Author : Rachel Lee
Publisher : HQN Books
Page : 388 pages
File Size : 41,87 MB
Release : 2006
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780373771554
Three emotional new stories from three bestselling military romance authors make up this collector's anthology about finding holiday peace and love on the front lines. Includes Lee's "I'll Be Home," Merline Lovelace's "A Bridge for Christmas," and Catherine Mann's "The Wingman's Angel." Original.
Author : John McCutcheon
Publisher : National Geographic Books
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 35,71 MB
Release : 2006-08-01
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 1561453749
This moving book about peace, understanding, and unity is based on the real-life World War I event known as the Christmas Truce. It is cold and clear on Christmas Eve night in 1914. Suddenly, a strange sound pierces the darkness. Someone is singing a Christmas carol in German. Francis Tolliver and his fellow British soldiers are holed up in muddy trenches along the Western Front. Their enemies—German soldiers—lie in wait just across a field known as "No Man's Land." As the Germans' carol ends, Tolliver and the other British soldiers sing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Soon carols are being sung back and forth. Then a figure emerges in the dark, carrying a small Christmas tree with lighted candles. The British and German soldiers slowly leave their trenches—and the war—behind to stand together in the open field. This haunting story is adapted by award-winning songwriter John McCutcheon from his song of the same name. Henri Sørensen's traditional, full-color oil paintings reinforce the emotional power and dignity of the story. Back matter provides more information about the historical event, and a CD featuring readings of the story and recordings of "Silent Night" and "Christmas in the Trenches" is included.
Author : Stanley Weintraub
Publisher : Da Capo Press
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 44,31 MB
Release : 2014-10-28
Category : History
ISBN : 0306822334
The day after Thanksgiving, five months into the Korean War, General Douglas MacArthur flew to American positions in the north and grandly announced an end-the-war-by-Christmas offensive, despite recent evidence of intervention by Mao's Chinese troops. Marching north in plunging temperatures, General Edward Almond's X Corps, which included a Marine division under the able leadership of General Oliver Smith, encountered little resistance. But thousands of Chinese, who had infiltrated across the frozen Yalu River, were lying in wait and would soon trap tens of thousands of US troops. Led by the Marines, an overwhelmed X Corps evacuated the frigid, mountainous Chosin Reservoir vastness and fought a swarming enemy and treacherous snow and ice to reach the coast. Weather, terrain, Chinese firepower, and a 4,000-foot chasm made escape seem impossible in the face of a vanishing Christmas. But endurance and sacrifice prevailed, and the last troopships weighed anchor on Christmas Eve. In the tradition of his Silent Night and Pearl Harbor Christmas, Stanley Weintraub presents another gripping narrative of a wartime Christmas season. A Military Book Club main selection
Author : Terri Blom Crocker
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
Page : 310 pages
File Size : 23,18 MB
Release : 2015-11-10
Category : History
ISBN : 0813166179
In late December 1914, German and British soldiers on the western front initiated a series of impromptu, unofficial ceasefires. Enlisted men across No Man's Land abandoned their trenches and crossed enemy lines to sing carols, share food and cigarettes, and even play a little soccer. Collectively known as the Christmas Truce, these fleeting moments of peace occupy a mythical place in remembrances of World War I. Yet new accounts suggest that the heartwarming tale ingrained in the popular imagination bears little resemblance to the truth. In this detailed study, Terri Blom Crocker provides the first comprehensive analysis of both scholarly and popular portrayals of the Christmas Truce from 1914 to present. From books by influential historians to the Oscar-nominated French film Joyeux Noel (2006), this new examination shows how a variety of works have both explored and enshrined this outbreak of peace amid overwhelming violence. The vast majority of these accounts depict the soldiers as acting in defiance of their superiors. Crocker, however, analyzes official accounts as well as private letters that reveal widespread support among officers for the détentes. Furthermore, she finds that truce participants describe the temporary ceasefires not as rebellions by disaffected troops but as acts of humanity and survival by professional soldiers deeply committed to their respective causes. The Christmas Truce studies these ceasefires within the wider war, demonstrating how generations of scholars have promoted interpretations that ignored the nuanced perspectives of the many soldiers who fought. Crocker's groundbreaking, meticulously researched work challenges conventional analyses and sheds new light on the history and popular mythology of the War to End All Wars.
Author : Michael Morpurgo
Publisher : Egmont UK Limited
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 15,28 MB
Release : 2004
Category : Children's stories
ISBN : 9781405215183
Billedbog. A forgotten letter in a secret drawer brings one night in the Great War vividly to life. Writing home from the front, a soldier has an incredible story to tell
Author : John Hendrix
Publisher : ABRAMS
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 16,24 MB
Release : 2014-10-07
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 1613126883
Shooting at the Stars is the moving story of a young British soldier on the front lines during World War I who experiences an unforgettable Christmas Eve. In a letter to his mother, he describes how, despite fierce fighting earlier from both sides, Allied and German soldiers ceased firing that evening and came together on the battlefield to celebrate the holiday. They sang carols, exchanged gifts, and even lit Christmas trees. But as the holiday came to a close, they returned to their separate trenches to await orders for the war to begin again. Award-wining creator John Hendrix wonderfully brings the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914 to life with his signature style, interweaving detailed illustrations and hand-lettered text. His telling of the story celebrates the humanity that can persist during even the darkest periods of our history.
Author : Anthony Richards
Publisher : Greenhill Books
Page : 218 pages
File Size : 46,19 MB
Release : 2021-12-03
Category : History
ISBN : 1784386154
‘One of them shouted “A Merry Christmas English. We’re not shooting tonight.” . . . [then] they stuck up a light. Not to be outdone, so did we. Then up went another. So, we shoved up another. Soon the lines looked like an illuminated fete.’ Rifleman Leslie Walkington On Christmas Eve 1914, a group of German soldiers laid down their arms, lit lanterns and started to sing Christmas carols. The British troops in nearby trenches responded by singing songs of their own. The next day, men from both sides met in No Man’s Land. They shook hands, took photos and exchanged food and souvenirs. Some even played improvised football games, kicking around empty bully-beef cans and using helmets for goalposts. Both sides also saw the lull in fighting as a chance to bury the bodies of their comrades. In some parts of the front, the truce lasted a few hours. In others, it continued to the New Year. But everywhere, sooner or later, the fighting resumed. Today, the Christmas Truce is seen as a poignant symbol of hope in a war that many people regard as unnecessary and futile. But what was the real story of those remarkable few days? In this fascinating new book, historian Anthony Richards has brought together hundreds of first-hand reminiscences from those who were there – including previously unpublished German accounts – to cast fresh light on this extraordinary episode.
Author : Stanley Weintraub
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 39,28 MB
Release : 2006-11-07
Category : History
ISBN : 074329842X
In 11 Days In December, master historian and biographer Stanley Weintraub tells the remarkable story of the Battle of the Bulge as it has never been told before, from frozen foxholes to barn shelters to boxcars packed with wretched prisoners of war. In late December 1944, as the Battle of the Bulge neared its climax, a German loudspeaker challenge was blared across GI lines in the Ardennes: "How would you like to die for Christmas?" In the inhospitable forest straddling Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, only the dense, snow-laden evergreens recalled the season. Most troops hardly knew the calendar day they were trying to live through, or that it was Hitler's last, desperate effort to alter the war's outcome. Yet the final Christmas season of World War II matched desperation with inspiration. When he was offered an ultimatum to surrender the besieged Belgian town of Bastogne, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe defied the Germans with the memorable one-word response, "Nuts!" And as General Patton prayed for clear skies to allow vital airborne reinforcements to reach his trapped men, he stood in a medieval chapel in Luxembourg and spoke to God as if to a commanding general: "Sir, whose side are you on?" His prayer was answered. The skies cleared, the tide of battle turned, and Allied victory in World War II was assured. Christmas 1944 proved to be one of the most fateful days in world history. Many men did extraordinary things, and extraordinary things happened to ordinary men. "A clear cold Christmas," Patton told his diary, "lovely weather for killing Germans, which seems a bit queer, seeing whose birthday it is." Peace on earth and good will toward men would have to wait. 11 Days in December is unforgettable.
Author : Leslie Kelly
Publisher : Harlequin
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 49,97 MB
Release : 2013-11-19
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 037379780X
Presents under the tree: "The sexy air force captain Arianna foolishly married four months ago is coming home, and Ari knows they have to fix their mistake. But she had forgotten just how convincing Dylan's kisses can be"--Publisher.
Author : Jillian Hart
Publisher : Harlequin
Page : 383 pages
File Size : 14,68 MB
Release : 2021-10-26
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 0369717201
New hope for the holidays The Soldier’s Holiday Vow by Jillian Hart Trapped in a mine shaft with a little girl, September Stevens prays for someone to save them. When help arrives in the form of army ranger Mark Hawkins, the best friend of her late fiancé, they both feel God’s hand at work. As they let the spirit of the holidays into their hearts, feelings of new love start to take hold. But September is afraid to risk her heart again… His Holiday Matchmaker by Kat Brookes Nathan Cooper’s daughter wants only one thing for Christmas—a new mommy. Nathan doesn’t want to risk more heartache for either of them, yet when interior designer Alyssa McCall comes to town, both he and Katie are charmed. Though Alyssa and Nathan form a connection, Alyssa worries that she can’t be the mother Katie deserves. But Katie—and her handsome dad—is determined to prove her wrong. New York Times Bestselling Author Kat Brookes
