Military Animals

After being bombed and shipwrecked repeatedly while serving for several wild and war-torn years as a mascot of the World War II Royal Navy Yangtze river gunboats the Gnat and the Grasshopper, Judy ended up in Japanese prisoner of war camps in North Sumatra. Along with locals as slave labor, the American, Australian, and British POWs were forced to build a 1,200-mile single-track railroad through the most horrifying jungles and treacherous mountain passes.

In the wild, animals use teeth, claws, and other natural weapons to attack their prey. On the battlefield, soldiers need weapons to fight the enemy. Military forces have often looked to nature for inspiration to develop effective weapons and combat tactics. From the first feathered arrows to tomorrow's high-tech weaponry, learn how military technology often imitates the natural weapons of animals to help soldiers succeed in combat. Then be sure to catch the other amazing titles in the Beasts and the Battlefield series.

Two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. After the mission, only one name was made public: Cairo, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog. This is Cairo's story, and that of his handler, Will Chesney, a SEAL Team Operator whose life would be irrevocably tied to Cairo's.

1940. Britain is at war with Nazi Germany. Eleven-year-old Eric spends his days at the place that makes him most happy: London Zoo. And there’s one animal in particular he loves: Gertrude the gorilla. With bombs falling all over London, Eric must rescue Gertrude. Together with his Uncle Sid, a keeper at the zoo, the three go on the run. But while hiding out at the seaside they uncover a top-secret Nazi plot....

When the Iraq war began, conservationist Lawrence Anthony could think of only one thing: the fate of the Baghdad Zoo, caught in the crossfire at the heart of the city. Once Anthony entered Iraq, he discovered that hostilities and uncontrolled looting had devastated the zoo and its animals. Working with members of the zoo staff and a few compassionate U.S. soldiers, Anthony defended the zoo, bartered for food on war-torn streets, and scoured bombed palaces for desperately needed supplies.

At the onset of World War II, Williams formed Elephant Company and was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in Burma and saving refugees, including on his own "Hannibal Trek." Billy Williams became a media sensation during the war, telling reporters that the elephants did more for him than he was ever able to do for them, but his story has since been forgotten.

Hockey is Conor's life. His whole life. He'll say it himself, he's a hockey beast. It's his dad's whole life too - and Conor is sure that's why his stepmom, Jenny, left. There are very few things Conor and his dad love more than the game, and one of those things is their Doberman, Sinbad. When Sinbad is diagnosed with cancer, Conor chooses to put his hockey lessons and practices on hold so they can pay for Sinbad's chemotherapy. But without hockey to distract him, Conor begins to notice more. Like his dad's crying bouts, and his friend's difficult family life.

At the outbreak of World War I, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. He's soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man's land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to the trenches to find him and bring him home.

The Navy SEAL teams' elite K9 warriors do it all - from detecting explosives to eliminating the bad guys. These powerful dogs are also some of the smartest and most highly skilled working animals on the planet. Mike Ritland's job is to train them. This is the tale of how Ritland discovered his passion and grew up to train these elite dogs. After becoming a SEAL, he was on combat deployment in Iraq when he saw a military working dog in action, and he instantly knew he'd found his true calling.

When the Red Rose Killer leaves his calling card for Staff Sergeant Felicity Monroe, she knows exactly what that means-she's on his revenge list. Her boss, Master Sergeant Westley James, and K-9 German shepherd Dakota become her guardians, but they'll have to act fast to escape the man who wants her dead.

In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find - his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world's finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine - an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.

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.

Her serial killer brother's escaped-and it's single mom Zoe Sullivan who's under suspicion! Sgt. Linc Colson trusts two things: his instincts and his Rottweiler K-9 partner, Star - and certainly not the pretty face he's assigned to monitor. He's done everything to keep her from getting under his skin - now he must stop those who want to put her six feet under.

Flight technician Frank Williams and Judy, a purebred pointer, met in the most unlikely of places: a World War II internment camp in the Pacific. Judy was a fiercely loyal dog, with a keen sense for who was friend and who was foe, and the pair's relationship deepened throughout their captivity. When the prisoners suffered beatings, Judy would repeatedly risk her life to intervene.

This warm-hearted story by the author of The Incredible Journey recounts the adventure of Bel Ria, a dancing gypsy dog who is caught in France with the retreating British Expeditionary Force.

Animals have many traits that help them survive in the wild. Inspired by animals' incredible abilities, military forces have created many machines over the years to achieve success on the battlefield. From the first remote-controlled vehicles to the advanced machines of tomorrow, learn how military robots and drones often imitate the abilities of animals throughout nature. Then be sure to catch the other amazing titles in the Beasts and the Battlefield series.

The world can be a dangerous place. Over time, animals evolved many natural defenses to help them survive. Combat during wartime is extremely dangerous. Why not look to nature to find the best defenses for soldiers on the battlefield? Military forces have done just that for hundreds of years. From the armor of medieval knights to tomorrow's advanced camouflage, learn how military technology often mimics the traits of animals to help protect soldiers in combat. Then be sure to catch the other amazing titles in the Beasts and the Battlefield series.

A decade ago Special Forces warrior Jason Morgan parachuted into the Central American jungle on an anti-narcotics raid. He'd served with the famous Night Stalkers on countless such missions. This one turned out very different. Months later he regained consciousness in a US military hospital, with no memory of how he'd gotten there. The first words he heard were from his surgeon, telling him he would never walk again. The determined soldier responded, "Sir, yes, I will."

An instant hit in the UK, this is the true account of a German shepherd who was adopted by the Royal Air Force during World War II, joined in flight missions, and survived everything from crash-landings to parachute bailouts-ultimately saving the life of his owner and dearest friend. In the winter of 1939 in the cold snow of no-man's-land, two loners met and began an extraordinary journey that would turn them into lifelong friends.

Kim Wickens, a lawyer and dressage rider, became fascinated by this legendary horse when she learned that twelve of Thoroughbred racing's thirteen Triple Crown winners descended from Lexington. Wickens spent years meticulously researching the horse and his legacy—and with Lexington, she presents an absorbing, exciting account that transports listeners back to the raucous beginning of American horse racing and introduces them to the stallion at its heart.