Найти книгу: "Normandy '44"

D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the seventy-six days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed the Allied landing, have become the defining episode of World War II in the west—the object of books, films, television series, and documentaries. Yet as familiar as it is, as James Holland makes clear in his definitive history, many parts of the OVERLORD campaign, as it was known, are still shrouded in myth and assumed knowledge. <p> Drawing freshly on widespread archives and on the testimonies of eye-witnesses, Holland relates the extraordinary planning that made Allied victory in France possible; indeed, the story of how hundreds of thousands of men, and mountains of materiel, were transported across the English Channel, is as dramatic a human achievement as any battlefield exploit. The brutal landings on the five beaches and subsequent battles across the plains and through the lanes and hedgerows of Normandy—a campaign that, in terms of daily casualties, was worse than any in World War I—come vividly to life in conferences where the strategic decisions of Eisenhower, Rommel, Montgomery, and other commanders were made, and through the memories of paratrooper Lieutenant Dick Winters of Easy Company, British corporal and tanker Reg Spittles, Thunderbolt pilot Archie Maltbie, German ordnance officer Hans Heinze, French resistance leader Robert Leblanc, and many others. <p> For both sides, the challenges were enormous. The Allies confronted a disciplined German army stretched to its limit, which nonetheless caused tactics to be adjusted on the fly. Ultimately ingenuity, determination, and immense materiel strength—delivered with operational brilliance—made the difference. A stirring narrative by a pre-eminent historian, <i>Normandy ‘44</i> offers important new perspective on one of history’s most dramatic military engagements and is an invaluable addition to the literature of war.

The first two novels in an epic series about Queen Emma of Normandy, set in 11th-century England when Vikings are on the brink of invasion. A standout series of seduction, war, betrayal and unrequited love from an outstanding new voice in historical fictionSHADOW ON THE CROWNIn 1002 AD Emma, a young Norman girl, must take her place as bride to England’s King ?thelred, a ruler who is looking for nothing more than a political pawn to protect his shores and bear his next child. But Emma soon realises that her new role comes with danger: the seductive Elgiva, mistress to the King, will stop at nothing in her battle for the circlet of gold. Amidst the turmoil of a kingdom under threat and a forbidden love, both women will fight for the King’s attention, a king whose haunted past is as dark as the portent in the night’s sky.THE PRICE OF BLOOD1006 AD. Queen Emma, the Norman bride of England’s King ?thelred, has given birth to a son. Now her place as second wife to the king is safe and Edward marked as heir to the throne. But the royal bed is a cold place and the court a setting for betrayal and violence, as the ageing king struggles to retain his power over the realm. Emma can trust no one, not even the king’s eldest son Athelstan, the man she truly loves.Elsewhere Viking threats to the crown are gaining strength.Emma must protect her only child without abandoning her noble position. And her conflict will be played out against the dramatic and bloody struggle for Britain’s rule.