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Pele's Fire
by Don PendletonWhen six U.S. naval officers disappear inexplicably while on leave in Honolulu, Mack Bolan is suspicious. Then an informant emerges from the Hawaiian underground with claims that a nationalist group has escalated its home-rule rhetoric to militant action. He claims Pele's Fire is planning a devastating terrorist attack somewhere on the islands. There aren't any obvious links between the two events, but Bolan spots a potentially deadly chain.The masterminds of terror are desperate to eradicate any possibility the traitor who has cooled to their cause will keep them from executing their shocking plan. It's up to Bolan to protect the informant and stop the attack--making the Executioner both hunter and prey.
Peleliu 1944
by Howard Gerrard Jim MoranEqualling Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa in scale and ferocity, the battle for Peleliu has long been regarded as the Pacific War's "forgotten battle", and perhaps one that should never have been fought. A massive carrier-based attack some weeks before the invasion destroyed all aircraft and shipping in the area and virtually isolated the Japanese garrison. 1st Marine Division commander, General Rupertus, made extravagant claims that the capture of Peleliu would "only take three days - maybe two." But the Japanese fought a bloody battle of attrition from prepared positions an in a struggle of unprecedented savagery a whole Marine Division was bled white.
Peleliu File (Shake Davis Series)
by Dale A. DyeWhile searching for answers to World War II mysteries on the infamous island of Iwo Jima, retired Marine Gunner Shake Davis answers a call on his satellite phone. Soon he's back in the counter-terrorism game and immersed eyeball-deep in desperate attempts to prevent a unique and very deadly biological warfare attack. His efforts to help thwart what could be a devastating threat to global populations takes him on a whirlwind journey, with stops at some of the most familiar battlegrounds of the Second World War, including the Philippines, Wake Island, and Peleliu. His intimate knowledge of the history, people, and places involved makes him an invaluable asset in a desperate chase across the vast reaches of the South Pacific. Along the way, Shake teams up with new allies, including US Army Special Forces and a SEAL team operating from one of the navy's newest and most capable littoral combat ships. He also reunites with familiar characters from his earlier sojourn in Southeast Asia, in pursuit of the Laos File. Shake is back . . . and this time he's up against a ruthless enemy who wants to let the evil genie of germ warfare out of the bottle.
Pellucidar: Pellucidar Book 2 (PELLUCIDAR)
by Edgar Rice BurroughsIn this sequel to At the Earth's Core, return to the world of Pellucidar - an exotic, savage land at the centre of our Earth, an untamed wilderness where time stands still. When American explorer David Innes first discovered Pellucidar, he fell under the spell of the strange world, earning the respect of many, the undying hatred of a few, and the love of the beautiful Dian. Torn from the arms of Dian by trickery, Innes vows revenge and returns to the Inner World in his most exciting adventure to date. But David Innes appears in Pellucidar far from the land of his beloved and is forced to cross a fierce, unyielding world to reach her. Inne's epic journey through the many strange lands of Pellucidar, including the brilliantly conceived pendant moon and Land of Awful Shadow, and his heart-pounding encounters with prehistoric beasts and strange peoples ranks as one of the best adventures ever penned by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History
by Alan West Lawrie PhillipsThe Admiralty’s specialist shipbuilding yard at Pembroke Dock produced over 200 warships for the Royal Navy, including 5 royal yachts, between 1814 and 1926. This long century, from the Napoleonic War until post-First World War, covered all the major changes in warship design and construction, from wood to iron and then steel, and from sail to steam. Despite being established on the south shore of Milford Haven, where no warships had ever been built, within twenty years Pembroke men were building major British warships. In this profusely illustrated edition, Lawrie Phillips, born and bred just outside the Dockyard walls, tells the story of this Admiralty town, its ships and the men who built them.
Pen Pictures From The Trenches
by Stanley Arthur RutledgeStanley Arthur Rutledge was a man of many parts: lawyer, beloved son, soldier, man of letters before his life was cut tragically short on the 16th November 1917. A member of the famed Canadian Corps, he left his home shore in 1915 and served courageously until dying in a flying accident whilst trained for the Royal Flying Corps.This volume is divided into two parts: the first contains notes, anecdotes and experiences that the Author wrote whilst in the trenches through the battles of the Western Front, including the Somme. In them he describes the daily shelling, sniper fire, deadly poison gas, going over the top and even a sentry shooting one of his own officers who didn't hear his challenge. The second part is made up of his letters home to his parents in Canada describing his experiences in the "Hippodrome of Hell" of the war. In spite of his audience, he pulled no punches in his retellings...An excellent First World War Memoir.Author -- Stanley Arthur Rutledge d. 1917Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in Toronto, William Briggs, 1918.Original Page Count - 159 pages.
Pen and Sword: American War Correspondents, 1898-1975
by Mary S. ManderAddressing the ever-changing, overlapping trajectories of war and journalism, this introduction to the history and culture of modern American war correspondence considers a wealth of original archival material. In powerful analyses of letters, diaries, journals, television news archives, and secondary literature related to the U. S. 's major military conflicts of the twentieth century, Mary S. Mander highlights the intricate relationship of the postmodern nation state to the free press and to the public. Pen and Sword: American War Correspondents, 1898-1975 situates war correspondence within the larger framework of the history of the printing press to make perceptive new points about the nature of journalism and censorship, the institution of the press as a source of organized dissent, and the relationship between the press and the military. Fostering a deeper understanding of the occupational culture of war correspondents who have accompanied soldiers into battle, Mander offers interpretive analysis of the reporters' search for meaning while embedded with troops in war-torn territories. Broadly encompassing the history of Western civilization and modern warfare, Pen and Sword prompts new ways of thinking about contemporary military conflicts and the future of journalism.
Penaid Nonproliferation: Hindering the Spread of Countermeasures Against Ballistic Missile Defenses
by K. Scott Mcmahon Richard H. Speier George NacouziAn attacker's missile-borne countermeasures to ballistic missile defenses are known as penetration aids, or penaids. To support efforts to prevent the proliferation of penaid-related items, this research recommends controls on potential exports according to the structure of the international Missile Technology Control Regime.
Penal Company on the Falklands: A Memoir of the Parachute Regiment at War 1982
by Philip NeameOn 1 April 1982 the Argentinian junta invaded the Falkland Islands, while the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment was on leave. Recalled to barracks, it joined the hastily assembled task force to recover the Islands. No parachutes – instead a journey of 8000 miles on a North Sea ferry to deliver the battalion into battle. Philip Neame commanded D Company, one of the battalion’s three 100-strong rifle companies, and in this compelling book he tells their story. 2 PARA was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel ‘H’ Jones, who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross at the Battle of Goose Green. After winning the first major land battle on the Falklands, 2 PARA were the only battalion to fight two, going on to fight at Wireless Ridge, the final gateway to Port Stanley. D Company played the decisive role, but, in the closing moments, suffered a deadly artillery barrage – from their own guns. D Company was the Cinderella of 2 PARA, at the back for everything: on training, always in reserve; in barracks, the parking lot for those who proved too troublesome for A and B. It was nicknamed ‘Penal Company’. This searingly honest but humorous account explores the realities of war – the tightrope between success and disaster, comedy and tragedy; the strength of companionship and the solitude of fear. Above all, it is a tribute to a band of brothers who, taking their nickname as a badge of honor, fought, cursed and laughed together, to win through on those ‘ringing plains of windy Troy.’
Penalty Strike: The Memoirs of a Red Army Penal Company Commander 1943–45 (Stackpole Military History Series #1)
by Alexander V. Pyl'cynThe focus of this book are the author's vivid memories of service as a company commander in a Red Army officers' penal battalion on the Eastern Front 1944-45. During this time, he and his unit participated in the 1944 Soviet summer offensive Operation 'Bagration', the Vistula-Oder operation into eastern Germany, and the final assault on Berlin. The stories of penal companies and battalions in the Red Army gave birth to legends about men who rushed to the attack across threat during the war, "I will send you to a penal battalion!" meant nothing to him. He was there. He was a platoon commander and later a commander of an officers' penal company. He was a senior lieutenant having a degraded regiment commander as a second-in-command. He and his company had to carry out the most difficult and dangerous operations in order to break through the enemy defenses. With more than 80% of the men lost his company succeeded in completing their missions. The horrors of war, the hand-to-hand fights with a desperately struggling enemy are described in this book along with a story of a strong feeling between the young officer and a hospital nurse Rita. Thanks to Alexander Rita was appointed a nurse in the penal battalion. She saved dozens of soldiers, carrying them from the battlefield under enemy fire. It was Rita who saved Alexander Pyl'cyn from death, when he was badly wounded near Berlin. She became his wife in the last months of the war. The author is brilliant at detailing the way of life and personal relations in the war. In this horrible slaughter cowardice and treason went side by side with friendship and heroism. In these inhuman conditions people remained as they were: they lived, they laughed, they loved. Key sales points: High-quality memoirs from Soviet soldiers who served on the Eastern Front are rare - rarer still are firsthand accounts of the Red Army's penal battalions / The author's intense and exciting style produces a fluid and highly-readable account of the brutal reality of war in the East during its most bitter final phase / Includes the author's experiences during the storming of Berlin 1945, and his battlefield romance with Rita, the battalion's nurse, and his future wife.minefields against German machine-guns with one rifle per three men. The author of this book knows from his own experience what a penal battalion is. A common
Penalty Strike: The Memoirs of a Red Army Penal Company Commander, 1943–45 (Stackpole Military History Series)
by Alexander V Pyl'cynA WWII Soviet officer recalls leading a battalion of convict-soldiers in this rare firsthand account of a Red Army penal unit. Alexander Pyl&’cyn was eighteen years old when he was drafted into the Red Army in 1941. He went on to serve with great distinction, earing the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Great Patriotic War, and the Order of the Red Star for his actions during the war. As the commander of a penal battalion on the Eastern Front, he led an unruly band of convict-soldiers, Gulag prisoners, and former Soviet POWs deemed untrustworthy. Relegated to the most difficult and dangerous assignments, Pyl&’cyn&’s unit was called up to break through the enemy&’s defenses. He led his penal unit through the Soviets&’ massive offensive in the summer of 1944, the Vistula-Oder operation into eastern Germany, and the bitter assault on Berlin in 1945. Though his men suffered massive casualties, and he himself withstood multiple wounds, he survived the war to tell this incredible story.
Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships and Auxiliaries
by Ben Warlow Steve BushPendant (or pennant) numbers have been used by individual ships of the Royal Navy for purposes of identification for more than 100 years. They were also used in all the navies of the British Empire so that ships could be easily transferred from one navy to another without changing her number. They offer the simplest and clearest way to identify a ship, but until now there has been little in the way of consistent and accurate information, and certainly no single location where you can look up or research complete pendant numbers. The book is designed as an easy-to-use reference work and as such is, in the main, composed of alpha-numeric listings to enable the user to find and identify warships by reference to ship name and to identify specific pendant numbers assigned to that name; or by pendant number to identify specific vessels assigned that number at various times. It begins with an introduction and a brief history of visual signalling used by the Royal Navy before industrialisation, and explains how the large numbers of identical ships being built brought about the need to identify specific ships within fleets to aid signalling and tactical deployment. There follow chapters covering the pendant numbers of the surface fleet and submarines (which stopped using them once boats began to spend so little time on the surface), and then pedant numbers by ship name. A significant chapter lists the pendant numbers assigned to the British Pacific Fleet during the Pacific campaign of WWII together with an explanation of why numbers were assigned, and an examination of missing ‘A’ series pendants known to have been carried by some vessels during the conflict. The BPF numbers have only recently come to light and there is still much that is not known but this section provides the most comprehensive study of available data at this time. There is also an appendix covering deck letters assigned to aviation capable ships. This is a genuinely new and significant reference book and is destined to become a major new aid for Royal Navy warship and auxiliary identification.
Penelope's Web
by Christopher Rush&“A book about war that, like The Naked and the Dead or Catch-22, manages to be about very much more&” (Brian Morton, author of Starting Out in the Evening). Odysseus is returning to Ithaca after nearly twenty years—half of it spent as a soldier and the other half as a soldier of fortune. During his absence, his wife, Penelope, has remained faithful, despite Odysseus being missing and presumed dead. But when her husband suddenly reappears, he confronts those who have been trying to seduce his wife and kills them all. Based on Homer&’s ancient epics, this is a novel about war and peace—and about how returning soldiers can find peace more horrible than war and home more hellish than the battlefield. &“The narrative of the novel drives along fast, and Odysseus&’s adventures on his long journey home are vividly presented. Readers already familiar with them are unlikely to be disappointed; many who come to them fresh will be enthralled.&” —The Scotsman &“Startlingly original.&” —The Times
Peninsular Eyewitnesses: The Experience of War in Spain and Portugal 1808–1813
by Charles EsdaileMany books have been written about the British struggle against Napoleon in the Peninsula. A few recent studies have given a broader view of the ebb and flow of a long war that had a shattering impact on Spain and Portugal and marked the history of all the nations involved. But none of these books has concentrated on how these momentous events were perceived and understood by the people who experienced them. Charles Esdaile has brought together a vivid selection of contemporary accounts of every aspect of the war to create a panoramic yet minutely detailed picture of those years of turmoil. The story is told through memoirs, letters and eyewitness testimony from all sides. Instead of generals and statesmen, we mostly hear from less-well-known figures - junior officers and ordinary soldiers and civilians who recorded their immediate experience of the conflict.
Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene. Vol. I. (Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene #1)
by William Hamilton MaxwellThis ebook is purpose built and is proof-read and re-type set from the original to provide an outstanding experience of reflowing text for an ebook reader. Despite the rather prosaic title, these two volumes contain some of the best eye-witness accounts of the Peninsular War. Maxwell wrote a number of books on the Napoleonic Wars himself, the research for which put him in contact with numerous ex-soldiers. In these two volumes, he assembled their accounts and published them as a collection. The accounts are not published in chronological order, but this does not detract from their value: the recollections are taken not just from the officers involved, but also the rank and file soldiers. In this first volume you will find the following narratives:-- Leaves From The Journal Of A Veteran. The British Cavalry On The Peninsula. The British Campaign Of 1809; Under Sir A. Wellesley. Recollections In Quarters. Affair Of El Bodon. The Capture Of Ciudad Rodrigo. The Storming Of Badajoz. From The Journal Of Lieut. P. K., 88th Regt. The Storming Of Badajoz. The Battle Of Salamanca. Events Subsequent To The Battle And Advance From Salamanca. Advance From Salamanca. William Hamilton Maxwell was an Irish author of prodigious output: his output was varied from historical novels and biographies to local legends of the Cheviots and Irish travelogues. The author's history is slightly shrouded, although he seems to have had some military background in British service. His most enduring works, however, are those he wrote on the military history of the Napoleonic Wars: his biography of the Duke of Wellington is still frequently referred to and quoted from. Author/Editor -- William Hamilton Maxwell (1792-1850) Title - Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene. Vol. I Series Name - Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene Series Number -- 1
Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene. Vol. II. (Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene #2)
by William Hamilton MaxwellThis ebook is purpose built and is proof-read and re-type set from the original to provide an outstanding experience of reflowing text for an ebook reader. Despite the rather prosaic title, these two volumes contain some of the best eye-witness accounts of the Peninsular War. Maxwell wrote a number of books on the Napoleonic Wars himself, the research for which put him in contact with numerous ex-soldiers. In these two volumes, he assembled their accounts and published them as a collection. The accounts are not published in chronological order, but this does not detract from their value: the recollections are taken not just from the officers involved, but also the rank and file soldiers. In this first volume you will find the following narratives:-- March To Madrid, And Retreat From Burgos. The Battle Of Vittoria. Advance From Vittoria. The Battles Of The Pyrenees. The British Cavalry On The Peninsula. The Action In Front Of Bayonne. "Take The Hill Before Dark!" Reminiscences Of Bayonne. A Night In The Peninsular War Recollections Of The Late War In Spain And Portugal. Recollections Of The Peninsula Dolores -- An Incident In The Peninsular War. Journey To Head-Quarters Near Burgos. Seven Weeks' Captivity In St. Sebastian, In 1813 Arroyo De Molino The Twenty-Ninth At Albuera. Out-Post Anecdotes, Etc. William Hamilton Maxwell was an Irish author of prodigious output: his output was varied from historical novels and biographies to local legends of the Cheviots and Irish travelogues. The author's history is slightly shrouded, although he seems to have had some military background in British service. His most enduring works, however, are those he wrote on the military history of the Napoleonic Wars: his biography of the Duke of Wellington is still frequently referred to and quoted from. Author/Editor -- William Hamilton Maxwell (1792-1850) Title - Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene. Vol. II Series Name - Peninsular Sketches; by Actors on the Scene Series Number -- 2 Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1845, London, by Longmans and Green. Original - iv and 388 pages. Illustrations - one illustration.
Peninsular and Waterloo General: Sir Denis Pack and the War against Napoleon
by Marcus de la Poer BeresfordDenis Pack was one of a phalanx of senior Anglo-Irish officers who served with great distinction in the British army in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, earning a reputation as one of the Duke of Wellington’s most able brigade commanders. Despite his remarkable and varied military career, he hasn’t received the individual attention he deserves, but this omission has now been remedied by Marcus de la Poer Beresford’s full biography. Pack, who was born in 1774, served extensively in Europe as well as in Africa and South America. He was one of the few brigade commanders to serve first with the Portuguese army, and then with Wellington, in the Peninsula, at Quatre Bras, Waterloo and afterwards in the occupation of France. His life was cut short by an early death in 1823, which may have been the result of the many wounds he received in his thirty years as a soldier. This perceptive and meticulously researched study draws on previously unpublished material from archives in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Ireland. It complements other works on notable officers of the period, as Pack served with Cornwallis, Baird, Beresford, Whitelocke, Chatham, Picton, Henry Clinton, and others as well as Wellington. In addition it offers an absorbing portrait of Pack himself and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the many campaigns he took part in and the military life of his day.
People On Our Side: The Engrossing Story Of The Forces That Are Shaping The Future Destinies Of Russia, China And India
by Edgar SnowEdgar Snow’s People On Our Side is a thought-provoking and deeply personal account of global events during a tumultuous era, offering insights into the people and movements that shaped the geopolitical landscape of the mid-20th century. Known for his groundbreaking reporting on China, Snow turns his keen journalistic eye to the broader context of World War II and its aftermath, focusing on the alliances, ideologies, and struggles that defined the fight against fascism and imperialism.In this compelling narrative, Snow examines the lives and motivations of ordinary individuals and leaders who stood on the "right side" of history, committed to the ideals of freedom, justice, and equality. Through vivid storytelling and meticulous observation, he brings readers face-to-face with soldiers, workers, and revolutionaries from across the globe, highlighting their resilience and determination in the face of immense challenges.Snow’s firsthand experiences and interviews provide a rare and intimate perspective on the international alliances that shaped the wartime effort and the aspirations of those striving for a better future. From the battlefields of Europe and Asia to the political struggles in Washington and Moscow, People On Our Side explores the complexities of wartime solidarity and the shared vision of a postwar world free from oppression.With its blend of reportage, analysis, and human stories, People On Our Side is both a tribute to the unsung heroes of a global struggle and a call to remember the values that united nations and individuals in their fight against tyranny. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in World War II, the roots of global cooperation, and the enduring power of collective action.
People Power: Fighting for Peace from the First World War to the Present
by Lyn SmithA compelling look at war and the antiwar movement in the United Kingdom People Power charts the history of the antiwar movement in the United Kingdom from the outbreak of the First World War to present-day conflicts in the Middle East, telling the story of conscientious objectors and others who have been engaged in protest over the past century. Drawing on testimonies from the Imperial War Museum’s vast collection of recordings and documents, the book gives voice to contributors from different backgrounds and explores their wide-ranging reasons for opposing war, as well as the changes and continuity in the movement throughout these years of almost continuous conflict. The book explores the role of key organizations within the movement and tells the personal stories of high-profile individuals, including Sylvia Pankhurst, A. A. Milne, and Vanessa Redgrave, who stood out against conflict. Accompanying a major exhibition at the Imperial War Museum London in 2017, People Power provides an important and compelling look at the most divisive of human undertakings and is an essential part of understanding war as it exists today.
People and Spaces in Roman Military Bases
by Penelope M. AllisonThis study uses artefact distribution analyses to investigate the activities that took place inside early Roman imperial military bases. Focusing especially on non-combat activities, it explores the lives of families and other support personnel who are widely assumed to have inhabited civilian settlements outside the fortification walls. Spatial analyses, in GIS-type environments, are used to develop fresh perspectives on the range of people who lived within the walls of these military establishments, the various industrial, commercial, domestic and leisure activities in which they and combat personnel were involved, and the socio-spatial organisation of these activities and these establishments. The book includes examples of both legionary fortresses and auxiliary forts from the German provinces to demonstrate that more material-cultural approaches to the artefact assemblages from these sites give greater insights into how these military communities operated and demonstrate the problems of ascribing functions to buildings without investigating the full material record.
People's Liberation Army Navy
by James C. Bussert Bruce A. EllemanRare among books on weapon systems technologies, this work traces China s development from a coastal defense force of obsolete ships with crude weapons to its current complex missile catamarans and Aegis-like destroyers with vertical launch weapons and long-range cruise missiles. As the only book devoted solely to all combat systems on Chinese warships, it is a convenient one-stop reference filled with tables that break down specifications and parameters into specific areas, such as sensors and weapons for specific hulls. The book is divided into sections on frigates, destroyers, submarines, patrol craft, and aircraft. Antisubmarine, anti-air, anti-surface, and mine warfare are covered separately. For war gamers, there are tables with frequencies, load outs, and ranges. The authors prompt readers to discern areas of weakness and strength in the Chinese combat systems.
People, State, and War under the French Regime in Canada (McGill-Queen's French Atlantic Worlds Series)
by Louise DechêneCovering a period that runs from the founding of the colony in the early seventeenth century to the conquest of 1760, People, State, and War under the French Regime in Canada is a study of colonial warriors and warfare that examines the exercise of state military power and its effects on ordinary people.Overturning the tendency to glorify the military feats of New France and exploding the rosy myth of a tax-free colonial population, Louise Dechêne challenges the stereotype of the fighting prowess and military enthusiasm of the colony’s inhabitants. She reveals the profound incidence of social divides, the hardship war created for those expected to serve, and the state’s demands on the civilian population in the form of forced labour, requisitions, and billeting of soldiers. Originally published posthumously in French, People, State, and War under the French Regime in Canada is the culmination of a lifetime of research and unparalleled knowledge of the archival record, including official correspondence, memoirs, military campaign journals, taxation records, and local parish records. Dechêne reconstructs the variegated composition and conditions of military forces in New France, which included militia, colonial volunteers, and regular troops, as well as Indigenous allies. The study offers an informed and ambitious comparison between France and other French colonies and shows that the mobilization of an unpaid, compulsory militia in New France greatly exceeded requirements in other parts of the French domain.With empathy, sensitivity to the social dimensions of life, and a piercing insight into the operations of power, Dechêne portrays the colonial condition with its rightful dose of danger and ambiguity. Her work underlines the severe toll that warfare takes on the individual and on society and the persistent deprivation, disorder, fear, and death that come with conflict.
People’s War, People’s Army; The Viet Cong Insurrection Manual For Underdeveloped Countries
by Vo Nguyen Giap"Vo Nguyen Giap, Southeast Asia's most successful Communist general, Minister of Defense and Commander in Chief of North Vietnam's army, shares with Premier Khrushchev a conviction that the future holds many "just wars of national liberation." This volume stresses the climate of Asia, Africa, and Latin American, torn today by anti-colonial, economic, and political upheavals. It is General Giap's purpose in this book, originally published in 1962, to guide these struggles to the desired "socialist" victory. The speeches and essays that comprise this key document provide not only the tactical doctrine for effective insurgency operations, but also the political guidelines for enlisting the people in the insurgents' side."-Print ed.
People’s War: Variants and Responses
by Thomas A. Marks and Paul B. RichFar from being an anachronism, much less a kit-bag of techniques, people’s war raises what has always been present in military history, irregular warfare, and fuses it symbiotically with what has likewise always been present politically, rebellion and the effort to seize power. The result is a strategic approach for waging revolutionary warfare, the effort “to make a revolution.” Voluntarism is wedded to the exploitation of structural contradiction through the building of a new world to challenge the existing world, through formation of a counterstate within the state in order ultimately to destroy and supplant the latter. This is a process of far greater moment than implied by the label “guerrilla warfare” so often applied to what Mao and others were about. This volume deals with the continuing importance of Maoist and post-Maoist concepts of people’s war. Drawing on a range of examples that include Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, the Caucasus, and Afghanistan, the collection shows that the study of people’s war is not just an historical curiosity but vital to the understanding of contemporary insurgent and terrorist movements.The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Small Wars & Insurgencies.
Peppino: A Nineteenth Century Medici
by Seth ColemanSeth Coleman&’s Peppino introduces readers to a young Italian boy who is destined for greatness but first must overcome grave obstacles in order to fulfill his potential. Born in nineteenth-century southern Italy, Peppino is the son of the baroness of Bologna. A member of the famous Medici family, one of the most prominent families in European history, the baroness expects her son to claim his role of baron and accept his rightful place among the aristocracy. However, the precocious Peppino rebels against his upper-class position, setting off on his own to fight for the common people.Joining Peppino in the struggle are Nicola, a devout Christian peasant, and Abramo, a Hassidic Jew. Together all three risk their lives in order to lead a rebellion against the injustices of the Church and--more specifically--the local monsignor, who has evil ambitions of his own.Pope Leo XIII is another warrior in the fight for the people&’s rights. He had successfully fought off the mafia&’s stranglehold on the country and as Pope worked tirelessly against class injustices. With his niece set to marry Peppino, the novel offers a unique glimpse into the personal life of an often-solitary figure, whom millions adore but only a handful really know.Ultimately a story of good versus evil, religion versus God, and hypocrisy versus righteousness, Peppino examines history through the lens of the personal. Through his novel, Coleman offers readers a human story with breathtaking scope.