Publisher Description
Bob Drury and Tom Clavin’s The Last Hill is the incredible untold story of one Ranger battalion’s heroism and courage in World War II.
They were known as “Rudder’s Rangers,” the most elite and experienced attack unit the Army had. In December 1944, they would be the spearhead into Germany, taking the war into Hitler’s homeland at last. Their colonel was given this objective: Take Hill 400. The second objective: Hold Hill 400. To the last man, if necessary. The battle-hardened battalion had no idea that the German Volks-Grenadiers, who greatly outnumbered the Rangers, had been given the exact same orders. The clash of the two determined forces was one of the bloodiest and costly ones of World War II.
Castle Hill, the imposing 400-foot mini-mountain the grunts simply called Hill 400, was the gateway to still-powerful Nazi Germany. Even an entire division had been repulsed by the desperate defenders. The Allies had to have it to drive a dagger into Germany’s heart. Hitler had to hold onto it because hidden behind it was the massive army of men and machines poised to smash their way through Allied lines in the Battle of the Bulge.
The stalemate could not continue. For Gen. Dwight Eisenhower and his top brass, there was only one solution: Send in the Rangers. After two days, when they were finally relieved, only 16 Rangers remained to stagger down from the top of Hill 400. The Last Hill is filled with unforgettable action and characters―a gripping, finely detailed saga of what the survivors of the battalion would call “our longest day.”
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“Bob Drury and Tom Clavin together have given us a half-dozen elegantly written narratives of exhilarating episodes in American history.”
—
Wall Street Journal, praise for the authors
About the Authors
Bob Drury, a Men’s Health contributing editor and
chief military correspondent, has been nominated for three National Magazine
Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. He has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia,
Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and Darfur, among other sites. He is also the author,
coauthor, or editor of numerous nonfiction books, including The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story
of US Marines in Combat, and the recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage
Foundation’s 2010 General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award for nonfiction.
Tom Clavin is a New York Times bestselling author and has worked as a newspaper editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and a reporter for the New York Times. He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and National Newspaper Association. His books include the bestselling Frontier Lawmen trilogy?Wild Bill, Dodge City, and Tombstone?and Blood and Treasure with Bob Drury, among others.
About George Newbern
George Newbern is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a television and film actor best known for his roles as Brian MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II, as well as Danny in Friends. As a voice actor, he is notable for his role as Superman on the Cartoon Newtork series Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. He has guest starred on many television series, including Scandal, The Mentalist, Private Practice, CSI: Miami, and Numb3rs. He holds a BA in theater arts from Northwestern University.