Jump Into Hell

Action-adventure narrative about elite German airborne troops.

In this viscerally exciting account, a paratrooper-turned-historian reveals the details of World War II’s largest airborne operation—one that dropped 17,000 Allied paratroopers deep into the heart of Nazi Germany. On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later. Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes. Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the 101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations.

The film Bullet in the Head functions both as an apocalyptic melodrama and as an allegory of fears concerning the implications of the Tiananmen Square incident for Hong Kong residents. This book argues for its central importance as a major work of contemporary Hong Kong cinema.

Beginning in 1948 with Paramount’s Saigon and Universal’s Rogue’s Regiment, Hollywood has produced hundreds of features and made-for-television films about Vietnam and the ensuing conflict. With the exception of The Green Berets (1968), few were designed to rally Americans to the cause as earlier war movies had done. Many were not even combat films, instead dealing with such domestic issues as protests, veteran re-entry, MIAs and POWs. Arranged chronologically, this is a critical analysis of Vietnam War films from 1948 through 1993. Recurring themes are stressed along with the ways that movie America reflected the national reality, with essays blending plot synopses and critical commentary. The movies run the gamut of genres: dramas, action, adventure, horror, comedies and even one musical.

Conrad Voort's family members have enforced the law in New York City for three centuries, since Manhattan was a Dutch colony. Raised from childhood to be a detective, he heads a vast cop clan, with its own code of honor and obligation. But now he faces his most dangerous adversary yet -- a man who has the power to destroy the family and will stop at nothing to prevent Voort from uncovering a terrible new kind of crime. Detective Voort and his beautiful fiancée, Camilla, are kayaking New York City's Hell's Gate, a treacherous section of the East River and graveyard for several centuries' worth of ships, when they spot a body floating in the water. The death seems related to a tragedy that happened in Hell's Gate over two hundred years ago. But could it also involve something more modern, menacing, and international in scope? With the help of TV producer Camilla and his partner, Mickie, Voort pursues the clues. But something doesn't feel right about the trail the dead man left behind. What starts out to be a complex investigation takes a sinister turn when Voort falls into the clutches of a man whose bloodless methods of persuasion have Voort stricken with real terror, for his family, his fiancée, and himself. But the man with the dead voice leaves Voort with few choices. Psychologically crippled, he can no longer confide in his fiancée or his partner. He must ignore the long-standing law of the clan -- and his brother officers -- and take action alone. Breathlessly paced and filled with Ethan Black's trademark explosive action, At Hell's Gate is a spellbinding new thriller that follows a man fighting to find the truth, save his family, and redeem himself.

A study of a man beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown, this is a brilliant and disturbing novel by Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.