Western Wars

With rare detail and in consummate style, Steve Inskeep tells the story of a couple whose joint ambitions and talents intertwined with those of the nascent United States itself. Taking advantage of expanding news media, aided by an increasingly literate public, the two linked their names to the three great national movements of the time - westward settlement, women’s rights, and opposition to slavery. Together, John and Jessie Frémont took parts in events that defined the country and gave rise to a new, more global America.

During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this aerial offensive quickly became known as “Big Week,” and it was one of the turning-points of World War II.

In this monumental history of the First World War, Germany's leading historian of the 20th century's first great catastrophe explains the war's origins, course, and consequences. With an unrivaled combination of depth and global reach, Pandora's Box reveals how profoundly the war shaped the world to come. Jörn Leonhard treats the clash of arms with a sure feel for grand strategy, the everyday tactics of dynamic movement and slow attrition, the race for ever more destructive technologies, and the grim experiences of frontline soldiers.

The five children have grown up, and World War I has begun in earnest. The sand fairy has become a creature of stories...until, for the first time in 10 years, he suddenly reappears. Before this last adventure ends, all will be changed; the two younger children will have seen the Great War from every possible viewpoint, and the war's impact will be felt right at the heart of their family.

"I was present at the Frog Lake Massacre and escaped by the slim margin of one hundred paces the fate that overtook my hapless fellows. For months afterward the unexpected report of a gun put my heart in my mouth, painted savages plunged in my dreams at early dawn through belts of dark firs upon my flying footsteps, bullets sang in my ears or found their mark in my flesh, and I awoke gasping and unable in the first few seconds of consciousness to convince myself that it was not all a horrible reality. Looking back on that now distant date and thinking over the flow of perilous turns in ...

A breakneck, edge-of-your-seat thriller that moves from a resurgent Russian threat in the Aleutian Islands to North Korean spy ships to secret Sudanese prisons as former marines Logan West and John Quick, now members of an FBI special task force, uncover a global conspiracy that threatens America's position in the current international balance of power.

American Civil Wars takes listeners beyond the battlefields and sectional divides of the US Civil War to view the conflict from outside the national arena of the United States. Contributors position the American conflict squarely in the context of a wider transnational crisis across the Atlantic world, marked by a multitude of civil wars, European invasions and occupations, revolutionary independence movements, and slave uprisings - all taking place in the tumultuous decade of the 1860s.

In this lucid, illuminating profile, journalist David Handelman presents Sean Combs as he strives to make a positive impact on black lives despite the ever-present shadow of the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud, showing us why, in addition to being a CEO, visionary, father, and role model, Puff Daddy reigns as The Notorious VIP.

In the Dominion, those allied with the demons of the Shining Court feared the bargain they'd made. For to the kialli, betrayal was a way of life, and every action was a means to gain greater power. And as the Festival of the Moon approached, the demon kin began to prey upon those in the Tor Leonne. But more frightening than their presence was their "gift" for the Festival, masks created not by human craftsmen, but by the kialli. Even the magic and knowledge of the greatest of the Dominion's Widan had been unable to discern what trap the masks contained.

Stone Tobin’s life on the frontier has never been short of hazards. But nothing can keep him from what’s important: caring for his adopted son, Clyde. After years of supporting himself and Clyde through his talents of wet-plate photography, Stone’s sense of justice takes them off the beaten path when he and Clyde stumble upon a woman in deep trouble. Hazel Allen. Soon after learning of her husband’s role in her parents’ untimely deaths, she was abducted by an outlaw gang. There’s a steep reward for her return – but her powerful husband, Wesley, hopes she’s killed before she ...

From William Shakespeare’s series of history dramas, to Sir Walter Scott, and George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire—not to mention the smash-hit TV show Game of Thrones—the British civil war of 1455 to 1485 has inspired writers for centuries. Ed West’s My Kingdom for a Horse illuminates the bloody war fought for thirty long years between the descendants of King Edward III in a battle for the throne.

The Echo of Ancient Civilizations, a Book by Bo Carson, is an indispensable guide for anyone seeking to walk in the path of the ancient world. With a masterful combination of scholarship and readability, retrace the rise and fall of civilizations from the earliest times to the Roman Empire. This book is a must-read for students of history, anthropology, and archaeology, as well as anyone with a passion for the rich tapestry of human culture. Whether you're looking to deepen your knowledge or explore a new area of study, "The Echo of Ancient Civilizations" is a great read. Dive into the ...

A rousing and meticulously researched account of the notorious Battle of Little Big Horn and its unforgettable cast of characters from Sitting Bull to Custer himself.

From July 10, 1943, the date of the Allied landing in Sicily, to May 8, 1945, when victory in Europe was declared - the entire time it took to liberate Europe - no regiment saw more action, and no single platoon, company, or battalion endured worse, than the ones commanded by Felix Sparks, who had entered the war as a greenhorn second lieutenant of the 157th "Eager for Duty" Infantry Regiment of the 45th "Thunderbird" Division. Sparks and his fellow Thunderbirds fought longest and hardest to defeat Hitler.

Battalion 3/5 suffered the highest number of casualties in the war in Afghanistan. This is the story of one platoon in that distinguished battalion. Aware of U.S. plans to withdraw from the country, knowing their efforts were only a footprint in the sand, the fifty Marines of 3rd Platoon fought in Sangin, the most dangerous district in all of Afghanistan.

With a bit of insight into the Native American culture, paired with a larger understanding of how the settlers of the west actually lived, you'll be able to decipher what happened to the Oatman family of your own accord, empowering an honest understanding of this history. In The Captivity of the Oatman Girls, you’ll discover powerful insight into the truth of the relations between the settlers and the Plains Indians of North America, why the actions of the colonists in the late 18th century bordered genocide - and how this shifted the landscape forever, and more.

News from his family’s ranch finally brings successful frontier lawyer, Creed Cooley, back home to Young County, Texas. But it’s not good news. A young ranch hand has been accused of murder. Creed’s mother is dying. And the decades-long feud with the neighboring Glass Ranch is boiling over. The rival cattleman at the head of it all, Jasper Glass, has hated the Cooleys his whole life. He wants their land – and now he’s going to shed more blood to come out on top. With aid from the Border Boys, a notoriously brutal gang of outlaws, and their shadowy leader, Rainer Flynn, Jasper is ...

David Kilcullen was one of the architects of America's strategy in the late phases of the second Gulf War, and also spent time in Afghanistan and other hotspots. In Blood Year, he provides a view of the current situation in the Middle East and analyzes how America and the West ended up in such dire circumstances. This is an essential book for anyone interested in understanding not only why the region has collapsed into utter chaos, but also what the US can do to alleviate the grim situation.

The weeks since Jewel Markess ATerafin has been acclaimed ruler of her House have not been peaceful; four assassination attempts have been made on her life, and one of the most important members of her House Council has been forced to retire, leaving a seat empty at a time when she requires trusted allies. The war in the distant South has ended; the armies, victorious, have returned to Averalaan. During the victory parade of the Kings' armies, the fifth assassination attempt occurs - in full view of the Ten, the Kings, and thousands of spectators.

Mitchell Rankin couldn’t stop his parents’ violent death when he was a boy. Now the outlaws and Indians of South Texas can’t stop Mitchell Rankin. Fifteen years after a Comanche raid upturned his young life, Mitchell joins the newly formed Frontier Battalion to help bring peace to his Texan homeland. He’s putting desperadoes on notice: someone has to pay the price for what was done to his family. But after setting out as a Texas Ranger, Mitchell discovers there’s an evil greater than the Comanche lurking on the borderlands of the Lone Star State… His name is Dudley Haddock – ...