- Table View
- List View
The Red Hand of Fury (Detective Silas Quinn Mysteries)
by R. N. MorrisA series of bizarre suicides force a police inspector to go undercover in an asylum in this chilling historical mystery set in pre–World War I London. June, 1914. A young man is mauled to death at London Zoo after deliberately climbing into the bear pit. Shortly afterwards another man leaps to his death from the notorious Suicide Bridge. Two seemingly unconnected deaths—and yet there are similarities. Following a third attempted suicide, Detective Inspector Silas Quinn knows he must uncover the link between the three men if he is to discover what caused them to take their own lives. The one tangible piece of evidence is a card found in each of the victims&’ possession, depicting a crudely drawn red hand. What does it signify? To find the answers, Quinn must revisit old, disturbing memories. But can he keep his sanity in the process? Perfect for fans of Abir Mukherjee, S. G. MacLean and Susanna Gregory.Praise for The Red Hand of Fury&“Taut and twisty with a psychological intensity that&’s rare and compelling.&” —Kirkus Reviews&“Fans of traditional puzzle mysteries . . . will be rewarded.&” —Publishers Weekly
The Red Horse (A Billy Boyle WWII Mystery #15)
by James R. BennJust days after the Liberation of Paris, US Army Detective Billy Boyle and Lieutenant Kazimierz are brought to Saint Albans Convalescent Hospital in the English countryside. Kaz has been diagnosed with a heart condition, and Billy is dealing with emotional exhaustion and his recent methamphetamine abuse. Meanwhile, Billy’s love, Diana Seaton, has been taken to Ravensbrück, the Nazi concentration camp for women, and Kaz’s sister, Angelika, who he recently learned was alive and working with the Polish Underground, has also been captured and transported to the same camp. This news is brought by British Major Cosgrove, who asks Billy for help, unofficially, in solving what he thinks was the murder of a British agent recuperating at Saint Albans. The convalescent hospital is really a secret installation for those in the world of clandestine warfare to recover from wounds, physical and emotional. Some are allowed to leave; others are deemed security risks and are detained there. When a second body is found, it is evident that a killer is at work in this high-security enclave. Now Billy must carry out his covert investigation while maintaining his tenuous recovery, shielding his actions from suspicious hospital authorities, and dodging the unknown murderer.
The Red Horseman (Jake Grafton #5)
by Stephen CoontsAs the infrastructure of the Soviet Union crumbles before the world's eyes, twenty-thousand tactical nuclear weapons, once under the command of the Soviet military, are up for grabs - and U.S. Intelligence believes they may soon appear on the open market. Rear Admiral Jake Grafton, Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, is dispatched to Moscow. His assignment: ensure that the weapons are destroyed before they disappear into a middle East terrorist pipeline. But Grafton discovers that unidentified American officials want his mission to fail - and will go to any length to stop it. Meanwhile, off the coast of the Canary Islands, the body of British billionaire and media magnet Nigel Keren has been found floating in the sea near his yacht. Grafton's contacts in Israeli Intelligence have evidence he was the victim of a hit squad from within the CIA. It's the kind of knowledge that could prove fatal, but Grafton can't back off: if the freelance operation succeeds, middle east hostility could explode into an international conflagration. The only thing Grafton knows for sure is that he has been targeted for assassination, and the conspiracy is clearly stamped: made in America.
The Red Hotel: The Untold Story of Stalin’s Disinformation War
by Alan Philps'A riveting trip down the corridors of Soviet deception' Sunday Telegraph (Five-Star Review)In THE RED HOTEL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF STALIN'S DISINFORMATION WAR, former Daily Telegraph Foreign Editor and Russian expert Alan Philps sets out the way Stalin created his own reality by constraining and muzzling the British and American reporters covering the Eastern front during the war and forcing them to reproduce Kremlin propaganda. War correspondents were both bullied and pampered in a gilded cage of the Metropol Hotel. They enjoyed lavish supplies of caviar and had their choice of young women to employ as translators and to share their beds.While some of these translators turned journalists into robotic conveyors of Kremlin propaganda, others were brave secret dissenters who whispered to reporters the reality of Soviet life and were punished with sentences in the Gulag. Through the use of British archives and Russian sources, the story of the role of the women of the Metropol Hotel and the foreign reporters they worked with is told for the first time. With a riveting narrative very much in the same wheelhouse as Ben McIntyre's Agent Sonya this revelatory story will finally lift the lid on Stalin's operation to muzzle and control what the western allies' writers and foreign correspondents knew of his regime's policies to prosecute the war against Hitler's rampaging armies from June 1941 onwards.
The Red Hotel: The Untold Story of Stalin’s Disinformation War
by Alan PhilpsIn THE RED HOTEL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF STALIN'S DISINFORMATION WAR, former Daily Telegraph Foreign Editor and Russian expert Alan Philps sets out the way Stalin created his own reality by constraining and muzzling the British and American reporters covering the Eastern front during the war and forcing them to reproduce Kremlin propaganda. War correspondents were both bullied and pampered in a gilded cage of the Metropol Hotel. They enjoyed lavish supplies of caviar and had their choice of young women to employ as translators and to share their beds. While some of these translators turned journalists into robotic conveyors of Kremlin propaganda, others were brave secret dissenters who whispered to reporters the reality of Soviet life and were punished with sentences in the Gulag. Through the use of British archives and Russian sources, the story of the role of the women of the Metropol Hotel and the foreign reporters they worked with is told for the first time. With a riveting narrative very much in the same wheelhouse as Ben McIntyre's Agent Sonya this revelatory story will finally lift the lid on Stalin's operation to muzzle and control what the western allies' writers and foreign correspondents knew of his regime's policies to prosecute the war against Hitler's rampaging armies from June 1941 onwards.(P) 2023 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
The Red Knight Of Germany - The Story Of Baron Von Richthofen, Germany’s Great War Bird [Illustrated Edition]
by Floyd Gibbons[16 Illustrations, portraits of the author, author's unit and plane.]In the small city of Wiesbaden in southwest Germany, a small headstone proclaims that the incumbent of its grave is Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen. Small fanfare and panoply for the far-famed and feared Red Baron; a hunter even during his childhood, he took to the skies above France and Flanders in 1915 following service as a cavalry officer. In the air he hunted his prey, almost exclusively British pilots, and by the time of his death in 1918 was credited with some 80 air combat victories. He was only 25 at the time of his death.American author Floyd Gibbon's biography seeks to give a fuller and more realistic portrait of Manfred von Richthofen than is widely known; to his German countryman he seemed to be a superhuman hero of the skies; to the Allies who opposed him, he seemed a ruthless bogeyman. The truth is far more complex than this as the author explains in great detail, using von Richthofen's own autobiography and other contemporary sources in order to produce a portrait of the greatest World War One Ace.
The Red Line
by Walt GraggWWIII explodes in this electrifying debut military thriller in the tradition of Red Storm Rising and The Third World War.“Delta-Two, I’ve got tanks through the wire! They’re everywhere!” World War III explodes in seconds when a resurgent Russian Empire launches a deadly armored thrust into the heart of Germany. With a powerful blizzard providing cover, Russian tanks thunder down the autobahns while undercover Spetsnaz teams strike at vulnerable command points. Standing against them are the woefully undermanned American forces. What they lack in numbers they make up for in superior weapons and training. But before the sun rises they are on the run across a smoking battlefield crowded with corpses. Any slim hope for victory rests with one unlikely hero. Army Staff Sergeant George O'Neill, a communications specialist, may be able to reestablish links that have been severed by hostile forces, but that will take time. While he works, it’s up to hundreds of individual American soldiers to hold back the enemy flood. There’s one thing that’s certain. The thin line between victory and defeat is also the red line between life and death.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Red: First Light (The Red Trilogy #1)
by Linda NagataA Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2015 Reality TV and advanced technology make for high drama in this political thriller that combines the military action of Zero Dark Thirty with the classic science fiction of The Forever War.Lieutenant James Shelley, who has an uncanny knack for premeditating danger, leads a squad of advanced US Army military tasked with enforcing the peace around a conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. The squad members are linked wirelessly 24/7 to themselves and a central intelligence that guides them via drone relay—and unbeknownst to Shelley and his team, they are being recorded for a reality TV show.When an airstrike almost destroys their outpost, a plot begins to unravel that’s worthy of Crichton and Clancy’s best. The conflict soon involves rogue defense contractors, corrupt US politicians, and homegrown terrorists who possess nuclear bombs. Soon Shelley must accept that the helpful warnings in his head could be AI. But what is the cost of serving its agenda?
The Redcoat and Religion: The Forgotten History of the British Soldier from the Age of Marlborough to the Eve of the First World War (Christianity and Society in the Modern World)
by Michael SnapeThis compelling study presents the most comprehensive examination available of the role of religion in the army during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Through extensive analysis of official military sources, religious publications and personal memoirs, Michael Snape challenges the widely-held assumption that religion did not play a role in the British Army until the mid-Victorian period, and demonstrates that the British soldier was highly susceptible to religious influences long before the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny rendered the subject of wider public concern. In The Redcoat and Religion Snape argues that religion was of significant, even defining, importance to the British soldier and reveals the enduring strength and vitality of religion in contemporary British society, challenging the view that the popular religious culture of the era was wholly dependent upon the presence and activities of women. Students of British history, military history, and religion will all find this an insightful resource for their studies.
The Refiner's Fire: Historical Highlights of Missouri
by Alvin R. DyerTo members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the state of Missouri is not only a place of tragic history, but also one with a glorious future. Here, according to the revelations from the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, many great events will transpire in the culmination of God's work in the latter-days of man's earth-life existence. To know of this area's history and to visit the places of prophetic historical renown in Jackson, Clay, Caldwell, and Daviess counties in Missouri is to experience a feeling and a sense of the nearness of these mighty events of the future. Maps contained in this volume will help identify the places of historic significance, for those who will visit these places. The numerous photographs, many in full color, will bring a new dimension of the area to those whose only visit may be through this book. All who read this volume will see woven through the historical accounts and the quotations from the revelations of the Lord the thread of divine continuity, and will gain a great sense of urgency about the work, and a desire to be part of the great sense of urgency about the work, and a desire to be part of the great future in the "center place of Zion."
The Refrain Within (Music of Hope #3)
by Liz TolsmaTo save a life, would you betray everyone you love?Hungary in 1944 is a dark place. The Nazis have invaded and turned the country upside down, their evil making its way into every life.Clarinetist Eva Bognar is engaged to conductor and composer Patrik Kedves, happily planning her wedding. At first she doesn’t think the war will affect her directly; everyone around her can be trusted to do the right thing. Then her Jewish best friend and sister-in-law Zofia goes missing--and instead of the Gestapo being to blame, a friend says it was Patrik who led Zofia away. Has he betrayed Eva and everything the family stands for?When the rest of the family’s lives are directly threatened, Patrik’s secrets must come to light. The Bognars flee for the border in hopes of getting out of the country to the safety of Palestine. Eva must put her life and the lives of everyone she loves in the hands of the very man who betrayed her--and they may not all make it out of the war alive . . .
The Refugee's Daughter
by Carolyn NewtonAmid wartime brutality and unimaginable suffering, a teenager in flight from the Soviet Army struggles to survive, find her brother—and hold on to hope . . .Winter 1945. The Red Army has its sights set on punishing Germans for the Nazis&’ reign of terror. Thirteen-year-old Giti and her younger brother, Otto, live with their mother and grandmother. After soldiers arrive and brutally attack the two adult women, killing their grandmother, the farm is set ablaze and the survivors are loaded into a crowded train bound for the Soviet Union. When further tragedy strikes, the two children are left to fend for themselves. Giti is determined to lead them to freedom, but her escape plan goes horribly wrong. Otto is trapped onboard and left alone heading north. Wandering into the forest, the traumatized and mute Giti is rescued by a man hiding in the woods. The two strike up an unlikely bond and help each other survive—until Russian soldiers arrive . . . As Giti fights for her life, she is determined to be reunited with her brother. But how long will she have to wait, and will the reunion be as joyful as she envisaged?
The Refusal Camp: Stories
by James R. BennThese dazzling stories show a crime fiction veteran at the height of his career.In his first-ever collection, the award-winning author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries presents an eclectic mix of new and previously published mystery stories rife with historical detail and riveting wartime storytelling.&“The Horse Chestnut Tree&” explores betrayal and murder during the American Revolution. In the speculative work &“Glass,&” an atomic supercollider and the breakdown of the time-space continuum change the lives of two cousins devoured by greed. &“Vengeance Weapon,&” a historical thriller about an enslaved Jewish laborer working at the Dora concentration camp, looks at how far someone will go to get revenge. And for his Billy Boyle fans, Benn delivers &“Irish Tommy,&” a police procedural set in 1944 Boston featuring Billy&’s father and uncle.Full of terror, action, amusement, and bliss, The Refusal Camp is a must-have collection from a crime fiction veteran at the height of his career.
The Regency: The Morland Dynasty, Book 13 (Morland Dynasty #13)
by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles1807: the Napoleonic Wars continue and their violence reverberates in the lives of the Morland family.Lucy trying to rebuild her life after the death of her lover, Captain Weston, is thrown into doubt and confusion by an unexpected proposal of marriage. At Morland Place, the hard-won happiness of James and Heloise is threatened by his rebellious daughter, Fanny. As heiress to the Morland estate, Fanny is determined to claim more than her inheritance, but for those dependent on her generosity, Fanny's decision to marry the unscrupulous Lieutenant Hawker brings only anxiety.These troubled times hold many surprises, and in their darkest hour the Morlands make an astonishing discovery which enables them to face the uncertain future with new strength.
The Regency: The Morland Dynasty, Book 13 (Morland Dynasty #13)
by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles1807: the Napoleonic Wars continue and their violence reverberates in the lives of the Morland family.Lucy trying to rebuild her life after the death of her lover, Captain Weston, is thrown into doubt and confusion by an unexpected proposal of marriage. At Morland Place, the hard-won happiness of James and Heloise is threatened by his rebellious daughter, Fanny. As heiress to the Morland estate, Fanny is determined to claim more than her inheritance, but for those dependent on her generosity, Fanny's decision to marry the unscrupulous Lieutenant Hawker brings only anxiety.These troubled times hold many surprises, and in their darkest hour the Morlands make an astonishing discovery which enables them to face the uncertain future with new strength.
The Regiment
by Farley Mowat Lee WindsorThe story of an astonishing band of Canadian soldiers and their part in the Allied victory in Italy. The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (the Hasty Ps) was Canada’s most decorated regiment in the Second World War, winning thirty-one battle honours. Famed for their role in the Allied invasion of Sicily and the conquest of Italy, for six years the members of the regiment suffered brutal conditions, fighting bravely in the face of fierce opposition from the enemy, and ultimately triumphing. In The Regiment (originally published in 1955), Farley Mowat, famed Canadian fiction writer and regiment member, tells the story of the Hasty Ps, from their recruitment in September 1939 until the end of the war. Mowat was a second lieutenant and platoon leader with the regiment, and writes movingly of the great suffering his fellow soldiers endured, their bravery in battle, and the lasting friendships he forged as a member of the group.
The Regiment: 15 Years in the SAS
by Rusty FirminThis is the unforgettable chronicle of Rusty's combat experiences, transporting the reader back to the cutting edge of the SAS's deadly covert missions during the crises of the 80s and 90s. But even more fascinating is his intimate portrayal of what the service was actually like to live and work in. Having served as a paramedic, a demolitions expert, a linguist and ultimately the senior SAS bodyguard instructor, Rusty draws on a unique breadth of experience to delve into the hidden world of the SAS as an institution.From its early beginnings in World War II, the Special Air Service (SAS) has won renown in some of the most dramatic, dangerous and controversial military special operations of the 20th century. It is a secretive and mysterious unit, whose operations and internal structures are hidden from the public eye. Now, one of its longest-serving veterans offers a glimpse into the shadowy world of the SAS. Rusty Firmin spent an incredible 15 years with 'The Regiment' and was a key figure in the assault on the Iranian Embassy in London in May 1980, the near-suicidal planned attack on Argentina (operation MIKADO) during the Falklands war and the secret conflict between the SAS and the IRA in the 80s.
The Regiment: The Definitive Story of the SAS
by Michael AsherFrom the bestselling author of The Real Bravo Two Zero comes the definitive history of the world's most elite fighting force - the SAS'Breathtaking bravery, astonishing feats of endurance, raids and battles described with terrific immediacy and pace. Compelling and definitive . . . will surely not be bettered' Sunday TelegraphOn 4 May 1980, seven terrorists holding twenty-one people captive in the Iranian Embassy in London's Prince's Gate, executed their first hostage. They threatened to kill another hostage every thirty minutes until their demands were met. Minutes later, armed men in black overalls and balaclavas shimmied down the roof on ropes and burst in through windows and doors. In seconds all but one of the terrorists had been shot dead, the other captured.For most people, this was their first acquaintance with a unit that was soon to become the ideal of modern military excellence - the Special Air Service regiment. Few realized that the SAS had been in existence for almost forty years, playing a discreet, if not secret, role almost everywhere Britain had fought since World War II, and had been the prototype of all modern special forces units throughout the world.In The Regiment, Michael Asher - a former soldier in 23 SAS Regiment - examines the evolution of the special forces idea and investigates the real story behind the greatest military legend of the late twentieth century.'Detailed, scathingly honest. Asher has brought the critical eye of the knowledgeable insider to his in-depth study of SAS operations and personalities' HeraldPraise for Michael Asher: 'This is the most complete picture of the Sudanese campaigns that has yet been published . . . a vigorous and engrossing narrative' Philip Ziegler, Daily Telegraph'A staggering achievement. Asher has delivered a scintillating tale of a period of history that deserves to be remembered' Guardian
The Regionalization of Warfare: The Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Lebanon, and the Iran-Iraq Conflict
by James Brown William P. SnyderThree wars have dominated world events in recent years: The conflict which erupted between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands; the multinational conflict in Lebanon involving Irsaeli, Syrian, and FLO forces in Lebanon; and the savage struggles between ground and air units of the Iranian and Iraqi forces. The scale and intensity of these wars, their potential for global conflict, make them crucial for an understanding among citizens in general, and defense and political analysts in particular.The authors and contributors to this most unusual volume come to several common conclusions: professionalism is a crucial factor in military effectiveness, but not necessarily dependent on modes of recruitment; high technology is crucial, but only in relation to the quality and training of the personnel; public support is necessary to sustain military morale in democratic and authoritarian regimes alike. These are only some of the incisive findings registered and explored in The Regionalization of Warfare.The volume a'ssembles experts not only on these three major regional and interregional conflicts, but on current U.S. defense policies; Soviet strategic interests in Middle East and Persian Gulf conflicts; and a series of papers on lessons learned and unlearned as a result of these "small wars" of the early 1980s. For those interested in military history, global strategy, and regional rivalries, this -collection of finely written, sophisticated papers will prove to be of intense concern.
The Regulars: The American Army, 1898-1941 (Studies In War, Society, And The Military Ser.)
by Edward M. CoffmanIn 1898 the American Regular Army was a small frontier constabulary engaged in skirmishes with Indians and protesting workers. Forty-three years later, in 1941, it was a large modern army ready to wage global war against the Germans and the Japanese. In this definitive social history of America's standing army, military historian Edward Coffman tells how that critical transformation was accomplished. Coffman has spent years immersed in the official records, personal papers, memoirs, and biographies of regular army men, including such famous leaders as George Marshall, George Patton, and Douglas MacArthur. He weaves their stories, and those of others he has interviewed, into the story of an army which grew from a small community of posts in China and the Philippines to a highly effective mechanized ground and air force. During these years, the U.S. Army conquered and controlled a colonial empire, military staff lived in exotic locales with their families, and soldiers engaged in combat in Cuba and the Pacific. In the twentieth century, the United States entered into alliances to fight the German army in World War I, and then again to meet the challenge of the Axis Powers in World War II. Coffman explains how a managerial revolution in the early 1900s provided the organizational framework and educational foundation for change, and how the combination of inspired leadership, technological advances, and a supportive society made it successful. In a stirring account of all aspects of garrison life, including race relations, we meet the men and women who helped reconfigure America's frontier army into a modern global force.
The Reich Intruders: RAF Light Bomber Raids in World War II
by Martin W. Bowman&“One of Britain&’s best-known aviation historians . . . provide[s] a moving and exciting account of the light bombers raids by No. 2 Group.&”—Firetrench This is the story of 2 Group RAF during World War II. Much of it is told by the men who flew the Blenheim, Boston, Mitchell and Mosquito aircraft that carried out many daring daylight and night-time raids on vitally important targets in Nazi occupied Europe and Germany. These were not the famous thousand bomber raids that hit the wartime headlines, but low-level, fast-moving surprise raids flown by small formations of fleet-footed and skillfully piloted twin-engine light bombers. Their targets were usually difficult to locate and heavily defended because of their strategic importance to the Nazis. 2 Group also played a vital part in the invasion of Europe both before and after D-Day. Often they would fly at wave-top height across the English Channel or North Sea to avoid detection and then hedge-hop deep into enemy territory to deliver their precision attack. Enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire were a constant risk. This is a remarkable story of skill and bravery by a little-known branch of the RAF. &“The most known modern air war historian . . . has made his usual traditionally meticulous and well-researched work. Through combination of first-hand accounts and document sources he describes the exploits of British, Commonwealth and Allied twin-engine bomber crews who fought and won their own war in Europe&’s sky bravely and regardless its cost.&”—Mykhaylo Akimov &“If you are interested in British aviation history, then this book would make a good addition to any collection.&”—Armorama
The Reich Wreckers: An Analysis Of The 306th Bomb Group During World War II
by Major Charles J. Westgate IIIThis paper presents an analysis of the 306th Bomb Group's contributions during World War II. Rather than providing a simple recounting of the various dates and accomplishments, the paper analyzes some of the key indicators and statistics of the group's performance. In particular, the paper focuses on comparing aircraft losses and bombing results of the 306th with the Eighth Air Force's. The analysis also examined other areas, such as: mission aborts, enemy aircraft claimed destroyed, weather conditions over target, bombing methods used, presence of fighter escorts, and strength of enemy air defenses (enemy fighter aircraft and flak). The purpose of the analysis was to gain a better understanding of the group's overall performance within the bigger scope of the Eighth Air Force's war effort.The analysis was conducted in three steps. First, the archives of the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) were searched for statistics on the 306th. Next, similar statistics were collected for the Eighth Air Force. Finally, the data for the two units was analyzed and compared, to aid in determining conclusions. To facilitate the last step of the research, the air war was divided into four periods. The goals and objectives for each period were used as criteria to grade the unit's effectiveness.In general, the study concluded that the 306th Bomb Group was a "typical" B-17 bomber group in World War II. When comparing the various statistics and graphs provide in this paper, we see that in most cases there was little difference in the data for the 306th and the Eighth Air Force. However, the statistics do not tell the whole story. As one of the cadre groups of the Eighth Air Force, many of the improvements and lessons learned during the early period of the war were at the expense of the 306th. These early lessons and experiments were important and led to the improvements that saved many lives and brought an end to the war.
The Reichsbank Robbery
by Colin Roderick FultonHistorical fact meets heart-stopping action in a World War II thriller full of &“intrigue and fast paced action . . . sure to appeal to fans of wartime fiction&” (Heritage and History). In February 1945, the US Air Force launched the largest daytime bombing offensive against Berlin, dropping over 2,250 tons of bombs on the German capital. Germany&’s state bank—the Reichsbank—received twenty-one direct hits, leaving the building badly damaged and the priceless contents of its vaults at risk. It was just the chance SS accountant Maj. Friedrich Schonewille was waiting for . . . Having never believed in the Fuhrer or the Reich, Schonewille is a man out for himself. Recruiting his own father, brother, and his secret Jewish wife, he concocts a plan to get rich as his homeland falls. First, they&’ll have to get the goods. Then, they&’ll have to stay ahead of the Nazis. Then, they&’ll have to keep from getting captured by either the Allies or Russians. And then all they have to do is not turn on each other . . . In this breakneck, &“visually evocative novel&” Colin Roderick Fulton imagines a scenario that could have easily happened in the dying days of the war (The Historical Novels Review).
The Reichstag Fire: The Case Against the Nazi Conspiracy
by Sven Felix KellerhoffWhen the German Reichstag went up in flames on the evening of 27 February 1933, Hitler used the incident to seize power, claiming it was the work of Communists planning a violent uprising. But who really started the fire? Were the Nazis to blame, or was it the work of lone arsonist Marinus van der Lubbe? This debate has been raging for more than eighty years. The Reichstag Fire seeks to shed light on this pivotal event that changed the course of world history. Through a thorough and unbiased analysis of original source material, award-winning journalist Sven Felix Kellerhoff charts the outbreak of the fire, the Reich Cabinet's response to the event, Marinus van der Lubbe's repeated confession to the crime, and the far-reaching consequences of the fire.
The Reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, AD 138–161
by John S. McHughThe reign of Antoninus Pius is widely seen as the apogee of the Roman Empire yet, due to gaps in the historical sources, his reign has been overlooked by modern historians. He is considered one of the five good emperors of the Antonine dynasty under whom the pax Romana enabled the empire to prosper, trade to flourish and culture to thrive. His reign is considered a Golden Age but this was partly an image created by imperial propaganda. There were serious conflicts in North Africa and Dacia, as well as a major revolt in Britain. On his death the empire stood on the cusp of the catastrophic invasions and rebellions that marked the reign of his successor Marcus Aurelius. Antoninus Pius became emperor through the hand of fate, being adopted by Hadrian only after the death of his intended heir, Lucius Aelius Caesar. His rule was a balancing act between securing his own safety, securing the succession of his adopted heir and denying opportunities for conspiracy and rebellion. ‘Equanimity’ was the last password he issued to his guards as he lay on his death bed. In the face of the threats and challenges he remained calm and composed, providing twenty-three years of stability; a calm before the storms that gathered both within and beyond Rome’s borders.