Michael Gannon Bücher

Am 11. Dezember, vier Tage nach dem japanischen Überraschungsangriff auf Pearl Harbor, erklärte Hitler den USA den Krieg. Um die Amerikaner an einem Eingreifen auf dem europäischen Kriegschauplatz zu hindern, lässt er den Befehlshaber der U-Boot-Waffe, Admiral Dönitz, einen Schlag gegen den Schiffsverkehr vor der amerikanischen Ostküste vorbereiten. Deckname: 'Operation Paukenschlag'. Der US-Militärhistoriker Michael Gannon zeichnet in diesem zum Standardwerk gewordenen Buch die dramatischen Geschehnisse jener Zeit umfassend nach. Entscheidenden Raum in seiner Darstellung nimmt dabei das deutsche U-Boot U 123 ein, das mit seinem Vordringen bis zum Hafen von New York den 'Paukenschlag' eröffnete.

This volume recounts the longest recorded history of any of the American states in 28 brisk chapters, all fully illustated. From indigenous tribes who lived along spring-fed streams to environmentalists who labour to "Save our Rivers" from the first conquistadors whose broad black ships astonished the natives to the 123,000 refugees whose unexpected immigration stunned South Floridians in 1980, the story of the state is as distinctive as the story of America. Gannon writes: "By the time the Pilgrims came ashore at Plymouth, St. Augustine was up for urban renewal. It was a town with fort, church, seminary, six-bed hospital, fish market and about 120 shops and houses. Because La Florida stretched north from the Keys to Newfoundland and west to Texas, St. Augustine could claim to be the capital of much of what is now the United States". Gannon tells his fast-marching saga in chronological fashion. Starting with the wilderness of the ancient earth, he fills the landscape with Indians, colonists, pioneers, entrepreneurs, politicians, and the 13,000,000 citizens who make up the panorama of Florida today. He concludes "A Short History" in 1992, ranging along "the broad superhighways that wind past horse farms, retirement communities, international airports, launch pads, futuristic attractions, and come to rest, finally, amidst the gleaming towers of Oz-like cities".