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'.

The Crusades were the bridge between medieval and modernhistory, between feudalism and colonialism. In many ways, thelittle explored later Crusades were the most significant of themall, for they made the crisis truly global. The LastCrusaders is about the period?s last great conflict betweenEast and West, and the titanic contest between Habsburg-ledChristendom and the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth and sixteenthcenturies. From the great naval campaigns and the ferociousstruggle to dominate the North African shore, the conflict spreadout along trade routes, consuming nations and cultures, destroyingdynasties, and spawning the first colonial empires in South Americaand the Indian Ocean. Acclaimed scholar of Islamic history and author Barnaby Rogersonilluminates the Last Crusades in an accessible and skillful manner.He shows how, to this day, the disputed borders of the Crusades erastand as defining frontiers and dividing lines between languages,nations, and religions. From Constantinople to Fez, from Rhode

Tacitus' "Annals of Imperial Rome" recount the majorhistorical events from the years shortly before the death ofAugustus up to the death of Nero in AD 68. With clarity and vividintensity he describes the reign of terror under the corruptTiberius, the great fire of Rome during the time of Nero, and thewars, poisonings, scandals, conspiracies and murders that were partof imperial life. Despite his claim that the Annals were writtenobjectively, Tacitus' account is sharply critical of the emperors'excesses and fearful for the future of Imperial Rome, while alsofilled with a longing for its past glories.

They are floating cities with crews of thousands. They are thelinchpins of any military strategy, for they provide what hasbecome the key to every battle fought since World War I: airsuperiority. The mere presence of a U.S. naval carrier in a regionis an automatic display of strength that sends a message nopotential enemy can ignore. Now, Tom Clancy welcomes you aboard fora detailed look at how these floating behemoths function. With histrademark style and eye for detail, Clancy brings you naval combatstrategy like no one else can. Carrier includes: * Takeoffs andlandings: flying into the danger zone The aircraft onboard: their range, their power, theirweaponry The role of the carrier in modern naval warfare Exclusive photographs, illustrations and diagrams Plus: An interview with the U.S. Navy's Chief of NavalOperations, Admiral Jay Johnson

From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Wealth and Poverty of Nations , a fascinatinglook at the crossroads of kin and coin David S. Landes has earned a reputation as a brilliant writer andiconoclast among economic historians. In his latest acclaimed work,he takes a revealing look at the quality that distinguishes a thirdof today's Fortune 500 companies: family ownership. From thebanking fortunes of Rothschild and Morgan to the automobile empiresof Ford and Toyota, Landes explores thirteen different dynasties,revealing what lay behind their successes-and how extravagance, badbehavior, and poor enterprise brought some of them to their knees.A colorful history that is full of surprising conclusions, Dynasties is an engrossing mix of ambition, eccentricity,and wealth.

"Glorious, horrifying... D-Day is a vibrant workof history that honors the sacrifice of tens of thousands of menand women" - Time Antony Beevor-the man who "single-handedly transgormed thereputation of military history" ( The Guardian )-presents thefirst major account of the Normandy invasion and the liberation ofParis in more than twenty years. D-Day: The Battle forNormandy is the first book to describe not only the experiencesof the American, British, Canadian, and German soldiers, but alsothe terrible suffering of the French civilians caught up in thefighting. Beevor draws upon research in more than thirty archivesin six countries, going back to original accounts and interviews toproduce the consummate account of the invasion and the ferociousoffensive that led to Paris's liberation.

Nine Greek biographies illustrate the rise and fall of Athens,from the legendary days of Theseus, the city's founder, throughSolon, Themistocles, Aristides, Cimon, Pericles, Nicias, andAlcibiades, to the razing of its walls by Lysander.

In AD 476 the Roman Empire fell–or rather, its western halfdid. Its eastern half, which would come to be known as theByzantine Empire, would endure and often flourish for anothereleven centuries. Though its capital would move to Constantinople,its citizens referred to themselves as Roman for the entireduration of the empire’s existence. Indeed, so did its neighbors,allies, and enemies: When the Turkish Sultan Mehmet II conqueredConstantinople in 1453, he took the title Caesar of Rome, placinghimself in a direct line that led back to Augustus. For far too many otherwise historically savvy people today, thestory of the Byzantine civilization is something of a void. Yet formore than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat ofChristian civilization. When Europe fell into the Dark Ages,Byzantium held fast against Muslim expansion, keeping Christianityalive. When literacy all but vanished in the West, Byzantium madeprimary education available to both sexes. Students debated themerits

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.

This gripping account of Germany's notorious campaign combinessophisticated use of previously published firsthand accounts inGerman and Russian along with newly available Soviet archivalsources and caches of letters from the front. For Beevor (ParisAfter the Liberation, 1944-1949), the 1942 German offensive was agamble that reflected Hitler's growing ascendancy over his militarysubordinates. The wide-open mobile operations that took the 6thArmy into Stalingrad were nevertheless so successful that Sovietauthorities insisted they could be explained only by treason. (Over13,000 Soviet soldiers were formally executed during the battle forStalingrad alone.) Combat in Stalingrad, however, deprived theGermans of their principal force multipliers of initiative andflexibility. The close-gripped fighting brought men to the limitsof endurance, then kept them there. Beevor juxtaposes the grotesquewith the mundane, demonstrating the routines that men on both sidesdeveloped to cope with an environment that brought them to

Writing with passion and intelligence, Said retraces thePalestinian Hejira, its disastrous flirtation with Saddam Hussein,and its ambitious peace accord with Israel. Said demolishes Westernstereotypes about the Muslim world and Islam's illusions aboutitself, leaving a masterly synthesis of scholarship and polemicwith the power to redefine the debate over the Middle East.

It is a tale as familiar as our history primers: A derangedactor, John Wilkes Booth, killed Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre,escaped on foot, and eluded capture for twelve days until he methis fiery end in a Virginia tobacco barn. In the national hysteriathat followed, eight others were arrested and tried; four of thosewere executed, four imprisoned. Therein lie all the classicelements of a great thriller. But the untold tale is even morefascinating. Now, in American Brutus, Michael W. Kauffman, one of the foremostLincoln assassination authorities, takes familiar history to adeeper level, offering an unprecedented, authoritative account ofthe Lincoln murder conspiracy. Working from a staggering array ofarchival sources and new research, Kauffman sheds new light on thebackground and motives of John Wilkes Booth, the mechanics of hisplot to topple the Union government, and the trials and fates ofthe conspirators. Piece by piece, Kauffman explains and corrects commonmisperceptions and analy

In this imaginative book, Maya Jasanoff uncovers theextraordinary stories of collectors who lived on the frontiers ofthe British Empire in India and Egypt, tracing their exploits totell an intimate history of imperialism. Jasanoff delves beneaththe grand narratives of power, exploitation, and resistance to lookat the British Empire through the eyes of the people caught up init. Written and researched on four continents, Edge ofEmpire enters a world where people lived, loved, mingled, andidentified with one another in ways richer and more complex thanprevious accounts have led us to believe were possible. And as thisbook demonstrates, traces of that world remain tangible—andtopical—today. An innovative, persuasive, and provocative work ofhistory.

The epic story of the collision between one of nature’ssmallest organisms and history’s mightiest empire During the golden age of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinianreigned over a territory that stretched from Italy to North Africa.It was the zenith of his achievements and the last of them. In 542AD, the bubonic plague struck. In weeks, the glorious classicalworld of Justinian had been plunged into the medieval and modernEurope was born. At its height, five thousand people died every day inConstantinople. Cities were completely depopulated. It was thefirst pandemic the world had ever known and it left its indeliblemark: when the plague finally ended, more than 25 million peoplewere dead. Weaving together history, microbiology, ecology,jurisprudence, theology, and epidemiology, Justinian’s Flea is aunique and sweeping account of the little known event that changedthe course of a continent.

Marine Sniper is not only one of the most astonishingtrue stories to emerge from the Vietnam War, it has become aclassic of military nonfiction, inspiring a sequel, SilentWarrior: The Marine Sniper's Vietnam Story Continues . There have been many Marines. There have been many marksmen. Butthere has only been one Sergeant Carlos Hathcock. A legend in theMarine ranks, Hathcock stalked the Viet Cong behind enemy lines-ontheir own ground. And each time he emerged from the jungle havingdone his duty. His record is one of the finest in military history,with 93 confirmed kills. This is the story of a simple man who endured incredible dangersand hardships for his country and his Corps. These are the missionsthat have made Carlos Hathcock a legend in the brotherhood ofMarines.

In 1863, after surviving the devastating Battle of Corinth,Newton Knight, a poor farmer from Mississippi, deserted theConfederate Army and began a guerrilla battle against theConfederacy. For two years he and other residents of Jones Countyengaged in an insurrection that would have repercussions far beyondthe scope of the Civil War. In this dramatic account of an almostforgotten chapter of American history, Sally Jenkins and JohnStauffer upend the traditional myth of the Confederacy as a heroicand unified Lost Cause, revealing the fractures within Civil-Warera Southern society. No man better exemplified these complexitiesthan Newton Knight, a pro-Union sympathizer in the deep South whorefused to fight a rich man’s war for slavery and cotton.

This acclaimed book on the Wright Brothers takes the readerstraight to the heart of their remarkable achievement, focusing onthe technology and offering a clear, concise chronicle of preciselywhat they accomplished and how they did it. This book deals withthe process of the invention of the airplane and how the brothersidentified and resolved a range of technical puzzles that othershad attempted to solve for a century. Step by step, the book details the path of invention (includingthe important wind tunnel experiments of 1901) which culminated inthe momentous flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the first majormilestone in aviation history. Enhanced by original photos,designs, drawings, notebooks, letters and diaries of the WrightBrothers, Visions of a Flying Machine is a fascinating book thatwill be of interest to engineers, historians, enthusiasts, oranyone interested in the process of invention.

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

The Complete Idiots Guide(r) to World War II, SecondEdition , will feature updated and expanded coverage of thefateful D-Day invasion, a critical timeline of major WW II events,and a WW II timeline highlighting the crucial and most importantevents of the war. It will include details about major battles onland, in the air, and on the sea-starting with Hitler's rise topower and his goal of European conquest; to Japan's bombing ofPearl Harbor; to the decisive battles such as D-Day and the Battleof the Midway, which turned they tides of the war toward theAllies.

For this rousing,revisionist history, the former head of exhibitions at England'sNational Maritime Museum has combed original documents and recordsto produce a most authoritative and definitive account of piracy's"Golden Age." As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. "walking theplank" is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth thatis more complex and often bl... (展开全部) For this rousing, revisionist history, the formerhead of exhibitions at England's National Maritime Museum hascombed original documents and records to produce a mostauthoritative and definitive account of piracy's "Golden Age." Ashe explodes many accepted myths (i.e. "walking the plank" is purefiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complexand often bloodier. 16 pp. of photos. Maps. From the Hardcover edition.

In Patton, Montgomery, Rommel , one of Britain's mostaccomplished military scholars presents an unprecedented study ofthe land war in the North African and European theaters, as well astheir chief commanders—three men who also happened to be the mostcompelling dramatis personae of World War II. Beyond spellbinding depictions of pivotal confrontations at ElAlamein, Monte Cassino, and the Ardennes forest, author-scholarTerry Brighton illuminates the personal motivations and historicalevents that propelled the three men's careers: how Patton's,Montgomery's, and Rommel's Great War experiences helped to moldtheir style of command—and how, exactly, they managed to applytheir arguably megalomaniacal personalities (and hithertounrecognized political acumen and tact) to advance their careersand strategic vision. Opening new avenues of inquiry into the lives and careers of threemen widely profiled by scholars and popular historians alike,Brighton definitively answers numerous lingering and controversialquestion

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Books VI-X of Livy's monumental work trace Rome's fortunesfrom its near collapse after defeat by the Gauls in 386 bc to itsemergence, in a matter of decades, as the premier power in Italy,having conquered the city-state of Samnium in 293 bc. In thisfascinating history, events are described not simply in terms ofpartisan politics, but through colorful portraits that bring thestrengths, weaknesses and motives of leading figures such as thenoble statesman Camillus and the corrupt Manlius vividly to life.While Rome's greatest chronicler intended his history to be amemorial to former glory, he also had more didactic aims - hopingthat readers of his account could learn from the past ills andvirtues of the city.

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), who led the Macedonian armyto victory in Egypt, Syria, Persia and India, was perhaps the mostsuccessful conqueror the world has ever seen. Yet although no otherindividual has attracted so much speculation across the centuries,Alexander himself remains an enigma. Curtius' History offers agreat deal of information unobtainable from other sources of thetime. A compelling narrative of a turbulent era, the work recountsevents on a heroic scale, detailing court intrigue, stirringspeeches and brutal battles - among them, those of Macedonia'sgreat war with Persia, which was to culminate in Alexander's finaltriumph over King Darius and the defeat of an ancient and mightyempire. It also provides by far the most plausible and hauntingportrait of Alexander we possess: a brilliantly realized image of aman ruined by constant good fortune in his youth.