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Gunpowder and Incense: The Catholic Church and the Spanish Civil War (Routledge/Canada Blanch Studies on Contemporary Spain)
by Hilari RaguerNow available in English for the first time, Gunpowder and Incense (translated from the Spanish La Pólvora y el Incienso) chronicles the role of the Church in Spanish politics, looking in particular at the Spanish Civil War. Unlike most books on the subject, Hilari Raguer looks beyond the traditional explanation that the war was primarily a religious struggle. His writing presents an exemplary "insider's" perspective, and is notable for its balance and perception on the role of the Catholic Church before, during and after the War. The material is presented in a lucid, elegant manner - which makes this book as readable as it is historiographically important. It will be vital reading for students and scholars of European, religious and modern history.
Gunpowder: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World
by Jack KellyWhen Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs--neither of which had been thought of yet--their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution. With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil’s distillate” rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortés, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E. I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.
Guns Against the Reich: Memoirs of an Artillery Officer on the Eastern Front (Stackpole Military History Ser.)
by Petr Mikhin&“[A] powerful autobiography from a Russian veteran of Stalingrad, Kursk and numerous other battles . . . as he fought his way from Moscow to Vienna.&” —Military Illustrated In three years of war on the Eastern Front—from the desperate defense of Moscow, through the epic struggles at Stalingrad and Kursk to the final offensives in central Europe—artillery-man Petr Mikhin experienced the full horror of battle. In this vivid memoir he recalls distant but deadly duels with German guns, close-quarter hand-to-hand combat, and murderous mortar and tank attacks, and he remembers the pity of defeat and the grief that accompanied victories that cost thousands of lives. He was wounded and shell-shocked, he saw his comrades killed and was nearly captured, and he was threatened with the disgrace of a court martial. For years he lived with the constant strain of combat and the ever-present possibility of death. Mikhin recalls his experiences with a candor and an immediacy that brings the war on the Eastern Front—a war of immense scale and intensity—dramatically to life.&“Mikhin&’s memoirs give us a very valuable picture of life in the Red Army during four years of intense non-stop fighting against a determined and skilled enemy. This allows us to follow the evolution of the Red Army from the nearly defeated force of 1941 to the skilled military machine of 1945, and helps illuminate the price that the Soviet soldiers paid for victory.&” —History of War&“A fast-paced, interesting read that recounts stories of courage under fire and dedication to duty . . . I highly recommend this book.&” —Military Review
Guns In America: A Historical Reader
by Jan E. Dizard Robert Muth Stephen P. AndrewsFirearms have long been at the core of our national narratives. From the Puritans' embrace of guns to beat back the "devilish Indian" to our guilty delight in the extralegal exploits of Dirty Harry, Americans have relied on the gun to right wrongs, both real and imagined. <p><p> The extent to which guns have been woven into our nation's mythology suggests that the current debate is only partly about guns themselves and equally about conflicting cultural values and competing national identities. Belying the gun debate are a host of related issues: contesting conceptions of community, the proper relationship between the individual and the state, and the locus of responsibility for maintaining order. <p> Guns in America documents and analyzes the history of firearms in America, exploring various aspects of gun manufacture, ownership, and use—and more importantly, the cultural and political implications which this history reveals. <p> Eschewing single-minded partisanship and emphasizing nuance and compromise, Jan E. Dizard and Robert Merrill Muth have assembled a diverse array of writings from all points on the ideological spectrum. The documents span the whole of American history, from Puritan sermons to contemporary NRA documents. The result is an indispensable panorama of the never-ending controversies over gun control, crime, hunting, and militias.
Guns Of The Old West: An Illustrated Reference Guide To Antique Firearms
by Charles Edward ChapelAn Essential Compendium for Any Firearms or Old West Aficionado, richly and comprehensively illustrated.Written by one of the foremost firearms experts of the twentieth century, Charles Edward Chapel's Guns of the Old West is an exhaustively researched document that not only boasts a significant collection of antique Western guns, but also categorizes the firearms into easy-to-reference sections.Starting with an introductory chapter on the origins of guns and their earliest uses on the frontier, Chapel covers everything from muskets to rifles, pistols to revolvers, and shotguns to martial arms. Three whole chapters are dedicated to the rise and fall of the famous Deringer pistol. And as much as Guns of the Old West is an encyclopedic reference manual, it also contains fascinating historical literature that frames the world in which these guns were used. Buffalo guns and hunters are covered, along with martial arms of the post-Civil War era. The gun collection of famous collector and hunter President Theodore Roosevelt is given its own chapter.Illustrated with nearly five hundred illustrations, as well as important artwork from the Western period from artists such as Frederic Remington, Guns of the Old West is an essential work for gun collectors and American history enthusiasts.
Guns Up!
by Johnnie ClarkTHIS GUT-WRENCHING FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THE WAR IS A CLASSIC IN THE ANNALS OF VIETNAM LITERATURE."Guns up!" was the battle cry that sent machine gunners racing forward with their M60s to mow down the enemy, hoping that this wasn't the day they would meet their deaths. Marine Johnnie Clark heard that the life expectancy of a machine gunner in Vietnam was seven to ten seconds after a firefight began. Johnnie was only eighteen when he got there, at the height of the bloody Tet Offensive at Hue, and he quickly realized the grim statistic held a chilling truth.The Marines who fought and bled and died were ordinary men, many still teenagers, but the selfless bravery they showed day after day in a nightmarish jungle war made them true heroes. This new edition of Guns Up!, filled with photographs and updated information about those harrowing battles, also contains the real names of these extraordinary warriors and details of their lives after the war. The book's continuing success is a tribute to the raw courage and sacrifice of the United States Marines.From the Paperback edition.
Guns at Cassino (Wotan Series)
by Leo Kessler[from the back cover] "ON PEAK 555, towering above the Italian town of Cassino, the exhausted, shell-shocked survivors of SS Assault Regiment Wotan held out against the combined forces of the Allied armies. First came the Americans, then the fearless Sikhs, and finally the British infantry, in a merciless assault on the key stronghold of the Italian front. Although the battle was lost, the SS code forbade them to surrender. It was Major Kuno von Dodenburg's job to get what was left of the battalion out alive. But first he had to get his hands on the traitor in their midst..."
Guns for General Washington: A Story of the American Revolution (Great Episodes)
by Seymour ReitA tale of courage and bravery—the daring and dangerous trek that gave young America its first real victory, paving the way for the future of a great democratic nation.This exciting middle grade novel is the true story of Will Knox, a nineteen-year-old young man who transported 183 cannons from New York’s Fort Ticonderoga to Boston—in the dead of winter—to help George Washington win an important battle.Paul Revere's midnight ride...Washington crossing the Delaware...the winter crisis at Valley Forge... Some events in America's War for Independence are known to all. This book brings to history fans the story of another true episode, just as dramatic but not nearly as well known.As you read these pages, you will agree that Colonel Knox's great adventure was a stirring, suspenseful, and important event in American history.
Guns of the Elite Forces
by John WalterGuns of the Elite Forces provides a penetrating account of the weapons that elite fighting troops carry into combat. Such elites have always existed in the armies of the world. During World War II, elite units sprang up in most theatres of conflict the German Brandenburgers carried out clandestine operations in Poland; in the Western Desert, the Long Range Desert Group and SAS penetrated deep behind enemy lines; for larger-scale raids the British Commandos and the US Rangers and Marine Raiders were formed.
Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated Guide (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor)
by Charles Edward ChapelFirearms played an important role on the American frontier. Used to hunt animals for food and clothing, they also safeguarded one’s home against outlaws and other hostile elements. This definitive, scrupulously researched work describes and illustrates the many different weapons that opened up and secured the American West. Enhanced with colorful anecdotes, the vividly detailed narrative tells the dramatic story of shoulder arms, hand guns, percussion and cartridge weapons, and describes the hunters, settlers, peace officers, stagecoach drivers, soldiers, range detectives, rustlers, outlaws, Indian chiefs, and other picturesque characters who used them.Here are detailed descriptions and illustrations of the Kentucky rifle that saw battle in the American Revolution and in the War of 1812; the repeating rifle used in the Civil War; the Sharps rifle that wreaked havoc during the great buffalo hunts; the Colt revolver, used by cowboys and outlaws alike; the fast and reliable Winchester rifle, the most widely used shoulder arm of the post-Civil War era; as well as flintlock pistols, derringers, muskets, buffalo guns, carbines, signal pistols, Confederate revolvers, and many other celebrated firearms.Illustrated with nearly 500 photographs and line illustrations, this classic reference will not only be invaluable to dealers and collectors but will also appeal to Americana devotees, weaponry enthusiasts, and students of the American West.
Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated Reference Guide to Antique Firearms
by Charles Edward ChapelWritten by one of the foremost firearms experts of the twentieth century, Charles Edward Chapel’s Guns of the Old West is an exhaustively researched document that not only boasts a significant collection of antique Western guns, but also categorizes the firearms into easy-to-reference sections.Starting with an introductory chapter on the origins of guns and their earliest uses on the frontier, Chapel covers everything from muskets to rifles, pistols to revolvers, and shotguns to martial arms. Three whole chapters are dedicated to the rise and fall of the famous Deringer pistol. And as much as Guns of the Old West is an encyclopedic reference manual, it’s also fascinating historical literature that frames the world in which these guns were used. Buffalo guns and hunters are covered, along with martial arms of the post–Civil War era. The gun collection of famous collector and hunter President Theodore Roosevelt is given its own chapter.Illustrated with nearly 500 illustrations, as well as important artwork from the Western period from artists such as Frederic Remington, Guns of the Old West is an essential work for gun collectors and American history enthusiasts.
Guns of the Special Forces, 2001–2015
by Leigh NevilleAn in-depth look at the weaponry employed by Special Forces units around the world following the September 11th attacks. In the years since 9/11, Special Forces of many nations have been in almost constant action in covert, high risk operations around the globe. These include the two long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting nationalist insurgents and jihadist terrorists, as well as other lesser-known operations. The weapons used by SF are a constant source of interest and speculation, as are SF training, methods and vehicles. The armories of these elite units have developed rapidly to meet their demands and the ever more sophisticated threat. They include for example suppressed piston-driven carbines, programmable grenade launchers that airburst behind hidden enemy, and sniper rifles of extreme accuracy and range. This highly researched book gives the reader a privileged insight into this secret world, exploring the custom-built weapons that operators carry on capture/kill missions in the 21st Century.Praise for Guns of Special Forces&“A cut above most of the books that purport to review special ops weapons. Its limitation to the War on Terror years allows coverage of the many weapon developments that have taken place as special operations units have been constantly deployed and in action over the last decade and a half.&” —SWAT Magazine
Guns on the Early Frontiers: From Colonial Times to the Years of the Western Fur Trade (Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor Ser.)
by Carl P. RussellThis thoroughly documented, authoritative, and highly readable book not only details the weapons used during the settlement and westward expansion of America but also describes their use by fur traders, trappers, soldiers, and Native Americans. The result is a lively historical examination of the momentous events that were strongly influenced by the gun trade.The text is augmented and enriched throughout with clearly identified illustrations of everything from antique muskets, flintlocks, repeating rifles, and howitzers to bullet molds, powder horns, and other firearm accessories.
Guns on the Western Waters: The Story of River Gunboats
by H. Allen GosnellH. Allen Gosnell's Guns on the Western Waters present a full, accurate treatment of the important gunboat operations in the western theater of the Civil War or naval history. Gosnell provides descriptions of the major types of Union and Confederate gunboats with a brief but authoritative essay on the strategy and tactics of river warfare. He shows that the extremely heavy guns mounted on the shallow-draft vessels proved to be both terrible and effective weapons in certain aspects of the war. The guns played major roles, for example, in the Red River campaign, the Vicksburg campaign, and the attacks on Forts Henry and Donelson. Employing a concise, graphic style, Grosnell also draws on firsthand accounts to describe many of the dramatic episodes in which the boats figured. The book contains photographs of the principal gunboats and the soldiers who fought on them, and maps illustrating the important river and bayou operations in the West.-Print ed.
Guns, Girls, and Greed: I Was a Blackwater Mercenary in Iraq
by Morgan LeretteGuns, Girls, and Greed is an unvarnished, behind-the-scenes, tell-all account of the scathing and dangerous life of mercenaries at war in Iraq.Experience the world of private contractors conducting high-threat missions for a nascent Iraqi government in the hopes of rebuilding after the fall of Saddam Hussein. With limited support, the men of Blackwater protected US diplomats as the country descended into sectarian violence. It was a hazardous mission complete with rockets, mortars, improvised explosive devices, and not knowing who or where the enemy was. Morgan Lerette&’s irreverently honest memoir shows the good and bad of injecting private armies into active combat zones in the name of diplomacy and digs deep into the bonds of brotherhood created by war. With gut-wrenching tragedy, dark humor, and parties that make Animal House seem like a Disney film, this memoir offers a firsthand perspective on how men act and react in war. Lerette, a private contractor employed by the notorious Blackwater in the early days of the Iraq War, pulls no punches in calling out the incompetence of both the US military and the Department of State during the collapse of Iraq. You can decide if the insertion of private contractors in Iraq assisted or detracted from the war effort and if the costs in blood and treasure were worth the carnage.
Gunship Ace: The Wars of Neall Ellis, Gunship Pilot and Mercenary
by Al J. Venter“Spotlights the career of a fascinating modern warrior, while also shedding light on some of the conflicts that have raged throughout the world” (Tucson Citizen).A former South African Air Force pilot who saw action throughout the region from the 1970s on, Neall Ellis is the best-known mercenary combat aviator alive. Apart from flying Alouette helicopter gunships in Angola, he fought in the Balkan war for the Islamic forces, tried to resuscitate Mobutu’s ailing air force during his final days ruling the Congo, flew Mi-8s for Executive Outcomes, and piloted an Mi-8 fondly dubbed “Bokkie” for Colonel Tim Spicer in Sierra Leone. Finally, with a pair of aging Mi-24 Hinds, Ellis ran the Air Wing out of Aberdeen Barracks in the war against Sankoh’s vicious RUF rebels. As a “civilian contractor,” Ellis has also flown helicopter support missions in Afghanistan, where, he reckons, he had more close shaves than in his entire previous four decades.From single-handedly turning the enemy back from the gates of Freetown to helping rescue eleven British soldiers who’d been taken hostage, Ellis’s many missions earned him a price on his head, with reports of a million-dollar dead-or-alive reward. This book describes the full career of this storied aerial warrior, from the bush and jungles of Africa to the forests of the Balkans and the merciless mountains of Afghanistan. Along the way the reader encounters a multiethnic array of enemies ranging from ideological to cold-blooded to pure evil, as well as examples of incredible heroism for hire.
Gunther Plüschow: Airmen, Escaper and Explorer
by Anton RipponGunther Plschow of the German Imperial Navy holds a unique place in history—during the First World War he was the only German prisoner of war ever to escape from the British mainland and make it all the way back to the Fatherland. Yet, although his daring break for freedom in 1915 is astonishing in its own right, Plschow was much more than simply an escaped POW. He was also a fearless aviator who flew against the British and Japanese in the Far East, and he was an explorer. After the war, he set sail for the southernmost tip of South America and became the first man to fly over Tierra del Fuego. He continued to explore what was then a largely unknown region of the world until his tragic death in 1931, when his parachute failed to open following a midair accident in Patagonia. In 'Gunther Plschow: Airman, Escaper, Explorer,' Anton Rippon tells this extraordinary tale in vivid detail. It is a tale that would do justice to the best adventure fiction—except that every word of it is true.
Gurkha Odyssey: Campaigning for the Crown
by Peter DuffellA British general&’s memoir of serving with these famed Nepalese warriors: &“An inspiring journey, delightfully related.&” —Times Literary Supplement It is 1814 and the Bengal Army of the Honourable East India Company is at war with a marauding Nepal. It is here that the British first encounter the martial spirit of their indomitable foe—the Gurkha hill men from that mountainous independent land. Impressed by their fighting qualities and with the end of hostilities in sight, the Company begins to recruit them into their own ranks. Since then these lighthearted and gallant soldiers have successfully campaigned wherever the British Army has served—from the North West Frontier of India through two World Wars to the contemporary battlefields of the Falklands and Afghanistan&’s Helmand Province, with well over one hundred battle honors to their name and at a cost of 20,000 casualties. Here, Peter Duffell separates fact and myth and recounts something of the history, character, and spirit of these loyal and dedicated soldiers—seen through the prism of his service and campaigning as a regular officer in the 2nd King Edward VII&’s Own Gurkha Rifles, as the Brigade of Gurkhas Major General and as Regimental Colonel of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
Gurkha Odyssey: Campaigning for the Crown
by Peter DuffellA British general&’s memoir of serving with these famed Nepalese warriors: &“An inspiring journey, delightfully related.&” —Times Literary Supplement It is 1814 and the Bengal Army of the Honourable East India Company is at war with a marauding Nepal. It is here that the British first encounter the martial spirit of their indomitable foe—the Gurkha hill men from that mountainous independent land. Impressed by their fighting qualities and with the end of hostilities in sight, the Company begins to recruit them into their own ranks. Since then these lighthearted and gallant soldiers have successfully campaigned wherever the British Army has served—from the North West Frontier of India through two World Wars to the contemporary battlefields of the Falklands and Afghanistan&’s Helmand Province, with well over one hundred battle honors to their name and at a cost of 20,000 casualties. Here, Peter Duffell separates fact and myth and recounts something of the history, character, and spirit of these loyal and dedicated soldiers—seen through the prism of his service and campaigning as a regular officer in the 2nd King Edward VII&’s Own Gurkha Rifles, as the Brigade of Gurkhas Major General and as Regimental Colonel of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
Gurkha: Better to Die than Live a Coward: My Life in the Gurkhas
by Alexander Norman Kailash KhebangIn the summer of 2006, Colour-Sargeant Kailash Limbu's platoon was sent to relieve and occupy a police compound in the town of Now Zad in Helmand. He was told to prepare for a forty-eight hour operation. In the end, he and his men were under siege for thirty-one days - one of the longest such sieges in the whole of the Afghan campaign. Kailash Limbu recalls the terrifying and exciting details of those thirty-one days - in which they killed an estimated one hundred Taliban fighters - and intersperses them with the story of his own life as a villager from the Himalayas. He grew up in a place without roads or electricity and didn't see a car until he was fifteen. Kailash's descriptions of Gurkha training and rituals - including how to use the lethal Kukri knife - are eye-opening and fascinating. They combine with the story of his time in Helmand to create a unique account of one man's life as a Gurkha.
Gurkha: Better to Die than Live a Coward: My Life in the Gurkhas
by Colour-Sergeant Kailash LimbuIn this Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling memoir that 'reads like a thriller', (Joanna Lumley) Colour-Sargent Kailash Limbu shares a riveting account of his life as a Gurkha soldier-marking the first time in its two-hundred-year history that a soldier of the Brigade of Gurkhas has been given permission to tell his story in his own words.In the summer of 2006, Colour-Sargeant Kailash Limbu's platoon was sent to relieve and occupy a police compound in the town of Now Zad in Helmand. He was told to prepare for a forty-eight hour operation. In the end, he and his men were under siege for thirty-one days - one of the longest such sieges in the whole of the Afghan campaign.Kailash Limbu recalls the terrifying and exciting details of those thirty-one days - in which they killed an estimated one hundred Taliban fighters - and intersperses them with the story of his own life as a villager from the Himalayas. He grew up in a place without roads or electricity and didn't see a car until he was fifteen.Kailash's descriptions of Gurkha training and rituals - including how to use the lethal Kukri knife - are eye-opening and fascinating. They combine with the story of his time in Helmand to create a unique account of one man's life as a Gurkha. 'I was completely bowled over by Kailash's book and read it with a beating heart and dry mouth. I felt as though I was at his side, hearing the shells and bullets, enjoying the jokes and listening in the scary dead of night. The skill with which he has included his childhood and training is immense, always discovered with ease in the narrative: it actually felt as though I was watching, was IN a film with him. It brought me nearer than I have ever been not only to the mind of the universal soldier but to a hill boy of Nepal and a hugely impressive Gurkha. I raced through it and couldn't put it down: it reads like a thriller. If you want to know anything about the Gurkhas, read this book, and be prepared for a thrilling and dangerous trip' Joanna Lumley
Gurkhas at War: Eyewitness Accounts from World War II to Iraq
by J.P. Cross Buddhiman Gurung Chapple John Foreword byIs indepth interviews with Gurkhas soldiers past and present, depicts key military campaigns of the 20th century in the words of the men who were there. From WW2 to the present day, these eyewitness accounts include the lengthy battles against the Japanese in Burma, the action against communist rebebels in Malaya and Hong Kong, plus morerecent deployment of Gurkhas in the Falklands, Gulf, Balkans and East Timor.
Gust Front (Posleen War #2)
by John RingoThe aliens had arrived with gifts, warnings, and an offer we couldn't refuse. . . Our choice was simple: we could be cannon fodder, or we could be. . . fodder. We could send our forces to fight and die (as only humans can) against a ravening horde that was literally feeding on its interstellar conquests -- or remain as we were -- virtually weaponless and third in line for brunch. We chose to fight. Thanks to alien technology and sheer guts, the Terrans on two worlds fought the Posleen to a standstill. Thank God there was a moment to catch our breath, a moment, however brief, of peace -- Now, for the survivors of the Barwhon and Diess Expeditionary Forces, it was a chance to get some distance from the blood and misery of battle against the Posleen centaurs. A blessed chance to forget the screams of the dying in purple swamps and massacres under searing alien suns. For earth it was an opportunity to flesh out their force of raw recruits with combat-seasoned veterans. Political, military and scientific blundering had left the Terran forces in shambles -- and with the Posleen invasion only months away, these shell-shocked survivors might be the only people capable of saving the Earth from devastation. If the veterans had time to lick their wounds. Because the Posleen don't read schedules.
Gustaf Mannerheim
by Steven J. ZalogaCarl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim is a legendary figure, whose life and career were deeply influential in Finnish and European history. He is viewed by many as the father of modern Finland after leading the 'White' faction to victory and independence in the Finnish Civil War of 1918. That conflict preceded a sequence of bitter clashes between Finland, Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany in the buildup to, and during, World War II: The Winter War in 1940, the Continuation War and the Lapland War in 1944-45. Throughout these fierce clashes in the ice and snow, Mannerheim managed his forces with great skill, even though the initiative was to swing back and forth between the adversaries. This study provides a fascinating insight into Mannerheim's career, analysing his traits, his biggest victories and his key enemies. Complete with uniform artwork and detailed tactical maps, it is a comprehensive guide to one of history's most capable military leaders and statesmen.