1942

America’s first year in World War II, chronicled in this “page-turner” by the Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of Forrest Gump and The Generals (Publishers Weekly). On December 7, 1941, an unexpected attack on American territory pulled an unprepared country into a terrifying new brand of warfare. To the generation of Americans who lived through it, the Second World War was the defining event of the twentieth century, and the defining moments of that war were played out in the year 1942. This account covers the Allies’ relentless defeats as the Axis overran most of Europe, North Africa, and the Far East. But by midyear the tide began to turn. The United States finally went on the offensive in the Pacific. In the West, the British defeated Rommel’s panzer divisions at El Alamein while the US Army began to push the Germans out of North Africa. By the year’s end, the smell of victory was in the air. 1942, told with Winston Groom’s accomplished storyteller’s eye, allows us into the admirals’ strategy rooms, onto the battlefronts, and into the heart of a nation at war. “When not drawing in readers with the narrative, Groom is impressing them with his masterful analyses.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Groom has done an artful job of blending the many stories of 1942.” —The Anniston Star

A revelatory new work of popular history focused on the year 1942, as the fate of Britain—and Winston Churchill’s leadership—hangs in the balance. Eighty years ago, Britain stood at the brink of defeat. In 1942, a string of military disasters engulfed Britain in rapid succession : the collapse in Malaya; the biggest surrender in British history at Singapore; the passing of three large German warships through the Straits of Dover in broad daylight; the longest ever retreat through Burma to the gates of India; serious losses to Rommel's forces in North Africa; the siege of Malta and the surrender at Tobruk. All of this occurred against the backdrop of catastrophic sinkings in the Atlantic and the Arctic convoys. People began to claim that Churchill was not up to the job and his leadership was failing badly. Public morale reached a new low. Taylor Downing’s 1942 explores the story of frustration and despair of that year, prompting Winston Churchill to demand of his army chief, "Have you not got a single general who can win battles?” Using newly discovered archival material, historian Taylor Downing shows just how unpopular Churchill became in 1942, with two votes attacking his leadership in the House of Commons and the emergence of a serious political rival.Some argue that Britain's most precarious moment of the war was in 1940—when the nation stood up against the threat of German invasion during the Battle of Britain. But in 1942, Taylor Downing describes, in nail-biting detail, what was really Britain's darkest hour of World War II.

LOST IN THE PACIFIC is the first book in a new narrative nonfiction series that tells the true story of a band of World War II soldiers who became stranded at sea and had to fight for survival. World War II, October 21, 1942. A B-17 bomber drones high over the Pacific Ocean, sending a desperate SOS into the air. The crew is carrying America's greatest living war hero on a secret mission deep into the battle zone. But the plane is lost, burning through its final gallons of fuel.At 1:30 p.m., there is only one choice left: an emergency landing at sea. If the crew survives the impact, they will be left stranded without food or water hundreds of miles from civilization. Eight men. Three inflatable rafts. Sixty-eight million square miles of ocean. What will it take to make it back alive?

The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. El Alamein saw tow of the greatest generals of the war pitted against each other: Rommel and Montgomery. Through key profiles and a chapter devoted to 'The Armies' Battle Story: El Alamein explores what made these men inspired leaders and what led to their respective defeat and victory. Montgomery's success ensured that the Axis army was unable to occupy Egypt and therefore gain control of the Suez Canal or the Middle Eastern oil fields, thereby preventing a major source of income and power for them. The background and impact of the battle are explored in separate chapters, so offering the reader a clear insight into why what happened in this remote part of Egypt was so central to the Allied cause. Through quotes and maps the text explore the unfolding action of the battle and puts the reader on the frontline. If you truly want to understand what happened and why - read Battle Story.