Ten Days That Shook My World (Paperback)

Paperback. A powerful blend of WWII history and personal discovery, this memoir traces a sons search for his fathers forgotten heroism in Ethiopia and the legacy it leaves today.In the darkest days of World War II, as Hitlers forces converged on Moscow and the Imperial Japanese navy prepared its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, a 24-year-old British sergeant took part in a rare and almost forgotten Allied victory.Ten Days That Shook My World: Searching for My Father in War-Torn Ethiopia, author Jonathan Wickham recounts how the discovery of an old photograph propels him on a journey to uncover the mystery of his fathers wartime experience.Years of painstaking research reveals that on November 27, 1941, Sgt. Wickham fought as a gunner with British forces who joined Ethiopian resistance fighters. Together, they drove Mussolini from Gondar, his last stronghold and Ethiopias old imperial capital, making it the first country liberated from the Axis Powers.The story culminates in the authors own 10-day journey to Ethiopia in March 2023. The mountainous heartland that he begins scouring for evidence of World War II is only just emerging from a vicious new struggle. Ethiopia has fought a bloody civil war out of which has come a still fragile peace. For protection, he must hire guards armed with AK-47s as he drives and hikes the battle sites around Gondarthe first to do so in 80 years. But hes rewarded with sharp glimpses of his fathers artillery unit fighting to free Gondar. On a bitterly contested ridge, Alemu, one of his guards and a soldier himself, movingly tells him, Your father fought alongside our fathers that day.The story also moves far beyond World War II. It explores Ethiopia today as well as the countrys earlier, equally riveting historyfrom monasteries on Lake Tana to imperial castles. Ultimately, this also becomes a story of self-discovery, a 10-day journey that shook and profoundly changed the authors own sense of identity and belonging. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.…