Until World War II aircraft had played only a minor role incombat, but with the RAF and Luftwaffe fiercely dueling in theBattle of Britain it was apparent that air superiority would be thedeciding factor in the war. The Eighth Air Force quickly grew fromits first modest effort into the mightiest aerial armada inhistory, eventually launching thousand-plane raids. WhileFortresses and Liberators attacked factories, fuel supplies, andtransportation networks, Lightnings, Thunderbolts, and Mustangsshot enemy fighters from the skies. But the road to victory was paved with sacrifice. From itsinaugural mission on July 4, 1942, until V-E Day, the Eighth AirForce lost more men than did the entire United States Marine Corpsin all its campaigns in the Pacific. The Mighty Eighth chroniclesthe testimony of the pilots, bombardiers, navigators, and gunnerswho daily put their lives on the line. Their harrowing accountsrecall the excitement and terror of dogfights against Nazi aces,maneuvering explosive-laden aircr

The fighting that waged across the Philippines during WorldWar II ranks among the most vicious in the annals of war. Nearly80,000 Americans and Filipinos were taken prisoner on Bataan, thename of which is forever linked with the notorious "death march."During the three years that Japan occupied the archipelago, 130,000American and Filipinos were killed. Prisoners in Japanese prisoncamps were 10 times as likely to die in captivity as soldiers heldby the Germans. When they returned to retake the islands, Americantroops preferred not to take any prisoners at all. Gerald Astorgives voice to the soldiers who participated in this gruesomeperiod of world military history. --This text refers to an outof print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Gulag--a vast array of Soviet concentration camps that heldmillions of political and criminal prisoners--was a system ofrepression and punishment that terrorized the entire society,embodying the worst tendencies of Soviet communism. In thismagisterial and acclaimed history, Anne Applebaum offers the firstfully documented portrait of the Gulag, from its origins in theRussian Revolution, through its expansion under Stalin, to itscollapse in the era of glasnost. Applebaum intimately re-createswhat life was like in the camps and links them to the largerhistory of the Soviet Union. Immediately recognized as a landmarkand long-overdue work of scholarship, Gulag is an essentialbook for anyone who wishes to understand the history of thetwentieth century.

In this vivid and compelling narrative, the Seven Years'War–long seen as a mere backdrop to the American Revolution–takeson a whole new significance. Relating the history of the war as itdeveloped, Anderson shows how the complex array of forces broughtinto conflict helped both to create Britain’s empire and to sow theseeds of its eventual dissolution. Beginning with a skirmish in the Pennsylvania backcountryinvolving an inexperienced George Washington, the Iroquois chiefTanaghrisson, and the ill-fated French emissary Jumonville,Anderson reveals a chain of events that would lead to worldconflagration. Weaving together the military, economic, andpolitical motives of the participants with unforgettable portraitsof Washington, William Pitt, Montcalm, and many others, Andersonbrings a fresh perspective to one of America’s most important wars,demonstrating how the forces unleashed there would irrevocablychange the politics of empire in North America.

When the United States entered the Gilded Age after the CivilWar, argues cultural historian Christopher Benfey, the nation lostits philosophical moorings and looked eastward to “Old Japan,” withits seemingly untouched indigenous culture, for balance andperspective. Japan, meanwhile, was trying to reinvent itself as amore cosmopolitan, modern state, ultimately transforming itself, inthe course of twenty-five years, from a feudal backwater to aninternational power. This great wave of historical and culturalreciprocity between the two young nations, which intensified duringthe late 1800s, brought with it some larger-than-lifepersonalities, as the lure of unknown foreign cultures promptedpilgrimages back and forth across the Pacific. In The Great Wave, Benfey tells the story of the tightly knitgroup of nineteenth-century travelers—connoisseurs, collectors, andscientists—who dedicated themselves to exploring and preserving OldJapan. As Benfey writes, “A sense of urgency impelled them, forthe

The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkestyears of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before orsince. Timothy Egan's critically acclaimed account rescues thisiconic chapter of American history from the shadows in a tour deforce of historical reportage. Following a dozen families and theircommunities through the rise and fall of the region, Egan tells oftheir desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dustblizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones. Brilliantlycapturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe, Egan does equaljustice to the human characters who become his heroes, "the stoic,long-suffering men and women whose lives he opens up with urgencyand respect" (New York Times). In an era that promises ever-greaternatural disasters, "The Worst Hard Time" is "arguably the bestnonfiction book yet" (Austin Statesman Journal) on the greatestenvironmental disaster ever to be visited upon our land and apowerful cautionary tale about the dangers of trifling withnature

Henry David Thoreau was just a few days short of histwenty-eighth birthday when he built a cabin on the shore of WaldenPond and began one of the most famous experiments in living inAmerican history. Apparently, he did not originally intend to writea book about his life at the pond, but nine years later, in Augustof 1854, Houghton Mifflin's predecessor, Ticknor and Fields,published Walden;or, a Life in the Woods. At the time the book waslargely ignored, and it took five years to sell out the firstprinting of two thousand copies. It was not until 1862, the year ofThoreau's death, that the book was brought back into print. Sincethen it has never been out of print. Published in hundreds ofeditions and translated into virtually every modern language,it hasbecome one of the most widely read and influential books everwritten, not only in this country but throughout the world. On the one hundred and fiftiethanniversary of the original publication of Walden, Houghton Mifflinis proud to present the most bea

The complete text of the bestselling narrative history of theCivil War--based on the celebrated PBS television series. Thisnon-illustrated edition interweaves the author's narrative with thevoices of the men and women who lived through that cataclysmictrail of our nationhood, from Abraham Lincoln to ordinary footsoldiers. Includes essays by distinguished historians of theera.

Infinitely readable and absorbing, Bruce Catton's The CivilWar is one of the best-selling, most widely read general historiesof the war available in a single volume. Newly introduced by thecritically acclaimed Civil War historian James M. McPherson, TheCivil War vividly traces one of the most moving chapters inAmerican history, from the early division between the North and theSouth to the final surrender of Confederate troops. Catton'saccount of battles is carefully interwoven with details about thepolitical activities of the Union and Confederate armies anddiplomatic efforts overseas. This new edition of The Civil War is amust-have for anyone interested in the war that dividedAmerica.

The Atlantic Wall is perhaps the most famous of Germany's World War II-era fortification lines in Europe, but Hitler built many others, from elaborate coastal defenses along the English Channel to the nearly impervious lines protecting the German homeland-the massive West Wall and the hurriedly built East Wall. Fortress Third Reich is the first and only comprehensive treatment of Germany's World War II fortifications and the important Nazi defensive systems, such as the Reich's highly feared air defense. The authors present an in-depth and detailed account of all German fortifications and defensive systems of World War II, supplemented by scores of remarkable technical drawings by Robert M. Jurga.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Garry Wills makes a compelling argumentfor a reassessment of Henry Adams as our nations greatest historianand his History as the "nonfiction prose masterpiece of thenineteenth century in America." Adams drew on his own southernfixations, his extensive foreign travel, his political service inthe Lincoln administration, and much more to invent the study ofhistory as we know it. His nine-volume chronicle of America from1800 to 1816 established new standards for employing archivalsources, firsthand reportage, eyewitness accounts, and othertechniques that have become the essence of modern history.Ambitious in scope, nuanced in detail, Henry Adams and the Makingof America throws brilliant light on the historian and the makingof history.

The Groundbreakers series examines the lives and work of pioneering men and women whose achievements and discoveries have had a lasting impact on our world. Each book tells us about the experiences that inspired these amazing individuals to think in new ways, and discusses how the environment they lived in affected their work. Information on their supporters, colleagues,and rivals adds to the story. Finally, a look at the person's legacy shows how their achievements and discoveries continue to affect people today.

Churchill's six-volume history of World War II -- the definitivework, remarkable both for its sweep and for its sense of personalinvolvement, universally acknowledged as a magnificent historicalreconstruction and an enduring work of literature. From Britian'sdarkest and finest hour to the great alliance and ultimate victory,the Second World War remains the pivotal event in our century.Churchill was not only its greatest leader, but the free world'smost eloquent voice of defiance in the face of Nazi tyranny. Hisepic account of those times, published in six volumes, won theNobel Prize in 1953.

"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.