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The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century CE to the Third
by Edward N. LuttwakA newly updated edition of this classic, hugely influential account of how the Romans defended their vast empire.At the height of its power, the Roman Empire encompassed the entire Mediterranean basin, extending much beyond it from Britain to Mesopotamia, from the Rhine to the Black Sea. Rome prospered for centuries while successfully resisting attack, fending off everything from overnight robbery raids to full-scale invasion attempts by entire nations on the move. How were troops able to defend the Empire’s vast territories from constant attacks? And how did they do so at such moderate cost that their treasury could pay for an immensity of highways, aqueducts, amphitheaters, city baths, and magnificent temples? In The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, seasoned defense analyst Edward N. Luttwak reveals how the Romans were able to combine military strength, diplomacy, and fortifications to effectively respond to changing threats. Rome’s secret was not ceaseless fighting, but comprehensive strategies that unified force, diplomacy, and an immense infrastructure of roads, forts, walls, and barriers. Initially relying on client states to buffer attacks, Rome moved to a permanent frontier defense around 117 CE. Finally, as barbarians began to penetrate the empire, Rome filed large armies in a strategy of "defense-in-depth," allowing invaders to pierce Rome’s borders. This updated edition has been extensively revised to incorporate recent scholarship and archeological findings. A new preface explores Roman imperial statecraft. This illuminating book remains essential to both ancient historians and students of modern strategy.
The Grand Turk: Sultan Mehmet II-Conqueror of Constantinople and Master of an Empire
by John FreelyThe historian and author of Strolling Through Istanbul presents a detailed portrait of the fifteenth century Ottoman sultan, revealing the man behind the myths.Sultan Mehmet II—known to his countrymen as The Conqueror, and to much of Europe as The Terror of the World—was once Europe's most feared and powerful ruler. Now John Freely, the noted scholar of Turkish history, brings this charismatic hero to life in evocative and authoritative biography. Mehmet was barely twenty-one when he conquered Byzantine Constantinople, which became Istanbul and the capital of his mighty empire. He reigned for thirty years, during which time his armies extended the borders of his empire halfway across Asia Minor and as far into Europe as Hungary and Italy. Three popes called for crusades against him as Christian Europe came face to face with a new Muslim empire. Revered by the Turks and seen as a brutal tyrant by the West, Mehmet was a brilliant military leader as well as a renaissance prince. His court housed Persian and Turkish poets, Arab and Greek astronomers, and Italian scholars and artists. In The Grand Turk, Freely sheds vital new light on this enigmatic ruler.
The Grand Wheel
by Barrington J. BayleyWhen empires hung on the turn of a card...Cheyne Scarne was a gambler - a lucky one. What he didn't know about randomatics wasn't worth knowing. He had brains to get right to the heart of the Grand Wheel - the syndicate that controlled all illegal activity in the planets under human control.But what Scarne had staked to get that far was chickenfeed compared to what he would risk to get into the real big time - the massive intergalactic combine that dwarfed the empires of mere men.For Scarne, double-crossing at every deal, had laid his life on the line to win a game where no one knew the value of the cards and the rules changed with every trick!
The Granddaughter: From the author of the no.1 international bestseller The Reader
by Prof Bernhard Schlink'Anyone who wants to understand contemporary Germany must read The Granddaughter now' Le Monde 'The great novel of German reunification' Le Figaro 'A masterpiece' Maurice SzafranMay, 1964. At a youth festival in East Berlin, an unlikely young couple fall in love. In the bright spring days, anything seems possible for them - it is only many years later, after her death, that Kaspar discovers the price his wife paid to get to him in West Berlin. Shattered by grief, Kaspar sets off to uncover Birgit's secrets in the East. His search leads him to a rural community of neo-Nazis, and to a young girl who accepts him as her grandfather. Their worlds could not be more different - but he is determined to fight for her. From the author of the no.1 international bestseller The Reader, The Granddaughter is a gripping novel that transports us from the divided Germany of the 1960s to contemporary Australia, asking what might be found when it seems like all is lost.Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
The Granddaughter: From the author of the no.1 international bestseller The Reader
by Prof Bernhard Schlink'Anyone who wants to understand contemporary Germany must read The Granddaughter now' Le Monde 'The great novel of German reunification' Le Figaro 'A masterpiece' Maurice SzafranMay, 1964. At a youth festival in East Berlin, an unlikely young couple fall in love. In the bright spring days, anything seems possible for them - it is only many years later, after her death, that Kaspar discovers the price his wife paid to get to him in West Berlin. Shattered by grief, Kaspar sets off to uncover Birgit's secrets in the East. His search leads him to a rural community of neo-Nazis, and to a young girl who accepts him as her grandfather. Their worlds could not be more different - but he is determined to fight for her. From the author of the no.1 international bestseller The Reader, The Granddaughter is a gripping novel that transports us from the divided Germany of the 1960s to contemporary Australia, asking what might be found when it seems like all is lost.Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
The Granville Affair (The Granville Sisters Trilogy)
by Una-Mary ParkerThe women of the Granville family find their lives changed—and endangered—as World War II rages in this novel in the &“sweeping and poignant series&” (Booklist). The Granville family has fled bomb-torn London for Hartley Hall in Surrey, but even away from the city, life remains turbulent. Rosie is trapped in a loveless marriage to a penniless peer. With her husband away fighting, she finds the temptations that come with his absence too much to avoid. Meanwhile, her younger sister Juliet&’s world comes crashing down when she must face a tragedy without the support of the only man she has ever loved. Desperate to forget her past, she puts herself in the line of danger as a Red Cross nurse, braving the carnage of the Blitz. And the fragile peace at Hartley Hall is disrupted further when fifteen-year-old Louise becomes involved with an East End evacuee—and threatens the family with yet another scandal . . .Praise for the Granville novels &“A gripping and enjoyable historical saga filled with one family's triumphs and tragedies set against a broad canvas.&” —Booklist
The Granville Legacy (The Granville Sisters Trilogy)
by Una-Mary ParkerThe war is over but life will never be the same . . . &“Fans of romantic family sagas will find much to enjoy . . . [a] sweeping and poignant series.&” —BooklistThe Second World War has finally ended, but times are still difficult and emotions run high. Juliet Granville is now married to a man she loves, and is finally happy following years of turmoil—but she remains terrified that he&’ll find out about her scandalous past. Her sister Rosie, who is bored with her own life and desperate for another child, is jealous of Juliet. She has everything Rosie wants. So when the opportunity arises for her to spoil Juliet&’s perfect life, she cannot resist . . .Meanwhile, their ambitious mother, Liza, cannot accept that times have changed and is determined that her youngest daughter should follow the path that her sisters did. But Charlotte has other dreams. When Liza makes a desperate decision to try to regain some of the glamour of their former life, it will rock the family and test their loyalties to the limit . . .
The Granville Sisters (The Granville Sisters Trilogy)
by Una-Mary ParkerAs World War II looms, a battle rages between two wealthy London sisters: &“[The] characters are rich, varied, and intriguing.&” —Booklist It is 1935, and the Granville family lives in a world of splendor. Rosie Granville and her younger sister Juliet are launched onto the London social scene in an extravagant debutante ball, and the Granville girls are the talk of the town. Vying for the affections of the same set of men, each is desperate to make a better match than her sister—regardless of the collateral damage. But when Juliet becomes embroiled in a series of scandals, she and Rosie soon discover there are some things even their rich and influential parents aren&’t able to cover up, in this dramatic and enthralling historical saga of love and sibling rivalry.
The Grapple (Settling Accounts #3)
by Harry TurtledoveIn this stunning retelling of World War II, Harry Turtledove has created a blockbuster saga that is thrilling, troubling, and utterly compelling. It is 1943, the third summer of the new war between the Confederate States of America and the United States, a war that will turn on the deeds of ordinary soldiers, extraordinary heroes, and a colorful cast of spies, politicians, rebels, and everyday citizens. The CSA president, Jake Featherstone, has greatly miscalculated the North’s resilience. In Ohio, where Confederate victory was once almost certain, Featherstone’s army is crumbling, and reinforcements of uninspired Mexican troops cannot stanch a Northern assault on the heartland. The tide of war is changing, and victory seems within the grasp of the USA. Still, new fighting flares from Denver to Los Angeles. Indeed, as the air, ground, and water burn with molten fury, new and demonic tools of killing are unleashed, and secret wars are unfolding. The U.S. government in Philadelphia has proof that the tyrannical Featherstone is murdering African Americans by the tens of thousands in a Texas gulag called Determination. And the leaders of both sides know full well that the world’s next great power will not be the one with the biggest army but the nation that wins the race against nature and science–and smashes open the power of the atom. In Settling Accounts, Harry Turtledove blends vivid fictional characters with a cast inspired by history, including the Socialist assistant secretary of war Franklin Delano Roosevelt and beleaguered Confederate military commander Nathan Bedford Forrest. In The Grapple, he takes his spellbinding vision to new heights as he captures the heart and soul of a generation born and raised amid unimaginable violence. This is a struggle of conquest and conscience, played out on American soil.
The Grave on the Wall
by Brandon ShimodaA memoir and book of mourning, a grandson's attempt to reconcile his own uncontested citizenship with his grandfather's lifelong struggle. Award-winning poet Brandon Shimoda has crafted a lyrical portrait of his paternal grandfather, Midori Shimoda, whose life--child migrant, talented photographer, suspected enemy alien and spy, desert wanderer, American citizen--mirrors the arc of Japanese America in the twentieth century. In a series of pilgrimages, Shimoda records the search to find his grandfather, and unfolds, in the process, a moving elegy on memory and forgetting.
The Great Air Race: Glory, Tragedy, And The Dawn Of American Aviation
by John LancasterThe incredible, untold story of the men who risked their lives in the first transcontinental air contest—and put American aviation on the map. The Great Air Race reclaims one of the most important moments in the history of American aviation: the transcontinental air race of October 1919 that saw scores of pilots compete for the fastest roundtrip time between New York and San Francisco in frail, open-cockpit biplanes. Riveting the nation, the aviators—most of them veterans of the Great War—pioneered the first coast-to-coast air route, braving blizzards and driving rain as they landed in fields or at the edges of cliffs. Bringing the pilots and the race’s impresario, Billy Mitchell, to vivid life, journalist and amateur pilot John Lancaster captures the challenges of flying in that almost prehistoric age—the deafening roar of the engine, the constant fear of mechanical failure, the threat posed by mere rain. As he demonstrates, the race, despite much drama and tragedy, was a milestone in the development of commercial aviation. The Great Air Race is a captivating story of man and machine, and the debut of a major new popular historian.
The Great American Land Bubble: The Amazing Story of Land-Grabbing, Speculations, and Booms from Colonial Days to the Present Time
by Aaron M. SakolskiOriginally published in 1932, Sakolski's book is the first general history of land speculation in the American colonies and the United States. It begins with the Pre-Revolutionary War Ohio Companies, and thereafter its chapters cover most of the land booms and bubbles up to the twentieth century. Two hundred years of get-rich quick schemes give the reader a concentrated exposure to the gamble and promoting aspect of the American character.-Print ed.
The Great Battles of History
by Colonel Jean-Lambert-Alphonse Colin Spenser WilkinsonThis 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. Colonel Jean Colin was the head of the historical section of the French General Staff for many years. He authored a number of books on the military history of the French Revolution, wars of Napoleon and the great man himself. He also oversaw the publications of many more in his position as the head of the historical section in the latter part of the 19th into the 20th century, as part of a further well-spring of military literature printed in the wake of the epic defeat of the French by the Prussians in 1870-71. In this volume, translated by Spenser Wilkinson (then Chichele Professor of Military History of Oxford), he covers, in an elegant yet concise style, 13 of the greatest battles of European history. As he himself points out, he cannot cover all important battles of them in one tome; those covered are Marathon, Arbela, Cannae, Zama, Pharsalia, Bouvines, Rocroi, Valmy, Jena, Waterloo, Gravelotte, Mukden, and Lule Burgas. There is a slight bias in terms of the extent of coverage in favour of the more recent battles over the more ancient ones, but the book doesn't suffer for it: the expert commentary of each is very illuminating. Title - The Great Battles of History Author -- Colonel Jean-Lambert-Alphonse Colin (1864-1917) Translator -- Spenser Wilkinson (1853-1937) Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1915, London, by Hugh Rees Ltd. Original - xii and 418 pages. Illustrations - 28 maps and plans.
The Great Bicycle Experiment: The Army's Historic Black Bicycle Corps, 1896-97
by Kay MooreStationed at Fort Missoula in 1896 was the 25th Infantry, an all-black regiment. From these African American troops, Lt. Moss chose an elite group to form the Bicycle Corps and attempt a historic 2,000-mile journey to St. Louis. <P><P> In The Great Bicycle Experiment, Kay Moore chronicles this challenging journey, highlighting the hardships and triumphs of these stalwart soldiers as they pedaled and pushed their way across the mountains and plains into history.
The Great Boer War
by Byron FarwellThe story of the battle for independence from the British Empire in South Africa by &“a vivid chronicler of military forces, generals, and wars&” (Kirkus Reviews). The Great Boer War (1899-1902), more properly known as the Great Anglo-Boer War, was one of the last romantic wars, pitting a sturdy, stubborn pioneer people fighting to establish the independence of their tiny nation against the British Empire at its peak of power and self-confidence. It was fought in the barren vastness of the South African veldt, and it produced in almost equal measure extraordinary feats of personal heroism, unbelievable examples of folly and stupidity, and many incidents of humor and tragedy. Byron Farwell traces the war&’s origins; the slow mounting of the British efforts to overthrow the Afrikaners; the bungling and bickering of the British command; the remarkable series of bloody battles that almost consistently ended in victory for the Boers over the much more numerous British forces; political developments in London and Pretoria; the sieges of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley; the concentration camps into which Boer families were herded; and the exhausting guerrilla warfare of the last few years when the Boer armies were finally driven from the field. The Great Boer War is a definitive history of a dramatic conflict by the author of Queen Victoria&’s Little Wars, &“a leading popular military historian&” (Publishers Weekly).
The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: The Real Story of World War Two's Unknown Tragedy (Animal Lives Ser.)
by Hilda KeanThe tragedies of World War II are well known. But at least one has been forgotten: in September 1939, four hundred thousand cats and dogs were massacred in Britain. The government, vets, and animal charities all advised against this killing. So why would thousands of British citizens line up to voluntarily euthanize household pets? In The Great Cat and Dog Massacre, Hilda Kean unearths the history, piecing together the compelling story of the life—and death—of Britain’s wartime animal companions. She explains that fear of imminent Nazi bombing and the desire to do something to prepare for war led Britons to sew blackout curtains, dig up flower beds for vegetable patches, send their children away to the countryside—and kill the family pet, in theory sparing them the suffering of a bombing raid. Kean’s narrative is gripping, unfolding through stories of shared experiences of bombing, food restrictions, sheltering, and mutual support. Soon pets became key to the war effort, providing emotional assistance and helping people to survive—a contribution for which the animals gained government recognition. Drawing extensively on new research from animal charities, state archives, diaries, and family stories, Kean does more than tell a virtually forgotten story. She complicates our understanding of World War II as a “good war” fought by a nation of “good” people. Accessibly written and generously illustrated, Kean’s account of this forgotten aspect of British history moves animals to center stage—forcing us to rethink our assumptions about ourselves and the animals with whom we share our homes.
The Great Chevauchée # John of Gaunt#s Raid on France 1373
by David Nicolle Peter DennisIn 1373, John of Gaunt set off from Calais on a great raid to strike at the heart of France. Driven by the high ideals of chivalry, the raiders left with epic pageantry. However, the reality soon overwhelmed the raiders. Beset on all sides by French ambushes and plagued by disease and starvation, the raiders battled their way through Champagne, east of Paris, into Burgundy, across the Massif Central and finally down into the Dordogne. Unable to attack any major fortifications, John of Gaunt's men plundered the countryside, raiding towns and villages, weakening the French infrastructure. While the military value of the raid is debatable, the English knights who finally made it home were hailed as heroes. This book charts the course of the raid from beginning to end, studying all the battles and skirmishes the raiders fought along the way in this bloody example of chivalric warfare.
The Great Deception (Section W)
by Syd Moore1940. Britain has invaded neutral Iceland, but Daphne Devine has bigger problems. She has sailed into allied territory to track down a clairvoyant suspected of collaborating with the Nazis. As an undercover operative, Daphne must thread her way through a land steeped in shadow and riddled with secrets. But when a new lead pulls her North into Strandir, land of sorcerers, what she uncovers sets off a deadly chain reaction. The stakes are raised, and suddenly it&’s not just her life on the line, but the fate of her entire team. In a world of deceiving occultists and age-old magic, Daphne must use every ounce of cunning and craft at her disposal to outwit enemy agents if she wants to emerge unscathed and get her team out alive.
The Great Democracies (A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume IV)
by Winston ChurchillHow the English-speaking peoples grew into a vast power from 1815 to the early twentieth century. Discusses America's Civil War, the development of the British Empire, the rule of Queen Victoria, and how the Germanic powers developed to the extent of posing a threat to Britain and the United States.
The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion
by Matt TaibbiFunny, smart, and a little bit heartbreaking, "The Great Derangement" is an audaciously reported, sobering, and illuminating portrait of America at the end of the Bush era.
The Great Derangement: A Terrifying, True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire
by Matt TaibbiIn describing the post-9/11 era, Taibbi ended up vomiting demons in an evangelical church in Texas, riding the streets of Baghdad in a convoy to nowhere, following a pork trail through Congress, and falling into the rabbit hole of the 9/11 Truth Movement. He tells the story of this new American madness by inserting himself into four defining American subcultures: THE MILITARY, THE SYSTEM, THE RESISTANCE, and THE CHURCH. Together these four interwoven adventures paint a portrait of a nation dangerously our of touch with reality and manically searching for answers in all the wrong places.
The Great Edwardian Naval Feud: Beresford's Vendetta against ‘Jackie' Fisher
by Richard FreemenThis is the story of the clash between two gigantic personalities in the early years of the twentieth century.On one side was Admiral Lord Charles Beresford. Physically strong, courageous and hot-headed, he was the most popular admiral in the navy. Addicted to the sound of his own voice, he drew crowds of thousands whenever he spoke in public. On the other side was the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir John Fisher. Of humble origin, he had risen through hard work and genius to become the greatest naval reformer that Britain has ever known.Both men wished to be First Sea Lord. When the prize went to Fisher, Beresford determined to unseat him at any cost. He launched attacks in Parliament, he plotted with Unionist politicians, he leaked state secrets and he courted public opinion. As a popular public figure, no one dared act against him until he finally overstepped the mark and viciously hounded a rear-admiral out of his fleet.A Cabinet inquiry followed, sitting for fifteen days. Its five members listened to Beresfords incoherent account of his eight charges. In the end, they dismissed the charges, but failed to show any warm support for either man. Fishers resignation followed and Beresfords career came to an end.
The Great Escape
by Paul BrickhillThey were American and British air force officers in a German prison camp. With only their bare hands and the crudest of homemade tools, they sank shafts, forged passports, faked weapons, and tailored German uniforms and civilian clothes. They developed a fantastic security system to protect themselves from German surveillance. It was a split-second operation as delicate and as deadly as a time bomb. It demanded the concentrated devotion and vigilance of more than six hundred men--every one of them, every minute, every hour, every day and night for more than a year. Made into the classic 1963 war film of the same name starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough.
The Great Escape (CASSELL MILITARY PAPERBACKS)
by Paul BrickhillThe famous story of mass escape from a WWII German PoW camp that inspired the classic film.One of the most famous true stories from the last war, The GREAT ESCAPE tells how more than six hundred men in a German prisoner-of-war camp worked together to achieve an extraordinary break-out. Every night for a year they dug tunnels, and those who weren't digging forged passports, drew maps, faked weapons and tailored German uniforms and civilian clothes to wear once they had escaped. All of this was conducted under the very noses of their prison guards. When the right night came, the actual escape itself was timed to the split second - but of course, not everything went according to plan...
The Great Escape (W&N Military)
by Paul BrickhillThe famous story of mass escape from a WWII German PoW camp that inspired the classic film.One of the most famous true stories from the last war, The GREAT ESCAPE tells how more than six hundred men in a German prisoner-of-war camp worked together to achieve an extraordinary break-out. Every night for a year they dug tunnels, and those who weren't digging forged passports, drew maps, faked weapons and tailored German uniforms and civilian clothes to wear once they had escaped. All of this was conducted under the very noses of their prison guards. When the right night came, the actual escape itself was timed to the split second - but of course, not everything went according to plan...