Flying the lethal and elegant Spitfire, they became "knights of the air" and with minimal training but plenty of guts, they dueled the skilled and fearsome pilots of Germany's Luftwaffe. By October 1940, they had helped England win the greatest air battle in the history of aviation. Winston Churchill once said of all those who fought in the Battle of Britain, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." These daring Americans were the few among the "few." Now, with the narrative drive and human drama that made The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter national bestsellers, Alex Kershaw tells their story for the first time.

"The best-selling author of The Liberator brings to life the incredible true story of an American doctor in Paris, and his heroic espionage efforts during the Second World War. The leafy Avenue de Foch, one of the most exclusive residential streets in Nazi-occupied France, was Paris's hotbed of daring spies, murderous secret police, amoral informers, and Vichy collaborators. So when American physician Sumner Jackson, who lived with his wife and young son Phillip at Number 11, found himself drawn into the Liberation network of the French resistance, he knew the stakes were impossibly high. Just down the road at Number 31 was the 'mad sadist' Theodor Dannecker, an Eichmann protege charged with deporting French Jews to concentration camps. And Number 84 housed the Parisian headquarters of the Gestapo, run by the most effective spy hunter in Nazi Germany. From his office at the American Hospital, itself an epicenter of Allied and Axis intrigue, Jackson smuggled fallen Allied fighter pilots safely out of France, a job complicated by the hospital director's close ties to collaborationist Vichy. After witnessing the brutal round-up of his Jewish friends, Jackson invited Liberation to officially operate out of his home at Number 11--but the noose soon began to tighten. When his secret life was discovered by his Nazi neighbors, he and his family were forced to undertake a journey into the dark heart of the war-torn continent from which there was little chance of return. Drawing upon a wealth of primary source material and extensive interviews with Phillip Jackson, Alex Kershaw recreates the City of Light during its darkest days. The untold story of the Jackson family anchors the suspenseful narrative, and Kershaw dazzles readers with the vivid immediacy of the best spy thrillers. Awash with the tense atmosphere of World War II's Europe, Avenue of Spies introduces us to the brave doctor who risked everything to defy Hitler"-- Provided by publisher

From Alex Kershaw, author of the New York Times bestseller Against All Odds, comes an epic tale of courage, resilience, and faith during World War II. In December 1944, General George Patton faced a dire situation as the Allies struggled against relentless rain that had turned roads into impassable muck, stalling their advance toward Berlin and resulting in heavy American casualties. Frustrated and desperate for a change in the weather, Patton, a devout Christian, reached out to his head chaplain for a prayer. This prayer was soon distributed to the 250,000 men under his command, urging them to pray for good weather and victory in battle. As the Battle of the Bulge unfolded, 200,000 German troops launched a fierce assault on American positions in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest, targeting the crucial town of Bastogne. The 101st Airborne, entrenched in the area, faced overwhelming odds as the enemy lurked in the fog. With frigid temperatures and heavy snow complicating the situation, Patton urgently needed an answer to his prayer before it was too late. The stakes were high, and the outcome would determine the fate of many soldiers and the course of the war.