Propelled by the discovery of an ancient book and a cache ofyellowing letters, a young woman plunges into a labyrinth where thesecrets of her family's past connect to an inconceivable evil: thedark reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that mayhave kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for thethe truth becomes an adventure of monumental propportions, takingus from monasteries and dusty libraries to the captitals of EasternEurope - in a feat of storytelling so rich, so exciting, sosuspenseful that it has enthralled readers around he world.
As a senior foreign correspondent for The Times ofLondon, Janine di Giovanni was a firsthand witness to the brutaland protracted break-up of Yugoslavia. With unflinchingsensitivity, Madness Visible follows the arc of the wars inthe Balkans through the experience of those caught up in them:soldiers numbed by the atrocities they commit, women driven todespair by their life in paramilitary rape camps, civilians (diGiovanni among them) caught in bombing raids of uncertain origin,babies murdered in hate-induced rage. Di Giovanni’s searing memoir examines the turmoil of the Balkansin acute detail, and uncovers the motives of the leaders whocreated hell on earth; it raises challenging questions about ethnicconflict and the responsibilities of foreign governments in timesof mass murder. Perceptive and compelling, this unique work ofreportage from the physical and psychological front lines makes themadness of war wholly visible.
... [Kenneth M. Stampp] has woven the strands of a complicatedstory, and given the radical Reconstructionists a fair hearingwithout oversimplifying their motives. That this book is alsoexcellent reading will not surprise those who know Mr. Stampp'sother distinguished works about the Civil War. -- Willie Lee Rose, The New York Times Book Review "... [Mr. Stampp] knows his specialty holds vital information forour own time, and he feels an obligation to give it generalcurrency, especially the Reconstruction years 1865-1877 wheredangerous myths still abound. The result of his concern is thislucid, literate survey... Because he is not afraid to stateopinions and to draw contemporary parallels, he has providedconsiderable matter for speculation, especially in regard to theultimate cause of Radical failure to achieve equality for theNegro..." -- Martin Duberman, Book Week "... Carefully and judiciously, Professor Stampp takes us overthe old ground, dismantli
In 1986, Charles Henderson first published Marine Sniper-theincredible story of Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, whose 93confirmed kills in Vietnam have never been matched by any sniperbefore or since. Now, the incredible story of a remarkable Marine continues-withharrowing, never-before-published accounts of courage andperseverance. These are the powerful stories of a man who rose togreatness not for personal gain or glory, but for duty and honor. Arare inside look at the U.S. Marine's most challenging missions-andthe one man who made military history.
These nine biographies illuminate the careers, personalitiesand military campaigns of some of Rome's greatest statesmen, whoselives span the earliest days of the Republic to the establishmentof the Empire. Selected from Plutarch's "Roman Lives", they includeprominent figures who achieved fame for their pivotal roles inRoman history, such as soldierly Marcellus, eloquent Cato andcautious Fabius. Here too are vivid portraits of ambitious,hot-tempered Coriolanus; objective, principled Brutus andopen-hearted Mark Anthony, who would later be brought to life byShakespeare. In recounting the lives of these great leaders,Plutarch also explores the problems of statecraft and power andillustrates the Roman people's genius for political compromise,which led to their mastery of the ancient world.
In the spring of 2003, acclaimed journalist Anne Nivat set offfrom Tajikistan on a six-month journey through the aftermath of theAmerican invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. Nivatfelt compelled to meet and write about the lives of everydaypeople, whom she allows to speak in their own voices, in their ownwords--words of hope, sadness, anger, and, above all, theuncertainty that fills their everyday lives. Her new Preface forthe paperback edition looks at the situation in Iraq today.
John Keegan, widely considered the greatest military historianof our time and the author of acclaimed volumes on ancient andmodern warfare--including, most recently, The First World War, anational bestseller--distills what he knows about the why’s andhow’s of armed conflict into a series of brilliantly conciseessays. Is war a natural condition of humankind? What are the origins ofwar? Is the modern state dependent on warfare? How does war affectthe individual, combatant or noncombatant? Can there be an end towar? Keegan addresses these questions with a breathtaking knowledgeof history and the many other disciplines that have attempted toexplain the phenomenon. The themes Keegan concentrates on in thisshort volume are essential to our understanding of why war remainsthe single greatest affliction of humanity in the twenty-firstcentury, surpassing famine and disease, its traditionalcompanions.
Here is an oral history of the Vietnam War by thirty-threeAmerican soldiers who fought it. A 1983 American Book Awardnominee.
In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and SebastianJunger’s The Perfect Storm comes a true tale of riveting adventurein which two weekend scuba divers risk everything to solve a greathistorical mystery–and make history themselves. For John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, deep wreck diving was morethan a sport. Testing themselves against treacherous currents,braving depths that induced hallucinatory effects, navigatingthrough wreckage as perilous as a minefield, they pushed themselvesto their limits and beyond, brushing against death more than oncein the rusting hulks of sunken ships. But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers wereprepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in thefrigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey: aWorld War II German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wastelandof twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bones–all buried underdecades of accumulated sediment. No identifying marks were visible on
From the deadly shores of North Africa to the invasion ofSicily to the fierce jungle hell of the Pacific, the contributionof the World War II Ranger Battalions far outweighed their numbers.They were ordinary men on an extraordinary mission, experiencingthe full measure of the fear, exhaustion, and heroism of combat innearly every major invasion of the war. Whether spearheading alanding force or scouting deep behind enemy lines, these highlymotivated, highly trained volunteers led the way for other soldiers-- they were Rangers. With first-person interviews, in-depth research, and a completeappendix naming every Ranger known to have served, author RobertBlack, a Ranger himself, has made the battles of WWII come to lifethrough the struggles of the men who fought to win the greatest warthe world has ever seen.
On 22 June 1941, the German army invaded the Soviet Union, onehundred fifty divisions advancing on three axes in a surpriseattack that overwhelmed and destroyed whatever opposition theRussians were able to muster. The German High Command was under theimpression that the Red Army could be destroyed west of the DneprRiver and that there would be no need for conducting operations incold, snow, and mud. They were wrong. In reality, the extreme conditions of the German war in Russiawere so brutal that past experiences simply paled before them.Everything in Russia--the land, the weather, the distances, andabove all the people--was harder, harsher, more unforgiving, andmore deadly than anything the German soldier had ever facedbefore. Based on the recollections of four veteran German commanders ofthose battles, FIGHTING IN HELL describes in detail what happenedwhen the world's best-publicized "supermen" met the world's mostbrutal fighting. It is not a tale for the squeamish.
On January 5, 1924, a well-dressed young woman, accompanied bya male companion, walked into a Brooklyn grocery, pulled a “babyautomatic” from the pocket of her fur coat, emptied the cashregister, and escaped into the night. Dubbed “the Bobbed HairedBandit” by the press, the petite thief continued her escapades inthe months that followed, pulling off increasingly spectacularrobberies, writing taunting notes to police officials, and eludingthe biggest manhunt in New York City history. When laundress CeliaCooney was finally caught in Florida and brought back to New York,media attention grew to a fever pitch. Crowds gathered at thecourts and jails where she appeared, the public clamored to knowher story, and newspapers and magazines nationwide obliged bypublishing sensational front-page articles.
What ties Americans to one another? What unifies a nation ofcitizens with different racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds?These were the dilemmas faced by Americans in the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries as they sought ways to bind the newly UnitedStates together. In A is for American, award-winning historian Jill Leporeportrays seven men who turned to language to help shape a newnation’s character and boundaries. From Noah Webster’s attempts tostandardize American spelling, to Alexander Graham Bell’s use of“Visible Speech” to help teach the deaf to talk, to Sequoyah’sdevelopment of a Cherokee syllabary as a means of preserving hispeople’s independence, these stories form a compelling portrait ofa developing nation’s struggles. Lepore brilliantly explores thepersonalities, work, and influence of these figures, seven mendriven by radically different aims and temperaments. Through thesesuperbly told stories, she chronicles the challenges faced by ayoung country trying to unify
A concise introduction that gives readers important background information. A chronology of the author's life and work. A timeline of sinificant events that provides the book's historical context. An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations. Detailed explanatory notes. Critical analysis,including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work. Discussion questions to promote l\ively classroom and bood group interaction. A list of recommernded related books and films to broaden the reader's experience. Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary.The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate,understand,and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.
A memoir by a World War II ordinance officer offers abehind-the-scenes account of his ordnance inspections during theEuropean campaign, detailing his experiences on the front line andhis job coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged Americantanks. Reprint.
The First Battle is a graphic account of the first major clashof the Vietnam War. On August 18, 1965, regiment fought regiment onthe Van Tuong Peninsula near the new Marine base at Chu Lai. On theAmerican side were three battalions of Marines under the command ofColonel Oscar Peatross, a hero of two previous wars. His opponentwas the 1st Viet Cong Regiment commanded by Nguyen Dinh Trong, aveteran of many fights against the French and the South Vietnamese.Codenamed Operation Starlite, this action was a resounding successfor the Marines and its result was cause for great optimism aboutAmerica's future in Vietnam. Those expecting a book about Americansin battle will not be disappointed by the detailed de*ions ofhow the fight unfolded. Marine participants from private to colonelwere interviewed during the book's research phase. The battle isseen from the mud level, by those who were at the point of thespear. But this is not just another war story told exclusively fromthe American side. In researching the book, t
In 1787, the beautiful Lucia is married off to AlviseMocenigo, scion of one of the most powerful Venetian families. Buttheir life as a golden couple will be suddenly transformed whenVenice falls to Bonaparte. We witness Lucia's painful series ofmiscarriages and the pressure on her to produce an heir; herimpassioned affair with an Austrian officer; the glamour and strainof her career as a hostess in Vienna; and her amazing firsthandaccount of the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. With his brave andarticulate heroine, Andrea di Robilant has once again reachedacross the centuries, and deep into his own past, to bring historyto rich and vivid life on the page.
