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A Light Beyond the Trenches: A WW1 Novel of Betrayal and Resilience Kindle Edition

by Alan Hlad (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 605 ratings
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From the USA Today bestselling author of Churchill’s Secret Messenger comes a WWI novel based on little-known history, as four very different lives intertwine across Europe from Germany to France—a German Red Cross nurse, a Jewish pianist blinded on the battlefield, a soldier tortured by deadly secrets of his own, and his tormented French mistress. This life-affirming tale of heroism and resilience will stay with you long after turning the final page.

By April 1916, the fervor that accompanied war’s outbreak has faded. In its place is a grim reality. Throughout Germany, essentials are rationed. Hope, too, is in short supply. Anna Zeller, whose fiancé, Bruno, is fighting on the western front, works as a nurse at an overcrowded hospital in Oldenburg, trying to comfort men broken in body and spirit. But during a visit from Dr. Stalling, the director of the Red Cross Ambulance Dogs Association, she witnesses a rare spark of optimism: as a German shepherd guides a battle-blinded soldier over a garden path, Dr. Stalling is inspired with an idea—to train dogs as companions for sightless veterans.
 
Anna convinces Dr. Stalling to let her work at his new guide dog training school. Some of the dogs that arrive are themselves veterans of war, including Nia, a German shepherd with trench-damaged paws. Anna brings the ailing Nia home and secretly tends and trains her, convinced she may yet be the perfect guide for the right soldier. In Max Benesch, a Jewish soldier blinded by chlorine gas at the front, Nia finds her person.
 
War has taken Max’s sight, his fiancée, and his hopes of being a composer. Yet despite all he’s given for his country, the tide of anti-Semitism at home is rising, and Max encounters it first-hand in one of the school’s trainers, who is determined to make Max fail. Still, through Anna’s prompting, he rediscovers his passion for music. But as Anna discovers more about the conflict’s escalating brutality—and Bruno’s role in it—she realizes how impossible it will be for any of them to escape the war unscathed . . .
 
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  1. Print length
    370 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    A John Scognamiglio Book
  5. Publication date
    March 29, 2022
  6. File size
    7738 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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From the Publisher

FICTION, Historical, World War I

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Hlad is the internationally bestselling author of historical fiction novels inspired by real people and events of WWI and WWII, including The Book Spy, Churchill’s Secret Messenger, A Light Beyond the Trenches, and the USA Today and IndieBound bestseller The Long Flight Home. A member of the Historical Novel Society, Literary Cleveland, Novelitics, and the Akron Writers' Group, he is a frequent speaker at conferences, literary events, and book club gatherings. He currently divides his time between Ohio and Portugal and can be found online at AlanHlad.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B098KQBXJK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ A John Scognamiglio Book (March 29, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 29, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7738 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 370 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1496728440
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 605 ratings

About the author

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Alan Hlad

Alan Hlad

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Alan Hlad is the internationally bestselling author of historical fiction novels inspired by real people and events of WWI and WWII, including The Book Spy, Churchill’s Secret Messenger, A Light Beyond the Trenches, and the USA Today and IndieBound bestseller The Long Flight Home. A member of the Historical Novel Society, Literary Cleveland, Novelitics, and the Akron Writers' Group, he is a frequent speaker at conferences, literary events, and book club gatherings. He currently divides his time between Ohio and Portugal and can be found online at AlanHlad.com.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
605 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

J Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
This was such an emotional story. I felt as if I'd met each character; loving some and disliking others. Some history I didn't remember was there as well.
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Jim
5.0 out of 5 stars Great character development!
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2024
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I personally loved this writers style of writing. Excellent story and character evolution. Look forward to reading another book by this author!
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Carmen Redding
4.0 out of 5 stars I wasn’t prepared to need Kleenex
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2022
Verified Purchase
When I started reading this book, I thought it was going to be the history of how the first school for Seeing Eye Dogs for Veterans came to be. It was, but it was also a heartfelt love story, the high price of chemical warfare, and a heartwarming tale of the bond that is formed between a guide dog and the blind veteran she rescues from depression and trauma caused by the war.

The book was well researched. It was refreshing to read a book that shows the physical, emotional, and mental effects of war over all participants regardless of what side of the war they are forced into by virtue of ethnicity and politics and geography. Everybody suffers. There are no winners.

There were some grammatical errors on the Kindle version that caught my teacher’s eye, but I think this might have been the fault of the medium and not the writer. A good read overall.
8 people found this helpful
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Isabel Orange
5.0 out of 5 stars The dog rescue school
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024
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Isabel Orange
5.0 out of 5 stars The dog rescue school
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024
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Jack M Englebrecht
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2024
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My sister shared this book and we both read it and enjoyed discussing
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Sara2Gail
5.0 out of 5 stars the origin of the first guide dogs
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2024
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A well written & researched novel. The rich parts are the Germans starving; the love & care given to the solders & dogs; highlighted by 3 love stories, all with different endings. We learn in this that gases should never ever be used in war again.
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Charlotte W.
5.0 out of 5 stars Hlad has written a masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2023
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I am in awe of the detailed descriptions Hlad gives as tho he, himself, were present during the horrors of WWI, specifically the atrocities caused by poison gases.
Because I am an animal-lover my heart was continually touched by the love and hope the guide dogs gave to men hopelessly blinded by poison gas. We feel all the hours of efforts these dogs endure as they master skills that will enable them to be the eyes of these wounded soldiers.
2 people found this helpful
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Ginger Russell
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting History
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2022
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My favorite Alan Hlad book is still the first one, The Long Flight Home. This one was interesting, though, in that I didn't know the guide dog program started in Germany during WWI. It is a good story, and the characters are realistic and likeable. The secondary theme of the book is about the inhumanity of chemical warfare, and also the "turnip winter" during which the people lived mostly on turnips. It is an interesting book, and history and military buffs may enjoy it.
5 people found this helpful
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Mama
4.0 out of 5 stars Una novela gráfica y algo densa
Reviewed in Spain on January 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
Al lector le gustó, pero le resultó densa la lectura en inglés. La historia es muy bonita, pero al no tener imágenes y ser formato novela, no resulta tan atractiva para un niño.
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