Tag: World War II

  • Bitter Peleliu by Joseph Wheelan

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Bitter Peleliu: “Bitter” is putting it mildly. Quick synopsis: The story of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. Fact for Non-History People: Japanese engineers created over 500 caves on the island before the battle. Fact for History Nerds: The Black Marine unit on Peleliu had the highest casualty rate…

  • The Devils Will Get No Rest by James Conroy

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Devils Will Get No Rest: The Reality TV Reunion Show of World War II. Quick synopsis: The story of the Allied Casablanca Conference of World War II. Fact for Non-History People: FDR saw Churchill naked. No, I won’t explain it any further. Fact for History Nerds: During World War II,…

  • Road to Surrender by Evan Thomas

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Road to Surrender: It did not go down how you think it did. Quick synopsis: The story of the decision to drop the atomic bomb. Fact for Non-History People: Even after the dropping of the second atomic bomb, Japan’s Supreme Council was deadlocked on whether to surrender. Fact for History Nerds:…

  • Valiant Women by Lena Andrews

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Valiant Women: They also had to be very patient. Quick synopsis: The story of U.S. women’s integration into the military during World War II. Fact for Non-History People: The U.S. military needed a force of 16 million personnel to fight World War II. Fact for History Nerds: U.S. women would ultimately…

  • Ira Hayes by Tom Holm

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ira Hayes: An example of someone who never wanted the limelight. Quick synopsis: The story of Ira Hayes, one of the marines to raise the American Flag at Iwo Jima. Fact for Non-History People: We didn’t have the right names of the men who raised the flag until 2019. Fact for…

  • Leyte Gulf by Mark Stille

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Leyte Gulf: The final navy smackdown. Quick synopsis: A look at the battle of Leyte Gulf which effectively ended Japanese naval power in World War II. Fun Fact for Non-History People: This is the largest naval battle in history. Fun Fact for History Nerds: The Japanese navy was so short on…

  • The Watchmaker’s Daughter by Larry Loftis

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Watchmaker’s Daughter: She did more than make watches. Quick synopsis: The story of World War II heroine Corrie ten Boom. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Corrie ten Boom is credited with saving nearly 800 lives. Fact for History Nerds: She was also the first female licensed watchmaker in the Netherlands.…

  • Lost at Sea by John Wukovits

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Lost at Sea: Yeah, this title is pretty spot on. Quick synopsis: The story of war hero Eddie Rickenbacker and his crew’s crash and fight for survival in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Eddie Rickenbacker got addicted to speed when he first drove in…

  • Meat Grinder by Prit Buttar

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Meat Grinder: Nazis and Soviets trying to one up each other in the game of “needless slaughter.” Quick synopsis: A look at the battles for the Rzhev Salient right outside Stalingrad in World War II. Fact for Non-History People: Russians trained dogs to be suicide bombers. I am not okay with…