Bøger af Michael G Bergen

Joe Rutherford, a young shipbuilder from Jarrow, in the northeast of England, is unusual among his peers. He was fortunate to attend school long enough to learn to read, and becomes an inspiring teller of stories about the current war in southern Africa; stories he has gleaned from the British press. Soon, despite the opposition of their loved ones, he and his friends decide to join the British Army, and set out on an adventure they couldn't possibly have expected from the newspaper reports Joe has been relaying to them. Shipped out to join the existing forces after only minimal training, they soon encounter the harsh and terrifying reality of war; the atrocities on both sides, the loss of friends and comrades, and the desperation of holding on to friendships, relationships and romance in the light of what may be a very short life ahead of them. They also learn to understand the commonality of humankind the world over, whether it be found in friends or enemies. Unsure of what may happen from one day to the next, the friends cling tightly to each other, to hope, and to new friends they meet along the way, knowing that only they, and perhaps luck, can keep each other safe... Written after meticulous research into the lives of the common soldiers of the period, as well as those of the more well-documented officers and commanders, this story is the first in a series that follows generations of the Rutherfords through their own family history and that of the world around them.

Could you have survived a soldier's life in the wretched trenches of the Western Front or the strict Prussian POW camps of WWI? Having served in South Africa and British India, Joe Rutherford and his friends returned to their old way of life on Tyneside. They married and settled happily until the European Great War erupted in mid-1914. As reservists, Joe and his friends rejoin their old regiment and are shipped to the Western Front in France. There, they experience the perils of that horrific conflict in the deadly trenches and open, sodden farmlands under constant fire, where two of Joe's friends and many more lost their lives. Joe and his last remaining friend, Mike, are captured and taken to Germany, where they must survive in captivity by the enemy. After a heroic attempt at escape, the friends are moved from one camp to another as living conditions gradually worsen. They cherish the care packages sent from home as they slow and trickle to a halt. They wonder why? At least they are in touch with their loved ones, experiencing their own difficulties at home, the women taking their places in the farms and factories. Will the soldiers and their families survive the war and the 1918 Flu pandemic? Will the soldiers overcome the harsh conditions of the POW camps, be freed and transported home to safety and medical treatment? This second book of the Rutherford Chronicles traces the horror of WWI on the Western Front and in the POW Camps and how those prisoners and their families coped and survived such horrific times and events. Other personalities include Kaiser Wilhelm, Winston Churchill, Douglas Haig and the Canadians William Hart-McHarg and John McCrae.

Were you or your ancestors' victims of Hitler's war? Joe and Mike returned from WWI to Tyneside at the end of 1918, alive but walking skeletons. They recover from their life-threatening ordeals with the support of their families and readjust to a radically changed world. However, before long, the fallout from such an expensive war took its toll on their community. The reparations demanded from Germany affected the home front. The Great Depression, profound closures, and unemployment bite, devastating the Industrial Northeast. Joe's family moved to the south London area for the promise of better prospects. However, before long, they found themselves in a new war during the Blitz, resulting in catastrophic numbers of dead, wounded and homeless around them. How will the Rutherfords survive these crises? Allied Canadian forces joined WWII, and vast numbers of troops arrived to defend the British Islands before being sent to fight the Nazis on the continent. Gunner-driver George forges lasting friendships among his fellow Canadians and the British hosts, meeting Joe's youngest daughter, Dolly, by accident. They soon marry during one of his leaves and have a baby boy. Then, George is dispatched to the Mediterranean to participate in the Italian Campaign. While in Italy, George frets about his new family. Will his new family survive the Nazi vengeance rocket onslaught on London and Croydon? Will the Allied soldiers survive their daily ordeals on the European battlefields and rejoin their families? This third book of The Rutherford Chronicles tells the frightening personal stories of the people of England and the brave Allied soldiers fighting to defeat Hitler and end the war in Europe. Other personalities include Winston Churchill, General Albert Kesselring, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Bernard Montgomery, General George S. Patton and a murdered Canadian Bombardier.