| International Standard Book Number |
9780593471289 ebook
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| International Standard Book Number |
9780593471272 hardcover
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| International Standard Book Number |
059347127X hardcover
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| Personal Name |
Willner, Nina, 1961- author.
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| Title Statement |
The boys in the light : an extraordinary World War II story of survival, faith, and brotherhood / Nina Willner.
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| Production, Publication, Distribution, Manufacture, and Copyright Notice |
New York, NY : Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2025.
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| Physical Description |
xi, 362 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : black and white illustrations, map ; 24 cm.
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| Bibliography, Etc. Note |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-345) and index.
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| Formatted Contents Note |
Preface -- PART I -- American innocence -- A German Jewish boy -- Patriots and parasites -- Rise of hate -- Promise -- Kristallnacht -- Blue ribbon America -- On the run -- Training -- The vineyards -- New York Harbor -- Transport 31 -- PART II -- Ship to England -- Lazy -- Coming ashore -- Auschwitz -- Baptism -- North plant -- "Kom goed thuis" -- Thanksgiving -- Siegfried's prophecy -- PART III -- Christmas Eve -- Butch -- The long march -- The talisman -- The tunnels -- The prayer -- Breakout -- Angels -- "They're with us now" -- Big brother -- Unbreakable bond -- Liberation -- The final goodbye -- PART IV -- "I want those days back" -- The call -- The reunion -- Postscript -- Coda: Supper with Uncle Pepsi -- Epilogue.
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| Summary, Etc. |
"The extraordinary and inspiring true story of a band of young U.S. soldiers who fought together in World War II and, in the throes of combat, rescued two survivors -- one of them the author's father -- from Hitler's plot to exterminate the Jews of Europe. The Boys in the Light follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Willner, the author's father, as they experience two sides of World War II. This is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the strength of the bonds forged during war; a must-read for fans of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and Erik Larson's The Splendid and the Vile. At sixteen, Eddie Willner was among the millions of European Jews rounded up by Hitler's Nazis. He was forced into slave labor alongside his father and his best friend, Mike, and spent the next three years of his life surviving the death camps, including Auschwitz. Meanwhile, in the United States, boys only a few years older than Eddie were joining the army and heading toward their own precarious futures. Once farmers, factory workers, and coal miners, they were suddenly army officers and infantrymen, thrust into the brutal conflicts of WWII. A company of 3rd Armored Division tankers, led by Elmer Hovland, quickly became battle-hardened and weary, constantly questioning whether the war was worth it. Eight months in, they got their answer when two emaciated boys stepped out of the woods with their tattooed arms raised, Eddie and Mike. Elmer and his soldiers could barely believe their eyes as they finally came face-to-face with the human cost of Hitler's evil. What Elmer did next would change everyone's lives"-- Provided by publisher.
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| Subject-Personal Name |
Willner, Eddie 1926-2008.
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| Subject-Personal Name |
Swaab, Mike.
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| Subject-Personal Name |
Hovland, Elmer L., 1920-2012.
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| Subject-Personal Name |
Decola, Louis, 1919-2016.
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| Subject-Corporate Name |
United States. Army. Armored Regiment, 32nd. Company D Biography.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
World War, 1939-1945 Regimental histories United States.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Holocaust survivors Germany Biography.
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| Index Term-Genre/Form |
Biographies.
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| Index Term-Genre/Form |
Regimental histories.
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