Military Animals

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Passchendaele by Nick Lloyd, read by Mark Elstob. Between July and November 1917, in a small corner of Belgium, more than 500,000 men were killed or maimed, gassed or drowned - and many of the bodies were never found. The Ypres offensive represents the modern impression of the First World War: splintered trees, water-filled craters, muddy shell-holes. The climax was one of the worst battles of both world wars: Passchendaele.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Last Witnesses, by Svetlana Alexievich, read by Julia Emelin, Yelena Shmulenson and Allen Lewis Rickman. What did it mean to grow up in the Soviet Union during the Second World War? In the late 1970s, Svetlana Alexievich started interviewing people who had experienced war as children, the generation that survived and had to live with the trauma that would forever change the course of the Russian nation.

This is a true story of Oscar P. Dog, a puppy who was adopted by a Navy warship on deployment and found his way to America. It is designed to make you laugh and perhaps help military kids understand the concept of a deployment.

Smoky the Brave is the extraordinary, touching and true story of a heroic dog and her adoptive masters in the jungles of the Pacific War. In February 1944, as Japanese military advances threatened to engulf Australasia, a tiny, four-pound Yorkshire terrier was discovered hiding in a Japanese shell scrape amidst the thick jungles of Papua New Guinea. The GIs who discovered her presumed she had been some kind of Japanese army mascot, but it soon turned out that she understood neither commands rendered in Japanese nor English.

It is September 1940, and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around Epping Forest, the home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her parents as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons. Duchess has proven to be the most extraordinary of all Susan's birds, as the two share a special bond and an unusual curiosity about the world. Thousands of miles away in Buxton, Maine, a young crop-duster pilot named Ollie Evans has decided to travel to Britain to join the Royal Air Force.

Jay Kopelman sets forth more than a dozen lessons, including: Life can change in an instant, but you'll be able to handle it; passion for something can help you tap into your most powerful reserve of energy; have a standard operating procedure for everything; and never forget who you are or how you got here. Active and retired troops, soldiers' friends and families, and everyone who has ever loved a dog will embrace this book.

Set against the backdrop of the war in Afghanistan, Saving Cinnamon chronicles the love story of Navy Reservist Mark Feffer and a stray puppy he bonded with while stationed outside of Kandahar. When Mark is about to return stateside, he decides to adopt Cinnamon and sets up her transport back to the United States. But the unthinkable happens: Cinnamon is abandoned by the dog handler who was supposed to bring her home and disappears without a trace.

Nubs, an Iraqi dog of war, never had a home or a person of his own. He was the leader of a pack of wild dogs living off the land and barely surviving. But Nubs's life changed when he met Marine Major Brian Dennis. The two formed a fast friendship, made stronger by Dennis's willingness to share his meals, offer a warm place to sleep, and give Nubs the kind of care and attention he had never received before.

Originally published as Coming Home in the No Man Left Behind Anthology. Now with new content! Duty, Friendship or Love? Like his father before him, Sterling was honored to serve his country like his father before him, but his contract is up, and he’s ready to come home to her. Abby is the girl. The scars of war will heal with her help, but he is a damaged man, and then…there is Phil. The loser ex Abby can’t-or won’t let go. Things have changed. Or have they? She still says I love you. Sterling only wishes she meant it the way he always has, but he’s the best friend. Will they ...

In the chaotic last days of World War II, Jacob and Kizzy are tricked into a life-or-death journey. Far from home, they are attacked and only just escape. They hide in a seemingly deserted mansion, but they keep hearing strange noises. Investigating, they find it shelters not only forty abandoned horses but a small band of lost children, displaced by the war. With danger on every side, can Kizzy and Jakob keep them safe and get them all home?

September 1939. Britain is on the brink of war. As Noah Price’s dad marches off to fight, he asks his son to honour one vital promise: that he will keep their dog, Winn, safe. No matter what. Noah agrees, but his best intentions are crushed when the government advises people to have their pets put to sleep as part of the war preparations. Children are heartbroken; queues outside vets’ surgeries stretch for miles. But Noah is a resourceful and impetuous child. He won’t just do what he is told.

It's 1940, and the world is at war. Linus, a swift, has always dreamed of flying with the Royal Bird Force and making a name for himself as a squadron leader. So when he and his sister, Ava, have the opportunity to volunteer, he jumps at the chance. But it's a dangerous journey, and Ava goes missing before they manage to reach the airfield for training. Now, Linus has two missions: help the war effort and find his sister.

The Sunday Times top ten best seller. Thousands of lives have been saved by this spaniel. He is a best friend in dog's clothing. An RAF dog with his mossy feet firmly on the ground. A brave dog who has served his colleagues and his country with unstinting devotion. A dog in a million. This is the story of the partnership of Buster and Will, told by Will himself, describing how each came to save the other's life.

In this comprehensive book, Cathy Scott and Clay Myers, with a foreword by former NBA star Bill Walton, show how service and therapy dogs are having a profound impact on the lives of military personnel injured in action. Not only do our veterans deal with physical injuries, but they often return with psychological issues that can be treated with help, companionship, and love from working canines.

A patriotic feline, Captain Cat springs out of bed whenever the bugle sounds, and he has more stripes than any of the soldiers. But most of all, this young recruit and his best friend, Pete, know what it really takes to make the army a home: friendship.

Dog Soldiers tells the story of two brave young dog soldiers (army bomb dog handlers) killed in action in Afghanistan with their dogs by their sides, through the inspirational words of their mothers. Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe and Lance Corporal Liam Tasker were both dog lovers from boyhood and went on to do the job they had always wanted to do.

Musgo es un perro que, sin entender el porqué de las guerras, ha visto cómo su hogar y la familia con la que vivía desaparece en un segundo al caer una bomba que todo lo destruye. Entre los cascotes, busca sin éxito a sus dos niños, Janinka y Mirek. Pero aunque huye para salvar la vida, y va pasando por desventuras y dueños de la más variada condición (un circo de fieras, un campo de concentración...), la sensación de pérdida no desaparece y continúa buscando en cada olor a sus niños... ¿Y si se salvaron del bombardeo?

Ultimate soldier. Ultimate mission. But will the SAS patrol escape the deadly Malayan jungle alive?Malaya in the 1950s, and Communist terrorists wage a bloody war against the country's estates and rubber plantation owners. Chased into the interior by British army units, the guerrillas soon become experts at survival and evasion, emerging from the jungle only to launch increasingly ferocious attacks.

Dogs have faithfully followed humans into combat since the dawn of time. At first they simply provided emotional support. As soldiers found ways to use the canines' remarkable senses of smell and hearing, their bond deepened. The military working dog team was born. Today, dog teams are active across all branches of the military.

Some animals are natural workers due to their size, strength, intelligence, sensitivity, and love to learn. From assisting the police force and military to acting on the big screen, animals have been protecting and entertaining us for decades.