Xenophon's "History" recounts nearly fifty turbulent years ofwarfare in Greece between 411 and 362 BC. Continuing the story ofthe Peloponnesian War at the point where Thucydides finished hismagisterial history, this is a fascinating chronicle of theconflicts that ultimately led to the decline of Greece, and thewars with both Thebes and the might of Persia. An Athenian bybirth, Xenophon became a firm supporter of the Spartan cause, andfought against the Athenians in the battle of Coronea. Combininghistory and memoir, this is a brilliant account of the triumphs andfailures of city-states, and a portrait of Greece at a time ofcrisis.

Writing at the time of Napoleon's greatest campaigns, Prussiansoldier and writer Carl von Clausewitz created this landmarktreatise on the art of warfare, which presented war as part of acoherent system of political thought. In line with Napoleon's ownmilitary actions, he illustrated the need to annihilate the enemyand make a strong display of one's power in an 'absolute war'without compromise. But he was also careful to distinguish betweenwar and politics, arguing that war could only be justified whendebate was no longer adequate, and that if undertaken, its aimshould ultimately be to improve the wellbeing of the nation.

On December 19, 1944, Gene Garrison turned nineteen. Hespent his birthday in a muddy foxhole, listening to the cries ofwounded comrades while exploding artillery shells sent shrapnelraining down on him and the enemy prepared to attack. It was hisfirst day in combat. Unless Victory Comes recounts Garrison's journeyas he was transformed from a fresh-faced kid from the farmlands ofOhio into a hardened soldier fighting for survival. From hisbaptism under fire, to the bitter fighting in the Battle of theBulge, to the end of the war on the Czechoslovakian border, GeneGarrison witnessed the war from the ground up. This is the story ofone young man, far from home, surrounded by strangers, facing deathyet never losing hope that he would live to see his familyagain.

Might always makes right, until it's too late, and we say itwas wrong after all. Surely one of the biggest illegal land grabsin history took place right here in River City, otherwise known asthe USA. Over a period of three hundred years, the originalinhabitants of this vast country were dispossessed of nearlyeverything---their land, their pride, their language, theirculture, and in many cases, their right to live. Brushed off as"savages", "primitive", "children of nature" and by other edifyingepithets, by 1900, the surviving American Indians had been confinedto a gulag archipelago of reservations, some of only a fewacres---though these lands were at least nominally controlled bythem. Alcohol and disease had brought them low, combined withmassacres and forced migrations. And these were the lucky ones !Many tribes, especially in the east, lost everything, reduced toremnants whose language and culture were all but destroyed, barelymanaging to hang on amidst the sea of uncaring white immigrants.Although th

The Red Army's invasion of Berlin in January 1945 was one of themost terrifying examples of fire and sword in history. Frenzied byterrible memories of Wehrmacht and SS brutality, the Russianswreaked havoc, leaving hundreds of thousands of civilians dead andmillions more fleeing westward. Drawing upon newly availablematerial from former Soviet files, as well as from German,American, British, French, and Swedish archives, bestselling authorAntony Beevor vividly recounts the experiences of the millions ofcivilians and soldiers caught up in the nightmare of the ThirdReich's final collapse. The Fall of Berlin 1945 is aheartrending story of pride, stupidity, fanaticism, revenge, andsavagery, yet it is also one of astonishing human endurance,self-sacrifice, and survival against all odds.

Since its publication twenty years ago, J. M. Roberts'smonumental History of the World has remained the "unrivaled WorldHistory of our day" (A. J. P. Taylor), selling more than a quarterof a million copies worldwide. Now in an equally masterfulperformance, Roberts displays his consummate skills of expositionin telling the tale of the European continent, from its Neolithicorigins and early civilizations of the Aegean to the advent of thetwenty-first century. A sweeping and entertaining history, ThePenguin History of Europe comprehensively traces the development ofEuropean identity over the course of thousands of years, rangingacross empires and religions, economics, science, and the arts.Roberts's astute and lucid analyses of the disparate spheres oflearning that have shaped European civilization and ourunderstanding of it make The Penguin History of Europe a remarkablejourney through the last two centuries.

A renowned historian contends "that the Americanwarrior, not technology, wins wars." (Patrick K. O'Donnell, authorof Give Me Tomorrow ) John C. McManus coverssix decades of warfare in which the courage of American troopsproved the crucial difference between victory and defeat. Based onyears of archival research and personal interviews with veterans,Grunts demonstrates the vital, and too often forgotten, importanceof the human element in protecting the American nation, andadvances a passionate plea for fundamental change in ourunderstanding of war.

Now in paperback—the “amazing”( James Bradley, New York Timesbestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers) never-before-told storyof the greatest escape of the Second World War. In 1944 the OSS set out to recover more than 500 downed airmentrapped behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. Classified for over halfa century for political reasons, the full account of thisunforgettable story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery is nowbeing told for the first time.

Essential reading for anyone interested in the leaders whoshaped our nation. Popular interest in the Founding Fathers has surged over the pastdecade and is beginning to rival interest in the Civil War. Peopleare increasingly looking back to the generation that invented thiscountry's political ideas and institutions for help in today'scomplex political world. The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to theFounding Fathers presents the Founding Fathers through the issuesthat defined them-issues that are with the country today.

For nineteenth-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, theItalian Renaissance was nothing less than the beginning of themodern world - a world in which flourishing individualism and thecompetition for fame radically transformed science, the arts, andpolitics. In this landmark work he depicts the Italian city-statesof Florence, Venice and Rome as providing the seeds of a new formof society, and traces the rise of the creative individual, fromDante to Michelangelo. A fascinating de*ion of an era ofcultural transition, this nineteenth-century masterpiece was tobecome the most influential interpretation of the ItalianRenaissance, and anticipated ideas such as Nietzsche's concept ofthe 'Ubermensch' in its portrayal of an age of genius.

One of the greatest figures of his age, Thomas BabingtonMacaulay (1800-59) was widely admired throughout his life for hisprose, poetry, political acumen and oratorical skills. Among themost successful and enthralling histories ever written, his"History of England" won instantaneous success following thepublication of its first volumes in 1849, and was rapidlytranslated into most European languages. Beginning with theGlorious Revolution of 1688 and concluding at the end of the reignof William III in 1702, it illuminates a time of deep strugglethroughout Britain and Ireland in vivid and compelling prose. Butwhile Macaulay offers a gripping narrative, and draws on a widerange of sources including historical accounts and creativeliterature, his enduring success also owes a great deal to hisastonishing ability to grasp, and explain, the political realitythat has always underpinned social change.

An acclaimed historian offers an optimistic view of the futureof the United States in the light of Roman history Maybe the end of the American ascendancy is not upon us. Maybethe U.S. will continue to dominate the world for centuries. Nowaward-winning historian Thomas Madden delivers an optimistic viewof our nation's future. Madden shows that the power of the ancient Roman republic and theU.S. was built on trust between allies, not the conquest ofenemies. The far-reaching implications of this fact are essentialreading for anyone who cares about the challenges we face now andin the years ahead. Packed with stories from Roman history that offer amazinglyobvious and explicitly stated parallels to our recent history,Empires of Trust is a narrative pleasure and a hopefulinspiration.

An unforgettable portrait of the diverse American community inParis during the occupation. From the spring of 1940 to liberation in the summer of 1944,Americans in Paris recounts tales of adventure, intrigue, passion,deceit, and survival under the brutal Nazi occupation through theeyes of the Americans who lived through it all. Renowned journalistCharles Glass tells the story of a remarkable cast of five thousandexpatriates-artists, writers, scientists, playboys, musicians,cultural mandarins, and ordinary businessmen-and their struggles inNazi Paris. Glass's discovery of letters, diaries, war documents,and police files reveals as never before how Americans were trappedin a web of intrigue, collaboration, and courage.

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.

This is the story of John McKinney who received the Medal ofHonor for his actions against a Japanese surprise attack. On May11, 1945, McKinney returned fire on the Japanese attacking hisunit, using every available weapon-even his fists-standing aloneagainst wave after wave of dedicated Japanese soldiers. At the end,John McKinney was alive-with over forty Japanese bodies beforehim. This is the story of an extraordinary man whose courage andfortitude in battle saved many American lives, and whose legacy hasbeen sadly forgotten by all but a few. Here, the proud legacy ofJohn McKinney lives on.

From clay tablets to CD-ROM, from book thieves to bookburners, bibliophiles, book fools and saints, noted essayistAlberto Manguel follows the quirky and passionate 4,000-year-oldhistory of the written work whose true hero is the reader. Photos line drawings.

Filled with extraordinary characters and told at breakneckspeed, Provenance reads like a well-plotted thriller. Butthis is most certainly not fiction. It is the astonishing narrativeof one of the most far-reaching and elaborate cons in the historyof art forgery. Stretching from London to Paris to New York,investigative reporters Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo recount thetale of infamous con man and unforgettable villain John Drewe andhis accomplice, the affable artist John Myatt. Together theyexploited the archives of British art institutions to irrevocablylegitimize the hundreds of pieces they forged, many of which arestill considered genuine and hang in prominent museums and privatecollections today.

Taken from Appian's Roman History, the five books collectedhere form the sole surviving continuous historical narrative of theera between 133-35 BC - a time of anarchy and instability for theRoman Empire. A masterly account of a turbulent epoch, theydescribe the Catiline conspiracy; the rise and fall of the FirstTriumvirate; the murder of Julius Caesar; the formation of theSecond Triumvirate by Antonius, Octavian, and Lepidus; and brutalcivil war. A compelling depiction of the decline of the Roman stateinto brutality and violence, The Civil Wars portrays politicaldiscontent, selfishness and the struggle for power - a strugglethat was to culminate in a titanic battle for mastery over theRoman Empire, and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian in31 BC

In recent years,more and more foreing personnel are showing a concern about Tibet.In order to meet their needs,we have compiled this book based on the academic monorgraph Comments on the Historical Status of Tibet published in 1995 by the Nationalities Press. Comments on the Historical Staqtus of Tibet expounds upon the close relations between the region fo Tibet and ancient China making use of rich and accurate historical materials,especially those showing that Tiber has been a part of Chinese territory since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).It forcefully denies the entire ideological system of "Tibetan independence"and,for the first time,systematically answers the theories put forward by the Dalai clique.The Chinese edition of this work has attracted great attention in China and was granted the 1996 Excellent Book Award in China.

A "compact, engrossing narrative"* that vividly reimagines theevents that led to the outbreak of the Civil War What separates historian Nelson D. Lankford's engagingexamination of the causes of the Civil War from other books on thesubject is its willingness to consider the alternativepossibilities to history. Cry Havoc! recounts in riveting detailthe small quirks of timing, character, and place that influencedthe huge trajectory of events during eight critical weeks fromLincoln's inauguration through the explosion at Fort Sumter and theembattled president's response to it. It addresses the what-ifs,the might-have-beens, and the individual personalities that playedinto circumstances-a chain of indecisions and miscalculations,influenced by swollen vanity and wishful thinking-that gave shapeto the dreadful conflict to come.

Shed some light on one of history?’s darkest periods. The Complete Idiot?’s Guide? to the Middle Ages givesreaders the beginning, middle, and end of the era, starting withthe fall of the Roman Empire in the year 550 and ending with theRenaissance in 1500?— and covers some uncomfortable similaritiesbetween the so-called ?“Dark Ages?” and today?’s ?“modernworld.?” ??A fascinating, fact-filled book that delivers more than athousand years of history in easy-to-understand chapters ??Many AP European History students are urged to read an overviewof medieval Europe to aid in their understanding of modern Europe,and a number of high schools have adopted elective courses inmedieval history ??Complete with a timeline, a who?’s who, and guides to furtherreading and the Middle Ages in film

A tribute to World War II heroism from the nationalbestselling author of Biggest Brother . The paratroopers of Easy Company, 101st AirborneDivision, have come to symbolize the incredible bravery and heroismshown by the greatest generation in World War II. on the eve of the65th anniversary of the Allies' victory in Europe, author LarryAlexander crosses an ocean and a continent to discover just whatmade the Band of Brothers special. Accompanied by his friendForrest Guth, an easy Company veteran on his final tour in Europe,Alexander explores the living history of the places where Americansoldiers went into action, and reveals what makes this story someaningful for us today. Part travelogue, part historicalperspective, In the Footsteps of the Band of Brothers is anunforgettable memorial to the men who fell in action, and a tributeto the veterans who are still with us.

Pliny's "Natural History" is an astonishingly ambitious workthat ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.Mingling acute observation with often wild speculation, it offers afascinating view of the world as it was understood in the firstcentury AD, whether describing the danger of diving for sponges,the first water-clock, or the use of asses' milk to removewrinkles. Pliny himself died while investigating the volcaniceruption that destroyed Pompeii in AD 79, and the natural curiositythat brought about his death is also very much evident in the"Natural History" - a book that proved highly influential right upuntil the Renaissance and that his nephew, Pliny the younger,described 'as full of variety as nature itself'.