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American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms
by William Doyle Chris KyleChris Kyle--fallen hero and #1 bestselling author of American Sniper--reveals how ten legendary guns forever changed U.S. history. At the time of his tragic death in February 2013, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the top sniper in U.S. military history, was finishing one of the most exciting missions of his life: a remarkable book that retold American history through the lens of a hand-selected list of firearms. Kyle masterfully shows how guns have played a fascinating, indispensable, and often underappreciated role in our national story. "Perhaps more than any other nation in the world," Kyle writes, "the history of the United States has been shaped by the gun. Firearms secured the first Europeans hold on the continent, opened the frontier, helped win our independence, settled the West, kept law and order, and defeated tyranny across the world. "Drawing on his unmatched firearms knowledge and combat experience, Kyle carefully chose ten guns to help tell his story: the American long rifle, Spencer repeater, Colt . 45 revolver, Winchester rifle, Springfield 1903 rifle, Thompson sub-machine gun, 1911 pistol, M1 Garand, . 38 Special police revolver, and the M-16 rifle platform Kyle himself used as a SEAL. Through them, he revisits thrilling turning points in American history, including the single sniper shot that turned the tide of the Revolutionary War, the firearms designs that proved decisive at Gettysburg, the "gun that won the West," and the weapons that gave U. S. soldiers an edge in the world wars and beyond. This is also the story of how firearms innovation, creativity, and industrial genius has constantly pushed American history--and power--forward. Filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, Chris Kyle's American Gun is a sweeping epic of bravery, adventure, invention, and sacrifice.
American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15
by Cameron McWhirter Zusha ElinsonA finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize“A magisterial work of narrative history and original reportage . . . You can feel the tension building one cold, catastrophic fact at a time . . . A virtually unprecedented achievement.” —Mike Spies, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)A Washington Post top 50 nonfiction book of 2023 | Short-listed for the Zócalo Book PrizeOne of The New York Times’ 33 nonfiction books to read this fall | One of Esquire’s best books of fall | A Kirkus Reviews best nonfiction book of 2023Named a most anticipated book of the fall by The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and BloombergAmerican Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 presents the epic history of America’s most controversial weapon.In the 1950s, an obsessive firearms designer named Eugene Stoner invented the AR-15 rifle in a California garage. High-minded and patriotic, Stoner sought to devise a lightweight, easy-to-use weapon that could replace the M1s touted by soldiers in World War II. What he did create was a lethal handheld icon of the American century.In American Gun, the veteran Wall Street Journal reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson track the AR-15 from inception to ubiquity. How did the same gun represent the essence of freedom to millions of Americans and the essence of evil to millions more? To answer this question, McWhirter and Elinson follow Stoner—the American Kalashnikov—as he struggled mightily to win support for his invention, which under the name M16 would become standard equipment in Vietnam. Shunned by gun owners at first, the rifle’s popularity would take off thanks to a renegade band of small-time gun makers. And in the 2000s, it would become the weapon of choice for mass shooters, prompting widespread calls for proscription even as the gun industry embraced it as a financial savior. Writing with fairness and compassion, McWhirter and Elinson explore America’s gun culture, revealing the deep appeal of the AR-15, the awful havoc it wreaks, and the politics of reducing its toll. The result is a moral history of contemporary America’s love affair with technology, freedom, and weaponry.Includes 8 pages of black-and-white images.
American Haven
by Elizabeth YatesTeenagers Michael and Meredith Lamb find new friends and mountains to climb when they travel from war-torn London to New Hampshire with their Uncle Tony during World War II.
American Heavy Frigates 1794-1826
by Mark LardasBy 1805 the 44-gun frigate was probably viewed as a failed experiment whilst the 38-gun frigate was viewed as the vessel of the future. Ten years later every navy was building 44-gun frigates and today it is viewed as the symbol of the Napoleonic-era cruiser. This remarkable transformation resulted from the performance of three ships – the Constitution, United States, and President – 44-gun frigates built for the United States Navy between 1794 and 1799. Their victories in the naval War of 1812, as well as their performance against the Barbary Pirates, caught the imagination of the world – and spurred all navies into re-examining the class.
American Heritage History of Flight
by Arthur GordonPeople dreamed of flight for thousands of years. When we finally took to the skies, a new world opened up. This sweeping, superbly researched history from American Heritage details how various pioneers and innovators - from the Wright Brothers to Chuck Yeager - helped lift us into the sky.
American Heroes: On the Homefront
by Oliver NorthFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Heroes Proved, a moving collection of "straightforward, honest testimonials to the courage American troops display on and off the battlefield" (Kirkus Reviews).For more than a dozen years, combat-decorated Marine Oliver North and his award-winning documentary team from FOX News Channel's War Stories traveled to the frontlines of the War on Terror to profile the dedicated men and women who serve our nation. This time, he follows them from the battlefield to the homefront and finds extraordinary inspiration in their triumph over life-altering adversity. In this new volume of his New York Times bestselling American Heroes series, North describes the courage, commitment, and strength of those who serve--and those who love them. The term "selfless devotion" may be a cliché to many--but not to the men and women on the pages of this book. Their stories resound with bravery, a warrior ethos, and spiritual strength that will encourage us all. Heroes are people who knowingly place themselves at risk for the benefit of others. Since the terror attack of 9-11-01, more than 2 million young Americans have volunteered to serve in difficult and dangerous places. No military force in history has been asked to do more than those who have served and sacrificed in this long fight. They are American heroes. So too are their loved ones here at home. These are their stories.
American Heroes: On the Homefront
by Oliver NorthFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Heroes Proved, a moving collection of "straightforward, honest testimonials to the courage American troops display on and off the battlefield" (Kirkus Reviews).For more than a dozen years, combat-decorated Marine Oliver North and his award-winning documentary team from FOX News Channel's War Stories traveled to the frontlines of the War on Terror to profile the dedicated men and women who serve our nation. This time, he follows them from the battlefield to the homefront and finds extraordinary inspiration in their triumph over life-altering adversity. In this new volume of his New York Times bestselling American Heroes series, North describes the courage, commitment, and strength of those who serve--and those who love them. The term "selfless devotion" may be a cliché to many--but not to the men and women on the pages of this book. Their stories resound with bravery, a warrior ethos, and spiritual strength that will encourage us all. Heroes are people who knowingly place themselves at risk for the benefit of others. Since the terror attack of 9-11-01, more than 2 million young Americans have volunteered to serve in difficult and dangerous places. No military force in history has been asked to do more than those who have served and sacrificed in this long fight. They are American heroes. So too are their loved ones here at home. These are their stories.
American Heroes: In The Fight Against Radical Islam
by Oliver North Chuck HoltonI have the best job in all broadcasting. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Guardsmen, and Marines—those who fight America's wars—are my only "beat." I hang around with heroes for a living.
American Heroes: From the #1 bestselling authors of Walk in My Combat Boots
by James Patterson Matt EversmannFrom the authors of Walk in My Combat Boots, &“American Heroes is a gripping collection of firsthand accounts…capturing the indomitable spirit of our nation&’s finest&” (Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Terminal List series). U.S. soldiers who served in overseas conflicts—from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan—share true stories of the actions that earned them some of America&’s most distinguished military medals, up to and including the Medal of Honor. They never acted alone, but always in the spirit of camaraderie, patriotism, and for the good of our beloved country. There has never been a better time for all of us to think about duty, sacrifice, and what it means to be an American hero.
The American Heroes Collection: Hal Moore, Shadow Commander, and American Guerrilla
by Mike GuardiaThree stirring military portraits—including a biography of the Vietnam War hero who wrote the New York Times bestseller, We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young. Hal Moore: A heroic commander in the Vietnam War, Harold G. Moore cowrote the New York Times–bestselling memoir of the battle at Ia Drang and was portrayed by Mel Gibson in the film We Were Soldiers. This “outstanding” and definitive biography expands on the account of that pivotal battle to encompass Moore’s distinguished military career from the Korean War through his courageous and invaluable service in Vietnam (Armchair General). Shadow Commander: In World War II, US Army legend Donald Blackburn escaped from Bataan along with Russell W. Volckmann and organized the guerrilla fighters known as “Blackburn’s Headhunters” against the Japanese. He would go on to play a key role in the Vietnam War, revitalizing Army Special Forces operations in Southeast Asia, spearheading Operation White Star in Laos, and eventually taking command of the highly classified Studies and Observations Group (SOG). Blackburn was also the architect of the infamous Son Tay Prison Raid, officially termed Operation Ivory Coast, the largest prisoner-of-war rescue mission of the Vietnam War. “A follow-up to a fine bio of Russell Volckmann, this tale of guerrilla warfare spans from Bataan to Vietnam.” —World War II Magazine American Guerrilla: Here is Russell Volckmann’s own story, from his refusal to surrender at Bataan to raising a Filipino army of more than twenty-two thousand men and leading a guerrilla war against the Japanese for the next three years. When General Yamashita finally surrendered, he made his initial overtures not to General Douglas MacArthur, but to Volckmann. The progenitor of modern counterinsurgency doctrine, Volkmann wrote the field manuals that became the US Army’s first handbooks outlining the precepts for both special warfare and counter-guerrilla operations, making him the true “father” of Army Special Forces. “[Volckmann’s private army] waged arguably the most successful guerrilla campaign of the entire war . . . Mr. Guardia argues, convincingly, that Volckmann deserves the title of ‘father’ of Special Forces.” —The Washington Times
American Heroes on the Homefront
by Oliver NorthCombat-decorated Marine Oliver North delivers a riveting firsthand account of the extraordinary young American volunteers—the best and bravest of their generation—who stepped forward to defend us from radical Islamic terror. For more than a dozen years North and his award-winning documentary team from FOX News Channel’sWar Stories have traveled to the frontlines of the War on Terror to profile the dedicated men and women who serve our nation in harm’s way and chronicle what it truly means to be a hero. This time, he follows them from the battlefield to the homefront and finds extraordinary inspiration in their triumph over life-altering adversity. In this new volume of his New York Times bestselling American Heroes series, North describes in vivid detail the breathtaking courage, steadfast commitment, and resilient strength of those who serve—and those who love them. The term “selfless devotion” may be a cliché to many in our modern culture—but not to the men and women on the pages of this book. Their stories resound with bravery, a warrior ethos, and spiritual strength that ought to encourage us all. Heroes are people who knowingly place themselves at risk for the benefit of others. They give of themselves, literally and physically. Since the terror attack of 9-11- 01, more than 2 million young Americans have volunteered to serve in difficult and dangerous places. No military force in history has been asked to do more than those who have served and sacrificed in this long fight. They are American heroes. So too are their loved ones here at home. These are their stories.
An American Heroine in the French Resistance: The Diary and Memoir of Virginia D'Albert-Lake (World War Ii: The Global, Human, And Ethical Dimension Ser. #Vol. 9)
by Judy Barrett LitoffThis fascinating book tells the remarkable story of an ordinary American woman’s heroism in the French Resistance. Virginia Roush fell in love with Philippe d’Albert-Lake during a visit to France in 1936; they married soon after. In 1943, they both joined the Resistance, where Virginia put her life in jeopardy as she sheltered downed airmen and later survived a Nazi prison camp. After the war, she stayed in France with Philippe, and was awarded the Légion d’Honneur and the Medal of Honor. She died in 1997. <p><p> Judy Barrett Litoff brings together two rare documents—Virginia’s diary of wartime France until her capture in 1944 and her prison memoir written immediately after the war. Masterfully edited, they convey the compassion and toughness of a nearly forgotten heroine as they provide an invaluable record of the workings of the Resistance by one of the very few American women who participated in it.
American History Revised: 200 Startling Facts That Never Made It into the Textbooks
by Seymour Morris Jr.This spirited reexamination of American history (1776-2000) digs deep into our past to expose 200 startling facts that never made it into the textbooks, and highlights how little-known individuals and events played surprisingly influential roles in the great American story. We tend to think of history as settled, set in stone, but American History Revised is filled with evidence that American history is filled with ironies, surprises, and misconceptions. As author Seymour Morris, Jr. colorfully illustrates through the 200 historical vignettes that make up this book, much of our nation's past is quite different - and far more remarkable -- than we thought. Here we learn that in 1932, the U.S. Navy staged a mock attack on Pearl Harbor that resulted in the conclusion that the entire fleet of ships and planes stationed there were vulnerable to being wiped out on a Sunday morning. The Navy swore such an event could never happen and then forgot about it. The Japanese, however, noticed. And on December 7th, 1941, they copied the military exercise exactly. We also discover that: * America's largest corporation has never appeared on a Fortune 500 list * The two generals who ended the Civil War weren't Grant and Lee * The #1 best-selling American book of all time was written in one day * The Dutch made a bad investment buying Manhattan for $24 * Two young girls aimed someday to become First Lady - and succeeded * Three private financiers saved the U.S. from bankruptcy. Organized into ten thematic chapters, American History Revised plumbs American history's numerous inconsistencies, twists and turns to make it come alive again. Written in a lucid, often puckish style and backed by serious scholarship, extensive footnotes, and 50 illustrations, this book will leave readers astonished and entertained.
The American Home Front: Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I and World War II
by James L. AbrahamsonThis latest National Defense University military history seeks to broaden the perspective of those who are interested in understanding the effects of the wartime mobilization of American society. Through a comparative analysis of the economic, political, and social results of America's four principal wars, this study reveals the major issues faced by each wartime administration and sketches the consequences of the mobilization policies adopted. As the author, Colonel James L. Abrahamson, U.S. Army, explains, each conflict occurred in unique circumstances, required varied policies, and produced different effects on American institutions. He therefore avoids offering a simplistic list of the expected domestic consequences of any future conflict. Nevertheless, certain common factors, which may inform modern mobilization planners, surface in his analysis of these four wars. The author suggests that if planners are aware of the implications of their mobilization choices, they can better devise effective policies for drawing forth the material and human essentials of victory.
The American Home Front, 1941–1942: 1941-1942
by Alistair CookeIn nearly three thousand BBC broadcasts over fifty-eight years, Alistair Cooke reported on America, illuminating our country for a global audience. He was one of the most widely read and widely heard chroniclers of America-the Twentieth Century’s de Tocqueville. Cooke died in 2004, but shortly before he passed away a long-forgotten manuscript resurfaced in a closet in his New York apartment. It was a travelogue of America during the early days of World War II that had sat there for sixty years. Published to stellar reviews in 2006, though "somewhat past deadline,” Cooke’s The American Home Front is a "valentine to his adopted country by someone who loved it as well as anyone and knew it better than most” (The Plain Dealer [Cleveland]). It is a unique artifact and a historical gem, "an unexpected and welcome discover in a time capsule.” (Washington Post) A portrait frozen in time, the book offers a charming look at the war through small towns, big cities, and the American landscape as they once were. The American Home Front is also a brilliant piece of reportage, a historical gem that "affirms Cooke’s enduring place as a great twentieth-century reporter” (American Heritage).
An American Iliad: The Story of the Civil War
by Charles P. RolandThis comprehensive history of the Civil War interweaves the story of battles and campaigns with accounts of the major political, diplomatic, social, and cultural events of the epoch and insightful sketches of the leading actors. The story of the Civil War is the epic of the American people.
American Indian Tribes of the Southwest
by Jonathan Smith Michael JohnsonThis book continues Osprey's series of Men-at-Arms titles on the history, costume, and material culture of the native peoples of North America, which is organized into geographical regions, language groups, and tribes. It was in the Southwest - modern Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of California and other neighboring states - that the first major clashes took place between 16th-century Spanish conquistadors and the indigenous peoples of North America. This uniquely long history of contact, conflict, and coexistence with first the Spanish, then their Mexican settlers, and finally the Americans, gives a special flavor to the region. So too does the wide cultural diversity of the peoples who inhabited the challenging environment of the Southwest - from the quasi-Plains culture of the Kiowa-Apache and Lipan, to the pueblo cave-villages of the agricultural Zuni and Hopi. (Indeed, from c. 1700 to 1848 the Pueblo villagers often allied themselves with Spanish and Mexican settlers against the encroachments of Apache and Navajo hunters and raiders.) Despite nearly 500 years of white settlement and pressure, the traditional cultures of the peoples of the Southwest survive today more strongly than in any other region, and with them a sense of separate identity. The best-known clashes between the whites and the Indians of this region are the series of Apache wars, particularly between the early 1860s and the late 1880s. However, there were other important regional campaigns over the centuries - for example, Coronado's battle against the Zuni at Hawikuh in 1540, during his search for the legendary "Seven Cities of Cibola"; the Pueblo Revolt of 1680; and the Taos Revolt of 1847 - and warriors of all of these are described and illustrated in this book. War was inseparable in the local cultures from religious beliefs, such as the veneration of the mothers of war gods - White Painted Woman among the Apache, and Changing Woman among the Navajo; the plates in this book illustrate the rites associated with such figures, and several other important ritual observances. The variety of costumes illustrated, from the earliest times up to today, make these plates especially rich.
American Infidel: Robert G. Ingersoll, A Biography
by Orvin P. LarsonThe definitive biography of the man who more than any other figure in the history of the United States influenced the course of popular thought in the realm of unorthodoxy."...one of the bravest, grandest champions of human liberty the world has ever seen."Rediscover Robert Green Ingersoll. Celebrated orator of 19th century America, lawyer, Civil War officer, personal friend of three US presidents, the individual most responsible for the flowering of freethought in the United States.
American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People
by T. H. BreenBefore there could be a revolution, there was a rebellion; before patriots, there were insurgents. Challenging and displacing decades of received wisdom, T. H. Breen's strikingly original book explains how ordinary Americans - most of them members of farm families living in small communities - were drawn into a successful insurgency against imperial authority. This is the compelling story of our national political origins that most Americans do not know. It is a story of rumor, charity, vengeance, and restraint. American Insurgents, American Patriotsreminds us that revolutions are violent events. They provoke passion and rage, a willingness to use violence to achieve political ends, a deep sense of betrayal, and a strong religious conviction that God expects an oppressed people to defend their rights. The American Revolution was no exception. A few celebrated figures in the Continental Congress do not make for a revolution. It requires tens of thousands of ordinary men and women willing to sacrifice, kill, and be killed. Breen not only gives the history of these ordinary Americans but, drawing upon a wealth of rarely seen documents, restores their primacy to American independence. Mobilizing two years before the Declaration of Independence, American insurgents in all thirteen colonies concluded that resistance to British oppression required organized violence against the state. They channeled popular rage through elected committees of safety and observation, which before 1776 were the heart of American resistance. American Insurgents, American Patriotsis the stunning account of their insurgency, without which there would have been no independent republic as we know it.
American Intelligence in War-time London: The Story of the OSS
by Nelson MacPhersonBased on OSS records only recently released to US National Archives, and on evidence from British archival sources, this is a thoroughly researched study of the Office of Strategic Services in London. The OSS was a critical liaison and operational outpost for American intelligence during World War II. Dr MacPherson puts the activities of the OSS in
American Journalists in the Great War: Rewriting the Rules of Reporting (Studies in War, Society, and the Military)
by Chris DubbsWhen war erupted in Europe in 1914, American journalists hurried across the Atlantic ready to cover it the same way they had covered so many other wars. However, very little about this war was like any other. Its scale, brutality, and duration forced journalists to write their own rules for reporting and keeping the American public informed.American Journalists in the Great War tells the dramatic stories of the journalists who covered World War I for the American public. Chris Dubbs draws on personal accounts from contemporary newspaper and magazine articles and books to convey the experiences of the journalists of World War I, from the western front to the Balkans to the Paris Peace Conference. Their accounts reveal the challenges of finding the war news, transmitting a story, and getting it past the censors. Over the course of the war, reporters found that getting their scoop increasingly meant breaking the rules or redefining the very meaning of war news. Dubbs shares the courageous, harrowing, and sometimes humorous stories of the American reporters who risked their lives in war zones to record their experiences and send the news to the people back home.
The American Journey: A History of the United States (AP Edition, Fourth Edition)
by David Goldfield Carl Abbott Virginia Dejohn Anderson Jo Ann E. Argersinger Peter H. Argersinger William L. Barney Robert M. WeirAmerican history is a compelling story and this book seeks to tell it in an engaging, forthright way. It also provides students with an abundance of tools to help them absorb that story and put it in context. It introduces them to the concerns of the participants in America's history with primary source documents.
American Knights
by Victor FailmezgerAn unmissable white-knuckle ride from the Kasserine pass to Anzio, Operation Dragoon to the final attacks on the Third Reich, this is the gripping story of the men and machines that took on Nazi Germany's best. This book not only reveals the technical details and origins of the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, it places the reader on the front lines of the European war. As the war swung in the favor of the Allies, it became clear that no final defeat of the Third Reich would be possible until the armored monsters of the Panzerwaffe were defeated. But who would, or even could, take on the mighty Tigers and Panthers, just a handful of whom could stop entire formations in their tracks? The answer lay with the formation of a new type of unit, the Tank Destroyer Batallion. This is the story of the men and machines who made up the very first Tank Destroyer Batallion, the 601st, from their unique training and formation, to the final, desperate battles in the heart of Nazi Germany. Packed with rare material, letters, diaries and unpupublished photographs, this is an intense and intimate chronicle of the men who fought the Panzers in an astonishing 10 campaigns and 546 days of lethal combat. Re-live the excitement and terror of battling the best the Wehrmacht and SS had to offer, in every major campaign in the West.
American Light and Medium Frigates 1794-1836
by Tony Bryan Mark LardasThe "Original Six" frigates were commissioned by the new-born US Navy at a staggering cost of $688,888.82. Designed to be light and fast, these warships enabled America to project its power across the globe. Among the ships Mark Lardas examines is USS Constellation: the first ship to be commissioned by the United States Navy, and also the first ship to engage and capture an enemy vessel, the French L'Insurgente - this engagement is vividly portrayed in original color artwork. The fascinating history of the USS Chesapeake is also brought to life through the dramatic account one of the bloodiest duels in the age of fighting sail as the Chesapeake meets the British frigate Shannon and is overwhelmed, the dying cry of the captain, "Don't give up the ship!" inspired the US Navy thereafter. Alongside stirring accounts of engagements during the Barbary Wars and the Quasi-War, the author explores the design and development of these frigates, explaining the shortcomings that led to their replacement by larger, heavier 44-gun models by 1800. Contemporary illustrations of US frigates and their British and French rivals help to place these ships in the context of European ship design, clearly showing the escalation of the naval 'arms race' during the seventeenth century. American Light and Medium Frigates is an ideal resource for any naval enthusiast wanting to learn more about the ships that witnessed the rise of the US Navy and Marines.
American Loyalist Troops 1775-84
by Rene Chartrand Gerry EmbletonTo celebrate the 450th title in the Men-at-Arms series, this book examines in depth the units and the uniforms of a still-controversial army: the many thousands of American colonists who chose to fight for King George during the Revolution. In addition to the better-known corps from the Atlantic seaboard, the author also covers the units raised for service against the Spanish in the Floridas, the Caribbean islands and Central America. The text is illustrated with portraits, photographs of rare surviving artifacts, and features color reconstructions by Gerry Embleton, the respected expert on 18th century American forces whose work was recently exhibited in the Smithsonian Institute.