World History: Second World War

New York Times bestselling author Lesley Blume reveals how a courageous reporter uncovered one of greatest and deadliest cover-ups of the 20th century - the true effects of the atom bomb - potentially saving millions of lives. In the days following the atomic bombings of Hiroshim...a and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered unconditionally. But even before the surrender, the US had begun a secret propaganda campaign to celebrate these weapons as the ultimate peacekeepers - hiding the true extent and nature of their devastation. The cover-up intensified as Americans closed the atomic cities to Allied reporters, preventing information from leaking about the horrific and lasting effects of radiation which would kill thousands of people during the months after the blast. For nearly a year the cover-up worked - until New Yorker journalist John Hersey got into Hiroshima and reported the truth to the world. As Hersey and his editors prepared his article for publication, they kept the whistleblowing story secret - even from most of their New Yorker colleagues. When the magazine published 'Hiroshima' in August, 1946, it became an instant global sensation, and inspired pervasive horror about the weapons that had been covertly waged in America's name. Since 1945, no nuclear weapons have ever been deployed in war in part because Hersey alerted the world to their true, devastating impact. This knowledge has remained among the greatest deterrents to using them since the end of World War II. Released on the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, Fallout is an engrossing detective story, as well as an important piece of hidden history that shows how one heroic scoop saved - and can still save - the world.
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'I can't understand the mentality of the Australian people,' said John Curtin. 'One day they are in a panic about the war and the next they want more race meetings.' Australia has a history of believing itself to be under threat of invasion. In 1942 that threat, in the form of in...vasion and occupation by the Japanese, seemed more imminent than the earlier fears. On Our Doorstep is the story of how Australia and Australians - the government, the military and the people - prepared to face this calamity, and the events that persuaded them of its probability. The Japanese had steamrolled through Malaya and Singapore, and bombed Darwin with the same ferocity they had dealt Pearl Harbor. Nothing could stop them. Their next step was inevitable, surely. Meanwhile, wartime leader John Curtin was battling with Winston Churchill to get Australian troops back to defend their homeland, and positioning to ensure America's help to fend off the approaching enemy. At home, people pitched in as best they could and in any way to frustrate the invader, all playing their part, torn between 'she'll be right' and near panic. Amid plans and rumoured plans to abandon the north to the enemy and deny Australia resources through scorched earth, particular attention was paid to northern Australia and the islands beyond. In the end, Japan found it had stretched itself beyond the reliability of its supply line, but had it ever intended to invade Australia?
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What could induce a young pilot to walk out onto the wing of his burning aircraft at 13,000 feet? Why would a plucky young woman descend into the bowels of a sinking ship knowing that she would almost certainly die there? Why did a family remain on their farm, tending crops while... suffering four long years of deadly artillery shelling? How did a former fishing trawler sink one of Hitler's deadliest U-boats, and who were the two Australian nurses who protected wounded patients with their own bodies while experiencing a savage machine-gun attack? Why did a young naval apprentice keep rowing when his hands had been so badly burned, they were literally glued to his oar? And who were the two selfless 'Dad's Army' soldiers who miraculously saved the lives of hundreds of their comrades even when it meant sacrificing their own? These and many other fascinating questions are answered in one of the most remarkable books of gallantry, fortitude and selfsacrifice you will ever read. Quiet Courage: Forgotten Heroes of World War Two is a book about thoughtful, intelligent actions and above all, an enviable capacity for bravery.
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A tiny dog, the runt of the litter, is born on a remote cattle station. She shouldn't have survived, but when Elsie finds her - and names her Princess - she becomes a beloved pet. Life is perfect a until the War comes. With the Japanese air raids coming closer, Elsie's family lea...ves the Pilbara for the south and safety. But the small dog has to stay behind. After travelling far from home she becomes a hospital dog and sees war come to Western Australia. She is now called Flynn and witnesses wonderful and terrible things and looks after lots of different humans a But through all her adventures and many names, the little dog remembers Elsie, who loved her best of all. Will she ever find her again?
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Alan Moorehead was sent to cover the North Africa campaign in 1940 by the Daily Express and he followed its dramatic course all the way to 1943. The three books he subsequently wrote about his experiences - collected here as The Desert War - were acclaimed as classic accounts of ...the tussle between Montgomery's Eighth Army and Rommel's Afrika Corps.
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