The Battle of Iwo Jima, fought in the winter of 1945 on arocky island south of Japan, brought a ferocious slice of hell toearth: in a month's time, more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers woulddie defending a patch of ground a third the size of Manhattan,while nearly 26,000 Americans fell taking it from them. The battlewas a turning point in the war in the Pacific, and it produced oneof World War II's enduring images: a photograph of six soldiersraising an American flag on the flank of Mount Suribachi, theisland's commanding high point. One of those young Americans was John Bradley, a Navy corpsmanwho a few days before had braved enemy mortar and machine-gun fireto administer first aid to a wounded Marine and then drag him tosafety. For this act of heroism Bradley would receive the NavyCross, an award second only to the Medal of Honor. Bradley, who died in 1994, never mentioned his feat to hisfamily. Only after his death did Bradley's son James begin to piecetogether the facts of his father's h
Around 330 b.c., a remarkable adventurer named Pytheas set outfrom the Greek colony of Massalia (now Marseille) on theMediterranean Sea to explore the fabled, terrifying lands ofnorthern Europe. Renowned archaeologist Barry Cunliffe herere-creates Pytheas's unprecedented journey, which occurred almost300 years before Julius Caesar landed in Britain. Beginning with aninvaluable pocket history of early Mediterranean civilization,Cunliffe illuminates what Pytheas would have seen andexperienced-the route he likely took to reach Brittany, thenBritain, Iceland, and Denmark; and evidence of the ancient cultureshe would have encountered on shore. The discoveries Pytheas madewould reverberate throughout the civilized world for years to come,and in recounting his extraordinary voyage, Cunliffe chronicles anessential chapter in the history of civilization.
... [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
Case one: A little girl goes missing in the night. Case two: A beautiful young office worker falls victim to amaniac's apparently random attack. Case three: A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of herown making - with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband -until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape. Thirty years after the first incident, as private investigatorJackson Brodie begins investigating all three cases, startlingconnections and discoveries emerge . . .
The fascinating story of a lost city and anunprecedented American civilization While Mayanand Aztec civilizations are widely known and documented, relativelyfew people are familiar with the largest prehistoric NativeAmerican city north of Mexico-a site that expert Timothy Pauketatbrings vividly to life in this groundbreaking book. Almost athousand years ago, a city flourished along the Mississippi Rivernear what is now St. Louis. Built around a sprawling central plazaand known as Cahokia, the site has drawn the attention ofgenerations of archaeologists, whose work produced evidence ofcomplex celestial timepieces, feasts big enough to feed thousands,and disturbing signs of human sacrifice. Drawing on thesefascinating finds, Cahokia presents a lively and astonishingnarrative of prehistoric America.
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.
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.
Major John L. Plaster, a three-tour veteran of Vietnam tells thestory of the most highly classified United States covert operativesto serve in the war: The Studies and Observations Group, code-namedSOG. Comprised ofvolunteers from such elite military units as theArmy's Green Berets, the USAF Air Commandos, and Navy SEALs, SOGagents answered directly to the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs, with somemissions requiring approval from the White House. Now for the firsttime, the dangerous assignments of this top-secret unit can at lastbe revealed!
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.
