Books like 'The Persian Boy'
Readers who enjoyed The Persian Boy by Mary Renault also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance 20th century action / adventure military, war & conflict historical-fiction lgbtq classics mlm ancient-civilization
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The Letter by Ruth Saberton
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Letter is a beautiful novel set in England between the First World War and the present day. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, it is the story of an aristocratic family, a forbidden love affair and the darkest of secrets kept for over one hundred years. On the eve of the First World War aspiring poet Kit Rivers looks forward to a bright future...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken]()
The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPerfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Beekeeper of Aleppo.In the 1930s, Stalin’s activists marched through the Soviet Union, espousing the greatness of collective farming. It was the first step in creating a man-made famine that, in Ukraine, stole almost 4 million lives...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction military politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque]()
Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe year is 1928. On the outskirts of a large German city, three young men are earning a thin and precarious living. Fully armed young storm troopers swagger in the streets. Restlessness, poverty, and violence are everywhere. For these three, friendship is the only refuge from the chaos around them...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Arch of Triumph by Erich Maria Remarque]()
Arch of Triumph by Erich Maria Remarque
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIt is 1939. Despite a law banning him from performing surgery, Ravic – a German doctor and refugee living in Paris – has been treating some of the city’s most elite citizens for two years on the behalf of two less-than-skillful French physicians...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military politics war 20th-century action-adventure -
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![A Time to Love and a Time to Die by Erich Maria Remarque, Denver Lindley]()
A Time to Love and a Time to Die by Erich Maria Remarque, Denver Lindley
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the quintessential author of wartime Germany, A Time to Love and a Time to Die echoes the harrowing insights of his masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front. After two years at the Russian front, Ernst Graeber finally receives three weeks’ leave. But since leaves have been canceled before, he decides not to write his parents, fearing he would just raise their hopes...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman]()
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsA glorious novel of the controversial Richard III - a monarch betrayed in life by his allies and betrayed in death by history...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military politics royalty war 20th-century -
![The Reckoning by Sharon Kay Penman]()
The Reckoning by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 32 ratings"Never forget, Llewelyn, that the world's greatest fool is a Welshman who trusts an English king." His father's words haunt Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, who has been ruling uneasily over his fractious countrymen. Above all else, Llewelyn fears that his life and his own dream—of an independent, united Wales—might be lost to Edward I's desire to expand his English empire...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction politics royalty war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![So Much Owed: An Irish World War 2 Story by Jean Grainger]()
So Much Owed: An Irish World War 2 Story by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIn a turbulent and uncertain world, the birth of two children revitalise a small Irish town and set the stage for a closer look into lives torn asunder by war. When Dr. Richard Buckley returns home to his wife and beloved hometown of Dunderrig, his mind is wearied by the ravages of The Great War...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
![The Parisians by Marius Gabriel]()
The Parisians by Marius Gabriel
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsParis, 1940. The Nazis have occupied the city—and the Ritz. The opulent old hotel, so loved by Parisians, is now full of swaggering officers, their minions and their mistresses.For American Olivia Olsen, working as a chambermaid at the hotel means denying her nationality and living a lie, every day bringing the danger of discovery closer...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar]()
Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAn aspiring photographer follows her dreams and faces her fears in a poignant novel about finding beauty, promise, and love amid the chaos of war-torn Kurdistan.It’s 1979. Olivia Murray, a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper, is determined to become a photojournalist and make a difference with her work...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
![Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman]()
Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsThis is Simon de Montfort's story—and the story of King Henry III, as weak and changeable as Montfort was brash and unbending. It is a saga of two opposing wills that would later clash in a storm of violence and betrayal, a story straight from the pages of history that brings the world of the thirteenth century completely, provocatively, and magnificently alive...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction politics royalty war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Of Windmills and War by Diane Moody]()
Of Windmills and War by Diane Moody
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe rumblings of war in distant countries mattered little to Danny McClain. Growing up in Chicago, his world revolved around after-school jobs, a rescued beagle, his pen pal in Holland, and the Cubs' chance to go to the World Series. Then, in December of 1941, news of the attack on Pearl Harbor hit much too close to home... -
![Warleggan by Winston Graham]()
Warleggan by Winston Graham
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen Ross and Elizabeth's old attraction rekindles itself, Demelza retaliates by becoming dangerously involved with a Scots cavalry officer. With bankruptcy an increasing possibility, the Poldarks seem to be facing disaster on all fronts...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military politics war 20th-century action-adventure -
![North and South by John Jakes]()
North and South by John Jakes
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsPart history, part novel, this book chronicles two great American dynasties over three generations. Though brought together in a friendship that neither jealousy nor violence could shatter, the Hazards and the Mains are torn apart by the storm of events that has divided the nation...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military slavery war 20th-century action-adventure american-civil-war -
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![Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque]()
Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom one of the twentieth century’s master novelists, the author of the classic All Quiet on the Western Front, comes Heaven Has No Favorites, a bittersweet story of unconventional love that sweeps across Europe. Lillian is charming, beautiful . . . and slowly dying of consumption. But she doesn’t wish to end her days in a hospital in the Alps...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![House of Glass by Pramoedya Ananta Toer]()
House of Glass by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWith House Of Glass comes the final chapter of Pramoedya's epic quartet, set in the Dutch East Indies at the turn of the century. A novel of heroism, passion, and betrayal, it provides a spectacular conclusion to a series hailed as one of the great works of modern literature...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military politics war 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood]()
The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom an exciting new voice in WWII historical fiction—and the author of The Clockmaker’s Wife—comes a tale of love and a betrayal that echoes through generations…Paris, 1940: War is closing in on the city of love. With his wife forced into hiding, Jacques must stand by and watch as the Nazis take away everything he holds dear...Categorized as:
historical-fiction military politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Two Captains by Veniamin Kaverin]()
Two Captains by Veniamin Kaverin
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwo Captains is the most renowned novel of the Russian writer Veniamin Kaverin. The plot spans from 1912 to 1944. For more than half a century the book has been loved by children and adults alike. The novel has undergone more than 100 printings, including translations into other languages. Based on its story, plays have been staged and an opera has been written... -
![The Loving Cup by Winston Graham]()
The Loving Cup by Winston Graham
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSet in the closing years of the Napoleonic Wars, this novel is part of the Poldark saga. At the heart of the novel stand Demelza and Ross Poldark, their son, Jeremy, their daughter, Clowance, and the rival family, the Warleggans...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Silver Wings by H.P. Munro]()
Silver Wings by H.P. Munro
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWINNER - 2014 Golden Crown Literary Society - Historical FictionWhen in 1943, twenty-five-year-old Lily Rivera is widowed, she finally feels able to step out of the shadows of an unhappy marriage. Her love of flying leads her to join the Womens Airforce Service Pilots, determined to regain her passion and spread her wings, not suspecting that she would experience more than just flying... -
![Into Deep Waters by Kaje Harper]()
Into Deep Waters by Kaje Harper
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFor Jacob and Daniel, two young gay men aboard a Navy ship in WWII, the risks were high. Not just the risks of injury and death from Japanese planes and submarines, but the risk of discovery, of discharge, imprisonment or worse. Only a special kind of love was worth taking that chance. But from the moment Daniel met Jacob's eyes across a battle-scarred deck, he knew he had to try...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction lgbtq military mlm war 20th-century action-adventure -
![War Girl Ursula by Marion Kummerow]()
War Girl Ursula by Marion Kummerow
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBerlin 1943: Compassion is a crime. A prisoner escapes. A guard looks the other way. Why does Ursula Hermann risk her life and brave the Gestapo to save a man she barely knows? Ursula has always lived the law, never broken the rules in her life. That is until the day she finds escapee British airman Tom Westlake and all the right she’s worked so hard to maintain goes wrong.. -
![Katherine by Anya Seton, Philippa Gregory]()
Katherine by Anya Seton, Philippa Gregory
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThis classic romance novel tells the true story of the love affair that changed history—that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age historical-fiction literary-fiction military royalty war 20th-century -
![Shadow of a Century by Jean Grainger]()
Shadow of a Century by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA journalist in modern New York stumbles across a story from a century earlier when the streets of Dublin were ablaze as men and women fought valiantly for liberation from the British Empire. This is the story of three women. Mary Doyle was reared by nuns and knows nothing of her parents, except that they were a source of shame...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![Bitter Tears by Marion Kummerow]()
Bitter Tears by Marion Kummerow
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRichard Klausen is a fugitive. A Wehrmacht deserter, hiding out on a farm in Poland. He thought once the war was over, he’d be safe. Wrong. Things only get worse and staying in Poland threatens his very life. Katrina Zdanek longs for peace. But when it’s finally there, she soon finds out that loving the wrong man still is a crime. She’s Polish. He’s German. Antagonists even after the war... -
![A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute]()
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsNevil Shute's most beloved novel, a tale of love and war, follows its enterprising heroine from the Malayan jungle during World War II to the rugged Australian outback.Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman living in Malaya, is captured by the invading Japanese and forced on a brutal seven-month death march with dozens of other women and children...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Lieutenant's Girl by Shari J. Ryan]()
The Lieutenant's Girl by Shari J. Ryan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPearl Harbor, 1941. War planes hurtle across the horizon, skimming the clouds. Gunpowder fills the air as the earth shatters. Everett’s hands cup my cheeks. “If I lose you, Elizabeth, please know that the time I’ve spent with you has been worth every second I’ve been alive...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
![The French War Bride by Robin Wells]()
The French War Bride by Robin Wells
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWorld War II Paris serves as the backdrop of a story of compassion, betrayal, and forgiveness from the national bestselling author of The Wedding Tree . . . “I never knew what he saw in you.” At her retirement home in Wedding Tree, Louisiana, ninety-one-year-old Amelie O’Connor is in the habit of leaving her door open for friends...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![An Orphan in the Snow by Molly Green]()
An Orphan in the Snow by Molly Green
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWar rages, but the women and children of Liverpool’s Dr Barnado’s Home cannot give up hope. An Orphan in the Snow is the perfect heartwarming saga for Christmas. LIVERPOOL, 1941Haunted by the death of her sister, June Lavender takes a job at a Dr Barnardo’s orphanage. June couldn’t save Clara from their father’s violence, but perhaps she can help children whose lives have been torn apart by war...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
![The She-Wolf by Maurice Druon]()
The She-Wolf by Maurice Druon
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratings‘This was the original game of thrones’ George R.R. MartinCharles IV is now king of France and his sister is Edward II of England’s Queen. Having been imprisoned by Edward as leader of the rebellious English barons, Roger Mortimer escapes to France, where he joins the war against the English Aquitaine...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military politics war 20th-century action-adventure -
![What the Day Owes the Night by Yasmina Khadra]()
What the Day Owes the Night by Yasmina Khadra
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratings'If a woman loves you, Younes, if she truly loves you, and if you have the wisdom to appreciate this great privilege, then there is no god to touch you.'As a young man Younes' life is irrevocably changed when he leaves his broken home for the vibrant, colourful and affluent European district of Río Salado... -
![The Miller's Dance by Winston Graham]()
The Miller's Dance by Winston Graham
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCornwall 1812. At Nampara, the Poldark family finds the new year brings involvement in more than one unexpected venture. For Ross and Demelza there is some surprising - and worrying - news. And Clowance, newly returned from her London triumphs, finds that her entanglement with Stephen Carrington brings not only happiness but heartache...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Finding Rebecca by Eoin Dempsey]()
Finding Rebecca by Eoin Dempsey
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNothing could keep Christopher and Rebecca apart: not her abusive parents, or even the fiancé she brought home after running away to England. But when World War II finally strikes the island of Jersey, the Nazi invaders ship Rebecca to Europe as part of Hitler's Final Solution against the Jewish population...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Désirée: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love by Annemarie Selinko]()
Désirée: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love by Annemarie Selinko
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFirst published in 1953, this riveting true-life tale comes to life in diary form, giving readers an inside glimpse at the young Napoleon and his family. Désirée is enchanted by the young officer, and he asks her to marry him. But he must leave for Paris, where he meets his eventual wife Josephine. A heartbroken Désirée is unsure she'll ever find anyone again...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction military politics royalty war 20th-century action-adventure -
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![Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War by Sebastian Faulks]()
Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War by Sebastian Faulks
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsPublished to international critical and popular acclaim, this intensely romantic yet stunningly realistic novel spans three generations and the unimaginable gulf between the First World War and the present...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Wingmen by Ensan Case]()
Wingmen by Ensan Case
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJack Hardigan's Hellcat fighter squadron blew the Japanese Zekes out of the blazing Pacific skies. But a more subtle kind of hell was brewing in his feelings for rookie pilot Fred Trusteau... -
![Bird's Eye View by Elinor Florence]()
Bird's Eye View by Elinor Florence
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRose Jolliffe, an idealistic young Canadian in the British air force in World War II, joins an RAF intelligence unit to study aerial photographs of the war. But uncertainty over her commanding officer's growing attention, and her own disillusionment with war, make her yearn for the country and life she left behind... -
![The Songbird and the Spy by J'nell Ciesielski]()
The Songbird and the Spy by J'nell Ciesielski
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAs shells explode over Nazi-occupied France, American music student Claire Baudin is trapped behind enemy lines, struggling to protect her identity. Singing as a barmaid while she plans her escape, a handsome Third Reich captain threatens everything she knows to be true about the enemy. Nazi Captain Michael Reiner isn't who he claims to be...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Sebastian by Christoph Fischer]()
Sebastian by Christoph Fischer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSebastian is the story of a young man who has his leg amputated before World War I. When his father is drafted to the war it falls on to him to run the family grocery store in Vienna, to grow into his responsibilities, bear loss and uncertainty and hopefully find love...Categorized as:
coming-of-age historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure book family -
![Back to Yesterday by Pamela Sparkman]()
Back to Yesterday by Pamela Sparkman
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEveryone loves a good love story. The stories that make you feel warm all over. The kind that leaves you the slightest bit envious because the story belongs to someone else and not you. The stories that make your heart race and on the edge of pain and pleasure. Pain because your heart hurts and pleasure because your heart hurts...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
![The Dancing Years by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles]()
The Dancing Years by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings1919. As the euphoria of the Armistice fades, the nation counts the cost: millions dead or disabled, unemployment, strikes and shortages. As prices and taxes rise, it becomes harder to remember what the war was for... -
![The G.I. Bride (Memory Lane) by Eileen Ramsay]()
The G.I. Bride (Memory Lane) by Eileen Ramsay
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTruro, Cornwall, 1941After the Blitz took her parents, April decided to leave London for Cornwall. Training as a nurse, she finds hope in the new friends she makes and the American G.I.s that arrive. But when a bomb lands close to home she'll need courage she never knew she had... -
![Queen of the Mersey by Maureen Lee]()
Queen of the Mersey by Maureen Lee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLiverpool, 1939. The Second World War is about to start when pretty Laura Oliver meets Queenie Todd. Laura is 21 and happily married. At 14, Queenie lacks Laura's confidence, and has been deserted by her good-time mother...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Girls of Flight City: Inspired by True Events, A Novel of WWII, the RAF, and Texas by Lorraine Heath]()
Girls of Flight City: Inspired by True Events, A Novel of WWII, the RAF, and Texas by Lorraine Heath
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsInspired by true events, a breathtaking WWII historical novel about the brave American women who trained the British Royal Air Force, by New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath.1941. A talented flier, Jessie Lovelace yearns for a career in aviation...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction military war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![Hidden Away by J.W. Kilhey]()
Hidden Away by J.W. Kilhey
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFranklin D. Roosevelt said, “No man and no force can abolish memory.” John Oakes and Kurt Fournier are living proof of the truth behind those words. Since the horrors of the Second World War, John and Kurt have been trudging through existence, bleeding from wounds that have never healed... -
![The Desert Nurse: A grand love story set in a far-flung theatre of war by Pamela Hart]()
The Desert Nurse: A grand love story set in a far-flung theatre of war by Pamela Hart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAmid the Australian Army hospitals of World War I Egypt, two deeply determined individuals find the resilience of their love tested to its limits It's 1911, and 21-year-old Evelyn Northey desperately wants to become a doctor. Her father forbids it, withholding the inheritance that would allow her to attend university... -
![This Shining Land by Rosalind Laker]()
This Shining Land by Rosalind Laker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJohanna will defend the country she loves at any cost. But what if the man she loves is in danger? Dawn April 9th, 1940. The Germans arrive, and change Johanna Ryen’s life forever. During an air raid Johanna meets the charismatic Steffen Larsen, leader of the Norwegian resistance movement...Categorized as:
military historical-fiction war classics literary-fiction historical 20th-century ww2 -
![The Bells of Times Square by Amy Lane]()
The Bells of Times Square by Amy Lane
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEvery New Year’s Eve since 1946, Nate Meyer has ventured alone to Times Square to listen for the ghostly church bells he and his long-lost wartime lover vowed to hear together. This year, however, his grandson Blaine is pushing Nate through the Manhattan streets, revealing his secrets to his silent, stroke-stricken grandfather...Categorized as:
historical-fiction lgbtq literary-fiction military mlm war 20th-century action-adventure -
![Shanghai Story: A WWII Drama Trilogy Book One by Alexa Kang]()
Shanghai Story: A WWII Drama Trilogy Book One by Alexa Kang
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA WWII saga in the heart of the world's most decadent city in 1936. Enter the Paris of the East, where one man and one woman strive to hold on to their dreams as the Communists rise and the shadow of Japan closes in. His country stood on the verge of a new beginning and the gate of hell...Categorized as:
military historical-fiction war literary-fiction romance poc-mc historical 20th-century -
![Unhinge the Universe by Aleksandr Voinov, L.A. Witt]()
Unhinge the Universe by Aleksandr Voinov, L.A. Witt
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGive me one fixed point and a long enough lever, and I'll unhinge the universe. — ArchimedesDecember 1944 – The Battle of the BulgeSS Lieutenant Hagen Friedrichs is the sole survivor of a party sent to retrieve his brother—and the highly sensitive information he’s carrying—from behind enemy lines. But his daring rescue attempt fails, and Hagen becomes the prisoner...
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