The Bastard Brigade


Book Description

From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes the gripping, untold story of a renegade group of scientists and spies determined to keep Adolf Hitler from obtaining the ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb. Scientists have always kept secrets. But rarely have the secrets been as vital as they were during World War II. In the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were alarmed to learn that Nazi Germany was far outpacing the Allies in nuclear weapons research. Hitler, with just a few pounds of uranium, would have the capability to reverse the entire D-Day operation and conquer Europe. So they assembled a rough and motley crew of geniuses -- dubbed the Alsos Mission -- and sent them careening into Axis territory to spy on, sabotage, and even assassinate members of Nazi Germany's feared Uranium Club. The details of the mission rival the finest spy thriller, but what makes this story sing is the incredible cast of characters -- both heroes and rogues alike -- including: Moe Bergm, the major league catcher who abandoned the game for a career as a multilingual international spy; the strangest fellow to ever play professional baseball. Werner Heisenberg, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist credited as the discoverer of quantum mechanics; a key contributor to the Nazi's atomic bomb project and the primary target of the Alsos mission. Colonel Boris Pash, a high school science teacher and veteran of the Russian Revolution who fled the Soviet Union with a deep disdain for Communists and who later led the Alsos mission. Joe Kennedy Jr., the charismatic, thrill-seeking older brother of JFK whose need for adventure led him to volunteer for the most dangerous missions the Navy had to offer. Samuel Goudsmit, a washed-up physics prodigy who spent his life hunting Nazi scientists -- and his parents, who had been swept into a concentration camp -- across the globe. Irène and Frederic Joliot-Curie, a physics Nobel-Prize winning power couple who used their unassuming status as scientists to become active members of the resistance. Thrust into the dark world of international espionage, these scientists and soldiers played a vital and largely untold role in turning back one of the darkest tides in human history.




The Barefoot Brigade


Book Description

“One of the best Civil War novels I have read.”—James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom From Chickamauga to Spotsylvania, from Gettysburg to Appomattox, The Barefoot Brigade is an unforgettable Civil War novel about the brotherhood of soldiers. War has ripped Martin Hasford’s nation apart, and like many men, he is torn between his devotion to his family and his sense of duty. Leaving his wife and children behind to run the family farm near Elkhorn Tavern, Hasford embarks on a path from which he may never return—and on which he meets men as embattled as himself: the Fawley brothers, young backwoodsmen running from the; Beverly Cass, a son of plantation privilege; Guthrie Scaggs, a judge turned army officer; Sidney Dinsmore, a no-account drunk; and Liverpool Morgan, a Welsh gambler. Together these men form a tight niche in the Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, trudging from the Ozark foothills, headed east into one cataclysmic battle after another, determined to beat back the Yankees and end the war. A testament to a special breed of American, The Barefoot Brigade is a work of undeniable and lasting power.




The Midnight Brigade


Book Description

Harkening to classics such as Roald Dahl's The BFG, this heartwarming story highlights the power of friendship and the importance of finding your voice. Carl Chesterfield wishes he could speak up—whether that means being honest with his father about the family's new (and failing) food truck, reaching out to a potential friend, or alerting others to the fact that monsters might be secretly overrunning his hometown of Pittsburgh. There's plenty to fret over. And plenty to question. When a flyer about a mysterious monster-seeking group called the Midnight Brigade catches his eye, Carl sees an opportunity to find answers. Little does he know, his curiosity will lead him to find an incredible discovery under one of his city's magnificent bridges and to be bolder than he ever imagined. Chock-full of humor and heart, this is the quirky tale of three unexpected friends and the crankiest troll with a heart of gold.




The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade


Book Description

Looks at the role of the United States in the Spanish Civil War




The Cholent Brigade


Book Description

When a big snowstorm hits, Monty Nudelman happily shovels his neighbors' sidewalks, driveways, cars, and steps—until he hurts his back. Now he can barely move! He can't even make his Shabbat lunch. Luckily, his neighbors have all made cholent—a delicious Shabbat stew. The neighborhood kids form a "cholent brigade" to bring Monty Nudelman a tasty feast. Cholent to the rescue!




Benny's Brigade


Book Description

After prying open a strange nut wiggling on the ground, sisters, Elsie and Theo find a miniature walrus named Benny inside, who accompanies them to school where the girls and their classmates build him a boat to sail home on.




The Brigade


Book Description

November 1944. The British government finally agrees to send a brigade of 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Palestine to Europe to fight the German army. But when the war ends and the soldiers witness firsthand the horrors their people have suffered in the concentration camps, the men launch a brutal and calculating campaign of vengeance, forming secret squads to identify, locate, and kill Nazi officers in hiding. Their own ferocity threatens to overwhelm them until a fortuitous encounter with an orphaned girl sets the men on a course of action—rescuing Jewish war orphans and transporting them to Palestine—that will not only change their lives but also help create a nation and forever alter the course of world history.




The Tennessee Brigade


Book Description

The actions of the Tennessee Brigade were that of a brave fighting force and the contributions they made to the Confederate Army are emphasized in this extensively researched history book. Letters, personal photos of the Confederates, and diary entries present a closer look at individual members and their experiences. Maps with text offer details on specific conflicts, while current photographs of battlefields and monuments put the brigade's story into a contemporary context. Background of the tumultuous political climate brewing in the state of Tennessee is included for reference.




The Cotillion Brigade


Book Description

Georgia burns. Sherman’s Yankees are closing in. Will the women of LaGrange run or fight? Based on the true story of the celebrated Nancy Hart Rifles, The Cotillion Brigade is a sweeping epic of the Civil War’s ravages on family and love, the resilient bonds of sisterhood amid devastation, and the miracle of reconciliation between bitter enemies. “Gone With The Wind meets A League Of Their Own.” 1856. Sixteen-year-old Nannie Colquitt Hill makes her debut in the antebellum society of the Chattahoochee River plantations. A thousand miles to the north, a Wisconsin farm boy, Hugh LaGrange, joins an Abolitionist crusade to ban slavery in Bleeding Kansas. Five years later, secession and total war against the homefronts of Dixie hurl them toward a confrontation unrivaled in American history. Nannie defies the traditions of Southern gentility by forming a women’s militia and drilling it to prepare for Northern invaders. With their men dead, wounded, or retreating with the Confederate armies, only Captain Nannie and her Fighting Nancies stand between their beloved homes and the Yankee torches. Hardened into a slashing Union cavalry colonel, Hugh duels Rebel generals Joseph Wheeler and Nathan Bedford Forrest across Tennessee and Alabama. As the war churns to a bloody climax, he is ordered to drive a burning stake deep into the heart of the Confederacy. Yet one Georgia town—which by mocking coincidence bears Hugh’s last name—stands defiant in his path. Read the remarkable story of the Southern women who formed America’s most famous female militia and the Union officer whose life they changed forever. Editorial Praise: Foreword Magazine Indie Book-of-the-Year Finalist. Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice Award: The story reflects the author’s impeccable research and passion for the subject. The Cotillion Brigade will appeal to readers who enjoy reading poignant, character-driven Civil War stories that will resonate in their minds long after finishing them. Highly recommended." Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal Winner: "[H]istorical fiction at its best: solid research combined with great storytelling." InD'tale Magazine's Crowned Heart for Excellence:"[A] must-read! The story is beautifully told...readers will feel they are in the scenes.... a fantastic journey."




Devil's Brigade


Book Description

The first special service forces of World War II were known as the Devil's Brigade. Ferocious and stealthy combatants, they garnered their moniker from the captured diary of a German officer who wrote, "The black devils are all around us every time we come into line and we never hear them." Handpicked U.S. and Canadian soldiers trained in mountaineering, airborne, and close-combat skills, they numbered more than 2,300 and saw action in the Aleutians, Italy, and the south of France. Co-written by a brigade member and a World War II combat pilot, the book explores the unit's unique characteristics, including the men's exemplary toughness and their ability to fight in any terrain against murderous opposition. It also profiles some of the unforgettable characters that comprised the near-mythical force. Conceived in Great Britain, the brigade was formed to sabotage the German submarine pens and oil storage areas along Norway's coast, but when the campaign was cancelled, the men moved on to many other missions. This World War II tale of adventure, first published in hardcover in 1966 and made into a movie not long after, is now available in paperback for the first time.