World War II (1931-1945)
“The Second World War presented a mirror to the human condition which blinded anyone who looked into it.” — Norman Mailer, “The White Negro: Superficial Reflections on the Hipster” (1957)
Of the endless ocean of books on the Second World War, we have dozens and dozens of new and carefully chosen titles. I define it as beginning with the Japanese Empire’s invasion of Manchuria and ending with not only V-E and V-J Days but also the immediate crises of displaced people, the Soviet Union’s creation of the Iron Curtain, and the growing revelations of the extent of the Holocaust.
In significant ways the Second World War was the defining crucible of the 20th Century. The First World War was prelude, the legacy of the 19th Century’s imperialism, and the Cold War was the sequel. Of the making of books about it there is no end — but the persistence of good research and good writing, and good publication underscores the war’s centrality of the world we live in today and the world our descendents will live in for the foreseeable future.
The Sailing of the Intrepid: The Incredible Wartime Voyage of the Navy’s Iconic Aircraft Carrier
The Sailing of the Intrepid: The Incredible Wartime Voyage of the Navy’s Iconic Aircraft Carrier
From twenty-two-year naval and marine veteran Montel Williams comes a page-turning history of how one World War II aircraft carrier’s crew defied all odds, redefining the very meaning of what it means to struggle, persevere and survive.
1944. The USS Intrepid set sail on its first combat voyage, only to be struck by a Japanese torpedo plane, jamming its rudder at a forty-five-degree angle. It could only sail in circles amid treacherous waters.
The task force abandoned ship as it tried to make the 3,300-mile voyage to Pearl Harbor. For a day, the captain was able to slalom, alternating use of the ship’s engines, but the seas became too perilous. Until one resilient crewman came up with the ingenious idea of rigging a 3,000-square-foot high sail on the second deck to steer the ship home safe. Incredibly, the makeshift sail proved to be their ticket to the shorelines.
With grit and determination, this spellbinding story details a remarkable survival story against all odds, for readers of Tom Clavin and Bob Drury.