The war wasn't going well. The alien Arachnids were an enemy whose like no civilized race had ever confronted.

Two complete novels in the New York Times best-selling series, all in one generous volume. Crusade: Neither side in the Human-Orion war was strong enough to defeat the other, so it fizzled into an uneasy peace filled with hatred and mistrust on both sides. Then a ship appeared from the dim mists of half-forgotten history, and fired on the Orion sentry ship, igniting the fires of interstellar war anew, in a quest to free Holy Mother Terra. In Death Ground: The human race and two other star traveling races had warred with each other in the past, but now all three are at peace-a peace which is shattered by the discovery of a fourth race, the "Bugs." The newcomers are mind-numbingly alien in their thought processes, have overwhelming numbers, and regard all other species as fit only to be food animals. There is no hope for peace with the invaders, and the galaxy explodes with a battle to the death. Kill-or be eaten!

Drawing on previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, prizewinning historian Donald L. Miller has written what critics are calling one of the most powerful accounts of warfare ever published. Here are the horror and heroism of World War II in the words of the men who fought it, the journalists who covered it, and the civilians who were caught in its fury. Miller gives us an up-close, deeply personal view of a war that was more savagely fought—and whose outcome was in greater doubt—than readers might imagine. This is the war that Americans at the home front would have read about had they had access to the previously censored testimony of the soldiers on which Miller builds his gripping narrative. Miller covers the entire war—on land, at sea, and in the air—and provides new coverage of the brutal island fighting in the Pacific, the bomber war over Europe, the liberation of the death camps, and the contributions of African Americans and other minorities. He concludes with a suspenseful, never-before-told story of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, based on interviews with the men who flew the mission that ended the war.

"Often told in the performers' own words, When the Stars Went to War is the story of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, and the other leading men who went into combat. It is the story of Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Groucho Marx, Jimmy Cagney, Greer Garson, and a host of others who raised millions for the war effort by selling bonds, and of such luminaries as Marlene Dietrich, Mickey Rooney, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Jack Benny, who put themselves in considerable danger entertaining troops at the front." "And, of course, it is the story of the ones who stayed behind: those who tried to enlist and were turned down, those who were given cushy home-front jobs, those who passed the time having love affairs with the spouses or lovers of fellow actors who had gone to war - the hardworking and the guilt-ridden." "Perhaps the stars' most important contribution to the war effort was the films they made, films that kept up morale and inspired America's fighting men. As one young G.I. put it, "Somehow it's better to be fighting for Lana Turner than it is to be fighting the Great Reich ... because she is all our girls rolled into one.""--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

When a service banner adorned with stars was displayed in a homes window during World War II, it meant a family member was involved in the war. Some of the soldiers never returned, but those who did come home carried memories and war stories. In The Star in the Window, author Louis C. Langone tells the stories of more than seventy-five WWII veterans who lived in Waterville and Central New York. Langone personally interviewed and listened to more than 100 men and women telling their wartime storiesfrom bombing missions over Europe to the island hopping campaigns of the Pacific to suffering as prisoners of war. The narratives are supplemented with material from books, periodicals, the Internet, press releases, unit histories, and letters, providing a mix of memories and facts. Photographs and community honor rolls are also included. The Star in the Window not only preserves special WWII memories, but also gives insight into the hardships endured and sacrifices made by the veterans of the Central New York area. It provides an opportunity to experience history through the eyes and ears of veterans from the various military branches of service revealing shocking and obscure incidents of the war.

"Describes the events of World War II and explains the significance of the war today. The reader's choices reveal the historical details from the perspective of a member of the Dutch resistance, a Canadian soldier, and an American soldier"--Provided by publisher.

DEFEAT WAS NOT AN OPTION The war wasn't going well. The mind-numbingly alien Arachnids were an enemy whose like no civilized race had ever confronted. Like some carnivorous cancer, the "Bugs" had overrun planet after planet . . . and they regarded any competing sentient species as only one more protein source. They couldn't be reasoned with, or even talked to, because no one had the least idea of how to communicate with a telepathic species with no recognizable language . . . and whose response to any communication attempt was a missile salvo. No one knew how large their civilization¾if it could be called a "civilization"¾actually was, or how it was organized, but the huge fleets they threw against their opponents suggested that it was enormous. The Grand Alliance of Humans, Orions, Ophiuchi, and Gorm, united in desperate self-defense, have been driven to the wall. Billions of their civilians have been slaughtered. Their most powerful offensive operation has ended in shattering defeat and the deaths of their most experienced and revered military commanders. The edge in technology with which they began the war is eroding out from under them and whatever they do, the Bugs just keep coming. But the warriors of the Grand Alliance know what stands behind them and they will surrender no more civilians to the oncoming juggernaut. They will die first . . . and they will also reactivate General Directive 18, however horrible it may be. Because when the only possible outcomes are victory or racial extermination, only one option is acceptable. The Shiva Option At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).