Extraordinary Lives, Extraordinary Stories of World War Two Books
An extraordinary story of survival against all odds, full of life and heart in the face of death We've heard it all before. We've read the book, we've seen the movie. Yet we haven't. That's the thing about human stories: each is unique. Sam's is remarkable. Not just the death camps, but his escape from them. And that he could build a life afterwards. - The Big Issue In September 1939, Hitler's Germany invaded Poland. It was Sam Pivnik's thirteenth birthday, and his life was turned upside down overnight. He was first transported to a ghetto in his home town of Bedzin, then another. He then spent a harrowing six months on Auschwitz's notorious Rampkommando, before being sent to work at the brutal Furstengrube mining camp. As the Third Reich collapsed, he took part in the 'Death March' that took him west - only to board the prison ship Cap Arcona which was mistakenly sunk by the Royal Air Force in 1945, as they believed SS members to be on board. Each of these experiences could have proved fatal. Many brought Sam on the verge of death. But he survived, against all odds, and built a life from himself after the War. In Survivor he tells his incredible story. ------ Survivor has moved readers all around the world: 'This should be read and re-read for generations' - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A man with dignity. A book that is raw and unflinching. A staggering account of Nazi obsession with the obliteration of a people. It left me profoundly sad and angry for what happened, and grateful that because of survivors such as Sam Pivnik, this episode in history can and will not be forgotten.' - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A huge 5 stars for a story that had to be told. There is simply far too much to say to do Sam, his book, or the nightmare of the war justice.' - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE SUNDAY TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'A standalone classic . . . An incredible book, remarkable for its unflinching gaze at the past and also for its hope' - GUARDIAN , 'Books to Give You Hope' 'Remarkable . . . Makes it clear just what an achievement it was starting over again, when survivors were not only economically and physically depleted, but emotionally devastated, too' - SCOTSMAN Eva was arrested by the Nazis on her fifteenth birthday and sent to Auschwitz. Yet she was one of the lucky few who survived, thanks to luck, determination and the love and protection of her mother Fritzi, who was deported with her. When Auschwitz was liberated, Eva and Fritzi began the long journey home. They searched desperately for Eva's father and brother, from whom they had been separated. The news came some months later: both men had not been so lucky, and, tragically, they had been killed. But before the war, in Amsterdam, Eva had become friendly with a young girl called Anne Frank. Though their fates were very different, Eva's life was set to be entwined with her friend's for ever more, after her mother Fritzi married Anne's father Otto Frank in 1953. This is a searingly honest account of how an ordinary person survived the Holocaust. Eva's memories and descriptions are heartbreakingly clear, her account brings the horror as close as it can possibly be. But this is also an exploration of what happened next, of Eva's struggle to live with herself after the war and to continue the work of her step-father Otto, ensuring that the legacy of Anne Frank is never forgotten. ----- What readers think: 'This is a must read book. Eva's story runs the gauntlet of emotions from harrowing to inspiring.' - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This story is almost unreal in its simplicity and horror. It is a definite MUST READ, especially by the younger generation.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Nothing less than remarkable and outstanding' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER 'This gripping biography... Pearson has done uncommonly well to unearth so much.' (Max Hastings, Sunday Times ) Roger Bushell was 'Big X', mastermind of the mass breakout from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, immortalised in the Hollywood film The Great Escape. Very little was known about Bushell until 2011, when his family donated his private papers - a treasure trove of letters, photographs and diaries - to the Imperial War Museum. Through exclusive access to this material - as well as fascinating new research from other sources - Simon Pearson, Chief Night Editor of The Times, has now written the first biography of this iconic figure. Born in South Africa in 1910, Roger Bushell was the son of a British mining engineer. By the age of 29, this charismatic character who spoke nine languages had become a London barrister with a reputation for successfully defending those much less fortunate than him. He was also renowned as an international ski champion and fighter pilot with a string of glamorous girlfriends. On 23 May, 1940, his Spitfire was shot down during a dogfight over Boulogne after destroying two German fighters. From then on his life was governed by an unquenchable desire to escape from Occupied Europe. Over the next four years he made three escapes, coming within 100 yards of the Swiss border during his first attempt. His second escape took him to Prague where he was sheltered by the Czech resistance for eight months before he was captured. The three months of savage interrogation in Berlin by the Gestapo that followed made him even more determined. Prisoner or not, he would do his utmost to fight the Nazis. His third (and last escape) destabilised the Nazi leadership and captured the imagination of the world. He died on 29 March 1944, murdered on the explicit instructions of Adolf Hitler. Simon Pearson's revealing biography is a vivid account of war and love, triumph and tragedy - one man's attempt to challenge remorseless tyranny in the face of impossible odds.
Second World War fighter pilot Eric Carter is one of only four surviving members of a secret mission, code-named 'Force Benedict'. Sanctioned by Winston Churchill in 1941 Force Benedict was dispatched to defend Murmansk, the USSR's only port not under Nazi occupation. If Murmansk fell, Soviet resistance against the Nazis would be hard to sustain and Hitler would be able to turn all his forces on Britain... Force Benedict was under the command of New Zealand-born RAF Wing Commander Henry Neville Gynes Ramsbottom-Isherwood, who led two squadrons of Hurricane fighters, pilots and ground crew which were shipped to Russia in total secrecy on the first ever Arctic Convoy. They were told to defend Murmansk against the Germans 'at all costs'. 'We all reckoned the government thought we'd never survive' - but Eric Carter did, and was threatened with Court Martial if he talked about where he'd been or what he'd done. Now he reveals his experiences of seventy years ago in the hell on earth that was Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle. It will also include previously unseen photos and documents, as well as exploring - for the first time - other intriguing aspects of Force Benedict.
'Lively . . . in giving us the daily details of their lives in the women's own voices Dunlop does them and us a fine service' New Statesman 'Dunlop is engaging in her personal approach. Her obvious feminine empathy with the venerable ladies she spoke to gives her book an immediacy and intimacy.' Daily Mail 'An in-depth picture of life in Britain's wartime intelligence centre . . . The result is fascinating, and is made all the more touching by the developing friendships between Dunlop and her interviewees.' Financial Times The Bletchley Girls weaves together the lives of fifteen women who were all selected to work in Britain's most secret organisation - Bletchley Park. It is their story, told in their voices; Tessa met and talked to 15 veterans, often visiting them several times. Firm friendships were made as their epic journey unfolded on paper. The scale of female involvement in Britain during the Second World War wasn't matched in any other country. From 8 million working women just over 7000 were hand-picked to work at Bletchley Park and its outstations. There had always been girls at the Park but soon they outnumbered the men three to one. A refugee from Belgium, a Scottish debutante, a Jewish 14-year-old, and a factory worker from Northamptonshire - the Bletchley Girls confound stereotypes. But they all have one common bond, the war and their highly confidential part in it. In the middle of the night, hunched over meaningless pieces of paper, tending mind-blowing machines, sitting listening for hours on end, theirs was invariably confusing, monotonous and meticulous work, about which they could not breathe a word. By meeting and talking to these fascinating female secret-keepers who are still alive today, Tessa Dunlop captures their extraordinary journeys into an adult world of war, secrecy, love and loss. Through the voices of the women themselves, this is a portrait of life at Bletchley Park beyond the celebrated code-breakers, it's the story of the girls behind Britain's ability to consistently out-smart the enemy, and an insight into the women they have become.