African Wars

In the mid-1980s, Emmanuel Jal was a seven-year-old Sudanese boy, living in a small village with his parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. But as Sudan's civil war moved closer - with the Islamic government seizing tribal lands for water, oil, and other resources - Jal's family moved again and again, seeking peace. Then, on one terrible day, Jal was separated from his mother. Soon, Jal was conscripted into that army, one of 10,000 child soldiers, and fought through two separate civil wars over nearly a decade.

Freedom and Opportunity is a narrative about the remarkable life and times of Robert Smalls. Born a slave in Low Country South Carolina, Smalls managed to plan and orchestrate a daring escape from involuntary servitude aboard a purloined Confederate steamship in May 1862. For the duration of the Civil War, Smalls served the Union military as a pilot and ship Captain. After the Civil War, Smalls became an affluent businessman and community leader. Through rigorous study the former slave achieved full literacy and developed polished oratorical skills. Smalls eventually entered the world of ...

1879 was a year of bloody conflict on the African continent. Cetsywayo, the Zulu chieftain, had wielded his armies with precision and care, defeating and driving his enemies before him. This courageous force finally butted heads with the British on the sweeping plains of Africa, inflicting grievous losses on the empire’s red coats. This book covers the conflict and the major political and military events that took place. Written the year after the war came to an end, the author weaves a compelling narrative that’s hard to put down.

An Afro-Russian KGB agent returns to his forefathers' homeland — Chicago — to track down a Russian dissident prepared to unleash the ultimate doomsday device. Dissatisfied by the results of the Post World War I Civil Rights movement, angry African-Americans immigrated to the Soviet Union in the 1930's, for the promise of equality under Communism. Colonel Damian Turner, a native Afro-Russian KGB agent, returns to Chicago, the former home of his grandfather, as part of a worldwide manhunt for one of his nation's highest ranking officers, Marshall Victor Craig. Craig, infuriated at the ...

Slave traders are peripheral figures in most histories of American slavery. But these men - who trafficked and sold over half a million enslaved people from the Upper South to the Deep South - were essential to slavery's expansion and fueled the growth and prosperity of the United States. In The Ledger and the Chain, acclaimed historian Joshua D. Rothman recounts the shocking story of the domestic slave trade by tracing the lives and careers of Isaac Franklin, John Armfield, and Rice Ballard, who built the largest and most powerful slave-trading operation in American history.

A poison salesman bargains for his life with a beautiful, mysterious customer.... A devious virgin mage pits her two best friends against each other for the right to take her to bed.... A male spy sells his virginity contract to a much more experienced sorceress.... A young woman finally earns the title of queen--only to launch an affair with her king's deadly brother.... A successful lord chooses a wife from his magicless farmworkers, but the alluring young woman is much more than he bargained for.... And two men on the field of war learn how cheat at a card game--and how to be honest with...

The fighting in North Africa during World War II is commonly overlooked, aside from the famous battle at El Alamein that pitted the British under General Bernard Montgomery against the legendary "Desert Fox", Erwin Rommel. But while the Second Battle of El Alamein would be the pivotal action in North Africa, the conflict in North Africa began all the way back in the summer of 1940 when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared Italy's entrance into the war.

In Behold, America, Sarah Churchwell offers a surprising account of 20th-century Americans' fierce battle for the nation's soul. It follows the stories of two phrases - the "American dream" and "America First" - that once embodied opposing visions for America. Starting as a Republican motto before becoming a hugely influential isolationist slogan during World War I, America First was always closely linked with authoritarianism and white supremacy. The American dream, meanwhile, initially represented a broad vision of democratic and economic equality.

In the aftermath of the Battles of Khambula and Gingindlovu, a lull fell over the war-torn Zulu Kingdom. Though British forces under Lord Chelmsford emerged victorious during both encounters, earlier defeats, casualties, and supply shortages required them to withdraw back into Natal. Now with waves of long-awaited reinforcements arriving, Chelmsford prepares to launch a second invasion of Zululand. Death and destruction have taken their toll on the Zulu people. Thousands of families mourn for their loved ones, while refugees flee from the devastation of the border regions.

When W. E. B. Du Bois, believing in the possibility of full citizenship and democratic change, encouraged African Americans to “close ranks” and support the Allied cause in World War I, he made a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Seeking both intellectual clarity and personal atonement, for more than two decades Du Bois attempted to write the definitive history of Black participation in World War I. His book, however, remained unfinished.

Bigger than Watergate! Bigger than Iran-Contra! Ten times bigger than both, said one representative. The Bengahzi scandal may have been covered up by the White House, but the truth is about to come out. The Real Benghazi Story is a groundbreaking investigative work that finally exposes some of the most significant issues related to the murderous September 11, 2012, attack - information with current national security implications.

C.S. Forester, creator of the beloved Horatio Hornblower series, takes young readers on an exciting adventure to the shores of Tripoli in North Africa. That's where, more than 200 years ago, the United States was threatened by "pirates" who snatched American merchant ships and imprisoned sailors - and the country's young, untested navy took on the task of fighting the pirates in their home waters.

Africa is on the threshold of a changing global environment, with intense competition between those who are part of the so-called Western, liberal, American-led global order and a range of states, illiberal to autocratic, who wish to supplant that order that has been in place since the end of World War II with one that is more to their liking. Living on the youngest continent, Africans find themselves courted by representatives of both blocs. Few understand the significance of this competition or, for that matter, Africa itself. Few know what to do with Africa’s abundant resources, human ...

The fighting in North Africa during World War II is commonly overlooked, aside from the famous battle at El Alamein that pitted the British under General Bernard Montgomery against the legendary "Desert Fox", Erwin Rommel. But while the Second Battle of El Alamein would be the pivotal action in North Africa, the conflict in North Africa began all the way back in the summer of 1940, when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared Italy’s entrance into the war, seeing an opportunity for Italy to enlarge its colonial holdings in Africa by seizing portions of the British Empire.

Social statistics of 1900 indicate that material quality of life was lower for most black Americans than under slavery. Kirkpatrick Sale marshals much forgotten evidence to cast this glorious part of American history in a realistic and critical light. Emancipation, yes. But as a military measure during a cruel war of invasion? Slavery once existed throughout the western hemisphere, but almost everywhere except the United States, it ended peacefully.

When Trenicka denies completing him with that one magic word, Kaedon is left distraught and wounded like never before. But Trenika has her reasons for running away, one in particular that has haunted her life like a dark plague. That dark plague is Romell, who has mysteriously appeared and begins wreaking havoc all across the city. Determined to repay back those who caused him grief, Romell finds himself in the mist of some very vicious killaz. Battling to save the woman they love, Kaedon and Josh are forced to go against the odds. But to get to Trenika many must die, and hell hath no fury ...

Nigeria was an unpopular destination for European settlement, thanks to its punishing climate and proliferation of tropical disease, so it saw very little direct European influence. Europeans were posted to Nigeria or sought employment purely to satisfy the needs of administration, and, of course, the various Christian missionary organizations were led largely by whites. Christian missions, incidentally, succeeded spectacularly in the spreading of Christianity across the animist south, but they made absolutely no inroads in the Muslim north.

In the heart of South Sudan, Panyim and Nyakor prepare for adulthood within their tightly woven clan. As they navigate coming-of-age rituals, a neighboring clan's hostility disrupts their peaceful life. Panyim, eager to prove himself, joins the fight, while Nyakor uses her sharp mind to uncover the truth behind the conflict. Witnessing war's devastation, Panyim seeks a different path. Nyakor's discovery of a misunderstanding offers a chance for peace. With the guidance of the clan leader and his wise wife, Panyim, Nyakor, and their friends bridge the divide between the young generations. ...

The Chamberlain Mandate... By the spring of 1941 Britain’s strategic situation was considerably improved, in no small part due to what sympathetic historians would call the ‘Chamberlain Mandate’. The Italians were heading for defeat in Africa, with their German allies distracted by their own preparations for Operation Barbarossa. The focus on Hitler’s dreams for a grand crusade in the east to sweep away Bolshevism and secure new lands for the Reich removed the threat of invasion from the British mainland for now, but threatened to magnify the power of Nazi Germany if the USSR proved...

Casablanca effectively made the case that America was the land of hope and freedom in a world darkened by the forces of Nazi Germany. In the beginning of the film, a map of the world serves as the backdrop for a deep-voiced narrator explaining the flood of refugees out of Europe. This ominous mood shrouds the city of Casablanca, in Vichy North Africa, the final stop between Lisbon and freedom in America. Indeed, corrupt French bureaucrats charge a steep price for exit visas. As a result, refugees become desperate.