The Winter Army: The World War II Odyssey of the 10th Mountain Division, America’s Elite Alpine Warriors

Hamilton College history professor Isserman (Continental Divide) chronicles the U.S. Army’s first mountaineering unit from inception to its decisive role in the Allied invasion of Italy in this exhilarating account. Inspired by the “hit-and-run attacks” Finnish ski troops launched against Soviet forces, National Ski Patrol System founder Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole believed that specially trained mountain soldiers could help protect North America from Nazi invasion. He prodded President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Army chief of staff Gen. George C. Marshall, and other military leaders to train and deploy such a force. Thousands of recruits, including mountain climbers, forest rangers, and Ivy League skiers, underwent rigorous training in Washington State and the Colorado Rockies before being shipped to Italy, where they broke through Germany’s defensive line in the North Apennine mountains. Drawing from letters sent by 10th Mountain Division soldiers to family and friends back home, Isserman provides frontline views of such famous battles as Riva Ridge and Mt. Belvedere, and relates how the unit’s veterans took part in the postwar rise of the American ski industry. The result is an entertaining, well-sourced blend of military and sports history. Agent: Sandra Dijkstra, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (Nov.)