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Iberian Military Politics: Controlling the Armed Forces during Dictatorship and Democratisation
by José Javier Olivas OsunaBy applying the nodality, authority, treasure and organisation public policy framework and neo-institutional theory to the dictatorship of Salazar and Franco respectively, this study explores the instruments that governments used to control the military and explains the divergent paths of civil-military relations in 20th Century Portugal and Spain.
Ice Brothers
by Sloan WilsonFollows a Coast Guard officer's adventures in Greenland during World War II.
Ice Brothers: A Novel
by Sloan WilsonThe bestselling World War II adventure story based on Sloan Wilson&’s experiences as a Coast Guard officer on the Greenland patrol After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Paul Schuman, a college senior and summer sailor, enlists in the Coast Guard. His beautiful, mercurial wife, Sylvia, wants him to stay at home in Massachusetts, but Paul is ready for adventure and eager to serve his country. His active duty begins when, without a day of training, he is assigned to be the executive officer aboard the Arluk, a converted fishing trawler patrolling the coast of Greenland for secret German weather bases. At the helm of the Arluk is Lt. Cdr. &“Mad&” Mowry, the finest ice pilot and meanest drunk in the Coast Guard. Paul has a lot to learn from his captain, but not as much as communications officer Nathan Greenberg does. A Brooklyn engineer, Nathan does not know the difference between a ship&’s bow and its stern. No matter how nasty Mowry might be, Schuman and Greenberg have to pay close attention, because deadly icebergs, dangerous blizzards, and menacing Nazi gunboats lurk along the frigid Arctic coastline. Surviving the war, Schuman soon realizes, will require every ounce of courage and intelligence he possesses—and that is before Mowry breaks down and the young officer is forced to take command of the Arluk and its crew at the worst possible moment. A masterful blend of high drama and convincing realism, Ice Brothers is a true classic of World War II and one of Sloan Wilson&’s finest novels.
Ice Fire Water: A Leib Goldkorn Cocktail
by Leslie Epstein"At once a travel tale, a historical meditation, a Holocaust revenge fantasy, and a bedroom farce."—D. T. Max, New York Times Book Review Leib Goldkorn, aged musician, first appeared almost a quarter-century ago in The Steinway Quintet. Now Leib has replaced his magic flute with his phallus: it is love, longing, and the quest for sexual fulfillment that must stave off both his own death and the imminent destruction of the Jews. In Ice he rescues the celebrated skater Sonja Henie from Hitler's clutches. In Fire his paramour is Carmen Miranda. And in Water he engages in a South Sea Island intrigue with a famous swimming star of the 1940s. Meanwhile, in the present, Leib seeks consummation with three other inamoratas: Clara, his wife; Hustler model Miss Crystal Knight; and the critic Michiko Kakutani (causing a real-life literary scandal). In this "wickedly funny" (Elle) and no less heartbreaking novel, Leib Goldkorn emerges as one of American literature's most enduring, and endearing, creations. A New York Times Notable Book; a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year.
Ice Is Where You Find It
by Capt. Charles W. Thomas USCG"You never can tell about ice--what it will be like--until you get there. Remember, ice is where you find it."Captain Thomas, whom Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd has termed "one of the best ice sailors alive," was to recall his first lesson in polar navigation many times. He learned it the hard way when he was assigned to the command of the Coast Guard cutter Northland on wartime duty with the Greenland Patrol. Before 1943, though he was an experienced officer, he knew about ice only to the extent of grappling with the trays of his refrigerator! This was new business. Orders to hunt for Nazi weather stations meant combating a highly unpredictable foe, learning myriad tricks and a whole new jargon about compact fields, close pack, moderate pack, brash, floebergs, heaping ice, young ice, turret ice. The Northland's skipper was an "ice worm." Ice Is Where You Find It is a colorful account of six expeditions which, linked together, round out a full circle of an expert navigator's exciting experiences in the frozen waters of both the Arctic and the Antarctic Circles.The first missions were of great military importance despite the fact that there were only a handful of German scientists and technicians in the far North Atlantic area--needles in a vast frozen haystack.This is a book about versatile men who--regard-less of peace or war--match their wits with weather, spend rigorous lives in the interests of science, patriotism and humanitarianism, and get a kick out of it! The tougher the assignment, the greater the challenge to coastguardmen in whose vocabulary there is no word "can't."
Ice Station Nautilus (Trident Deception #3)
by Rick CampbellRussia's new ballistic missile submarine,Yuriy Dolgorukiy, is being deployed on its first patrol while America's newest fast attack submarine,North Dakota, is assigned to trail it and collect intel. As the Russian submarine heads under the polar ice cap, its sonar readings reveal the trailing American sub and cause the Russians to begin a radical, evasive maneuver. This, however, fails and the submarines collide, resulting in damage that sends both to the bottom. The Americans immediately set up a rescue mission, sending a new submarine and a SEAL team to establish an ice camp---Ice Station Nautilus---and stage a rescue. The Russians also send men and material, ostensibly to rescue their own men, but the Russian Special Forces team is also there to take the American base camp and the American sub, leaving no survivors or traces of their actions. As the men inNorth Dakota struggle to survive, the SEAL team battles for possession of the submarine. Rick Campbell's Ice Station Nautilus is an epic battle above and below the ice, Special Forces against SEALs, submarine against submarine, with survival on the line.
Ice Station Zebra
by Alistair MacLeanThe atomic submarine Dolphin has impossible orders: to sail beneath the ice-floes of the Arctic Ocean to locate and rescue the men of weather-station Zebra, gutted by fire and drifting with the ice-pack somewhere north of the Arctic Circle. But the orders do not say what the Dolphin will find if she succeeds -- that the fire at Ice Station Zebra was sabotage, and that one of the survivors is a killer!
Icebound: Shipwrecked At The Edge Of The World
by Andrea Pitzer'An epic tale of exploration, daring and tragedy told by a fine historian - and a wonderful writer' Peter Frankopan, author of the bestselling The Silk Roads. A dramatic and compelling account of survival against the odds from the golden Age of Exploration. Since its beginning, the human story has been one of exploration and survival - often against long odds. The longest odds of all might have been faced by Dutch explorer William Barents and his crew of fifteen, who on Barents&’ third journey into the Far Arctic in the year 1597 lost their ship to a crush of icebergs and, with few weapons and dwindling supplies, spent nine months fighting off ravenous polar bears, gnawing cold and seemingly endless winter. This is their story. In Icebound, Andrea Pitzer combines a movie-worthy tale of survival with a sweeping history of the period - a time of hope, adventure and seemingly unlimited scientific and geographic frontiers. At the story&’s centre is William Barents, one of the sixteenth century&’s greatest navigators, whose larger-than-life ambitions and obsessive quest to find a path through the deepest, most remote regions of the Arctic ended in both catastrophe and glory - glory because the desperation that his men endured had an epic quality that would echo through the centuries as both warning and spur to polar explorers. In a narrative that is filled with fascinating tutorials - on such topics as survival at twenty degrees below, the degeneration of the human body when it lacks Vitamin C, the history of mutiny, the practice of keel hauling, the art of celestial navigation and the intricacies of repairing masts and building shelters - the lesson that stands above all others is the feats humans are capable of when asked to double then triple then quadruple their physical capacities.
Icebreaking Alaska
by Capt. Jeffrey Hartman UscgThe Arctic is a place of great challenges and great rewards. A century ago, it was whale oil; today, it is motor oil. The increasing open water in the warmer months is attracting cruise ships to tour the Arctic. Significant offshore oil and natural gas deposits are of great interest to an oil-dependent economy. But the history of the Arctic is full of surprises for the unwary and the unprepared, despite native peoples having managed to live there for thousands of years. Oil spills or maritime emergencies can--and do--arise a long way off from assistance. Legendary Arctic storms are, if anything, becoming more intense and dangerous. All this is in an area inaccessible by roads or by sea except for icebreakers the majority of the year. It is of extreme interest to the US Coast Guard, charged with protecting seafarers, enforcing laws, and facilitating commerce.
Icehenge: A Novel
by Kim Stanley RobinsonSF titan Kim Stanley Robinson’s breakout novel, now in a Tor Essentials edition with a new introduction by Henry FarrellTor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure.Decades before his massively successful The Ministry for the Future (2020), Kim Stanley Robinson wrote one of SF’s greatest meditations on extended human lifespan, the limitations of human memory, and the haunted confabulations that go with forgetting.On the North Pole of Pluto there stands an enigma: a huge circle of standing blocks of ice, built on the pattern of Earth’s Stonehenge—but ten times the size, standing alone at the edge of the Solar System. What is it? Who could have built it?The secret lies in the chaotic decades of the Martian Revolution, in the lost memories of those who have lived for centuries.This new Tor Essentials edition of Icehenge includes a new introduction by Henry Farrell, co-author of Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Icerigger (Gateway Essentials #299)
by Alan Dean FosterFar out on the frozen outer limits of the thranx/humanx Commonwealth, on the permafrosted plant of Tran-ky-ky, lay the chilly trading outpost of Brass Monkey.Inward bound on the interstellar transport Antares, Ethan Frome Fortune, space travelling salesman with a neat line in perfumes, jewelled knick-knacks and up market gadgetry, ran into grizzled, galactic hell raiser Skua September for the first time. Kidnapped, knocked unconscious and crash landed - all quite accidentally - they were about to find out that life on the sub- zero wasteland was full of incident. Bored they would not be. Dead they might well be - particularly if Sagyanak, Chief of the nomadic Horde, could lay hands on them. The great adventure has just begun and early retirement was not an option.
Ich, Sergeant
by Nick Thacker Christina Bergmann„Mein Name ist Renfro, Sergeant Renfro – oder einfach nur Sergeant …“ Ja, Sergeant ist mein Vorname und zufälligerweise auch mein Rang. Ich wurde in diesen Krieg, aber auch wegen dieses Krieges geboren ... doch das ist eine andere Geschichte. Mein Interesse für das Militär ging die meiste Zeit meines Lebens stark gegen Null, doch wie alle anderen meiner Generation wurde auch ich eingezogen. Der nächste Teil in Nick Thackers wachsender Sammlung von Sci-Fi-Action-/Abenteuer-Thrillern … Da ich den Krieg jedoch überleben wollte, kämpfte ich. Zuerst kämpfte ich, egoistisch wie ich war, nur um mein eigenes Leben, dann für das meiner Abteilung und Zuges, und schließlich für jeden Einzelnen, mit dem ich diente. Es war nicht gerade der einfachste Weg und vermutlich ziemlich egoistisch von mir, aber er hat mich hierher geführt. Freunde von Isaac Asimov und H.G. Wells, holt euch Ich, Sergeant noch heute!
Icon of Evil: Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam
by David G. Dalin John F. RothmannDalin (Hoover Institution, Stanford U. ) and Rothmann (Fromm Institute, U. of San Francisco) tell the story of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the one-time mufti of Jerusalem, and his support for the fascists during World War II. In the long-standing debate concerning whether Husseini's activities were driven by anti-Semitic hatred as opposed to anti-Zionism/Palestinian nationalism, they opt decisively for the former. Most of their discussion of Husseini's fascist activities will be relatively uncontroversial, although it's quite clear that when faced with choices of interpretation they are far more likely to chose the one that paints the mufti in a bad light, but their argument gets significantly weaker as they attempt to intimately connect Husseini to virtually every single opponent of the US and Israel in the Middle East including the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Saddam Hussein, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Ida Lewis Guards the Shore: Courageous Kid of the Atlantic (Courageous Kids)
by Jessica GundersonIda Lewis spent a lifetime on the water, starting when her family moved the island of Lime Rock in 1857 for her father's job as lighthouse keeper. By age 15, Ida was the best swimmer in Newport, Rhode Island. And when her father suffers a stroke, Ida herself takes over as keeper of the lighthouse. But guarding the shore also means guarding the water. And when Ida spots four local boys in danger on the water, she knows she must take action, the boys' lives depend on it.
Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident
by William McKeownThe little-known true story of a mysterious nuclear reactor disaster—years before Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or Fukushima. Before the Three Mile Island incident or the Chernobyl disaster, the world&’s first nuclear reactor meltdown to claim lives happened on US soil. Chronicled here for the first time is the strange tale of SL-1, an experimental military reactor located in Idaho&’s Lost River Desert that exploded on the night of January 3, 1961, killing the three crewmembers on duty. Through exclusive interviews with the victims&’ families and friends, firsthand accounts from rescue workers and nuclear industry insiders, and extensive research into official documents, journalist William McKeown probes the many questions surrounding this devastating blast that have gone unanswered for decades. From reports of faulty design and mismanagement to incompetent personnel and even rumors of sabotage after a failed love affair, these plausible explanations raise startling new questions about whether the truth was deliberately suppressed to protect the nuclear energy industry.
Idaho in World War II (Images of America)
by Students from Idaho State University’s MGT 4499/5599 ClassAlthough far from the front lines of war, the people of Idaho contributed to the US effort in World War II in myriad ways. Entrepreneurs perfected the dehydration of potatoes and onions that became staples of the rations that sustained Allied troops stationed around the globe. Idahoans mined rare metals and manufactured them into weapons and munitions that allowed US forces to compete with the technologies of their opponents. Local communities organized USO huts that provided coffee, cookies, and warm smiles to homesick troops in transit to and from the war. However, World War II also left an indelible mark on the state of Idaho. On the one hand, the federal government's ambitious construction of airports, buildings, and roads to support the war effort transformed a rural state that had lacked infrastructure. On the other hand, Idaho soil housed detention camps where American citizens were denied fundamental rights. And loss and heartbreak impacted nearly every community.
Idealistas bajo las balas: Corresponsales extranjeros en la guerra de España
by Paul PrestonLas biografías de algunos de los corresponsales más destacados que cubrieron la Guerra Civil española. La Guerra Civil española supuso la consagración del corresponsal de guerra. Durante casi tres años los ojos del mundo se fijaron en España, y lo más granado de la prensa internacional acudió a dar fe de lo que ocurría. Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, John Dos Passos, Mijaíl Koltsov, W.H. Auden, Arthur Koestler, Cyril Connolly, George Orwell, Kim Philby y muchos otros pasaron por España y escribieron lo que vieron, o al menos lo que pudieron. En condiciones precarias, afrontando graves riesgos e inmersos en el frenesí del combate, a todos ellos les transformó la guerra. Paul Preston presenta en Idealistas bajo las balas el retrato de un colectivo legendario, deteniéndose en las biografías de algunos de los corresponsales más destacados: Louis Fischer, Mijaíl Koltsov, George Steer, Jay Allen; y de aquellos que mantuvieron encendida la llama de la República: Herbert Southworth y Henry Buckley. El resultado es un homenaje a todos los que acudieron a observar los acontecimientos y pronto se vieron atrapados por la fascinación de uno de los conflictos decisivos del siglo XX. Reseña:«No puedo sino elogiarlo. Preston deshace los hilos enredados de las mentiras y nos presenta una imagen lúcida y una lectura amena.»Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily Telegraph
Identification of Firearms: From Ammunition Fired Therein With an Analysis of Legal Authorities
by Jack Gunther Charles GuntherThe 1930s was a decade that provided impressive breakthroughs in the field of forensic ballistics, or firearms identification. Following the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929, where ballistic expert Calvin Goddard’s testimony brought attention to the relatively new field, several forensic ballistic books were published. Among these were Burrard’s The Identification of Firearms and Forensic Ballistics and Hatcher’s Textbook of Firearms Investigations, Identification, and Evidence. Burrard introduced forensic examination to the British judicial system; Hatcher applied his considerable knowledge of firearms and ammunition to weapons’ design, manufacture, and testing. Gunthers’ The Identification of Firearms combined the approaches of these volumes into a new book that emphasized both the painstaking scientific methodology vital to firearms identification, complete with ballistics photographs, and its practical use by analyses of several legal cases where firearms identification was used. These include the infamous Sacco-Vanzetti case, the first in American legal history where forensic ballistics played a very prominent role in courtroom proceedings. The Gunther brothers utilized their respective legal and military experience to provide a comprehensive reference volume that is noteworthy for those interested in law enforcement or ballistics as well as gun enthusiasts.
Identifying Cap Badges: A Family Historian's Guide
by Graham BandyThis book is an invaluable ‘tool of the trade’ for anyone trying to identify or interpret photos. – Peter Hart, Military Historian Identifying Cap Badges is the book that has been missing from the bookshelves of family historians, military enthusiasts, and badge collectors alike. It is quite easy to find an erudite book on military cap badges, but you could spend hours, if not days, plodding through hundreds of pictures to find a match for the one you hold. Sometimes you may not find it at all! These learned badge collector's books have one major flaw; they are pictured and discussed in 'order of precedence', that is to say, from the earliest formed regiments to the latest, with separate sections on medical, engineers, cavalry, infantry, etc. This can be most confusing to those uninitiated into the 'dark arts' of military badges. Thus, if you do not know the name or 'original number' of your regiment in this order of precedence, you can be flummoxed! This, combined with all the different crowns, laurels, animals, mythological beasts and castles, can prove more than a little daunting, even to ex soldiers themselves! In this book you will find badges ordered by what is on the badge itself; be it a dragon, sphinx or castle, horse, lion or tiger. This is badge identification in minutes, rather than hours, with added information on dating badges and many comparison photographs alongside all the pictures of the badges. Added to these pictures are short histories of the regiments and 'family trees' plotting the antecedents of today's units.
Identities and Security in East Asia (Adelphi series #325)
by Koro BesshoEast Asia has been relatively free from large-scale conflict in the 1990s, but the absence of security organisations or even of a sense of community within the region has raised doubts about its future security. China and Japan are likely to bear much of the responsibility for maintaining stability, but both countries have been reluctant to adopt a leadership role. South-east Asian states have been willing to take the initiative outside of their sub-region, but they possess neither the resources nor the authority to lead the whole of East Asia. In the long term, the ability to organise the region depends on greater clarity in the identity of leading states in the region, and of the region as a whole. This paper analyses the way in which issues of identity have affected the actions of the key players, and assesses future challenges and possibilities in the search for regional security. It concludes that: Through the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), South-east Asian states have developed a sense of confidence and unity. However, ASEAN’s need to safeguard its newly acquired identity means that it has not exported the ‘ASEAN way’ to the wider region of East Asia or the Asia-Pacific. The greater diversity that enlargement will bring and the effects of the crisis since 1997 are likely to make the Association’s defensive instincts still more resistant to change. In the 1990s, Japan has sought to redefine its identity, both in terms of its past and of its post-war values such as pacifism and human rights. This process has compelled Japan to face Asia more squarely, and has increased the country’s self-assurance. As a result, it may become more willing to take the initiative in political and security, as well as economic, areas. For China, nationalism has become more important, just as communism’s position as the country’s unifying ideology has eroded. Beijing has tried to change the status quo in a forceful way. By the close of the 1990s, however, China has become increasingly willing to act as a responsible world power. A key test of this transformation will be Beijing’s treatment of the Taiwan question. The prospects for regional stability depend on Japan’s ability to reform and return to growth. The most pressing task is to revitalise East Asia’s economies. A return to prosperity would encourage China’s reform and opening process; lessen Japan’s introspection; make disagreements between the South-east Asian states less acute; and allow the Asia-Pacific region as a whole to move beyond both the triumphalism of the East Pacific and the resentment of the West.
Ideology And The Fall Of Empires: The Decline Of The Spanish Empire And Its Comparison To Current American Strategy
by Major Enrique Gomariz DevesaSometimes, the ideology that formed the basis for founding an empire can become the cause of its fall. The decline of the Spanish Empire is a clear example of how ideology may both adversely influence national grand strategies and trigger processes of decline of an empire. The strong religious conviction of the Habsburgs was a fundamental factor in defining an imperial strategy that did not conform to the genuine interests of Spain as the core of the Empire. This strategy did not take into account limited Spanish capabilities that were not enough to achieve its religious goals.The purpose of this research is not to analyze in depth how religion influenced the decline of the Spanish Empire, but to use this process to establish a paradigm to explain how ideologies can become a negative influence on national policies. Once the paradigm is established, it will be compared to a similar process to develop some valid conclusions regarding the importance of defining national strategic objectives according to the interests and capabilities of each state.Over the last two decades, the desire to expand and promote democracy around the world became the dominant ideology in the United States. Therefore, its influence in the evolution of recent American national strategies serves as a valid comparison. This study presents some conclusions that not only might be applicable for the analysis and study of national strategies, but also may help to understand how and when ideologies that may be necessary to maintain the cohesion of nations and empires, can became a source of national decline.
Ideology and the Rationality of Domination: Nazi Germanization Policies in Poland
by Gerhard WolfThis &“well-researched, clear [and] convincing&” historical study examines the ideology and politics of Germanization during the WWII occupation of Poland (Nicholas Stargardt, author of The German War). Following the brutal invasion and occupation of Poland, the Nazis moved swiftly to realize one of their key ideological aims: the expansion of German living space. This involved deporting Jews, bringing in German settlers, and establishing an evaluation process that separated Poles from ethnic Germans. As simple as this might have seemed initially, the various parts of the German occupation machinery were soon embroiled in a bitter fight about the essence of Germanness and how to identify a German. In this illuminating study, Gerhard Wolf reveals an astonishing development in which a more inclusive understanding of Germanness based on the notion of Volk won out against an exclusive definition based on Rasse. As Wolf demonstrates, this decision paved the way for turning three million Poles into German citizens. Parallel to the mass deportation and murder of Christian Poles and the genocide of Jewish Poles, the Nazis paradoxically also presided over the largest (forced) assimilation program in German history. Students and scholars of the Second World War, the Holocaust, and Nazism will find new analysis of German imperialism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide in this important book.
If Britain Had Fallen: The Real Nazi Occupation Plans (Greenhill Military Paperbacks)
by Norman LongmateWhat if Germany had invaded the British Isles? &“A distinguished contribution to the canon of alternate histories&” (Military History). If Britain Had Fallen is a fascinating contemplation of what it would have been like for Britain to live day to day under Nazi occupation. It discusses every phase of the scenario, from the German pre-invasion maneuvering and preparations, to the landing of troops, to the German seizure of power. What would have happened to the king and the government? Would America, Canada, or Australia have come to the rescue? Would the British people have grown to accept the occupation? Would the deportation of friends and the flying of the swastika from Buckingham Palace incite passive compliance, or brave resistance? All these questions and more are explored in this thought-provoking and chilling pastiche of the twentieth century&’s most enduring and darkest episodes. Based on a classic television film of the same name, this book includes illustrations and an updated foreword by military historian Norman Longmate.
If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy--from the Revolution to the War of 1812
by George C. DaughanThe American Revolution-and thus the history of the United States-began not on land but on the sea. Paul Revere began his famous midnight ride not by jumping on a horse, but by scrambling into a skiff with two other brave patriots to cross Boston Harbor to Charlestown. Revere and his companions rowed with muffled oars to avoid capture by the British warships closely guarding the harbor. As they paddled silently, Revere’s neighbor was flashing two lanterns from the belfry of Old North Church, signaling patriots in Charlestown that the redcoats were crossing the Charles River in longboats. In every major Revolutionary battle thereafter the sea would play a vital, if historically neglected, role. When the American colonies took up arms against Great Britain, they were confronting the greatest sea-power of the age. And it was during the War of Independence that the American Navy was born. But following the British naval model proved crushingly expensive, and the Founding Fathers fought viciously for decades over whether or not the fledgling republic truly needed a deep-water fleet. The debate ended only when the Federal Navy proved indispensable during the War of 1812. Drawing on decades of prodigious research, historian George C. Daughan chronicles the embattled origins of the U. S. Navy. From the bloody and gunpowder-drenched battles fought by American sailors on lakes and high seas to the fierce rhetorical combat waged by the Founders in Congress, If By Sea charts the course by which the Navy became a vital and celebrated American institution.
If Chaos Reigns: The Near-Disaster and Ultimate Triumph of the Allied Airborne Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944
by Flint Whitlock&“A gem of a book that highlights the &‘fog of war&’ as seen by American, British, and Canadian airborne units when they parachuted behind enemy lines.&” —WWII HistoryMagazine &“Gentlemen, do not be daunted if chaos reigns; it undoubtedly will.&” So said Brigadier S. James Hill, commanding officer of the British 3rd Parachute Brigade, in an address to his troops shortly before the launching of Operation Overlord—the D-Day invasion of Normandy. No more prophetic words were ever spoken, for chaos indeed reigned on that day, and many more that followed. Much has been written about the Allied invasion of France, but award-winning military historian Flint Whitlock has put together a unique package—the first history of the assault that concentrates exclusively on the activities of the American, British, and Canadian airborne forces that descended upon Normandy in the dark, pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944. Landing into the midst of the unknown, the airborne troops found themselves fighting for their lives on every side in the very jaws of the German defenses, while striving to seize their own key objectives in advance of their seaborne comrades to come. Whitlock details the formation, recruitment, training, and deployment of the Allies&’ parachute and glider troops. First-person accounts by veterans who were there—from paratroopers to glidermen to the pilots who flew them into the battle, as well as the commanders (Eisenhower, Taylor, Ridgway, Gavin, and more)—make for compelling, &“you-are-there&” reading. If Chaos Reigns is a fitting tribute to the men who rode the wind into battle and managed to pull victory out of confusion, chaos, and almost certain defeat.