A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an UnnecessaryWar Most Americans consider Abraham Lincoln to be the greatestpresident in history. His legend as the Great Emancipator has grownto mythic proportions as hundreds of books, a national holiday, anda monument in Washington, D.C., extol his heroism and martyrdom.But what if most everything you knew about Lincoln were false? Whatif, instead of an American hero who sought to free the slaves,Lincoln were in fact a calculating politician who waged thebloodiest war in american history in order to build an empire thatrivaled Great Britain's? In The Real Lincoln, author Thomas J.DiLorenzo uncovers a side of Lincoln not told in many history booksand overshadowed by the immense Lincoln legend. Through extensive research and meticulous documentation,DiLorenzo portrays the sixteenth president as a man who devoted hispolitical career to revolutionizing the American form of governmentfrom one that was very limited in scope and highly decentralize

Every few months you'll read a newspaper story of thediscovery of some long-lost art treasure hidden away in a Germanbasement or a Russian attic: a Cranach, a Holbein, even, not longago, a da Vinci. Such treasures ended up far from the museums andchurches in which they once hung, taken as war loot by Allied andAxis soldiers alike. Thousands of important pieces have never beenrecovered. Lynn Nicholas offers an astonishingly good account ofthe wholesale ravaging of European art during World War II, of howteams of international experts have worked to recover lostmasterpieces in the war's aftermath and of how governments "arestill negotiating the restitution of objects held by theirrespective nations." --This text refers to an out of print orunavailable edition of this title.

The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the ThirdReich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity andmiscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy,Rick Atkinson shows why no modern reader can understand theultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the greatdrama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. Beginningwith the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, An Army atDawn follows the British and American armies as they fight theFrench in Morocco and Algeria, and then take on the Germans andItalians in Tunisia. Battle by battle, an inexperienced andsometimes poorly led army gradually becomes a superb fightingforce. Central to the tale are the extraordinary but falliblecommanders who come to dominate the battlefield: Eisenhower,Patton, Bradley, Montgomery and Rommel.

The Iranians explores Iran in the context of its old andcomplex culture, for throughout its history Iran has struggled withtwo warring identities-one evolving from the values, socialorganization, and arts of ancient Persia, the other from Islam. Byexamining the relationship between these two identities, TheIranians explains how the revolution of 1979 came about, why theIslamic Republic has failed, and how Iran today is on the brink ofchaos. In this defining portrait of a troubled nation and theforces that shape it, Iranian history and religion becomeaccessible to the nonspecialist. Combining impeccable scholarshipwith the human insight of firsthand observations, The Iraniansprovides vital understanding of this unique and pivotalnation. ? Plume edition will contain a new epilogue by Sandra Mackey,reflecting on the results of the spring 1997 Iranianelections. ? Hardcover edition received enormous press coverage andincreased Mackey's already prominent visibility. ? Highly readable and ai

On 2 August 1944, Winston Churchill mocked Adolf Hitler in theHouse of Commons by the rank he had reached in the First World War.'Russian success has been somewhat aided by the strategy of HerrHitler, of Corporal Hitler', Churchill jibed. 'Even military idiotsfind it difficult not to see some faults in his actions'. AndrewRoberts' previous book "Masters and Commanders" studied thecreation of Allied grand strategy; "The Storm of War" now analyzeshow Axis strategy evolved. Examining the Second World War on everyfront, Roberts asks whether, with a different decision-makingprocess and a different strategy, the Axis might even have won.Were those German generals who blamed everything on Hitler afterthe war correct, or were they merely scapegoating their formerFuhrer once he was safely beyond defending himself? The book isfull of illuminating sidelights on the principle actors that bringtheir characters and the ways in which they reached decisions intofresh focus.

"A finely written, brave, and very personal book."-Orhan Pamuk In 2001, Christopher de Bellaiguewrote a story for The New York Review of Books , in which hebriefly discussed the killing and deportation of half a millionArmenians from Turkey in 1915. These massacres, he suggested, werebest understood as part of the struggles that attended the end ofthe Ottoman Empire. Upon publication, the Review wasbesieged with letters asserting that this was not war but genocide.How had he gotten it so wrong? De Bellaigue set out for Turkey'stroubled southeast to discover what really happened. What emergedis both an intellectual detective story and a reckoning with memoryand identity. Rebel Land unravels the enigma of the Turkishtwentieth century-a time that contains the death of an empire, thefounding of a nation, and the near extinction of a people.

Leading a Learning Revolution tells the compelling story of a learning revolution that took place within the U.S. Department of Defense. Written by practitioners who actually walked the walk, this account of the creation of Defense Acquisition University (DAU) provides a clear blueprint that others can follow. It shares, in detail, the best practices they developed, so that the thousands of training organizations worldwide striving to create premier corporate universities can catapult forward. Offering an insider s look at the process, the authors clearly explain how they transformed an outdated training provider into a world-class university. Step-by-step the book outlines the enduring principles that were pivotal to Defense Acquisition University s success and describes the environment, early victories, current methods, and subsequent results. The authors discuss how to establish a mission and vision, develop a performance-based strategic planning process, and tackle change initiative. They also expl

The remarkable life of Alexander the Great, one of thegreatest military geniuses of all time, vividly told by one of theworld's leading exp erts in Greek history. With all theintensity, insight, and narrative drive that made The Spartans sucha hit with critics and readers, Paul Cartledge's Alexander theGreat: glowingly illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander(356-323 BC), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, andfounder of a new world order. Cartledge, the distinguished scholarand historian long acknowledged as the leading internationalauthority on ancient Sparta and Greece, brilliantly evokesAlexander's remarkable political and military accomplishments,leads us along the geographical path of his victorious armies, andcompellingly charting the tremendous field of this warrior hero'sinfluence. Alexander's legacy has had an astounding impact onmilitary tacticians, scholars, and statesmen—in his own lifetimeand in ours. In various countries and at various times he has beenseen as

Here’s the real history of our country. How Capitalism SavedAmerica explodes the myths spun by Michael Moore, the liberalmedia, Hollywood, academia, and the rest of the anticapitalistestablishment. Whether it’s Michael Moore or the New York Times, Hollywood oracademia, a growing segment in America is waging a war oncapitalism. We hear that greedy plutocrats exploit the Americanpublic; that capitalism harms consumers, the working class, and theenvironment; that the government needs to rein in capitalism; andon and on. Anticapitalist critiques have only grown more fevered inthe wake of corporate scandals like Enron and WorldCom. Indeed, the2004 presidential campaign has brought frequent calls tore-regulate the American economy. But the anticapitalist arguments are pure bunk, as Thomas J.DiLorenzo reveals in How Capitalism Saved America. DiLorenzo, aprofessor of economics, shows how capitalism has made America themost prosperous nation on earth—and how the sort of governmentregulation th

On General Douglas MacArthur's orders, a force of 12,000 U.S.Marines were marching north to the Yalu river in late November1950. These three regiments of the 1st Marine Division--strung outalong eighty miles of a narrow mountain road--soon found themselvescompletely surrounded by 60,000 Chinese soldiers. Despite beinggiven up for lost by the military brass, the 1st Marine Divisionfought its way out of the frozen mountains, miraculously takingthier dead and wounded with them as they ran the gauntlet ofunceasing Chinese attacks. This is the gripping story that Martin Russ tells in hisextraordinary book. Breakout is an unforgettable portrayal of theterror and courage of men as they face sudden death, making thebloody battles of the Korean hills and valleys come alive as theynever have before. "Magnificent . . . [Russ] seamlessly weaves the stories of manymen, units and battles, day and night, into a coherentpicture."--Chicago Tribune "Engrossing . . . Vivid, at times

Before writing his award-winning Going After Cacciato ,Tim O'Brien gave us this intensely personal account of his year asa foot soldier in Vietnam. The author takes us with him toexperience combat from behind an infantryman's rifle, to walk theminefields of My Lai, to crawl into the ghostly tunnels, and toexplore the ambiguities of manhood and morality in a war goneterribly wrong. Beautifully written and searingly heartfelt, IfI Die in a Combat Zone is a masterwork of its genre.

An innovative work of biography, social history, and literaryanalysis, this Pulitzer Prize-winning book presents the story oftwo men, William Cooper and his son, the novelist James FennimoreCooper, who embodied the contradictions that divided America in theearly years of the Republic. Taylor shows how Americans resolvedtheir revolution through the creation of new social forms and newstories that evolved with the expansion of our frontier. ofphotos.

Ben Macintyre’s Agent Zigzag was hailed as “rollicking,spellbinding” ( New York Times ), “wildly improbable butentirely true” ( Entertainment Weekly ), and, quite simply,“the best book ever written” ( Boston Globe ). In his newbook, Operation Mincemeat , he tells an extraordinary storythat will delight his legions of fans. In 1943, from a windowless basement office in London, two brilliantintelligence officers conceived a plan that was both simple andcomplicated— Operation Mincemeat. The purpose? To deceive the Nazisinto thinking that Allied forces were planning to attack southernEurope by way of Greece or Sardinia, rather than Sicily, as theNazis had assumed, and the Allies ultimately chose. Charles Cholmondeley of MI5 and the British naval intelligenceofficer Ewen Montagu could not have been more different.Cholmondeley was a dreamer seeking adventure. Montagu was anaristocratic, detail-oriented barrister. But together they were theperfect team and created an ingenious plan: Get a corp

Mark Kurlansky, the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World , here turns his attention toa common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt.The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the verybeginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part ofthe history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served ascurrency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes andcities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspiredrevolutions. Populated by colorful characters and filled with anunending series of fascinating details, Kurlansky's kaleidoscopichistory is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.

The Battle ofNormandy was the greatest offensive campaign the world had everseen. Millions of soldiers struggling for the control of Europewere thrust onto the front lines of a massive war unlike anyexperienced in history. But this greatest of clashes would prove tobe the crucible in which the outcome of World War II would bedecided. It began on D-Day. June 6, 1944-the day that the Allied Forceslaunched Operation Overlord: the great crusade to free Europe fromthe iron grip of Nazi Germany. But only when the troops were ashoredid the real battle begin. With Nazi defenders marshaling to stop the invaders, Hitler and hisgenerals schemed to counterattack. Tightly constricted hedgerowcountry and bitter German resistance held the Allied advance to acrawl. Suddenly the Allies broke through and trapped the Naziarmies. Yet within weeks of this stunning disaster, the Germanssmashed the most dangerous Allied offensive yet. How was this possible? In Normandy Crucible , noted authorJohn Prados offers a penetrating acco

FREDERICKSBURG TO MERIDIAN "Gettysburg...is described with such meticulous attention toaction, terrain, time, and the characters of the various commandersthat I understand, at last, what happened in that battle.... Mr.Foote has an acute sense of the relative importance of events and anovelist's skill in directing the reader's attention to the men andthe episodes that will influence the course of the whole war,without omitting items which are of momentary interest. Hisorganization of facts could hardly bebetter."-- Atlantic

In the first two volumes of his bestselling LiberationTrilogy, Rick Atkinson recounted how the American-led coalitionfought through North Africa and Italy to the threshold of victory.Now he tells the most dramatic story of all - the titanic battlefor Western Europe. D-Day marked the commencement of the Europeanwar's final campaign, and Atkinson's riveting account of that boldgamble sets the pace for the masterly narrative that follows. Thebrutal fight in Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the disasterthat was Market Garden, the horrific Battle of the Bulge, andfinally the thrust to the heart of the Third Reich - all thesehistoric events and more come alive with a wealth of new materialand a mesmerizing cast of characters. With the stirring finalvolume of this monumental trilogy, Rick Atkinson's remarkableaccomplishment is manifest. He has produced the definitivechronicle of the war that unshackled a continent and preservedfreedom in the West.

For the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, The Library ofAmerica re-issues the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant and WilliamTecumseh Sherman in a handsome, newly designed case. An ailingGrant wrote his Personal Memoirs to secure his family'sfuture. In doing so, the Civil War's greatest general won himself aunique place in American letters. John Keegan has called it"perhaps the most revelatory autobiography of high command to existin any language." The Library of America's edition of Grant's Memoirs includes 175 of his letters to Lincoln, Sherman, andhis wife, Julia, among others. Hailed as a prophet of modern warand condemned as a harbinger of modern barbarism, William T.Sherman is the most controversial general of the Civil War. "War iscruelty, and you cannot refine it," he wrote in fury to theConfederate mayor of Atlanta, and his memoir is filled with dozensof such wartime exchanges and a fascinating account of the famousmarch through Georgia and the Carolinas.

The first complete history of the Caribbean islands--updatedthrough the year 2000. This comprehensive volume takes the reader and student throughmore than five hundred years of Caribbean history, beginning withColumbus's arrival in the Bahamas in 1492. A Brief History of theCaribbean traces the people and events that have marked thisconstantly shifting region, encompassing everything from economicbooms and busts to epidemics, wars, and revolutions, and bringingto life such important figures as Sir Francis Drake, Blackbeard,Toussaint Louverture, Fidel Castro, the Duvaliers, andJean-Bertrand Aristide. This superbly written history, revised and updated, with newchapters that reflect the islands' most recent social, economic,and political developments, is a work of impeccable scholarship.Featuring maps, charts, tables, and photographs, it remains theideal guide to the region and its people. "A veritable sourcebook of information . . . analysis,de*ion, interpretation . . . interesting and

In The War with Hannibal, Livy (59 BC AD 17) chronicles theevents of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, until theBattle of Zama in 202 BC. He vividly recreates the immense armiesof Hannibal, complete with elephants, crossing the Alps; the panicas they approached the gates of Rome; and the decimation of theRoman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. Yet it is also theclash of personalities that fascinates Livy, from great debates inthe Senate to the historic meeting between Scipio and Hannibalbefore the decisive battle. Livy never hesitates to introduce bothintense drama and moral lessons into his work, and here he brings aturbulent episode in history powerfully to life.