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If a Pirate I Must Be: The True Story of Black Bart, "King of the Caribbean Pirates"
by Richard SandersIn a page-turning tale brimming with adventure, author Richard Sanders tells of the remarkable exploits of Bartholomew Roberts (better known as Black Bart), the greatest of the Caribbean pirates. He drank tea instead of rum. He banned women and gambling on his ships. He never made his prisoners walk the plank, instead inviting them into his cabin for a friendly chat. And during the course of his extraordinary two-and-a-half-year career as a pirate captain, he captured four hundred prizes and brought trade in the eastern Caribbean to a standstill. In If a Pirate I Must Be..., Richard Sanders tells the larger-than-life story of Bartholomew Roberts, aka Black Bart. Born in a rural town, Roberts rose from third mate on a slave ship to pirate captain in a matter of months. Before long, his combination of audaciousness and cunning won him fame and fortune from the fisheries of Newfoundland to the slave ports of West Africa. Sanders brings to life a fascinating world of theater and ritual, where men (a third of whom were black) lived a close-knit, egalitarian life, democratically electing their officers and sharing their spoils. They were highly (if surreptitiously) popular with many merchants, with whom they struck incredibly lucrative deals. Yet with a fierce team of Royal Navy pirate hunters tracking his every move, Roberts' heyday would prove a brief one, and with his capture, the Golden Age of pirates would pass into the lore and legend of books and movies. Based on historical records, journals and letters from pirates under Roberts' command, and on writings by Roberts himself, If a Pirate I Must Be... is the true story of the greatest pirate ever to sail the Caribbean.
If the Allies Had Fallen: Sixty Alternate Scenarios of World War II
by William R. Forstchen Dennis E. Showalter Harold C. DeutschWhat if Stalin had signed with the West in 1939? What if the Allies had been defeated on D-Day? What if Hitler had won the war?From the Munich crisis and the dropping of the first atom bomb to Hitler's declaration of war on the United States and the D-Day landings, historians suggest "what might have been" if key events in World War II had gone differently.Written by an exceptional team of historians as if these world-changing events had really happened. If The Allies Had Fallen is a spirited and terrifying alternate history, and a telling insight into the dramatic possibilities of World War II. Contributors include: Thomas M. Barker, Harold C. Deutsch, Walter S. Dunn, Robert M. Love, D. Clayton James, Bernard C. Nalty, Richard J. Overy, Paul Schratz, Dennis E. Showalter, Gerhard L. Weinberg, Anne Wells, and Herman S. Wolk.
Iga and Koka Ninja Skills: The Secret Shinobi Scrolls of Chikamatsu Shigenori
by Antony Cummins Yoshie Minami‘A retainer of our domain, Renpeido Chikamatsu Hikonoshin Shigenori, each morning washed his face and hands, dressed himself in Hakama and prayed in front of the kamidana alter … His prayer was thus: “Please afford me success in war.” He kept to this routine all through his life.’ Through patient and scholarly detective work, Antony Cummins and the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team have unearthed a Shinobi treasure. The 18th-century military historian Chikamatsu recorded the oral traditions of the Ninja and passed on those skills in lectures he gave at his Renpeido school of war in Owari domain during the early 1700s. Chikamatsu wrote specifically about the Shinobi of Iga and Koka, regions from which warriors were hired all over the land in the days of war. The lost scrolls are filled with unknown Shinobi teachings, skills that include infiltration, assassination, explosives, magic and commando tactics, including an in depth commentary on Sun Tzu’s famous 13th chapter, ‘The Use of Spies’.
Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
by Isaac Asimov John Drury ClarkThis newly reissued debut book in the Rutgers University Press Classics Imprint is the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. This search was a hazardous enterprise carried out by rival labs who worked against the known laws of nature, with no guarantee of success or safety. Acclaimed scientist and sci-fi author John Drury Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity. The resulting volume is as much a memoir as a work of history, sharing a behind-the-scenes view of an enterprise which eventually took men to the moon, missiles to the planets, and satellites to outer space. A classic work in the history of science, and described as “a good book on rocket stuff…that’s a really fun one” by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, readers will want to get their hands on this influential classic, available for the first time in decades.
Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
by John Drury ClarkA classic work in the history of science, and described as “a good book on rocket stuff…that’s a really fun one” by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, readers will want to get their hands on this influential classic, available for the first time in decades. This newly reissued debut book in the Rutgers University Press Classics imprint is the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. This search was a hazardous enterprise carried out by rival labs who worked against the known laws of nature, with no guarantee of success or safety. Acclaimed scientist and sci-fi author John Drury Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity. The resulting volume is as much a memoir as a work of history, sharing a behind-the-scenes view of an enterprise which eventually took men to the moon, missiles to the planets, and satellites to outer space.
Ignoring The Obvious: Combined Arms And Fire And Maneuver Tactics Prior To World War I
by Major Thomas A. Bruno USMCFairly or unfairly, the stalemate on the First World War's Western Front is often attributed to the intellectual stagnation of the era's military officers. This paper traces the development (or absence of development) of combined arms and fire & maneuver tactics and doctrine in the period prior to WW I, focusing on the Russo-Japanese War.The Western armies that entered the Great War seemingly ignored many of the hard-learned lessons and observations of pre-war conflicts. Though World War I armies were later credited with developing revolutionary wartime tactical-level advances, many scholars claim that this phase of tactical evolution followed an earlier period of intellectual stagnation that resulted in the stalemate on the war's Western Front. This stalemate, they claim, could have been avoided by heeding the admonitions of pre-war conflicts and incorporating the burgeoning effects of technology into military tactics and doctrine. Some go even further and fault the military leadership with incompetence and foolishness for not adapting to the requirements of modern war.The Russo-Japanese War showed the necessity for combined arms techniques and fire and maneuver tactics on the modern battlefield. Specifically, the war showed the need for: (1) the adoption of dispersed, irregular formations; (2) the employment of fire and maneuver techniques and small unit-tactics, including base of fire techniques; (3) the transition to indirect-fire artillery support to ensure the survivability of the batteries, and; (4) the necessity for combined arms tactics to increase the survivability of assaulting infantry and compensate for the dispersion of infantry firepower.
Ike
by Michael KordaIke is acclaimed author Michael Korda's sweeping and enthralling biography of Dwight David Eisenhower, arguably America's greatest general and one of her best presidents--a remarkable man in an extraordinary time, the hero who won the war and thereafter kept the peace.
Ike the Soldier
by Merle MillerFrom the bestselling author of Plain Speaking and Lyndon comes this &“vivid and consistently absorbing record of Dwight D. Eisenhower&’s military career&” (Kirkus Reviews). Bringing together thousands of hours of interviews with the men and women who were closest to him, Merle Miller has constructed a revealing and personal biography of the man who would become the supreme commander. From his childhood in Kansas to West Point, World War I, and Europe where he led the Allied Forces to a hard-won victory in World War II, Ike the Soldier goes behind the historic battles and into the heart and mind of Ike Eisenhower. Miller has crafted the defining biography on the life of the thirty-fourth president, bringing more depth to the man many thought they knew. His strained relationships with his father, brothers, and son are brought into focus; as well as his love affair with his wife Mamie, and his relationship with Kay Summersby—his driver turned companion and confidante during WWII. &“An informed and balanced tribute to a world-class leader whose remarkable character gains greater luster with the passage of time.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“This is a highly enjoyable look at Ike&’s personal and official relationships with the people most important to him during the first 55 years of his life, including family, Army and Allied colleagues and heads of state.&” —Publishers Weekly
Ike's Spies: Eisenhower and the Espionage Establishment
by Stephen E. AmbroseBased on privileged access to the president and his private papers, this classic Cold War-era history by bestselling historian Stephen E. Ambrose gives an inside look at the way President Dwight Eisenhower managed America's secret operations as general and as commander in chief. During his time in office, Eisenhower projected the image of a genial bureaucrat, but behind that public face, he ran the most efficient espionage establishment in the world, overseeing assassination plots, the growth of the CIA, and the overthrow of governments. This book gives a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most ambitious secret operations in American history, including the 1954 overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán's government of Guatemala; Operation AJAX, which toppled Iran's Mossadegh; and the U-2 flights over Russia. Some of Ike's most conspicuous intelligence missteps are also discussed, including the failure to predict the German attack during the Battle of the Bulge and the tragic encouragement of freedom fighters in Hungary, Indonesia, and Cuba. Ike's Spies is indispensable to anyone interested in the development of America's Cold War spy operations.
Ike: An American Hero
by Michael KordaIke is acclaimed author Michael Korda's sweeping and enthralling biography of Dwight David Eisenhower, arguably America's greatest general and one of her best presidents--a remarkable man in an extraordinary time, the hero who won the war and thereafter kept the peace.
Il Fuoco Greco e il suo contributo alla potenza bizantina: Un'introduzione a un'arma terrificante
by Konstantinos KaratoliosIl millenario Impero Bizantino non avrebbe potuto durare così a lungo senza un potente esercito che gli permettesse di difendersi dalle continue sfide dei suoi tanti nemici esterni. In questo contesto, l’eredità lasciata dai Romani fu tanto importante quanto l’adozione di nuove armi e tattiche in battaglia. Il "Fuoco greco", fu certo la più famosa di queste armi anche se non necessariamente la più importante. Fu utilizzato durante tutto l'impero bizantino e garantì clamorose vittorie navali. Quest'arma terrificante era leggendaria ma quasi tutto ciò che sappiamo di essa e dei suoi usi è offuscato dalla vaghezza dei resoconti contemporanei. In questo lavoro, Konstantinos Karatolios tenta di rispondere a una serie di domande riguardanti il Fuoco Greco: quale era la formula? Quanto è stato efficace? Chi fu il suo vero inventore? Com'è stato usato nelle battaglie terrestri e navali? Questo libro si propone non solo di fornire una panoramica dello stato attuale della ricerca che può essere facilmente letto dai non specialisti, ma anche di dare il proprio contributo allo studio della materia, nel rispetto dei metodi di ricerca accademici.
Il Viaggiatore del Tempo e l'Inquisizione
by Joe Corso Mariel BragaLasciate che Lucky Campo scopra qualcosa in più sulle sue abilità. Lasciate i cinesi trovare questo di estrema importanza per il loro paese. Quello che cominciò come una bella notizia diventò una maledizione. Sembra che la vita di Lucky sia piena di sorprese e il suo dilemma è come gestirle tutte. L'amore della sua vita vive in un'altro periodo nel tempo, non ostante Lucky cerca i lussi del presente. L'Inquisizione quasi sigilla quei pensieri. I preti spagnoli dell'Inquisizione non capiscono niente riguardo a Lucky, il mago del Re. Mentre le piaghe abbondano, diventano sempre più convinti della sua stregoneria. La vecchia banda è sempre con Lucky e come al solito, gli coprono le spalle, ma c'è ancora sufficiente tempo rimanente? Possono debellare le bestiali tattiche di Qiang Shan, il Direttore della Polizia Segreta Cinese? Chi è che ha tradito Lucky? E dov'è la Principessa? Viaggiamo dai dinosauri alle piramidi, all'Inghilterra del dodicesimo secolo e di ritorno all'Astoria. Ah, caro vecchio Astoria. La vita non è mai noiosa mentre Lucky viaggia attraverso i Portali del Tempo.
Il caso Baikal
by Louis P KichaNel 1970, un aereo spia con a bordo un’arma mortale segreta viene dato per disperso sull’Unione Sovietica; posizione sconosciuta. Quaranta anni dopo, la sua presenza viene rilevata nelle profondità del Lago Baikal in Russia. Ora si tratta di recuperare la terribile arma prima che cada nelle mani del nemico!
Il programma Gamer: L'era Degli Sheitan (Il programma Gamer #1)
by Humberto DecaniniIl mondo come lo conosciamo è finito; i mostri sono emersi dall'interno del terreno e distruggono tutto ciò che il genere umano ha costruito negli ultimi cinque anni e migliaia. La metà della popolazione è morta a causa dei demoni noti come sheitans. Non ci sono abbastanza soldati per affrontare il filo, quindi il governo guarda un gruppo di persone che sa esattamente come sconfiggere questo tipo di nemico; lo hanno fatto fin dall'infanzia. Sono i GIOCATORI. In questo mondo, i prodotti di videogiochi per controllare i venti delle persone e renderli soldati, in grado di combattere contro qualsiasi tipo di nemico. Ora è il momento più importante del vero destino dei videogiochi. Questo è il primo terzo di una serie in tre parti.
Il-2 Shturmovik Guards Units of World War 2
by Oleg Rastrenin A. YurgensonOver 43,000 Il-2/10s were built between 1941 and 1955, more than any other combat aircraft in history, making this one of the most important Soviet aircraft deployed in World War II (1939-1945). Built originally as a two-seater, the Il-2 had lost the rear gunner's position by the time the aircraft started to reach frontline units. Armed with ground-attack rockets, the aircraft proved deadly against Wehrmacht panzers as pairs of Il-2s roamed the frontline at low level. However, the Shturmoviks (armored attackers) were vulnerable to attack from the rear by enemy fighters, so Ilyushin reverted to the two-seat layout in September 1942. Oleg Rastrenin provides a fascinating account of the complex development history of a plane that was crucial to Russia's defense. From Stalingrad to Kursk to Berlin, this book charts the airplane's vital contribution to the most famous battles of the Eastern front.
Ill Met By Moonlight
by W. Stanley MossNOW WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY W. STANLEY MOSS'S DAUGHTER GABRIELLA BULLOCK AND AN AFTERWORD BY PATRICK LEIGH FERMORIll Met By Moonlight is the true story of one of the most hazardous missions of the Second World War. W. Stanley Moss is a young British officer who, along with Major Patrick Leigh Fermor, sets out in Nazi-occupied Crete to kidnap General Kreipe, Commander of the Sevastopool Division, and narrowly escaping the German manhunt, bring him off the island - a vital prisoner for British intelligence.As an account of derring-do and wartime adventure, made into a classic film starring Dirk Bogarde, Ill Met By Moonlight is one of the most brilliantly written, exciting and compelling stories to come out of the Second World War.
Ill Met By Moonlight (Cassell Military Paperbacks Ser.)
by W. Stanley MossNOW WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY W. STANLEY MOSS'S DAUGHTER GABRIELLA BULLOCK AND AN AFTERWORD BY PATRICK LEIGH FERMORIll Met By Moonlight is the true story of one of the most hazardous missions of the Second World War. W. Stanley Moss is a young British officer who, along with Major Patrick Leigh Fermor, sets out in Nazi-occupied Crete to kidnap General Kreipe, Commander of the Sevastopool Division, and narrowly escaping the German manhunt, bring him off the island - a vital prisoner for British intelligence.As an account of derring-do and wartime adventure, made into a classic film starring Dirk Bogarde, Ill Met By Moonlight is one of the most brilliantly written, exciting and compelling stories to come out of the Second World War.
Ill-Starred General: Braddock of the Coldstream Guards
by Lee McCardellA rare combination of documented fact and good storytelling, Ill-Starred General is the biography of a much maligned man from one of history’s most vital eras. The career of Edward Braddock began during the court intrigues of Queen Anne and George I, gained momentum in continental military campaigns in the early 1750s, and ended abruptly in the rout of his American army near present-day Pittsburgh in 1755. This highly acclaimed biography reveals the man—and the politics—behind his defeat, one of the major setbacks to British imperial power in the American colonies.“Braddock was the first English general that Americans had ever seen in action, and although he lost his life fighting for them, they detested him...What [McCardell] has done is to replace a historical puppet with a credible human being, and...to explain how a carefully planned colonial expedition can go wrong.”—Naomi Bliven, The New Yorker“The breadth, depth and care of McCardell’s research on Ill-Starred General are amazing and delightful. He has labored with that fidelity which every honest historian must display and with that luck which crowns the efforts of the fortunate.”—George Swetnam, Pittsburgh Press“A first-rate biography.”—Lynn Montross, New York Times“A genial and readable interpretation that will revivify an important figure in early American history. It is the kind of well-documented book that will appeal to both the general reader and the historian.”—W. R. Jacobs, American Historical Review
Illegal: How America's Lawless Immigration Regime Threatens Us All
by Elizabeth F. CohenA political scientist explains how the American immigration system ran off the rails -- and proposes a bold plan for reform Under the Trump administration, US immigration agencies terrorize the undocumented, target people who are here legally, and even threaten the constitutional rights of American citizens. How did we get to this point? In Illegal, Elizabeth F. Cohen reveals that our current crisis has roots in early twentieth century white nationalist politics, which began to reemerge in the 1980s. Since then, ICE and CBP have acquired bigger budgets and more power than any other law enforcement agency. Now, Trump has unleashed them. If we want to reverse the rising tide of abuse, Cohen argues that we must act quickly to rein in the powers of the current immigration regime and revive saner approaches based on existing law. Going beyond the headlines, Illegal makes clear that if we don't act now all of us, citizen and not, are at risk.
Illinois in the War of 1812
by Gillum FergusonRussell P. Strange "Book of the Year" Award from the Illinois State Historical Society, 2012. On the eve of the War of 1812, the Illinois Territory was a new land of bright promise. Split off from Indiana Territory in 1809, the new territory ran from the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers north to the U.S. border with Canada, embracing the current states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and a part of Michigan. The extreme southern part of the region was rich in timber, but the dominant feature of the landscape was the vast tall grass prairie that stretched without major interruption from Lake Michigan for more than three hundred miles to the south. The territory was largely inhabited by Indians: Sauk, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, and others. By 1812, however, pioneer farmers had gathered in the wooded fringes around prime agricultural land, looking out over the prairies with longing and trepidation. Six years later, a populous Illinois was confident enough to seek and receive admission as a state in the Union. What had intervened was the War of 1812, in which white settlers faced both Indians resistant to their encroachments and British forces poised to seize control of the upper Mississippi and Great Lakes. The war ultimately broke the power and morale of the Indian tribes and deprived them of the support of their ally, Great Britain. Sometimes led by skillful tacticians, at other times by blundering looters who got lost in the tall grass, the combatants showed each other little mercy. Until and even after the war was concluded by the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, there were massacres by both sides, laying the groundwork for later betrayal of friendly and hostile tribes alike and for ultimate expulsion of the Indians from the new state of Illinois. In this engrossing new history, published upon the war's bicentennial, Gillum Ferguson underlines the crucial importance of the War of 1812 in the development of Illinois as a state. The history of Illinois in the War of 1812 has never before been told with so much attention to the personalities who fought it, the events that defined it, and its lasting consequences. Endorsed by the Illinois Society of the War of 1812 and the Illinois War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.
Illumination Rounds: from Dispatches
by Michael HerrFresh in his boots and three days in-country, Michael Herr is in a Chinook when a young soldier across from him is gunned. “It took me a month to lose that feeling of being a spectator to something that was part game, part show.” Written in unforgettable and unflinching detail, Herr captures the chaos and fervor of the war and the surreal insanity of life in that singular combat zone. Selected from Dispatches, one of "the best book to have been written about the Vietnam War" (The New York Times Book Review) and an instant classic straight from the front lines.A Vintage Shorts Vietnam Selection. An ebook short.
Illusion Of Victory: The True Costs of Modern War
by Ian BickertonThe Illusion of Victory demonstrates that most of the rewards of victory in modern warfare are either exaggerated or false. When the ostensible benefits of victory are examined a generation after a war, it becomes inescapably evident that the defeated belligerent rarely conforms to the demands and expectations of the victor. Consequently, long-term political and military stability is denied to both the victorious power and to the defeated one. As a result, neither victory nor defeat deter further outbreaks of war. This sobering reality is increasingly the case in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Ian Bickerton persuasively argues that as the rhetoric of victory becomes more hollow all countries must adopt creative new approaches to resolving disputes.
Illusions of Security: North Atlantic Diplomacy 1918-22
by Michael FryThe First World War was in many ways the most formative experience for the western world in the twentieth century. Little if anything of importance escaped its influence. For those who helped shape foreign and deference policies in Britain, the United States, and Canada, the war and the consequent peacemaking raised perplexing political, ideological, and racial problems. In their search for solutions, some among the anglophone elites of these three countries arrived at the idea of Atlanticism. To them it seemed possible that the British empire and the United States, the core of the victorious allied coalition, could create a global hegemony, an amended version of the Pax Britannica, which might provide a panacea for the ills of the postwar world. As their views became known, the Atlanticists met with some enthusiasm and much outright hostility. Deliberations for and against Atlanticism focused on renewal of the Anglo-Japanese alliance and on two vital postwar conferences, the Imperial Conference of 1921 and the Washington Conference of 1921-2. Initial prospects for Atlanticism seemed encouraging, but hopes were dashed in real political issues of war debts and European recovery by the end of 1922. The Atlanticist thesis languished and despite periods of co-operation it never regained its appeal throughout the interwar years. Michael Fry relates in fascinating detail the history of these deliberations and of the statesmen who worked for and against Atlanticism. His study sheds light on the evolution of foreign policy in Britain, the dominions, and the United States, and yields insights into relations between these governments during an important time in history.
Ilyushin/Beriyev A-50: The 'Soviet Sentry' (FlightCraft)
by Yefim Gordon Dmitriy KomissarovBrought out in the late 1970s as a successor to the obsolete Tu-126 airborne early warning aircraft, the A-50 co-developed by the Il'yushin and Beriyev bureaux is one of the most interesting military variants in the field of IL-76 military transport. Differing outwardly from the latter mainly in having a conventional saucer rotodome, the A-50 entered flight testing in 1980; the new Soviet AWACS entered service four years later. The improved A-50M was developed several years after that. The type continues in service with the Russian Air Force today, and the fleet is being upgraded to A-50U standard. This book describes the A-50's thrilling developmental history, taking in its many variants (including the A-50EI export model for India) and gives an extensive overview of the various scale model kits covering the subject currently available on the market.
Image and Reality of the Israel Palestine Conflict (2nd edition)
by Norman G. FinkelsteinFirst published in 1995, this polemical study challenges generally accepted truths of the Israel-Palestine conflict as well as much of the revisionist literature. This new edition critically re-examines dominant popular and scholarly images in the light of the current failures of the peace process.