Overview

When World War II broke out in Europe, the American army had no specialized division of mountain soldiers. But in the winter of 1939-40, an amateur skier named Charles Minot Minnie Dole convinced the United States Army to let him recruit an extraordinary assortment of European expatriates, wealthy ski bums, mountaineers, and thrill-seekers and form them into a unique band of Alpine soldiers. These men endured nearly three years of grueling training in the Colorado Rockies and in the process set new standards for both soldiering and mountaineering. The newly forged Tenth Mountain Division finally faced combat in the winter of 1945, in Italy's Apennine Mountains, against the seemingly unbreakable German fortifications north of the Gothic Line. There, they planned and executed what is still regarded as the most daring series of nighttime mountain attacks in US military history, taking Mount Belvedere and the sheer, treacherous face of Riva Ridge to smash the linchpin of the German army's lines. Drawing on unique cooperation from veterans of the Tenth Mountain Division and a vast archive of unpublished letters and documents, The Last Ridge is written with enormous warmth, energy, and honesty. This is one of the most captivating stories of World War II, a blend of Band of Brothers and Into Thin Air. It is a story of young men asked to do the impossible and succeeding.

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9798200735471

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The Last Ridge, based on skillful interviews with the survivors, is a fine account of a great story, long overdue in the telling, and very well told. -- Peter Matthiessen, New York Times bestselling author A great untold story of mountaineering and war. It's a terrific read, sharp with characters, full of real drama, and, best of all, it's true. -- Richard Preston, New York Times bestselling author Among the war's countless acts of bravery and sacrifice, this one stands out, and McKay Jenkins brings it to life in his riveting account. -- Senator John McCain One of the very best books yet written about any part of the World War II story...about one of the most fascinating yet little-known records of the mountain ski patrols--both in war and in the peacetime that followed. -- Senator George McGovern

Author Information

McKay Jenkins holds degrees from Amherst College, Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, and Princeton, where he received a PhD in English. He is the author of The Last Ridge, The White Death, and Bloody Falls of the Coppermine. He is a professor of English, journalism, and environmental humanities at the University of Delaware. Read by Grover Gardner, Simon Vance, Derek Perkins, Julie McKay, James Langton, Marisa Calin, Ralph Lister, Suzanne Elise Freeman, James Patrick Cronin, Andrew Eiden, Scott Brick, Emily Sutton-Smith, Keith Szarabajka, and Justine Eyre

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