Rudolf Hoess was the notorious Commandant of Auschwitz. Imprisoned and awaiting execution after the war, Hoess wrote a long memoir, a self- serving account of his life and approaches to management.
“Being kissed by Karl Jager was devastating. And beautiful. War makes you do dangerous things.” Hanna Mendel liked to know what was going to happen next. She was going to be a famous concert pianist. She was going to wear her yellow dress to the dance on Saturday night. But she didn’t plan on her street being turned into a ghetto. She didn’t plan on being rounded up and thrown in a cattle truck. She didn’t plan on spending her sixteenth birthday in Auschwitz, in a wooden barrack with 200 other prisoners. Most of all, Hanna didn’t plan on falling in love with the wrong boy. What happens when a Jewish girl falls in love with the German son of the camp commander? Award-winning Australian author Suzy Zail’s young adult fiction book, The Wrong Boy, paints a story of identity, romance, hate and loyalty alongside the historical backdrop of the Holocaust. This gripping novel about a teenage girl coming to terms with first love amid the confronting realities of a war-torn world will leave readers wanting more. Short-listed in the Older Reader’s category of the 2013 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards “A compelling picture of life in a prison camp from the point of view of a determined but naïve teenage girl. Recommended.” – Aussie Reviews “Four stars … From its opening page, the reader will feel empathy and heartache for those who suffered during this violent era.” – Read Plus “A roller-coaster ride … This is a must read for any teenager or adult interested in the past, the tragedy of war or what happens when humans believe they are superior.” – Kids Book Review “Compelling reading … Zail uses a deft hand.” – Buzz Words magazine “An addictive read, well-written and, in spite of the horrow, warm-hearted.” – Around the Bookshops
The Commandant is an unforgettable tale of power, duty and humanity. He jumped down to the wharf and walked alone out of the torchlight to stand behind Letty. Frances looked from his face to her sister’s, and once again felt the weakening flush of fear. She was too much at the mercy of her company, and was about to discover which of her unpredictable selves would advance to meet these two strangers. The penal colony of Moreton Bay is under the command of Patrick Logan, a man not afraid of brutal discipline. But his rule is being questioned and the arrival of his sister-in-law Frances will change everything.
After the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, they quickly began persecuting anyone who was Jewish. Millions were shoved into ghettos and forced to live under the swastika. Death camps were built and something called "Operation Reinhard" was set into motion. Its goal? To murder all the Jews of Poland. The Commandant of Lubizec is a harrowing account of a death camp that never actually existed but easily could have in the Nazi state. It is a sensitive, accurate retelling of a place that went about the business of genocide. Told as a historical account in a documentary style, it explores the atmosphere of a death camp. It describes what it was like to watch the trains roll in, and it probes into the mind of its commandant, Hans-Peter Guth. How could he murder thousands of people each day and then go home to laugh with his children? This is not only an unflinching portrayal of the machinery of the gas chambers, it is also the story of how prisoners burned the camp to the ground and fled into the woods. It is a story of rebellion and survival. It is a story of life amid death. With a strong eye towards the history of the Holocaust, The Commandant of Lubizec compels us to look at these extermination centers anew. It disquiets us with the knowledge that similar events actually took place in camps like Bełzec, Sobibór, and Treblinka. The history of Lubizec, although a work of fiction, is a chillingly blunt distillation of real life events. It asks that we look again at "Operation Reinhard". It brings voice to the silenced. It demands that we bear witness.
What if the people closest to us are not what they seem? What happens when someone takes control of your life and your relationships? And what is hiding in the darkness? In Bernard Minier's Don't Turn Out the Lights, you won’t see who’s coming after you. “You did nothing.” Christine Steinmeyer thought the anonymous suicide note she found in her mailbox on Christmas Eve wasn’t meant for her. But the man calling in to her radio show seems convinced otherwise. “You let her die. . . .” That’s only the beginning. Bit by bit, her life is turned upside down. But who among her friends and family hates her enough to want to destroy her? And why? It’s as if someone has taken over her life, and everything holding it together starts to crumble. Soon all that is left is an unimaginable nightmare. Martin Servaz is on leave in a clinic for depressed cops, haunted by his childhood sweetheart Marianne’s kidnapping by his nemesis, the psychopath Julian Hirtmann. One day, he receives a key card to a hotel room in the mail—the room where an artist committed suicide a year earlier. Someone wants him to get back to work, which he’s more than ready to do, despite his mandatory sick leave. Servaz soon uncovers evidence of a truly terrifying crime. Could someone really be cruelly, consciously hounding women to death?
'What is this place?' She lowers her camera and takes in the frail bodies and desolate faces staring back at her. 'It's hell on earth. Where the desperate abandon their last hope.' In that moment, she knows that taking pictures is not enough, she has to help these people... 1933, Berlin. Ten-year-old Hanni Foss stands by her father watching the celebrations marking Adolf Hitler as Germany's new leader. As the torchlights fade, she knows her safe and happy childhood is about to change forever. Practically overnight, the father she adores is lost to his ruthless ambition to oversee an infamous concentration camp... Twelve years later. As the Nazi regime crumbles, Hanni hides from her father on the fringes of Berlin. In stolen moments, she develops the photographs she took to record the brutality of the camp - the empty food bowls and hungry eyes - and vows to get justice for the innocent people she couldn't help as a child. But on the day she plans to deliver these damning photographs to the Allies, Hanni comes face to face with her father again. Reiner Foss is now working with the British forces, his past safely hidden behind a new identity. He makes it clear that he will go to deadly lengths to protect his secrets, but Hanni knows she can't give up her fight. But what will she have to sacrifice in order to keep the promise she made? A heartbreaking novel about the incredible courage of ordinary people during the Second World War. Fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will never forget this powerful story of hope and humanity. What readers are saying about Catherine Hokin: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The best historical fiction book I've read this year! I was awake until the early morning hours finishing it, because I could not put it down!... Heartbreaking.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Amazing... I was totally absorbed in the story... 10 stars. One of my best reads this year. I can't begin to say how much I loved this book, I couldn't put it down, absolutely brilliant.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'If I could give this book more than a five-star rating, I surely would! It is absolutely the best WW2 historical fiction I've read in a long time!... I couldn't bear to put it down.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Can I give a rating higher than 5 stars?!... I really loved this book.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Have you ever read a book that has torn at your heartstrings so much that you just know it's going to leave a lasting impression for the rest of time?... This book is going on that list!' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This story just swept me away... I was left speechless... just wow!!... I do recommend a box of tissues... This book will have you turning the pages.' Red Headed Book Lady ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The more I read of this book, the more I had to read! What a fantastic story this is touching just about every emotion there is.' Goodreads reviewer
WITH NOTHING ELSE TO LOSE Anne Forestier finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time when she blunders into a raid on a jeweller's on the Champs-Élysées. Bludgeoned beyond recognition, she is lucky to survive. But her ordeal has only just begun. HE CAN BREAK ALL THE RULES Lying helpless in her hospital bed, with her assailant still at large, Anne is in mortal danger. Only one thing gives her hope: Commandant Camille Verhoven. TO PROTECT THE WOMAN HE LOVES For Verhoven it's a case of history repeating itself. He cannot lose Anne as he lost his wife. This time he faces an adversary whose greatest strength appears to be Verhoven's matchless powers of intuition.
The youngest living Medal of Honor recipient delivers an unforgettable memoir that "will inspire every reader” (Jim Mattis) NATIONAL BESTSELLER | A Marine Commandant's Reading List selection On November 21, 2010, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Kyle Carpenter was posted atop a building in violent Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when an enemy grenade skittered toward Kyle and fellow Marine Nick Eufrazio. Without hesitation, Kyle chose a path of selfless heroism that few can imagine. He jumped on the grenade, saving Nick but sacrificing his own body. Kyle Carpenter’s heart flatlined three times while being evacuated off the battlefield in Afghanistan. Yet his spirit was unbroken. Severely wounded from head to toe, Kyle lost his right eye as well as most of his jaw. It would take dozens of surgeries and almost three years in and out of the hospital to reconstruct his body. From there, he began the process of rebuilding his life. What he has accomplished in the last nine years is extraordinary: he’s come back a stronger, better, wiser person. In 2014, Kyle was awarded the nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his “singular act of courage” on that rooftop in Afghanistan, an action which had been reviewed exhaustively by the military. Kyle became the youngest living recipient of the award–and only the second living Marine so honored since Vietnam. Kyle’s remarkable memoir reveals a central truth that will inspire every reader: Life is worth everything we’ve got. It is the story of how one man became a so-called hero who willingly laid down his life for his brother-in-arms—and equally, it is a story of rebirth, of how Kyle battled back from the gravest challenge to forge a life of joyful purpose. You Are Worth It is a memoir about the war in Afghanistan and Kyle’s heroics, and it is also a manual for living. Organized around the credos that have guided Kyle’s life (from “Don’t Hide Your Scars” to “Call Your Mom”), the book encourages us to become our best selves in the time we’ve been given on earth. Above all, it’s about finding purpose, regardless of the hurdles that may block our way. Moving and unforgettable, You Are Worth It is an astonishing memoir from one of our most extraordinary young leaders.
The #1 New York Times–bestselling author’s story about life at the Citadel in the 1960s, a profound exploration of what it means to be a man of honor. Lt. Col. Nugent Courvoisie, known to the cadets as “the Boo,” is an imposing and inspiring leader at the South Carolina military academy, the Citadel. A harsh disciplinarian but a compassionate mentor, he guides and inspires his young charges. Cadet Peter Cates is an anomaly. He is a gifted writer, a talented basketball player, and a good student, but his outward successes do little to impress his abusive father. The Boo takes Cates under his wing, but their bond is threatened when they’re forced to confront an act of violence on campus. Drawn from Pat Conroy’s own experiences as a student at the Citadel, The Boo is an unforgettable story about duty, loyalty, and standing up for what is right in the face of overwhelming circumstances.