A remarkable and engrossing account of medieval England's epicconflict with France. From 1337 to 1453 England repeatedly invaded France on thepretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. Though itwas a small, poor country, England for most of those "hundredyears" won the battles, sacked the towns and castles, and dominatedthe war. The protagonists of the Hundred Years War are among themost colorful in European history: Edward III, the Black Prince;Henry V, who was later immortalized by Shakespeare; the splendidbut inept John II, who died a prisoner in London; Charles V, whovery nearly overcame England; and the enigmatic Charles VII, who atlast drove the English out. Desmond Seward's critically-acclaimedaccount of the Hundred Years War brings to life all of theintrigue, beauty, and royal to-the-death-fighting of that legendarycentury-long conflict. "Mr. Seward shows us all the famous sights of those roaring times. . . and illuminates them with an easy scholarship, a nice senseof

This chronicle of the Byzantine Empire, beginning in 1025,shows a profound understanding of the power politics thatcharacterized the empire and led to its decline.

Orwell's classic satire "Animal Farm" continues to be aninternational best seller. For the first time ever, "Orwell andPolitics" brings this major work together with the author's otherworks exploring the nature of politics and the Second WorldWar.

The Battle of New Orleans was the climactic battle ofAmerica's "forgotten war" of 1812. Andrew Jackson led his ragtagcorps of soldiers against 8,000 disciplined invading Britishregulars in a battle that delivered the British a humiliatingmilitary defeat. The victory solidified America's independence andmarked the beginning of Jackson's rise to national prominence.Hailed as "terrifically readable" by the Chicago Sun Times , The Battle of New Orleans is popular American history at itsbest, bringing to life a landmark battle that helped define thecharacter of the United States.

Tanks and armored fighting vehicles have dominated the battlefield in all conflicts all over the world. Their amazing firepower, armor, and mobility has lead to most countries maintaining a fleet of these versatile and fearsome machines. Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles features the best of these vehicles.Entries are listed chronologically from 1915 to the present day. Each entry is accompanied by a de*ion of its development and service record, and a full specification table is included, detailing all the essential data:armament, crew, dimensions, speed,range, engine types, and power utput. Specifications are given with both imperial and metric measures listed. Among the vehicles featured in the volume are the British Mk I tank of World War I, the German Panther, and the American M4 Sherman of World War II, and the MI Abrams seen in battle today. All of the major manufacturers in the US, UK, Germany, France, and Russia are covered, alongside the smaller nations to present a global commentary on the

Propelled by the discovery of an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters, a young woman plunges into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family's past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the the truth becomes an adventure of monumental propportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the captitals of Eastern Europe - in a feat of storytelling so rich, so exciting, so suspenseful that it has enthralled readers around he world.

A riveting exploration of the world's most highly trainedmilitary units, from the ancient Spartans to modern-day US NavySEALs, this is the definitive guide to the world's special militaryforces.

On January 30, 1889,at the champagne-splashed height of the Viennese Carnival, theHandsome and charming Crown Prince Rudolf fired a revolver at histeenaged mistress and them himself. The two shots that rang out atMayerling in the Vienna Woods echo still.

A military leader of legendary genius, Caesar was also a greatwriter, recording the events of his life with incomparableimmediacy and power. "The Civil War" is a tense and grippingdepiction of his struggle with Pompey over the leadership ofRepublican Rome - a conflict that spanned the entire Roman world,from Gaul and Spain to Asia and Africa. Where Caesar's own accountleaves off in 48 BC, his lieutenants take up the history,describing the vital battles of Munda, Spain and Thapsus, and theinstallation of Cleopatra, later Caesar's mistress, as Queen ofEgypt. Together these narratives paint a full picture of the eventsthat brought Caesar supreme power - and paved the way for hisassassination only months later.

Communication is essential to our lives, but how often do we stop to think about where the words we use have come from? Have you ever thought about which words in English have been borrowed from Arabic, French or Dutch? Try admiral, landscape and marmalade just for starters. The Secret Life of Words is a wide-ranging account not only of the history of English, but also of how words witness history, reflect social change and remind us of our turbulent past. Henry Hitchings delves into our promiscuous language and reveals how and why it has absorbed words from more than 350 other languages many originating from the most unlikely of places, such as shampoo from Hindi and kiosk from Turkish. From the Norman Conquest to the present day, Hitchings narrates the story of English as an archive of our human experience and uncovers the secrets behind everyday words. This is a celebration of our language; after reading it, you will never again take the words we use for granted.

This beautifully illustrated book takes a journeythrough the majestic subcontinent of India, exploring people, places and wildlife in greatly contrasting habitats. Each very different environment is brought dazzlingly to life through a stunning combination of words and pictures.

In October 1942, a panzer officer wrote Stalingrad is no longer a town... Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure . The battle for Stalingrad became the focus of Hitler and Stalin's determination to win the gruesome, vicious war on the eastern front. The citizens of Stalingrad endured unimaginable hardship; the battle, with fierce hand-to-hand fighting in each room of each building, was brutally destructive to both armies. But the eventual victory of the Red Army, and the failure of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa, was the first defeat of Hitler's territorial ambitions in Europe, and the start of his decline. An extraordinary story of tactical genius, civilian bravery, obsession, carnage and the nature of war itself, Stalingrad will act as a testament to the vital role of the soviet war effort.

Product De*ion Terrorism and violence from Beirut to Belfast, from Cyprus to Soweto, from Munich to Mogadishu. The Ayatollah Khomeini, Tricky Dicky Nixon, General Amin, Pol Pot, - young Michael Jackson and ageing Elvis - explosively revealed by the Camera's silent witness.

In 1968, Gary Mitchell enlisted in the army and was sent toVietnam, where he caught the eye of his superiors, who found thathe excelled at long-distance shooting-a discovery that set him onthe path to a new identity as a sniper. During his time in Vietnam, American intelligence agents"borrowed" him from his Army unit and used him to carry out plannedassassinations most likely as part of the covert Phoenix Program.But this is not just the story of a man at war; it's also about thewar within the man, because the memories of his sniper missionsfollowed him home-and nearly destroyed him.

In the greatest work of history in the English language,Edward Gibbon compresses thirteen turbulent centuries into agripping epic narrative. It is history in the grandeighteenth-century manner, a well-researched drama charged withinsight, irony, and incisive character analysis. In elegant prose,Gibbon presents both the broad pattern of events and thesignificant revealing detail. He delves into religion, politics,sexuality, and social mores with equal authority and aplomb. Whilesubsequent research revealed minor factual errors about the earlyEmpire, Gibbon's bold vision, witty de*ions of a vast cast ofcharacters, and readiness to display his own beliefs and prejudicesresult in an astonishing work of history and literature, at oncepowerfully intelligent and enormously entertaining. Based on David Womersley's definitive three-volume PenguinClassics edition of The Decline and Fall of the RomanEmpire , this abridgement contains complete chapters from allthree volumes, linked by extended bridging pass

This Norton Critical Edition offers an jntroduction to Herodotus for students making their first approach to the history of Western Civilization or classical Greece．It features a new translation and selection 0f Herodotus’S The Histories bv Walter Blanco．supple—mented by critical works chosen 1)v Iennifer Roberts． VJalter BlanCO’S translation captures the spirit and meaning of Herodotus and conveys these to students today．The selections from The Histories show Herodotus both as ethnographer and as narrative historian．They include his rich de*ions of Egyptian civilization and its contributions to Greek culture．and his dramatiC account of the Persian wars．The backround selections include works by Aeschylus，Thucydides，Aristotle，and Plutarch．Nine—teenth—and twentieth—century commentaries On Herodotus round out this edition．

The latest edition of Melissa Rossi s popular What EveryAmerican Should Know series gives a crash course on one of the mostcomplex and important regions of the world. In this comprehensiveand engaging reference book, Rossi offers a clear analysis of theissues playing out in the Middle East, delving into each country shistory, politics, economy, and religions. Having traveled throughthe area over the past year, she exposes firsthand the U.S. sgeopolitical moves and how our presence has affected the region seconomic and political development. Topics include: · Why Iran is viewed as a threat by most Middle Eastcountries · What resource is more important than petroleum in regional powerplays · What s really behind the fighting between Sunni and Shia · How Saudi Arabia inadvertently feeds the violence in Iraq andbeyond · How monarchies like those in Jordan and Qatar are more open andprogressive than the so-called republics With answers that will surprise many Americans, and cove

Provides an accessible introduction to 28 0f the most important actions of World War ll,including Dunkirk，the Battle of Britain，Operation Barbarossa，Pear Harbor,El Atamein．the siege of Leningrad，Kursk，Monte Cassino，the D-Day landings，Battle of the Bulge，lwo Jima，the Battle for Berlin，and many，many more. Includes full-color tactical maps that allow the reader to grasp at a glance the decisivemoves of the battle. Features rnore than 250 color and black,and—white photographs and artworks illustrating the soldiers,uniforms,and military technology of the era.

This series depicts worldwide events of the twentieth century in a novel way. Fascinating black-and-white photographs from the Getty Images collection put images of the power of an event or the zaniness of new trends right before the viewersa?? eyes. The force of wars and political conflicts is just as important a theme in these comprehensive volumes as world-shaking innovations in science and technology. These are accompanied by portraits of great personalities in art, politics, and society. The lives of everyday people with their (at the time) common and not-so-common curiosities also comprise an extensive part of each book: sailing on roller skates in 1929, painted-on nylon stockings in 1947, or a dry cleanera??s where the charge for miniskirts varies according to their length.

With all the adventure, derring-do, and bloodcurdling battlescenes of his earlier book, Nathaniel’s Nutmeg , acclaimedhistorian Giles Milton dazzles readers with the true story ofWilliam Adams—the first Englishman to set foot in Japan (and theinspiration for James Clavell’s bestselling novel Shogun ).Beginning with Adams’s startling letter to the East India Companyin 1611—more than a decade after he’d arrived in Japan— SamuraiWilliam chronicles the first foray by the West into thatmysterious closed-off land. Drawing upon the journals and lettersof Adams as well as the other Englishmen who came looking for him, Samurai William presents a unique glimpse of Japan before itonce again closed itself off from the world for another two hundredyears.

Book De*ion Nathaniel Philbrick became an internationally renowned authorwith his National Book Award– winning In the Heart of the Sea,hailed as “spellbinding” by Time magazine. In Mayflower, Philbrickcasts his spell once again, giving us a fresh and extraordinarilyvivid account of our most sacred national myth: the voyage of theMayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony. From theMayflower’s arduous Atlantic crossing to the eruption of KingPhilip’s War between colonists and natives decades later, Philbrickreveals in this electrifying history of the Pilgrims afifty-five-year epic, at once tragic and heroic, that stillresonates with us today. From Publishers Weekly In this remarkable effort, National Book Award–winner Philbrick(In the Heart of the Sea) examines the history of Plymouth Colony.In the early 17th century, a small group of devout EnglishChristians fled their villages to escape persecution, going firstto Holland, then making the now infamous 10-week voyage to

In the second halfofthe 1990s, Stuart Eizenstat had perhaps the most controversial assignment of any U.S. foreign policy official in Europe. His mission had nothing to do with Russia,the Middle East, Yugoslavia, or any of the other hotspots of the day. Rather, Eizenstat's mission was to provide justice--albeit belated and imperfect justice--for the victims of World War II,while maintaining positive diplomatic relations with the nations being asked to pay. Imperfect Justice is Stuart Eizenstat's personal account of how the Holocaust became a political and diplomatic battleground fifty years after the war's end,as the issues of dormant bank accounts,slave labor,confiscated property,looted art,and unpaid insurance policies convulsed Europe and America.His story is not one of easy successes or an idyllic view of justice.Rather it is a revealing chronicle of high-stakes negotiations involving heads of European governments,played out on an international stage in an emotionally charged atmosphere,with a su