Military Culture

At the start of 1991, 11-year-old Ali Fadhil was consumed by his love for soccer, video games, and American television shows. Then, on January 17, Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, went to war with 34 nations led by the United States. Over the next 43 days, Ali and his family survived bombings, food shortages, and constant fear. Ali and his brothers played soccer on the abandoned streets of their Basra neighborhood, wondering when or if their medic father would return from the war front. Cinematic, accessible, and timely, this is the story of one ordinary kid's view of life during war.

Max, Gerta, and their parents have abandoned their home and relocated to a safehouse in a different Berlin neighborhood. The Hoffmanns share the tight quarters with the daughter of a captured Becker Circle conspirator - Kat Vogel, who is Gerta's age. Though they have strict orders to stay inside unless absolutely necessary, the three kids sneak out regularly, all while concocting a plan to keep the spirit of their resistance alive. They're going to burn down the headquarters of the Hitler Youth.

The amazing autobiography of a young Sudanese boy who went from a child soldier and struggling refugee to international peace activist and Hollywood actor. Amid fame, trauma, and the memory of home, can this lost boy find himself?

When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa routinely captured American sailors and held them as captives demanding ransom and tribute far beyond what the new country could afford.

The siege of the RAF base at Habbaniya is lifted after the defenders launch a surprise counter attach followed up by an intense air campaign and assault on Bagdad by Habforce that force marched to their aid. Back in Cairo, Raiding Forces is ordered to interdict the Via Balbia, Rommel's 1500 mile supply route along the Mediterranean coast. Maj. Randal forms Raiding Forces Desert Squadron (RFDS) and Raiding Forces Sea Squadron (RFSS) to conduct gunjeep and amphibious pinprick raids against the Afrika Korps exposed line of communication.

During World War II, a group of American fighter pilots roamed the skies over China and Burma, menacing the Japanese war effort without letup. Flamboyant, daring, and courageous, they were called the Flying Tigers. The Tigers - who had been recruited from the Army, Navy, and Marines - first saw action as a volunteer group fighting on the side of the Chiang Kai-shek's China against Japan. Trained in the unconventional air-combat tactics of their maverick leader Claire Lee Chennault, they racked up some of the most impressive air victory records of World War II.

In spring 1942, Royal Air Force Pilot Bill Ash’s plane was shot down by Germans, who captured and eventually brought him to Stalag Luft III, a notorious camp for prisoners of war. The Germans boasted that the camp - which was isolated, heavily guarded, and surrounded by wire fences - was escape proof.

Follow the life of Luz, a Mexican-American war hero who fought for equality and created the oldest Latino civil rights organization in the United States.

In the young readers’ edition of his New York Times best-selling book, Fox News anchor Bret Baier examines the historic transition and Eisenhower’s last chance to lead the country he loved through his legendary farewell address and his personal appeals to Kennedy. Baier paints a vivid picture of the contrasts between old and new at the beginning of a decisive decade in American history. Eisenhower and Kennedy were very different men.

It's 1986, and Jeff is an average 15-year-old: he thinks a lot about dating and he's trying his hardest to get a car. Conversely, the world around him feels crazy: the United States and the Soviet Union are at glaring odds, with their leaders in a standoff, and that awful word, "nuclear", is on everyone's mind. Then, boom - Jeff learns that he has brain cancer and it's likely terminal. Well, that puts a damper on his summer plans and romantic prospects, doesn't it? Jeff's family rallies around him, but they are fiercely complicated - especially Jeff's father....

The biblical account of Gideon. The ancient story of the Trojan horse. Deceptive techniques have been used in war through the ages. But while the principles have changed very little, the technology behind fooling the enemy has evolved dramatically. Paul B. Janeczko’s fascinating chronology focuses on the American Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf Wars to reveal evolving attitudes toward the use and effectiveness of deceptive operations.

On June 6, 1944, Allied bombers flew overhead as a huge naval fleet landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. Under a hail of gunfire, thousands of Allied troops fought their way onto the beaches and into the German-occupied territory. This courageous invasion became known as D-day. One of the largest military operations in history, D-day ended in Allied victory, but that victory came at a staggering price. Learn more about the brave men and women who risked and even sacrificed their lives to fight back against the Germans and help turn the tide of World War II.

Early on the morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft and ships attacked the US military base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. Following the attack, the United States would officially enter World War II, and people around the country would join together to support the war effort. But for those at Pearl Harbor, the war began when the attack did. Pilots, navy officers, nurses, and civilians quickly took action. These brave heroes worked to defend Pearl Harbor. They cared for casualties and worked to repair the damage.

In May of 1942, at the age of 18, Ashley Bryan was drafted to fight in World War II. For the next three years, he would face the horrors of war as a black soldier in a segregated army. For the next 40 years, Ashley would keep his time in the war a secret. But now, he tells his story. The story of the kind people who supported him. The story of the bright moments that guided him through the dark. And the story of his passion for art that would save him time and time again.

As the Civil War rages, 15-year-old Thomas Beck longs to fight for his country. He's underage, but his brother, Robert, claims there's another reason he can't fight: There's no such thing as a Chinese Yankee. Assumed a slave because of his odd appearance - including his traditional Chinese queue (long braid) - Thomas soon discovers that giving battle with his regiment isn't enough to shed the Chinese label from his Yankee status.

During the Revolutionary War, 14-year-old Nathan Wade joins forces with his older cousin, the inventor David Bushnell, to secretly build the first submarine used in naval warfare.

For fans of sea battles, adventures, and war stories like Unbroken, this is the incredible true story of a boy who helps to bring closure to the survivors of the tragic sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and helps exonerate the ship's captain 50 years later. Hunter Scott first learned about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis by watching the movie Jaws when he was just 11 years old. This was 50 years after the ship had sunk, throwing more than 1,000 men into shark-infested waters - a long 50 years in which justice still had not been served.

Imagine being 15 years old, facing the bloodiest battle ever to take place on US soil: the Battle of Gettysburg. In July 1863, this is exactly what happened to Tillie Pierce, a normal teenager who became an unlikely heroine of the Civil War (1861-1865). Tillie and other women and girls like her found themselves trapped during this critical three-day battle in Southern Pennsylvania.

During World War I, British and American ships were painted with bold colors and crazy patterns from bow to stern. Why would anyone put such eye-catching designs on ships? Desperate to protect ships from German torpedo attacks, British lieutenant-commander Norman Wilkinson proposed what became known as dazzle. These stunning patterns and colors were meant to confuse the enemy about a ship's speed and direction. By the end of the war, more than 4,000 ships had been painted with these mesmerizing designs.

Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe.