Mann is well aware that much of the history he relates isnecessarily speculative, the product of pot-shard interpretationand precise scientific measurements that often end up beingradically revised in later decades. But the most compelling of hiseye-opening revisionist stories are among the best-founded: thestories of early American-European contact. To many of those whowere there, the earliest encounters felt more like a meeting ofequals than one of natural domination. And those who came later andfound an emptied landscape that seemed ripe for the taking, Mannargues convincingly, encountered not the natural and unchangingstate of the native American, but the evidence of a suddencalamity: the ravages of what was likely the greatest epidemic inhuman history, the smallpox and other diseases introducedinadvertently by Europeans to a population without immunity, whichswept through the Americas faster than the explorers who broughtit, and left behind for their discovery a land that held only ashadow of the
"So much nonsense has been written on suburban life and mores that it comes as a considerable shock to read a book by someone who seems to have his own ideas on the subject and who pursues them relentlessly to the bitter end," said LJ's reviewer (LJ 2/1/61) of this novel of unhappy life in the burbs. It is reminiscent of the popular film American Beauty in its depiction of white-collar life as fraught with discontent. Others have picked up on this theme since, but Yates remains a solid read.
From the evacuation of Saigon in 1975 to the end of thetwentieth century, the United States committed its forces to morethan a dozen military operations. Offering a fresh analysis of theIranian hostage rescue attempt, the invasions of Granada andPanama, the first Gulf War, the missions in Somalia and Bosnia, andmore, author and distinguished U.S. naval captain Peter Huchthausenpresents a detailed history of each military engagement througheyewitness accounts, exhaustive research, and his unique insiderperspective as an intelligence expert. This timely and rivetingmilitary history is “a must-read for anyone seeking to understandthe nature of war today” (Stephen Trent Smith).
One of our most provocative military historians, Victor DavisHanson has given us painstakingly researched and pathbreakingaccounts of wars ranging from classical antiquity to thetwenty-first century. Now he juxtaposes an ancient conflict withour most urgent modern concerns to create his most engrossing workto date, A War Like No Other. Over the course of a generation, the Hellenic city-states ofAthens and Sparta fought a bloody conflict that resulted in thecollapse of Athens and the end of its golden age. Thucydides wrotethe standard history of the Peloponnesian War, which has givenreaders throughout the ages a vivid and authoritative narrative.But Hanson offers readers something new: a complete chronologicalaccount that reflects the political background of the time, thestrategic thinking of the combatants, the misery of battle inmultifaceted theaters, and important insight into how these eventsecho in the present. Hanson compellingly portrays the ways Athens and Sparta fought onland and se
This "New York Times" bestseller tells the harrowing true story of nine American airmen shot down over the Pacific. One of them, George H.W. Bush, was miraculously rescued. This edition features the same Afterword by the author that appeared in the trade paperback edition. 作者简介: James Bradley is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Flags of Our Fathers and the son of one of the men who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima. The story of the events on Chichi Jima was first brought to his attention after the publication of that book and involved several years of research, travel, and writing-including a return trip to Chichi Jima with President George H. W. Bush. This is Bradley's second book. He lives in New York.
The 2007–08 subprime financial crisis is the jumping-off point for Smick's (Johnson Smick International) examination of current threats to global prosperity. He explains that although the subprime losses are small in the context of world financial markets, a lack of transparency has diminished investor confidence, dried up financial liquidity, and threatened the very foundations of our world financial system. He says that the growth of global financial markets has made it more difficult for central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve to intercede effectively in times of crisis. Smick compares the subprime crisis to past events like the UK's forced devaluation of the pound in 1992 and Japan's economic stagnation in the 1990s. He warns of pending dangers like an overheating of the Chinese development juggernaut and the present calls for protectionism by U.S. politicians. He favors a global financial system built on transparency and trust. Smick's role for some 30 years as an economic adviser to central banker
The 1914-18 conflict was called 'the war to end all wars'. World War I: A Photographic History charts the course of this epic struggle, from the assassin's bullet in Sarajevo which sparked the conflict to the flawed Treaty of Versailles which ended it. Superbly illustrated with photographs from the Daily Mail archives, many reproduced for the first time, these pages capture a defining moment in world history.
From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean is about30 million people scattered across an arc of islands -- Jamaica,Haiti, Barbados, Antigua, Martinique, Trinidad, amongothers-separated by the languages and cultures of their colonizers,but joined together, nevertheless, by a common heritage. Forwhether French, English, Dutch, Spanish, Danish,or-latterly-American, the nationality of their masters has madeonly a notional difference to the peoples of the Caribbean. Thehistory of the Caribbean is dominated by the history of sugar,which is inseparable from the history of slavery; which wasinseparable, until recently, from the systematic degradation oflabor in the region. Here, for the first time, is a definitive workabout a profoundly important but neglected and misrepresented areaof the world.
Despite five centuries of investigation by historians, thesinister deaths of the boy king Edward V and his younger brotherRichard, Duke of York, remain two of the most fascinating murdermysteries in English history. Did Richard III really kill “thePrinces in the Tower,” as is commonly believed, or was the murderersomeone else entirely? Carefully examining every shred ofcontemporary evidence as well as dozens of modern accounts, AlisonWeir reconstructs the entire chain of events leading to the doublemurder. We are witnesses to the rivalry, ambition, intrigue, andstruggle for power that culminated in the imprisonment of theprinces and the hushed-up murders that secured Richard’s claim tothe throne as Richard III. A masterpiece of historical research anda riveting story of conspiracy and deception, The Princes in theTower at last provides a solution to this age-old puzzle. Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more. RandomHouseReadersCircle.com
Mann is well aware that much of the history he relates isnecessarily speculative, the product of pot-shard interpretationand precise scientific measurements that often end up beingradically revised in later decades. But the most compelling of hiseye-opening revisionist stories are among the best-founded: thestories of early American-European contact. To many of those whowere there, the earliest encounters felt more like a meeting ofequals than one of natural domination. And those who came later andfound an emptied landscape that seemed ripe for the taking, Mannargues convincingly, encountered not the natural and unchangingstate of the native American, but the evidence of a suddencalamity: the ravages of what was likely the greatest epidemic inhuman history, the smallpox and other diseases introducedinadvertently by Europeans to a population without immunity, whichswept through the Americas faster than the explorers who broughtit, and left behind for their discovery a land that held only ashadow of the thrivi
A delightful treasury of observations and insights into the lives of all sorts of creatures -- from jackdaws and water-shrews to dogs, cats and even wolves -- this is a wonderfully written introduction to the world of our furred and feathered friends!
In this widely praised history of an infamous institution,award-winning scholar Marcus Rediker shines a light into thedarkest corners of the British and American slave ships of theeighteenth century. Drawing on thirty years of research in maritimearchives, court records, diaries, and firsthand accounts, TheSlave Ship is riveting and sobering in its revelations,reconstructing in chilling detail a world nearly lost to history:the “floating dungeons” at the forefront of the birth of AfricanAmerican culture.
In 1521, Suleiman the Magnificent, Muslim ruler of the OttomanEmpire, dispatched an invasion fleet to the Christian island ofRhodes. This would prove to be the opening shot in an epic clashbetween rival empires and faiths for control of the Mediterraneanand the center of the world. In Empires of the Sea, acclaimedhistorian Roger Crowley has written a thrilling account of thisbrutal decades-long battle between Christendom and Islam for thesoul of Europe, a fast-paced tale of spiraling intensity thatranges from Istanbul to the Gates of Gibraltar. Crowley conjures upa wild cast of pirates, crusaders, and religious warriorsstruggling for supremacy and survival in a tale of slavery andgalley warfare, desperate bravery and utter brutality. Empires ofthe Sea is a story of extraordinary color and incident, andprovides a crucial context for our own clash ofcivilizations.
Award-winning historian Deborah Lipstadt gives us acom?pelling reassessment of the groundbreaking trial that hasbecome a touchstone for judicial proceedings throughout the worldin which victims of genocide confront its perpetrators. The capture of SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eich?mann by Israeliagents in Argentina in May of 1960 and his subsequent trial in TelAviv by an Israeli court electrified the world. The public debateit sparked on where, how, and by whom Nazi war criminals should bebrought to justice, and the international media cov?erage of thetrial itself, is recognized as a watershed moment in how thecivilized world in general and Ho?locaust survivors in particularfound the means to deal with the legacy of genocide on a scale thathad never been seen before. In The Eichmann Trial, award-winning historian Deborah Lipstadtgives us an overview of the trial and analyzes the dramatic effectthat the testimony of sur?vivors in a court of law—which was itselfnot without controversy—had o
Shortly before noon on October 28, 1728, General Yue Zhongqi,the most powerful military and civilian official in northwestChina, was en route to his headquarters. Suddenly, out of thecrowd, a stranger ran toward Yue and passed him an envelope-anenvelope containing details of a treasonous plot to overthrow theManchu government. This thrilling story of a conspiracy against the Qing dynasty in1728 is a captivating tale of intrigue and a fascinatingexploration of what it means to rule and be ruled. Once again,Jonathan Spence has created a vivid portrait of the rich culturethat surrounds a most dramatic moment in Chinese history. "An infectiously readable narrative . . . on a par withbestselling works of historical reconstruction such as Dava Sobel'sLongitude . . . Eighteenth-century China springs to life." (TheDallas Morning News) "A slice of history told in the lively manner of a novel." (IanBuruma, The New York Times Book Review) "A work of history that pulses with emotion, with v
Robert Greene’s first two groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power and The Art of Seduction, espouse profound, timeless lessons from events in history to help readers vanquish an enemy or ensnare an unsuspecting victim. Now, with The 33 Strategies of War, Greene has crafted an important new addition to this ruthlessly unique series. Structured in Greene’s trademark style, The 33 Strategies of War is a brilliant distillation of the strategies of battle that can help us gain mastery in the modern world. It is the I Ching of conflict, the contemporary companion to Sun-tzu’s Art of War.
In her lauded biography England’s Mistress, Kate Williamspainted a vivid and intimate portrait of Emma Hamilton, the loverof English national hero Lord Horatio Nelson. Now, with the samekeen insight and gift for telling detail, Williams provides agripping account of Queen Victoria’s rise to the throne and herearly years in power—as well as the tragic, little-known story ofthe princess whose demise made it all possible. Toward the end of the eighteenth century,monarchies across Europe found themselves in crisis. With mad KingGeorge III and his delinquent offspring tarnishing the realm, theEnglish pinned their hopes on the only legitimate heir to thethrone: the lovely and prudent Princess Charlotte, daughter of thePrince of Wales and granddaughter of the king. Sadly, those dreamsfaded when, at age twenty-one, she died after a complicatedpregnancy and stillbirth. While a nation grieved, Charlotte’spower-hungry uncles plotted quickly to produce a new heir. Only theDuke of Kent proved successful
Writing with passion and intelligence, Said retraces thePalestinian Hejira, its disastrous flirtation with Saddam Hussein,and its ambitious peace accord with Israel. Said demolishes Westernstereotypes about the Muslim world and Islam's illusions aboutitself, leaving a masterly synthesis of scholarship and polemicwith the power to redefine the debate over the Middle East.
Celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuancedportrait of the father of our nation. With a breadth and depthmatched by no other onevolume life of George Washington, thiscrisply paced narrative carries the reader through his adventurousearly years, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, hispresiding over the Continental Convention, and his magnificentperformance as America's first president. In this groundbreakingwork, based on massive research, Chernow shatters forever thestereotype of a stolid, unemotional figure and brings to vivid lifea dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods.
An absorbing, revelatory, and definitive account ofone of the greatest tragedies in human history Adroitly blending narrative, de*ion, and analysis, RichardJ. Evans portrays a society rushing headlong to self-destructionand taking much of Europe with it. Interweaving a broad narrativeof the war's progress from a wide range of people, Evans revealsthe dynamics of a society plunged into war at every level. Thegreat battles and events of the conflict are here, but just astelling is Evans's re- creation of the daily experience of ordinaryGermans in wartime. At the center of the book is the Naziextermi?nation of the Jews. The final book in Richard J. Evan'sthree-volume history of Hitler's Germany, hailed "a masterpiece" by The New York Times, The Third Reich at War lays bare themost momentous and tragic years of the Nazi regime.