In a masterful narrative, a prominent historian brings to life the last year of General Grant's life--a tragic, poignant, and inspiring story.

The name TIME-LIFE has become synonymous with providing readers with a deeper understanding of subjects and world events that matter to us all. Now, as the U.S. commemorates the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, TIME-LIFE revisits the pivotal final battles and events in one of the most influential periods in history in World War II: 1945. Between January and August of 1945, the Allies staged their last great military victories, participated in the Potsdam and Yalta conferences, and mourned the death of FDR. Adolf Hitler committed suicide, Benito Mussolini was hanged. The first atomic bomb was dropped. These are just some of the events in the closing months of World War II, a dramatic period that both marked the end of the bloodiest conflict in history and laid the groundwork for the coming Cold War. Organized chronologically, World War II: 1945 maps out the conflict's end in a visual, easy-to-digest format that illustrates key events, days, battles, personalities, military strategies, political maneuverings and betrayals. A compelling, illustrated package, the book will bring 1945 to life for a public curious to learn about the year that changed the world.

New York Times bestselling authors Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen conclude their inventive trilogy with Never Call Retreat, a remarkable answer to the great "what if" of the American Civil War: Could the South have indeed won? After his great victories at Gettysburg and Union Mills, General Robert E. Lee's attempt to bring the war to a final conclusion by attacking Washington, D.C., fails. However, in securing Washington, the remnants of the valiant Union Army of the Potomac, under the command of the impetuous General Dan Sickles, is trapped and destroyed. For Lincoln there is only one hope left: that General Ulysses S. Grant can save the Union cause. It is now August 22, 1863. Lincoln and Grant are facing a collapse of political will to continue the fight to preserve the Union. Lee, desperately short of manpower, must conserve his remaining strength while maneuvering for the killing blow that will take Grant's army out of the fight and, at last, bring a final and complete victory for the South. Pursuing the remnants of the defeated Army of the Potomac up to the banks of the Susquehanna, Lee is caught off balance when news arrives that General Ulysses S. Grant, in command of more than seventy thousand men, has crossed that same river, a hundred miles to the northwest at Harrisburg. As General Grant brings his Army of the Susquehanna into Maryland, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia maneuvers for position. Grant first sends General George Armstrong Custer on a mad dash to block Lee's path toward Frederick and with it control of the crucial B&O railroad, which moves troops and supplies. The two armies finally collide in Central Maryland, and a bloody week-long battle ensues along the banks of Monocacy Creek. This must be the "final" battle for both sides. In Never Call Retreat, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen bring all of their critically acclaimed talents to bear in what is destined to become an immediate classic.

After the success at Normandy, the Allied commanders are confident that the war in Europe will soon be over. But in December 1944, in the Ardennes Forest, the Germans launch a ruthless counteroffensive that begins the Battle of the Bulge. The Führer will spare nothing to preserve his twisted vision of a “Thousand Year Reich,” but stout American resistance defeats the German thrust. No Less Than Victory is a riveting account presented through the eyes of Eisenhower, Patton, and the soldiers who struggled face-to-face with their enemy, as well as from the vantage point of Germany’s old soldier, Gerd von Rundstedt, and Hitler’s golden boy, Albert Speer. Jeff Shaara carries the reader on a journey that defines the spirit of the soldier and the horror of a madman’s dreams.

Covers the events of World War II, including the fall of the Third Reich, island hopping in the Pacific, the defeat of Japan, and the Marshall Plan.