For centuries, Yoshiwara was the famed pleasure center ofTokyo. An erotic world unmatched by the West was created bybeautiful courtesans, geishas, dancers, actors and artists. To this'floating world' came the hedonists and the sensual pleasurehunters of old Japan. A hotbed of art and creativity, it also sawthe enslavement of countless women, sold or driven into the sextrade. "Yoshiwara" traces the rise and fall of this city within acity, a sanctioned preserve of teahouses and brothels that was notabolished until 1958, sketching a vivid portrait of social andsexual mores in Japan's capital.

From the author of the widely acclaimed King Leopold's Ghostcomes the taut, gripping account of the world's first grass-rootshuman rights movementthe fight to free the British Empire's slaves.In early 1787, twelve mena printer, a lawyer, a clergyman, andothers united by their hatred of slaverycame together in a Londonprinting shop and, combining fiery devotion with cool practicality,began one of the most brilliantly organized campaigns of all time.Masterfully stoking public opinion, the movement's leaderspioneered a variety of techniques used by citizens" movements eversince, from consumer boycotts to posters and lapel buttons tocelebrity endorsements. A deft account of the precipitous rise ofthis popular crusade and its fierce, powerful enemies, Bury theChains delivers all the drama, sweep, and surprise of Hochschild'sprevious histories.

"These four slim volumes offer new insight into the particular age by means of a highly readable text interspersed with color photos of classical art, architecture, and maps...These titles promise to be useful to students needing research materials but may also appeal to casual readers. Highly Recommended." -- Book Report, May/June 1999 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

THIS UNIQUE TIMECHART CELEB RATES THE 100 YEAR LEGEND OF HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES 11-foot foldout chronological Timechart showing a full color illustrated history of Harley-Davidson.

Rome’s famed historian illuminates the twilight of the oldRoman Republic from 157 to 43 BC in succinct accounts of thegreatest politicians and statesmen of the classical period.

In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Marine Corps’ ground campaignup the Tigris and Euphrates was notable for speed andaggressiveness unparalleled in military history. Little has beenwritten, however, of the air support that guaranteed the drive’ssuccess. Paving the way for the rush to Baghdad was “the hammerfrom above”–in the form of attack helicopters, jet fighters,transport, and other support aircraft. Now a former Marine fighterpilot shares the gripping never-before-told stories of the Marineswho helped bring to an end the regime of Saddam Hussein. As Jay Stout reveals, the air war had actually been in theplanning stages ever since the victory of Operation Desert Storm,twelve years earlier. But when Operation Iraqi Freedom officiallycommenced on March 20, 2003, the Marine Corps entered the fightwith an aviation arm at its smallest since before World War II.Still, with the motto “Speed Equals Success,” the separate air andground units acted as a team to get the job done. Drawing

In a journey across four continents, acclaimed science writerSteve Olson traces the origins of modern humans and the migrationsof our ancestors throughout the world over the past 150,000 years.Like Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel, Mapping Human Historyis a groundbreaking synthesis of science and history. Drawing on awide range of sources, including the latest genetic research,linguistic evidence, and archaeological findings, Olson reveals thesurprising unity among modern humans and "demonstrates just hownaive some of our ideas about our human ancestry have been"(Discover).Olson offers a genealogy of all humanity, explaining,for instance, why everyone can claim Julius Caesar and Confucius asforebears. Olson also provides startling new perspectives on theinvention of agriculture, the peopling of the Americas, the originsof language, the history of the Jews, and more. An engaging andlucid account, Mapping Human History will forever change how wethink about ourselves and our relations with others.

Ireland in the mid-1800s was primarily a population ofpeasants, forced to live on a single, moderately nutritious crop:potatoes. Suddenly, in 1846, an unknown and uncontrollable diseaseturned the potato crop to inedible slime, and all Ireland wasthreatened. Index.

A source of endless fascination and speculation, the subjectof countless biographies, novels, and films, Elizabeth I is nowconsidered from a thrilling new angle by the brilliant younghistorian Tracy Borman. So often viewed in her relationships withmen, the Virgin Queen is portrayed here as the product of women—themother she lost so tragically, the female subjects who worshippedher, and the peers and intimates who loved, raised, challenged, andsometimes opposed her. In vivid detail, Borman presents Elizabeth’s bewitching mother,Anne Boleyn, eager to nurture her new child, only to see her takenaway and her own life destroyed by damning allegations—which taughtElizabeth never to mix politics and love. Kat Astley, the governesswho attended and taught Elizabeth for almost thirty years, inviteddisaster by encouraging her charge into a dangerous liaison afterHenry VIII’s death. Mary Tudor—“Bloody Mary”—envied her youngersister’s popularity and threatened to destroy her altogether. Andanimosity dr

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

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.

The secretive Mysteries conducted at Eleusis in Greece fornearly two millennia have long puzzled scholars with strangeaccounts of initiates experiencing otherworldly journeys. In thisgroundbreaking work, three experts—a mycologist, a chemist, and ahistorian—argue persuasively that the sacred potion given toparticipants in the course of the ritual contained a psychoactiveentheogen. The authors then expand the discussion to show thatnatural psychedelic agents have been used in spiritual ritualsacross history and cultures. Although controversial when firstpublished in 1978, the book’s hypothesis has become more widelyaccepted in recent years, as knowledge of ethnobotany has deepened.The authors have played critical roles in the modern rediscovery ofentheogens, and The Road to Eleusis presents an authoritativeexposition of their views. The book’s themes of the universality ofexperiential religion, the suppression of that knowledge byexploitative forces, and the use of psychedelics to reconcile theh

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

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.

The best-selling novelist exposes the inner workings of thenuclear submarine, the core of America's nuclear arsenal, usingpreviously unrevealed diagrams and photographs along with formerlytop-secret information. 500,000 first printing. $200,000 ad/promo.--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Indispensible biographies of major figures in Romanhistory. A mathematician and philosopher, Plutarch was also an acclaimedbiographer and historian. Bringing together nine biographies fromhis Parallel Lives series, Rome in Crisis examines the lives ofsome of the most important people in the roman empire- TiberiusGracchus, Gaius Gracchus, Sertorius, Lucullus, Younger Cato,Brutus, Antony, Galba, and Otho, a reckless young noble whoconsorted with the tyrannical, debauched emperor Nero beforebriefly becoming emperor himself. Each biography is preceded by aninsightful introduction by the distinguished historian ChristopherPelling. Taken together, these portraits provide a wonderfullycompelling picture of the ancient world.

Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome (27 BC AD 14),brought peace and prosperity to his city after decades of savagecivil war. This selection from Cassius Dio's Roman History givesthe fullest de*ion of that long struggle and ultimate triumphdetailing the brutal battles and political feuds that led to thecollapse of Rome's 400-year-old republic, and Augustus' subsequentreign as emperor. Included are accounts of military campaigns fromEthiopia to Yugoslavia, and of long conflict with Antony andCleopatra. With skill and artistry, Dio brings to life manyspeeches from the era among them Augustus' damning indictment ofAntony's passion for the Egyptian queen and provides a fascinatingaccount of the debate between the great general Agrippa andMaecenas on the virtues of republicanism and monarchy.

The Battle ofNormandy was the greatest offensive campaign the world had everseen. Millions of soldiers struggling for the control of Europewere thrust onto the front lines of a massive war unlike anyexperienced in history. But this greatest of clashes would prove tobe the crucible in which the outcome of World War II would bedecided. It began on D-Day. June 6, 1944-the day that the Allied Forceslaunched Operation Overlord: the great crusade to free Europe fromthe iron grip of Nazi Germany. But only when the troops were ashoredid the real battle begin. With Nazi defenders marshaling to stop the invaders, Hitler and hisgenerals schemed to counterattack. Tightly constricted hedgerowcountry and bitter German resistance held the Allied advance to acrawl. Suddenly the Allies broke through and trapped the Naziarmies. Yet within weeks of this stunning disaster, the Germanssmashed the most dangerous Allied offensive yet. How was this possible? In Normandy Crucible , noted authorJohn Prados offers a penetrating acco

Celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuancedportrait of the father of our nation. With a breadth and depthmatched by no other onevolume life of George Washington, thiscrisply paced narrative carries the reader through his adventurousearly years, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, hispresiding over the Continental Convention, and his magnificentperformance as America's first president. In this groundbreakingwork, based on massive research, Chernow shatters forever thestereotype of a stolid, unemotional figure and brings to vivid lifea dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods.

Sun Tzu's Art of War , compiled more than two thousand yearsago, is a study of the anatomy of organizations in conflict. It isperhaps the most prestigious and influential book of strategy inthe world today. Now, this unique volume brings together theessential versions of Sun Tzu's text, along with illuminatingcommentaries and auxiliary texts written by distinguishedstrategists. The translations, by the renowned translator ThomasCleary, have all been published previously in book form, except forThe Silver Sparrow Art of War, which is available here for thefirst time. This comprehensive collection contains: The Art of War: This edition of Sun Tzu's text includes theclassic collection of commentaries by eleven interpreters. Mastering the Art of War: Consisting of essays by two prominentstatesmen-generals of Han dynasty China, Zhuge Liang and Liu Ji,this book develops the strategies of Sun Tzu's classic into acomplete handbook of organization and leadership. It draws onepisodes from Chinese his

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 this unforgettable chronicle of perhaps the most famousmoment in American military history, James Bradley has captured theglory, the triumph, the heartbreak, and the legacy of the six menwho raised the flag at Iwo Jima. Here is the true story behind theimmortal photograph that has come to symbolize the courage andindomitable will of America. In February 1945, American Marines plunged into the surf at IwoJima—and into history. Through a hail of machine-gun and mortarfire that left the beaches strewn with comrades, they battled tothe island's highest peak. And after climbing through a landscapeof hell itself, they raised a flag. Now the son of one of the flagraisers has written a powerfulaccount of six very different young men who came together in amoment that will live forever. To his family, John Bradley never spoke of the photograph or thewar. But after his death at age seventy, his family discoveredclosed boxes of letters and photos. In Flags of Our Fathers ,James Bradley draws on those documents

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.

We were in the closet. We all had our weapons loaded. We sat there and waited for the doorbell to ring," said Salvatore Vitale, a slender New York mobster known as Good-Looking Sal. "We left the door open a smidge to look out." The ringing of the bell at the private social club’s entrance signaled the arrival of the first of the invited guests. Vito Rizzuto crouched low, peeking out from his vantage point. Through the swelling crowd and loud chatter from tough men all accustomed to having their say, Vito kept his eyes on one man, Gerlando Sciascia, a fellow Sicilian who was a long-time Rizzuto family friend. Breathing deeply beneath his mask, Vito watched for the secret signal that would draw him from the closet, a signal that came when Sciascia slowly ran the fingers of his lean, right hand through the silver hair on the side of his head. That simple act of preening brought mayhem to the social club and radically changed the balance of power. "Don’t anybody move. This is a holdup," V