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Ghosts in the Yew (Vesteal Series #1)
by Blake HausladenI would recommend “Ghosts in the Yew” to everyone who likes an elaborate Fantasy story full of political intrigue with a splash of magic. Especially if you read “The Pillars of the Earth” and enjoyed it, this will be a great read for you!" – Draumr Kopa Fantasy Book BlogThe Vesteal Series has sold over five thousand hardcover copies through hard-earned convention handsales. Now, the story is moving into the digital age with cover art by Hugo award-winning artist, Elizabeth Leggett.Ghosts in the Yew is a page-turning epic fantasy about a country on the brink of war, surrounded by the mysteries of ancient gods, blood magic, and statecraft. This is the story of four souls that are banished beyond the edge of the map. Redemption, conquest, and intrigue ignite the journey with love, honor, and a crown at stake. Their struggles to survive will put them at odds with their families, their nation, and the very powers that shaped the world. But, this story is bigger than these things.It’s bigger than all of us."Like spanish moss or ivy, Ghosts in the Yew grows slowly at first but before you know it you are enveloped into a world with so much beauty and terror that it deserves to be read with an attention to the detail that the author has so carefully written." – Stephen, Goodreads"I found it just a little too easy to get lost in the story that Ghosts in the Yew was telling, which to me, is one of the greatest signs of a good story and author.” – The Arched DoorwayThe Vestal Series1. Ghosts in the Yew Novella 1 - Beyond the Edge Novella 2 - Opposing Oaths Novella 3 - Reckless Borders Novella 4 - Bayen's Women Novella 5 - Falling Tides2. Native Silver Novella 1 - Sutler's Road Novella 2 - Forgotten Stairs Novella 3 - Thrall's Wine Novella 4 - Corsair Princess Novella 5 - Tanayon Born 3. The Vastness Novella 1 - Silent Rebellion Novella 2 - The River War Novella 3 - The Blinded Novella 4 - Crimson Valley Novella 5 - Singer's Reward"Ghosts in the Yew is one of those gems that is a satisfying tale from start to finish, and deep enough to withstand multiple readings. If you yearn for adventure, swordplay, justice, and romance in one story, do not even hesitate before plucking this one up and diving in feet first." – Ophelia, Goodreads
Ghosts of Afghanistan: The Haunted Battleground
by Jonathan SteeleA masterful blend of graphic reporting, illuminating interviews, and insightful analysis. Ghosts of Afghanistan is the first account of Afghanistan's turbulent recent history by an independent eyewitness.Jonathan Steele, an award-winning journalist and commentator, has covered the country since his first visit there as a reporter in 1981. He tracked the Soviet occupation and the communist regime of Najibullah, which held the Western-backed resistance at bay for three years after the Soviets left. He covered the arrival of the Taliban to power in Kabul in 1996, and their retreat from Kandahar under the weight of U.S. bombing in 2001. Most recently Steele has reported from the epicenter of the Taliban resurgence in Helmand.Ghosts of Afghanistan turns a spotlight on the numerous myths about Afghanistan that have bedeviled foreign policy-makers and driven them to repeat earlier mistakes. Steele has conducted numerous interviews with ordinary Afghans, two of the country's Communist presidents, senior Soviet occupation officials, as well as Taliban leaders, Western diplomats, NATO advisers, and United Nations negotiators.Comparing the challenges facing the Obama Administration as it seeks to find an exit strategy with those the Kremlin faced in the 1980s, Steele cautions that military victory will elude the West just as it eluded the Kremlin. Showing how and why Soviet efforts to negotiate an end to the war came to nothing, he explains how negotiations today could put a stop to the tragedies of civil war and foreign intervention that have afflicted Afghanistan for three decades.
Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor
by Mark HarmonNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"A fast-paced debut...Espionage buffs will savor this vibrant account." — Publishers Weekly A U.S. naval counterintelligence officer working to safeguard Pearl Harbor; a Japanese spy ordered to Hawaii to gather information on the American fleet. On December 7, 1941, their hidden stories are exposed by a morning of bloodshed that would change the world forever. Scrutinizing long-buried historical documents, NCIS star Mark Harmon and co-author Leon Carroll, a former NCIS Special Agent, have brought forth a true-life NCIS story of deception, discovery, and danger. Hawaii, 1941. War clouds with Japan are gathering and the islands of Hawaii have become battlegrounds of spies, intelligence agents, and military officials - with the island's residents caught between them. Toiling in the shadows are Douglas Wada, the only Japanese American agent in naval intelligence, and Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy sent to Pearl Harbor to gather information on the U.S. fleet. Douglas Wada's experiences in his native Honolulu include posing undercover as a newspaper reporter, translating wiretaps on the Japanese Consulate, and interrogating America's first captured POW of World War II, a submarine officer found on the beach. Takeo Yoshikawa is a Japanese spy operating as a junior diplomat with the consulate who is collecting vital information that goes straight to Admiral Yamamoto. Their dueling stories anchor Ghosts of Honolulu's gripping depiction of the world-changing cat and mouse games played between Japanese and US military intelligence agents (and a mercenary Nazi) in Hawaii before the outbreak of the second world war. Also caught in the upheaval are Honolulu's innocent residents - including Douglas Wada's father - who endure the war's anti-Japanese fervor and a cadre of intelligence professionals who must prevent Hawaii from adopting the same destructive mass internments as California. Ghosts of Honolulu depicts the incredible high stakes game of naval intelligence and the need to define what is real and what only appears to be real.
Ghosts of Panama: A Strongman Out of Control, A Murdered Marine, and the Special Agents Caught in the Middle of an Invasion
by Mark Harmon Leon CarrollPanama, 1989. The once warm relationship between United States and Gen. Manuel Noriega has eroded dangerously. Newly elected President George Bush has declared the strongman a drug trafficker and a rigger of elections. Intimidation on the streets is a daily reality for U.S. personnel and their families. The nation is a powder keg. Naval Investigative Service (NIS) Special Agent Rick Yell has worked the job in Panama since 1986, and lives there with his wife Annya and infant child. Like most NIS agents, he&’s a civilian with no military rank with a specialty in working criminal cases. The dynamic changes suddenly when Yell inadvertently develops an intelligence source with unparalleled access to the Noriega regime. Now the agent is thrust into a world of spy-versus-spy, of secret meetings and hidden documents. Yell&’s source – known as &“The Old Man&” – warns when Cuban military personnel arrive and identifies anti-American officers within the Panamanian Defense Forces, provides information about an imprisoned CIA asset and helps track Noriega&’s movements, agitating for the dictator&’s kidnapping. The reports created by Yell and his NIS colleagues shape the decisions made in Washington D.C., CIA headquarters in Langley and the innermost sanctums of Pentagon.The powder keg is lit on December 16, 1989, when a young U.S. Marine is gunned down at a checkpoint in Panama City. Yell and his cadre of trusted agents deploy immediately to investigate the killing, and what they determine will decide the fate of two nations. When President Bush hears the details they uncover, he orders an invasion that puts Yell&’s family, informants and fellow agents directly in harm&’s way. Using a blend of research and interviews with the NIS agents who were directly involved, Ghosts of Panama reveals the untold, clandestine story of counterintelligence professionals placed in a pressure cooker assignment of historic proportions.
Ghosts of War: A Pike Logan Thriller (A Pike Logan Thriller #10)
by Brad TaylorWorld War is on the horizon in New York Times bestselling author Brad Taylor's tenth heart-pounding Pike Logan thriller. The Taskforce has stopped countless terrorist threats across the globe, operating outside of US law to prevent the death of innocents. But now, along the fault lines of the old Iron Curtain, the danger is far greater than a single attack. With Russia expanding its influence from Syria to the Baltic States, the Taskforce is placed on stand-down because of the actions of one rogue operator. Meanwhile, Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill travel to Poland, hired to verify artifacts hidden for decades in a fabled Nazi gold train, only to find themselves caught amid growing tensions between East and West. A Russian incursion into Belarus under the facade of self-defense is trumped by a horrific attack against the United States, driving NATO to mobilize even as it tries to determine who is behind the strike. On the brink of war, Pike and Jennifer discover that there is a separate agenda in play, one determined to force a showdown between NATO and Russia. With time running out, and America demanding vengeance, Pike and Jennifer race to unravel the mystery before a point of no return is reached. Unbeknownst to them, there is another attack on the way. One that will guarantee World War III.
Ghosts of War: Nazi Occupation and Its Aftermath in Soviet Belarus
by Franziska ExelerHow do states and societies confront the legacies of war and occupation, and what do truth, guilt, and justice mean in that process? In Ghosts of War, Franziska Exeler examines people's wartime choices and their aftermath in Belarus, a war-ravaged Soviet republic that was under Nazi occupation during the Second World War.After the Red Army reestablished control over Belarus, one question shaped encounters between the returning Soviet authorities and those who had lived under Nazi rule, between soldiers and family members, reevacuees and colleagues, Holocaust survivors and their neighbors: What did you do during the war?Ghosts of War analyzes the prosecution and punishment of Soviet citizens accused of wartime collaboration with the Nazis and shows how individuals sought justice, revenge, or assistance from neighbors and courts. The book uncovers the many absences, silences, and conflicts that were never resolved, as well as the truths that could only be spoken in private, yet it also investigates the extent to which individuals accommodated, contested, and reshaped official Soviet war memory. The result is a gripping examination of how efforts at coming to terms with the past played out within, and at times through, a dictatorship.
Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-year-old GI
by Ryan SmithsonRyan Smithson joined the Army Reserve when he was seventeen. Two years later, he was deployed to Iraq as an Army engineer. In this extraordinary and harrowing memoir, readers march along one GI's tour of duty. It will change the way you feel about what it means to be an American.
Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict
by Yardena SchwartzAn award-winning journalist presents an even-handed, thoroughly researched examination of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and illustrates how a shocking yet little-known massacre one century ago in what was then Palestine became ground zero of a war that continues to devastate. "[A] compelling story. . . . If you are going to read one book to help you understand the current Middle East tragedy, this is it." —Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, and author of the New York Times bestseller Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor In 1929, in the sacred city of Hebron—then governed by the British Mandate of Palestine—there was no occupation, state of Israel, or settlers. Jews and Muslims lived peacefully near the burial place of Abraham, patriarch of the Jewish and Arab nations, until one Saturday morning when nearly 70 Jewish men, women, and children were slaughtered by their Arab neighbors. The Hebron massacre was a seminal event in the Arab-Israeli conflict, key to understanding its complexities. The echoes of 1929 in Hamas&’s massacre of October 7, 2023, illustrate how little has changed—and how much of our perspective must change if peace is ever to come to this tortured land and its people, who are destined to share it. Noted journalist Yardena Schwartz draws on her extensive research and wide-ranging interviews with both sides to tell a timely, eye-opening story. She expertly weaves the war between Israel and Hamas into a historical framework, demonstrating how the conflict today cannot be understood without the context of ground zero of this century-old war, which began long before the occupation, the settlements, or the state of Israel ever existed.This meticulously researched and balanced examination of the Arab-Israeli conflict's origins interweaves historical analysis with contemporary insights, providing crucial context for understanding today's Middle East tensions. Perfect for anyone who has read Yossi Klein Halevi, Matti Friedman, or Nathan Thrall, Schwartz's work is a riveting exploration of the complex background of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the ongoing struggle for peace in the region.
Ghosts of the ETO: American Tactical Deception Units in the European Theater, 1944–1945 (World War Ii Ser.)
by Jonathan Gawne&“An excellent, balanced history of the 23rd Special Troops . . . may be one of the most important books to come out of World War II.&” —Engineer Magazine No history of the war in Europe has ever taken into account the actions of the men of the US 23rd Special Troops. These men took part in over twenty-two deception operations against the German army. Some of these operations had tremendous impact upon how the battles in Europe were fought. The men who participated in these actions were sworn to secrecy for fifty years and are only now willing to talk about their role. The 23rd was composed of four main units. A signal deception unit to broadcast fake radio signals, an engineer camouflage unit to set up rubber dummies of tanks and trucks, a combat engineer unit to construct emplacements and provide local security, and a sonic deception company. The sonic unit was developed to fool German listening posts by playing audio recordings of various sounds, such as tanks moving up or bridges being built. The 23rd was the only tactical deception unit of the American Army in World War II combining all aspects of deception. This book also covers the birthplace of sonic deception, the Army Experimental Station at Pine Camp, and the 23rd&’s smaller sister unit, the 3133rd Sonic Deception company that saw action for fourteen days in Italy. &“Highly recommended reading as being a simply fascinating military history of a hidden aspect of World War II that would have a profound and lasting influence on military strategy and tactics.&” —Midwest Book Review
Ghosts of the USS Yorktown: The Phantoms of Patriots Point (Haunted America)
by Bruce OrrA South Carolina historian and paranormal investigator explores ghost sighting aboard the historic aircraft carrier—includes photographs. Commissioned by the United States Navy in 1943, the fourth USS Yorktown was active in the Pacific theater of World War II and later saw action in Vietnam. The legendary aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 1970 and now serves as the home of the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in South Carolina. But, according to many, the echoes of battle are still heard and felt on her decks. Staff members and visitors claim to have experienced disembodied voices, uniformed apparitions, shadowy masses and other unexplainable occurrences since the "Fighting Lady" first docked at Patriots Point. Join local historian and paranormal investigator Bruce Orr as he examines the history, hauntings, and heritage of this National Historic Landmark.
Ghosts on the Somme: Filming the Battle, June–July 1916
by Steve Roberts Andrew Robertshaw Alastair H. FraserThe Battle of the Somme is one of the most famous, and earliest, films of war ever made. The film records the most disastrous day in the history of the British army—1 July 1916—and it had a huge impact when it was shown in Britain during the war. Since then images from it have been repeated so often in books and documentaries that it has profoundly influenced our view of the battle and of the Great War itself. Yet this book is the first in-depth study of this historic film, and it is the first to relate it to the surviving battleground of the Somme.The authors explore the film and its history in fascinating detail. They investigate how much of it was faked and consider how much credit for it should go to Geoffrey Malins and how much to John MacDowell. And they use modern photographs of the locations to give us a telling insight into the landscape of the battle and into the way in which this pioneering film was created.Their analysis of scenes in the film tells us so much about the way the British army operated in June and July 1916—how the troops were dressed and equipped, how they were armed and how their weapons were used. In some cases it is even possible to discover what they were saying. This painstaking exercise in historical reconstruction will be compelling reading for everyone who is interested in the Great War and the Battle of the Somme.
Ghostworld (Twilight of Empire #2)
by Simon R. GreenNo life can survive on Unseeli--at least, not anymore. This little planet on the edge of the Empire has no oceans, rivers, or lakes--only an endless forest of metal trees, tall enough to scrape the stratosphere. Ten years ago, the indigenous people stormed out of the forest in rebellion, and Captain John Silence was there for the massacre that left Unseeli's natives extinct and the planet completely lifeless save for the engineers who mine its invaluable metals. When the mining operation goes off the rails, Silence will be called back to the world that still haunts his nightmares.The miners have erected a force shield around the planet and cut off all communication with the Empire. Backed up by a few professional killers, Silence lands at the mine in hopes of discovering what's gone wrong. Getting into Unseeli will be tough--but getting out could prove impossible.
Giant In Gray: A Biography Of Wade Hampton Of South Carolina
by Manly Wade WellmanAt last Wade Hampton--Grand Seigneur, Southern planter of vast acres, Confederate general, superb cavalry commander, Governor and United States Senator--reaches his full stature in an authoritative, life-size biography. Manly Wade Wellman has found a many-sided subject for his first venture into the field of biographical writing. As Confederate soldier, Hampton was a man of tremendous attributes--great of body, great of heart, indomitable in spirit. When The War Between The States called him from his aristocratic life as a landed proprietor, he was already in his forties, a man who had no professional military training and who abhorred war. However he soon showed himself a born soldier, stalwart in command, with knightly qualities of selflessness and courage. When the fighting ended he had been wounded three times, but he had saved many a situation, and he was still an unassailable tower of strength in the Southern cause. Wade Hampton's military career is an inspiring record, but it is in his account of the post-war years that Mr. Wellman brings out the full greatness of the man. After ten years in private life, salvaging what he could from the ruin of his estate, Wade Hampton was called to public life to fight the corruption that was overwhelming his native State. His terms as Governor of South Carolina and as United States Senator showed him to have been a true Southern liberal, honestly desirous of justice to all men regardless of party or color-an honest American of good will who rose above claims of party and region. In his biography, Mr. Wellman has been able to draw on new sources for facts and their interpretation, and his illustrations represent the pick of all the existing Hampton photographs.-Print ed.
Giants in Their Tall Black Hats: Essays on the Iron Brigade (Encounters: Explorations in Folklore and Ethnomusicology)
by Kent Gramm D. Scott HartwigThis volume of essays by renowned Civil War historians provides a comprehensive history of the legendary Iron Brigade and its service to the Union. Fighting in the Civil War for the Union Army of the Potomac, Brigadier General Rufus King&’s Wisconsin Brigade was the only all-Western Brigade to fight for the Eastern armies of the Union. Known as "The Black Hat Brigade" because the soldiers wore the regular army&’s dress black hat instead of the more typical blue cap, they were renowned for their discipline and valor in combat. From Brawner Farm and Second Bull Run to Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, the Western soldiers were giants of the battlefield, earning their reputation as &“The Iron Brigade.&” And when the war was over, the records showed that it led all federal brigades in percentage of deaths in battle. These essays, by some of the most renowned Civil War historians and experts on the brigade, spotlight significant moments in the history of this celebrated unit. "Editors Alan Nolan and Sharon Eggleston Vipond's insightful essays provide fresh perspectives on the Iron Brigade's exploits, detailing military and political events in the words of actual combatants."—Military Review
Giants of the Seas: The Ships that Transformed Modern Cruising
by Aaron SaundersThe cruise ship market is a 30 billion-dollar industry, and in 2013 it is estimated that it will carry more than 20 million passengers; nor is there any sign of a slow down in the seven percent annual growth. What keeps the passengers coming in such huge numbers isn't the food, the ports or the entertainment. They come for the magnificent floating palaces themselves, the giants of the sea.In this new book, the author showcases the most influential cruise ships of the last three decades beginning with Royal Caribbean's ground-breaking Sovereign of the Seas. When she was launched in 1988 she was the largest passenger ship constructed since Cunard's Queen Mary entered service some 48 years earlier, and her entry into service sparked a fiercely competitive building boom that continues to this day. The reader is taken aboard thirty of the most spectacular ships to reveal how their innovative designs changed the landscape of modern cruising. By employing original and archival photographs, deck plans, cruise programmes, as well as the author's intimate knowledge of many of these vessels, a unique picture is built up of these great ships and it becomes clear that the true Golden Age of Cruising is not in some distant past but exists right now, and that its origins can be traced back to one ship, launched in 1988.A truly sumptuous and fascinating book for all those drawn to the world of the modern cruise ship.As seen in Ships Monthly Magazine
Giap: The General Who Defeated America in Vietnam
by James A. WarrenAn in-depth look at the strategy and tactics of the visionary commander who beat the United States in the Vietnam War—includes maps and photos.General Vo Nguyen Giap was the commander in chief of the communist armed forces during two of his country’s most difficult conflicts—the first against Vietnam’s colonial masters, the French, and the second against the most powerful nation on earth, the United States. After long and bloody efforts, he defeated both Western powers and their Vietnamese allies, forever changing modern warfare.In Giap, military historian James A. Warren dives deep into the conflict to bring to life a revolutionary general and reveal the groundbreaking strategies that defeated world powers against incredible odds. Synthesizing ideas and tactics from an extraordinary range of sources, Giap was one of the first to realize that war is more than a series of battles between two armies and that victory can be won through the strength of a society’s social fabric. As America contemplates its more recent wars and its future challenges, this is an important and timely look at a man who was a master at defeating his enemies even as they thought they were winning.Praise for James A. Warren’s military histories:“A solid study of the Vietnam War . . . a worthy introduction to a conflict that continues to haunt American politics and culture.” —Publishers Weekly“A very useful contribution to the lively ongoing debate on the role, creation, training, and use of elite troops.” —Booklist“Thought-provoking . . . deftly written.” —Kirkus Reviews
Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History
by Lesley Adkins Roy AdkinsA rip-roaring account of the dramatic four-year siege of Britain’s Mediterranean garrison by Spain and France—an overlooked key to the British loss in the American RevolutionFor more than three and a half years, from 1779 to 1783, the tiny territory of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded, on land and at sea, by the overwhelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in British history, and the obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the War of Independence.Located between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, on the very edge of Europe, Gibraltar was a place of varied nationalities, languages, religions, and social classes. During the siege, thousands of soldiers, civilians, and their families withstood terrifying bombardments, starvation, and disease. Very ordinary people lived through extraordinary events, from shipwrecks and naval battles to an attempted invasion of England and a daring sortie out of Gibraltar into Spain. Deadly innovations included red-hot shot, shrapnel shells, and a barrage from immense floating batteries.This is military and social history at its best, a story of soldiers, sailors, and civilians, with royalty and rank and file, workmen and engineers, priests, prisoners of war, spies, and surgeons, all caught up in a struggle for a fortress located on little more than two square miles of awe-inspiring rock. Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History is an epic page-turner, rich in dramatic human detail—a tale of courage, endurance, intrigue, desperation, greed, and humanity. The everyday experiences of all those involved are brought vividly to life with eyewitness accounts and expert research.
Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History
by Lesley Adkins Roy AdkinsFor over three and a half years, from 1779 to 1783, the tiny territory of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded, on land and at sea, by the overwhelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in British history, and the obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the War of Independence. Located between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, on the very edge of Europe, Gibraltar was a place of varied nationalities, languages, religions and social classes. During the siege, thousands of soldiers, civilians and their families withstood terrifying bombardments, starvation and diseases. Very ordinary people lived through extraordinary events, from shipwrecks and naval battles to an attempted invasion of England and a daring sortie out of Gibraltar into Spain. Deadly innovations included red-hot shot, shrapnel shells and a barrage from immense floating batteries.This is military and social history at its best, a story of soldiers, sailors and civilians, with royalty and rank-and-file, workmen and engineers, priests, prisoners-of-war, spies and surgeons, all caught up in a struggle for a fortress located on little more than two square miles of awe-inspiring rock. Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History is an epic page-turner, rich in dramatic human detail - a tale of courage, endurance, intrigue, desperation, greed and humanity. The everyday experiences of all those involved are brought vividly to life with eyewitness accounts and expert research.
Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History
by Lesley Adkins Roy AdkinsFor over three and a half years, from 1779 to 1783, the tiny territory of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded, on land and at sea, by the overwhelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in British history, and the obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the War of Independence. Located between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, on the very edge of Europe, Gibraltar was a place of varied nationalities, languages, religions and social classes. During the siege, thousands of soldiers, civilians and their families withstood terrifying bombardments, starvation and diseases. Very ordinary people lived through extraordinary events, from shipwrecks and naval battles to an attempted invasion of England and a daring sortie out of Gibraltar into Spain. Deadly innovations included red-hot shot, shrapnel shells and a barrage from immense floating batteries.This is military and social history at its best, a story of soldiers, sailors and civilians, with royalty and rank-and-file, workmen and engineers, priests, prisoners-of-war, spies and surgeons, all caught up in a struggle for a fortress located on little more than two square miles of awe-inspiring rock. Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History is an epic page-turner, rich in dramatic human detail - a tale of courage, endurance, intrigue, desperation, greed and humanity. The everyday experiences of all those involved are brought vividly to life with eyewitness accounts and expert research.'A fascinating, well-crafted account of a siege that defined Britishness' Andrew Lambert, BBC History Magazine
Gibraltar: The History of a Fortress
by Ernle BradfordSince ships first set sail in the Mediterranean, The Rock has been the gate of Fortress Europe. In ancient times, it was known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, and a glance at its formidable mass suggests that it may well have been created by the gods. Sought after by every nation with territorial ambitions in Europe, Asia, and Africa, Gibraltar was possessed by the Arabs, the Spanish, and ultimately the British, who captured it in the early 1700s and held onto it in a siege of more than three years late in the eighteenth century. The fact that that was one of more than a dozen sieges exemplifies Gibraltar&’s quintessential value as a prize and the desperation of governments to fly their flag above its forbidding ramparts. Bradford uses his matchless skill and knowledge to take the reader through the history of this great and unique fortress. From its geological creation to its two-thousand-year influence on politics and war, he crafts the compelling tale of how these few square miles played a major part in history.
Gideon's Revolution: A Novel
by Brian CarsoIt's 1780, days after Benedict Arnold flees to the British when his treasonous plot to surrender the American fort at West Point is discovered and Gideon's Revolution is about to begin. General George Washington orders a secret mission for two Continental Army soldiers to go behind enemy lines, abduct Arnold, and return him to his countrymen to be tried and hanged. Washington selects one of the soldiers, Gideon Wheatley, for the mission because Arnold would trust him. Wheatley fought under Arnold's command at Saratoga and tended to the gravely wounded general for several months at Albany's military hospital. After feigning desertion to the British Army to join Arnold's corps of loyalists, Wheatley and his comrade John Champe seek out Washington's spies in New York and develop a plan to seize the traitor. But when the abduction is foiled, the soldiers are trapped by their own deceit and forced to fight alongside Arnold's raiding army, as if they were traitors themselves. Years after the war, pressed by memories that haunt him and seeking redemption, Wheatley must decide whether he alone can exact revenge on his former friend and commander, a decision that sends him across the Atlantic to London to find and confront Arnold. Gideon's Revolution is an American origin story based on real historical events, an odyssey that reveals the profound human tensions between loyalty and betrayal, allegiance and treason, revenge and the possibility of forgiveness.
Gift of Griffins (Faraman Prophecy #2)
by V. M. EscaladaThe “fresh, engaging new fantasy series” continues as a young woman must hone her magical abilities as she faces enemies on all sides in the fight to save her homeland (Julie E. Czerneda, author of A Turn of Light)Talent Kerida Nast and her companions have fought hard against the invading Halian forces. But though they have found Jerek Brightwing, the true Luqs of Farama, the country remains in the cruel hands of the Halians. The fight has only just begun.For the Halians have installed their own puppet Luqs—Jerek's father. And as Ker’s skills as a psychic Talent grow stronger, she must somehow learn the subtle arts of persuasion and politicking if she is to unite her quarrelling allies who still harbor a strong distrust of each other—and a suspicion of her magical gifts.Still, this bigotry is nothing compared to the Halians, who see all women as little more than chattel. Mere possessions that exist to diminish the greatness of men. And a woman of Talents is seen as an abomination to be destroyed at all costs.But now, their own twisted beliefs may prove to be their undoing.For Bakura, the Princess Imperial of the Halians and soon-to-be-Queen possesses her own long-hidden magical gifts. And her greatest desire is to escape the corrupted world of power she was born into, and be free to embrace who she truly is. All she needs is someone to help her…Someone like Kerida.
Gift of the Bouda
by Richard FarnsworthSoldiers returning from the War on Terror bring back terrors of their own, and have trouble coping with normal life after combat. But few of these terrors are as tangible as those brought home by Special Forces Captain John Rogers, who is attacked by a lycanthrope. He survives but is infected by the curse. After returning to the real world, things fall apart for John. His wife divorces him and he struggles in the grip of this new affliction. He is finally able to get some sort of a life together when he accidentally hunts in the wrong territory and has a run-in with the local werewolf pack. Honey strips at the club where John works as a bouncer, when he's not a monster. While moonlighting as a prostitute, she accidentally roles the wrong john. This john is carrying a package meant for a werewolf pack, and when they come looking for it they find John Rogers waiting.
Gilgit Rebelion: The Major Who Mutinied Over Partition of India
by William BrownIn 1942 William Brown was posted as a recently commissioned Indian Army Officer to the Gilgit Agency in the very north of the North West Frontier. He travelled widely, learnt the local dialects and built the Chilas Polo ground. After a brief period away from Gilgit, just prior to Partition in early 1947 he was appointed acting Commandant of the Gilgit Scoots.To his horror he learnt that the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten had ruled that Gilgit, despite being 99% Muslim, should be ceded to Hindu rule. Knowing that this was a disastrous and callous decision that would lead to insurrection, chaos and bloodshed, the 25 year-old acting Major Brown took it upon himself to oust the Indian Governor, fly to Karachi and offer Gilgit to the Pakistanis, who accepted with alacrity.Brown knew that he was in the eyes of the Indians and Mountbatten, a mutineer who would have been executed, had he fallen into Indian hands. Thus it is all the more extraordinary that six months later he was awarded the MBE, the citation of which was so vague that it gave no indication of the reason.As well as giving an hour-by-hour account of this unfolding political and military drama, Brown's memoir capture the atmosphere and magic of this remote country at the close of the Empire.
Girl With A Sniper Rifle: An Eastern Front Memoir
by Yulia ZhukovaA memoir of a graduate of Stalin&’s Central Women&’s Sniper School and her experience during World War II. Yulia Zhukova was a dedicated member of the Soviet communist youth organization, the Komsomol, and her parents worked for Russia&’s secret police, the NKVD. Yulia started at the sniper school near Podolsk in western Russian and eventually became a valued soldier during operations against Prussia. In this powerful account, she shares firsthand knowledge of the machinations of the NKVD, as well as the bravery of a female sniper and the grueling toll of war. Yulia persevered through eight months of training before leaving for the Front just days after qualifying. Joining the third Belorussian Front, her battalion endured rounds of German mortar, as well as loudspeaker announcements beckoning them to join the German side. She spent days in the field undergoing regular, terrifying one-on-one encounters with the enemy. Eventually she felt the euphoria of her first hit—while reflecting on ending a life. These feelings fade as Yulia recounts the barbarous actions of Hitler&’s Nazi Germany. She recalls how the women were once nearly overrun by Germans at their house when other Red Army formations had moved off and failed to tell them. She also details a nine-day standoff they endured encircled by Germans in Landsberg. Regularly suffering ill-health, she took a shrapnel injury and underwent surgery without anesthetic. Eventually she would see the end of the war. Like her famous counterpart Pavlichenko, Zhukova gained recognition but struggled to come to terms with war service . . . Includes notes by John Walter and an introduction by Martin Pegler