Union History

In this examination of Union and Confederate foreign relations during the Civil War, from both European and American perspectives, Howard Jones demonstrates that the consequences of the conflict between North and South reached far beyond American soil.

After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes - the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins. Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn’t have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. When she’s kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce, her ideal world is turned upside down.

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Cambridge Five, then pay attention.... During the poverty-stricken years of the Great Depression, when Britain’s financial markets plummeted and the poor and wealthy alike doubted the economic systems in which they participated, the potential of one political ideal shone like no other: Communism. Young intellectuals from the country’s very best schools discussed the premise of labor-value versus wealth-value, and a great many of them became card-carrying members of the Communist Party in Britain.

The Dead Hand is the suspense-filled story of the people who sought to brake the speeding locomotive of the arms race, then rushed to secure the nuclear and biological weapons left behind by the collapse of the Soviet Union - a dangerous legacy that haunts us even today. The Cold War was an epoch of massive overkill. In the last half of the 20th century the two superpowers had perfected the science of mass destruction and possessed nuclear weapons with the combined power of a million Hiroshimas.

In 1910, Crystal Eastman was one of the most conspicuous progressive reformers in America. By the 1920s, her ardent suffragism, insistent anti-militarism, gregarious internationalism, and uncompromising feminism branded her "the most dangerous woman in America" and led to her exile in England. Yet a century later, her legacy in shaping several defining movements of the modern era-labor, feminism, free speech, peace - is unquestioned.

Although the 163rd Division was destroyed at the Battle of Suomassalmi the danger is far from over. The Soviet 44th Motorized Rifle Division is still a powerful force that outnumbers the Finns three to one. In addition to the forces of the 44th, Soviet High Command has dispatched reinforcements to rescue the beleaguered fighters of the 44th, further skewing the odds. Amongst this new force is a group of trained snipers. Now, plagued by a swarm of snipers, the Finnish 9th Division is losing their hold on the trapped men of the Soviet 44th Division. To make matters worse, the enemy sniper ...

The Soviet plan to cut Finland in half failed spectacularly with the destruction of the 163rd and 44th Divisions at Suomassalmi and The Raate Road. Undeterred by the disaster, Soviet High Command crafted a new strategy to bisect Finland, targeting the crucial crossroads in the town of Kuhmo. Learning from their mistakes, they deployed the formidable 54th Mountain Division, seasoned in Arctic warfare, to achieve the objective. When ten thousand Red Army soldiers stormed across the border, the Finnish 9th Division, led by Colonel Siilasvuo, raced to intercept them. After days of fierce combat...

Already infamous for the arbitrary, paranoid persecution of its own citizens throughout much of the 20th century, the Soviet Union - as is revealed in John Koeher’s revelatory, eye-opening exposé - also waged a vicious espionage campaign against the Catholic Church and its followers. From the persecution of local priests to an assassination order against Pope John Paul II, the KGB viewed Catholicism as a threat to stability in Eastern Europe and treated the church as an enemy of the State. Lifetime journalist and former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer John Koehler has written the definitive book on this startling history.

It has been called the political crime of the century: a foreign government, led by a brutal authoritarian leader, secretly interfering with the American presidential election to help elect the candidate of its choice. Now, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post national security reporter Greg Miller investigates the truth about the Kremlin’s covert attempt to destroy Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump win the presidency, Trump’s steadfast allegiance to Vladimir Putin, and Robert Mueller’s ensuing investigation of the president and those close to him.

President Jefferson Davis officially dissolved the Confederate government in May 1865 in Georgia. Davis hoped to escape federal authorities, but on May 10 in Irwinville, Georgia, he and his family were spotted. While attempting to run, Davis slung his wife's overcoat over his shoulders. In the North, Davis was portrayed as attempting to disguise himself as a woman to avoid capture. Placed in heavy shackles, he was transported to Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he was charged with treason and planning to assassinate Lincoln.

History didn't end. Democracy didn't triumph. America’s leading role in the world is no longer assured. Instead, authoritarian rule is on the rise, and the global order established after 1945 is under attack. This is the phenomenon Katie Stallard tackles in Dancing on Bones as she examines how the leaders of China, Russia, and North Korea manipulate the past to serve the present and secure the future of authoritarian rule.

In The Long Hangover, Shaun Walker provides new insight into contemporary Russia and its search for a new identity, telling the story through the country's troubled relationship with its Soviet past. Walker not only explains Vladimir Putin's goals and the government's official manipulations of history, but also focuses on ordinary Russians and their motivations. He charts how Putin raised victory in World War II to the status of a national founding myth in the search for a unifying force to heal a divided country, and shows how dangerous the ramifications of this have been.

The number of evictions in Balinmore, Ireland is on the rise. Eamonn McDonagh feels that he must resist the English landlord who is responsible for the misery experienced by the Irish people in his town, so he forms a secret society known as "The Black Thorn." He warns his oppressor that violence will erupt in Balinmore if the evictions continue, which they do. The next person evicted is Eamonn's sister. Watching all of the violence that ensues is McDonagh's ten year old son, Joseph, who is caught between the gentle example of his priest and the violent actions of his father. So begins the ...

It had been foolish to stay but now there was no choice. It was anyone’s guess what the outcome would be. Nothing was as it should be. Oddly, the Confederate troops were pouring in from the north and Union troops were marching in from the south. They arrived in droves. The town was not prepared for what happened during the early days of the summer, 1863. Jennie, a young local girl, did her best to keep up with the demand for bread and water and medical care for the troops. Her brothers were scattered, her sister would soon be having a baby, her mother was not bearing up well and Jack, her...

As a general, Ulysses S. Grant is routinely described in glowing terms: the man who turned the tide of the Civil War, who accepted Lee's surrender at Appomattox; the man who had the stomach to see the war through to final victory. But his presidency is another matter. The most common word used to characterize it is "scandal."

The First Continental Congress was in business from September 5 to October 26, 1774. In those fifty-two days, a group of fifty-six men laid the groundwork for American independence. This is their story.

In this exclusive audiobook edition, which includes eight hours of new content, Timothy Snyder combines the original On Tyranny (2017)—20 lessons on how history can instruct our response to the rise of tyranny around the world today—with 20 new lessons that answer the questions everyone is asking about Russia's war on Ukraine. With forays into history, he clarifies the causes of the Russian invasion and the meaning of Ukrainian resistance, and explains the war's connections to threats to democracy around the world.

It has been said that if Henry Clay had been alive in 1860, there would have been no Civil War. Based on his performance in 1850, it may well be true. In that year, the United States faced one of the most dangerous crises in its history, having just acquired a huge parcel of land from the war with Mexico. Northern and Southern politicians fought over whether slavery should be legal on the new American soil. After a Northern congressman introduced a proviso to forbid slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico, Southerners threatened to secede from the Union.

The first person to hang for witchcraft in Salem was Bridget Bishop. This is her story. It is also the larger story of the fear that caused otherwise intelligent persons to take leave of their senses and commit horrible acts in the name of preventing horrible acts. This book looks at Bridget Bishop the real person, not the idealized personification of her that so many have presented. It also looks at the attributes that made Bishop the ideal person to be the first to go to the gallows at Salem. In addition, this book considers why the execution of Bishop caused the floodgates of execution ...

The KGB is one of the most famous abbreviations of the 20th century, and it has become synonymous with the shadowy and often violent actions of the Soviet Union’s secret police. In fact, it is often used to refer to the Soviet state security agencies throughout its history. Whether it’s associated with the Russian Civil War’s excesses, Stalin’s purges, or even Vladimir Putin, the KGB has long been viewed as the West’s biggest bogeyman during the second half of the 20th century.