- Table View
- List View
Alexander the Great, a Battle for Truth & Fiction: The Ancient Sources And Why They Can't Be Trusted
by David GrantMost of what we ‘know’ about Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) comes from the pages of much later historians, writing 300 years or more after these events. But these Roman-era writers drew on the accounts of earlier authors who were contemporary with Alexander, some of whom took part in the momentous events they described. David Grant examines the fragments of these earlier eyewitness testimonies which are preserved as undercurrents in the later works. He traces their influence and monopoly of the ‘truth’ and spotlights their manipulation of events to reveal how the Wars of the Successors shaped the agendas of these writers. It becomes clear that Alexander’s courtiers were no-less ambitious than than their king and wanted to showcase their role in the epic conquest of the Persian Empire to enhance their credibility and legitimacy in their own quests for power. In particular, Grant reveals why reports of the dying king’s last wishes conflict, and he explains why testimony relegated to ‘romance’ may house credible grains of truth. The author also skillfully explains how manuscripts became further corrupted in their journey from the ancient world to the modern day. In summary, this work by a recognized expert on the period highlights why legacy of Alexander is built on very shaky foundations.
Alexander the Great: Conqueror, Commander, King (Casemate Short History)
by John Sadler Rosie SerdivilleAn overview of Alexander&’s life—from his early military exploits to the creation of his empire and the legacy left after his premature death. Alexander was perhaps the greatest conquering general in history. In a dozen years, Alexander took the whole of Asia Minor and Egypt, destroyed the once mighty Persian Empire, and pushed his army eastwards as far as the Indus. No one in history has equaled his achievement. Much of Alexander&’s success can be traced to the Macedonian phalanx, a close-ordered battle formation of sarissa-wielding infantry that proved itself a war-winning weapon. The army Alexander inherited from his father was the most powerful in Greece—highly disciplined, trained, and loyal only to the king. United in a single purpose, they fought as one. Cavalry was also of crucial importance in the Macedonian army as the driving force to attack the flanks of the enemy in battle. A talented commander able to anticipate how his opponent would think, Alexander understood how to commit his forces to devastating effect and was never defeated in battle. He also developed a corps of engineers that utilized catapults and siege towers against enemy fortifications. Alexander led from the front, fighting with his men, eating with them, refusing water when there was not enough, and his men would quite literally follow him to the ends of the (known) world. None of his successors were able to hold together the empire he had forged. Although he died an early death, his fame and glory persist to this day.
Alexander the Great: His Life and His Mysterious Death
by Anthony EverittWhat can we learn from the stunning rise and mysterious death of the ancient world’s greatest conqueror? An acclaimed biographer reconstructs the life of Alexander the Great in this magisterial revisionist portrait.“Reads as easily as a novel . . . Nearly unparalleled insight into the period and the man make this a story for everyone.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) More than two millennia have passed since Alexander the Great built an empire that stretched to every corner of the ancient world, from the backwater kingdom of Macedonia to the Hellenic world, Persia, and ultimately to India—all before his untimely death at age thirty-three. Alexander believed that his empire would stop only when he reached the Pacific Ocean. But stories of both real and legendary events from his life have kept him evergreen in our imaginations with a legacy that has meant something different to every era: in the Middle Ages he became an exemplar of knightly chivalry, he was a star of Renaissance paintings, and by the early twentieth century he’d even come to resemble an English gentleman. But who was he in his own time? In Alexander the Great, Anthony Everitt judges Alexander’s life against the criteria of his own age and considers all his contradictions. We meet the Macedonian prince who was naturally inquisitive and fascinated by science and exploration, as well as the man who enjoyed the arts and used Homer’s great epic the Iliad as a bible. As his empire grew, Alexander exhibited respect for the traditions of his new subjects and careful judgment in administering rule over his vast territory. But his career also had a dark side. An inveterate conqueror who in his short life built the largest empire up to that point in history, Alexander glorified war and was known to commit acts of remarkable cruelty. As debate continues about the meaning of his life, Alexander's death remains a mystery. Did he die of natural causes—felled by a fever—or did his marshals, angered by his tyrannical behavior, kill him? An explanation of his death can lie only in what we know of his life, and Everitt ventures to solve that puzzle, offering an ending to Alexander’s story that has eluded so many for so long.
Alexander the Great: Lessons in Strategy (Strategy and History)
by David J. LonsdaleThis book offers a strategic analysis of one of the most outstanding military careers in history, identifying the most pertinent strategic lessons from the campaigns of Alexander the Great. David Lonsdale argues that since the core principles of strategy are eternal, the study and analysis of historical examples have value to the modern theorist and practitioner. Furthermore, as strategy is so complex and challenging, the remarkable career of Alexander provides the ideal opportunity to understand best practice in strategy, as he achieved outstanding and continuous success across the spectrum of warfare, in a variety of circumstances and environments. This book presents the thirteen most pertinent lessons that can be learned from his campaigns, dividing them into three categories: grand strategy, military operations, and use of force. Each of these categories provides lessons pertinent to the modern strategic environment. Ultimately, however, the book argues that the dominant factor in his success was Alexander himself, and that it was his own characteristics as a strategist that allowed him to overcome the complexities of strategy and achieve his expansive goals.
Alexander the Great: Selections From Arrian, Diodorus, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius
by Plutarch James Romm Pamela Mensch Arrian Diodorus Quintus CurtiusComprised of relevant selections from the writings of four ancient historians, this volume provides a complete narrative of the important events in the life of Alexander the Great. The Introduction sets these works in historical context, from the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War through Alexander's conquest of Asia, and provides an assessment of Alexander's historical importance, as well as a survey of the central controversies surrounding his personality, aims and intentions. Includes a timeline, maps, bibliography, glossary, and index.
Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods
by Alan Fildes Joann FletcherThis book captures the sense of Alexander, his relationships and his achievements extremely well. Never ponderous, it nevertheless completely describes his singular achievements.
Alexander's Veterans and the Early Wars of the Successors (Fordyce W. Mitchel Memorial Lecture Ser.)
by Joseph RoismanFrom antiquity until now, most writers who have chronicled the events following the death of Alexander the Great have viewed this history through the careers, ambitions, and perspectives of Alexander's elite successors. Few historians have probed the experiences and attitudes of the ordinary soldiers who followed Alexander on his campaigns and who were divided among his successors as they fought for control of his empire after his death. Yet the veterans played an important role in helping to shape the character and contours of the Hellenistic world. This path-finding book offers the first in-depth investigation of the Macedonian veterans' experience during a crucial turning point in Greek history (323-316 BCE). Joseph Roisman discusses the military, social, and political circumstances that shaped the history of Alexander's veterans, giving special attention to issues such as the soldiers' conduct on and off the battlefield, the army assemblies, the volatile relationship between the troops and their generals, and other related themes, all from the perspective of the rank-and-file. Roisman also re-examines the biases of the ancient sources and how they affected ancient and modern depictions of Alexander's veterans, as well as Alexander's conflicts with his army, the veterans' motives and goals, and their political contributions to Hellenistic history. He pays special attention to the Silver Shields, a group of Macedonian veterans famous for their invincibility and martial prowess, and assesses whether or not they deserved their formidable reputation. Joseph Roisman is Professor of Classics at Colby College. He has authored and edited numerous books and articles on Greek history, historiography, and oratory, including Brill's Companion to Alexander the Great, The Rhetoric of Manhood: Masculinity in the Attic Orators, The Rhetoric of Conspiracy in Ancient Athens, A Companion to Ancient Macedonia (with Ian Worthington), and Greek History from Homer to Alexander.
Alexander: The Ambiguity of Greatness
by Guy Maclean RogersFor nearly two and a half millennia, Alexander the Great has loomed over history as a legend–and an enigma. Wounded repeatedly but always triumphant in battle, he conquered most of the known world, only to die mysteriously at the age of thirty-two. In his day he was revered as a god; in our day he has been reviled as a mass murderer, a tyrant as brutal as Stalin or Hitler. Who was the man behind the mask of power? Why did Alexander embark on an unprecedented program of global domination? What accounted for his astonishing success on the battlefield? In this luminous new biography, the esteemed classical scholar and historian Guy MacLean Rogers sifts through thousands of years of history and myth to uncover the truth about this complex, ambiguous genius.Ascending to the throne of Macedonia after the assassination of his father, King Philip II, Alexander discovered while barely out of his teens that he had an extraordinary talent and a boundless appetite for military conquest. A virtuoso of violence, he was gifted with an uncanny ability to visualize how a battle would unfold, coupled with devastating decisiveness in the field. Granicus, Issos, Gaugamela, Hydaspes–as the victories mounted, Alexander’s passion for conquest expanded from cities to countries to continents. When Persia, the greatest empire of his day, fell before him, he marched at once on India, intending to add it to his holdings.As Rogers shows, Alexander’s military prowess only heightened his exuberant sexuality. Though his taste for multiple partners, both male and female, was tolerated, Alexander’s relatively enlightened treatment of women was nothing short of revolutionary. He outlawed rape, he placed intelligent women in positions of authority, and he chose his wives from among the peoples he conquered. Indeed, as Rogers argues, Alexander’s fascination with Persian culture, customs, and sexual practices may have led to his downfall, perhaps even to his death.Alexander emerges as a charismatic and surprisingly modern figure–neither a messiah nor a genocidal butcher but one of the most imaginative and daring military tacticians of all time. Balanced and authoritative, this brilliant portrait brings Alexander to life as a man, without diminishing the power of the legend.
Alexios I Komnenos in the Balkans, 1081–1095 (New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture)
by Marek MeškoThis book provides a new military history of Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos's campaigns in the Balkans, during the first fourteen years of his rule. While the tactics and manoeuvres Alexios used against Robert Guiscard's Normans are relatively well-known, his strategy in dealing with Pecheneg and Cuman adversaries in the region has received less attention in historical scholarship. This book provides a much-need synthesis of these three closely linked campaigns – often treated as discrete events – revealing a surprising coherence in Alexios' response, and explores the position of Byzantium's army and navy on the eve of the First Crusade.
Alfie's War: A Fleet Air Arm Pilot's Exciting Exploits on HMH Illustrious, and Greece and Crete
by Richard PikeThe bestselling author of Seven Seas, Nine Lives continues the remarkable experiences of Captain A.W.F. &“Alfie&” Sutton during the Second World War. Written in three parts, this book follows the harrowing adventures of Captain A.W.F. &“Alfie&” Sutton, CBE, DSC and bar, RN. During events which come as close to fiction as is imaginable, the first part describes how Alfie, badly injured and close to death during the bombing of HMS Illustrious by the Luftwaffe in January 1941, wakes to find himself laid out among the dead, but miraculously still able to help the ship on to Malta. After full recovery, part two starts with his involvement in the Allied campaign in Greece in the spring of 1941, leading to him eventually evacuating the Greek royal family in a flying boat. After numerous escapades he fights with the defenders during the German invasion of Crete in 1941. Admiral Cunningham was later to describe Sutton&’s efforts as &“an example of grand personal courage under the worst possible conditions which stands out brightly in the gloom.&” It was a struggle doomed to failure, but Alfie survived to continue his war and tell his story to author Richard Pike who relates it here with passion, pace and drama.
Alfred Von Schlieffen's Military Writings (Military History and Policy)
by Robert T. FoleyA collection of some of the writings of Generalfeldmarschall Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, one of the more intriguing of Imperial Germany's military figures. Schlieffens 15 years as Chief of the General staff left a stamp upon both military and political institutions of Wilhelmine Germany.
Ali Pasha, Lion of Ioannina: The Remarkable Life of the Balkan Napoleon
by Eugenia Russell Quentin RussellAt the beginning of the nineteenth century, the life of a petty tyrant in an obscure corner of the Ottoman Empire became the stuff of legend. What propelled this cold-blooded archetype of Oriental despotism, grandly known as the Lion of Yanina and the Balkan Napoleon, into the consciousness of Western rulers and the general public? This book charts the rise of Ali Pasha from brigand leader to a player in world affairs and, ultimately, to a gruesome end.Ali exploited the internal weakness of the Ottoman Empire to carve out his own de facto empire in Albania and Western Greece. Although a ruthless tyrant guilty of cruel atrocities, his lavish court became an attraction to Western travelers, most famously Lord Byron, and his military prowess led Britain, Russia and France to seek his alliance during the Napoleonic Wars. His activities undermined the Sultans authority and ultimately led to the Greek War of Independence.Quentin and Eugenia Russell describe his remarkable life and military career as well as the legacy he bequeathed in his homeland as a nationalist hero and further afield as inspiration for writers and artists of the Romantic movement.
Alibi: A Novel
by Joseph KanonFrom the acclaimed author of Los Alamos and The Good German comes a riveting tale of love, revenge and murder set in post-WWII Venice.It is 1946, and Adam Miller has come to Venice to visit his socialite mother and try to forget the horrors he has witnessed as a US Army war crimes investigator in Germany. But when he falls in love with Claudia, a Jewish woman scarred by her devastating experiences during World War II, he must confront the dark secrets lurking just beneath the city’s charms.Adam begins to see another Venice, one still at war with itself and haunted by atrocities it would rather forget. Everyone, including his mother’s suave new Venetian suitor, has been compromised by the occupation, and Adam finds himself at the center of a web of deception, intrigue, and unexpected moral dilemmas.When is murder acceptable? What are the limits of guilt? How much is someone willing to pay for a perfect alibi? Winner of the Hammett Prize
Alice Bliss
by Laura Harrington'This story of friendship, love, grief and growing up will yank on the heartstrings. And then some' Look Alice Bliss is fifteen. She's smart, funny, and clever. Not afraid to stand up for the things she believes in. She also idolizes her father, and when he leaves home to fight a war she doesn't believe in, Alice is distraught. She and her mother negotiate his absence as best they can - waiting impatiently for his letters, throwing themselves into school and work respectively, bickering intermittently and, in Alice's case, falling for the boy next door - but then they're told that he's missing in action and have to face up to the fact that he may never return. 'A powerful coming-of-age story of love, family and grief' Big Issue 'I put down this book and thought, there is no one like this girl, so fully has Harrington brought a new Alice to life' Sarah Blake, bestselling author of The Postmistress 'Compassionate and intelligent . . . strong storytelling and a rich emotional core' Jenny Downham, author of Before I Die
Alice of Old Vincennes
by Maurice ThompsonSet against the backdrop of the American Revolution Alice of Old Vincennes is the story of the orphan girl Alice Roussillon. In 1778 the French outpost of Vincennes, Indiana revolts against the British and swears allegiance to the American cause. <P> <P> Hoisting her hand-made American flag over the fort Alice provides the rallying symbol of the cause of liberty. The handsome Virginian Lt. Fitzhugh Beverly proves to be both a noble companion in arms as well as of the heart. When the British retake Vincennes the rallying cry Viva la banniere d'Alice Roussillon is heard throughout the land. The true battle for liberty and love has begun.
Alice on the Island: A Pearl Harbor Survival Story (Girls Survive)
by Mayumi Shimose PoeIn 1941, thirteen-year-old Alice's days are filled with swimming in the Hawaiian sea, going to school, and helping watch her younger siblings. But on December 7, everything changes when she experiences an act of war, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As the United States enters World War II, Alice's father is sent to a Japanese internment camp, leaving Alice and the rest of her family struggling to adjust to life without him. Featuring nonfiction support material, a glossary, and reader response questions, this Girls Survive story takes readers to one of history's most important moments.
Alien Agendas: Solar Warden Book 3 (Solar Warden #3)
by Ian DouglasReptilian aliens, Nazis in space, time-traveling humans, kidnapped girlfriends, government psychics—it all comes down to this: New York Times bestselling author Ian Douglas delivers the jaw-dropping finale to his action-packed military sci-fi Solar Warden adventure series.The Saurians, a highly evolved reptilian species which escaped extinction 65 million years ago, have an agenda: to achieve behind-the-scenes dominance over Earth. Operating from hidden bases, they use psychosocial techniques to plant conspiracy theories and instill fear within the human population. Too weak in numbers to militarily conquer a world they believe to be their own, they seek to renew Nazi strongman ideologies and surrogates to gain absolute control.Their first attempt is thwarted by the Talis, time-traveling humans from the far future. Yet, their assistance is limited as they face an all-out time war that could sweep modern humanity and their futuristic society into oblivion.With the human species in danger, Commander Mark Hunter and his Joint Space Strike Team must work alongside Talis agents, the U.S. Space Force, and a young and talented government psychic to stop the Saurians from world dominance.As if saving earth wasn’t challenging enough, Hunter’s girlfriend, Jerry, was kidnapped by the infamous Men in Black to control him. Now Hunter has just one chance to find and rescue his love and the rest of the captives before the Saurians bring the entire base crashing down around him and his people.Commander Mark Hunter and his crew require a miracle, and perhaps even that might not be enough…
Alien Bounty (Sam McCade #3)
by William C. DietzFrom the New York Times–bestselling author of Legion of the Damned: &“When it comes to military science fiction . . . Dietz can run with the best&” (Steve Perry). A fragile peace between the Il Ronnian Empire and humankind is about to crumble--because space pirates have made off with one of the aliens' holiest relics. Only one man can hunt down the sacred object. A man with a score to settle with the pirates: bounty hunter supreme Sam McCade.
Alien Hostiles: Solar Warden Book Two (Solar Warden #2)
by Ian DouglasNew York Times bestselling author Ian Douglas delivers the action-packed second military sci-fi adventure in his Solar Warden series set in a wildly imaginative alternate present where conspiracy theories are terrifying realities and reptilian aliens team up with Nazis in space.By exposing the sinister Saurians, Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Mark Hunter and his team have more than proven themselves. Yet the war between humanity and the intergalactic aliens has only begun—now they must save themselves and all of civilization. The JSST—the Joint Space Strike Team Hunter has put together from all branches of the U.S. military—is again deployed on board the Earth starcraft carrier Hillenkoetter on a mission to probe a possible historical connection between the Saurians and the Nazi Third Reich. At a planet called Paradies orbiting the red giant star Aldebaran, they discover a long-rumored colony of expatriate Nazis... and the beginnings of a plan to enslave Earth under Nazi—and Saurian—rule. With Earth at stake, governments deeply compromised, and evil at the door, Solar Warden must fight together to end it all…even if it means sacrificing everything.
Alien Secrets (Solar Warden #1)
by Ian DouglasIn the first novel in New York Times bestselling author Ian Douglas’ Solar Warden series, government conspiracy theories, UFO history, and thrilling space combat come together in an unforgettable interstellar military science fiction adventure.THE TRUTH HAS ALWAYS BEEN HEREIn the final days of World War II, the Allies ransacked Berlin. Third Reich scientists were highly sought- out prizes for Americans and Russians desperate to possess the Nazi knowledge of nuclear firepower. But they failed to capture one of the most vital members of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle: SS Obergruppenfuhrer Hans Kammler. One of the engineers of Auschwitz, Kammler was also a liaison with the Nazis’ silent partners whose technological wonders nearly helped the Axis win the war—the alien species the Germans called the Eidechse. More than seven decades later, U. S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Mark Hunter has witnessed the impossible. On a mission in North Korea, an unidentified flying object destroyed a compound developing weapons of mass destruction. Now, he has been recruited to join a government agency that has been harboring a secret alliance with extraterrestrials since 1947. Selected to lead an elite force of soldiers, Hunter will travel across the stars to help humanity stake its claim among greater intelligent life in the universe.But the aliens who have infiltrated Earth and guided war mongering nations since the twentieth century have their own agendas…
Alistair MacLean's War: How the Royal Navy Shaped his Bestsellers
by Mark SimmonsIt is no coincidence that many of Alistair MacLean's most successful novels were sea stories. In 1941, he was called up after volunteering for the Royal Navy and served as Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and Leading Torpedo Operator. For the majority of his service, he was on HMS Royalist, a modified Dido-class light cruiser, seeing action in the Arctic, and operations against the German battleship Tirpitz . The ship then deployed to the Mediterranean taking part in Operation Dragoon the invasion of the South of France and later in operations against German occupied Greek Islands in the Aegean. After which MacLean and Royalist were deployed to the Indian Ocean and operations against the Japanese in Malaya, Burma, and Sumatra. His wartime experiences coupled with exceptional literary skill resulted in the runaway success of his first novel HMS Ulysses (1955) followed by The Guns of Navarone (1957) and South by Java Head (1958). These three blockbusters cemented his position as one of the most successful and highly paid authors of the era. While not a whole life biography, Mark Simmon’s book provides a fascinating insight into Maclean’s war service and subsequent works, which deserve enduring popularity.
Alistair MacLean: Six Complete Novels
by Alistair MacLeanAn omnibus volume that contains six complete Alistair MacLean novels, including: The Guns of Navarone, Force 10 from Navarone, Puppet on a Chain, Caravan to Vaccares, Seawitch and Goodbye California.
Alive Day: A Memoir
by Karie FugettA searing, unflinchingly intimate memoir about one young couple caught up in the machinery of America&’s military system, learning to live and love through war and all that comes after&“Astonishing . . . both a love story and a gripping account of the cost of war.&”—Stephanie Land, bestselling author of Maid and ClassKarie Fugett is living out of her car in a Kmart parking lot when her boyfriend, Cleve, suggests, &“Maybe we could get married or somethin&’.&” Karie says yes out of love but also out of convenience. As a twenty-year-old high school dropout who ran away from her family and recently lost her job, Karie has nowhere else to turn. Just months after they elope, Cleve&’s Marine unit is deployed to Iraq. It isn&’t long before Karie gets the call: Cleve&’s Humvee has been hit by an IED, and he&’s suffered severe injuries.Karie rushes to Walter Reed, where she&’s told it&’s a miracle that her husband has survived. &“Happy Alive Day, man,&” a fellow vet says to Cleve, explaining that this will always be the day when he was given a second chance at life. Newlyweds barely out of their teens, Karie and Cleve are thrust into utterly foreign roles. Karie tries to adapt to her job as a caregiver, navigating the labyrinthine system of veterans affairs, hospital bureaucracies, and doctors who do little more than shrug when she raises concerns about Cleve&’s dependency on painkillers. It is clear to Karie that Cleve is using opiates to dull a pain that is more than physical. She catches his first overdose, but what if she can&’t save him a second time? Will she still be able to save herself?Fugett&’s story depicts an oft-overlooked reality of war: the experience of the many thousands of caregivers and spouses—mostly women, mostly young, mostly poor—whose lives have been shattered by battles fought against enemies abroad and against addiction at home. Tender, vivid, and laced with dark humor, Alive Day is at once an epic and engrossing love story, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, and a powerful indictment of the sins of a nation.
Alive and Kicking: Alive and Kicking (World War II #3)
by Chris LynchThe author of the acclaimed Vietnam series sets his sights on World War II."All the sizzle, chaos, noise and scariness of war is clay in the hands of ace storyteller Lynch." -- Kirkus ReviewsTheo has always looked up to his older brother, Hank, but never more so than the day Hank enlisted in the US Navy. Not to be outdone, Theo followed his older brother's lead in joining the war effort -- but preferring the wide open sky to the untamed ocean, Theo chose to serve with the Army Air Force.As a gunner on a B-24 Liberator, Theo is enthusiastic about his crew's mission to save all of Europe from the Nazis. Fearlessness is a requirement for dog fights at 50,000 feet. But when Theo's brother goes missing in the Pacific, fear start creeping in. Can Theo keep his head in the game while he awaits word of his brother's fate?
All Against All: The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War
by Paul Jankowski“This crisply written, well-documented account . . . examines diplomatic, military, political and economic developments in a crucial period leading up to WWII” (Publishers Weekly)All Against All is the story of how a single winter, between November 1932 and April 1933, put the postwar world back on the path to global conflict. Historian Paul Jankowski reveals how domestic passions within various nations colluded to drive their governments towards a war few of them wanted and none of them could control.Over these six months, collective delusions took hold in both liberal and authoritarian regimes. Hitler came to power; Japan invaded Jehol and left the League of Nations; Mussolini looked towards Africa; Roosevelt was elected; France changed governments three times; and the victors of the Great War fell out acrimoniously over war debts, arms, currency, tariffs, and Germany. A world economic conference offered hope, only to collapse when the US went its own way.All Against All reconstructs a series of seemingly disparate happenings whose connections can only be appraised in retrospect. As he weaves these stories together, Jankowski offers a cautionary tale for our times. While we do not know for certain where today’s crises will take us, we do know that those of the 1930s culminated in the Second World War.