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Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charter
by David Starkey'A soaring account of the months that transformed a messy feudal squabble into Magna Carta...his crisp storytelling, based around short chapters and rolling rhetoric, is extremely entertaining.' Dan Jones, Mail on Sunday'I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good history is descriptive, narrative and analytical. This is good history.' Gerard DeGroot, The TimesAt Runnymede, on the banks of the River Thames, on 15 June 1215, the seal of King John was attached to the Magna Carta, and peace descended upon the land. Or that's what successive generations have believed. But is it true? And have we been persuaded (or persuaded ourselves) that the events of 15 June 1215 not only ended a civil war between the king and the barons but - as if by magic - established a British constitution beloved and copied throughout the world?Often viewed as a victory for the people over the monarchy and a cornerstone of democracy, the true significance of Magna Carta is misunderstood and misrepresented. In Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charter, David Starkey paints a vivid portrait of the years 1215-1225, ten revolutionary years of huge significance that produced not one but four charters. Peopled by colourful historical figures - John, the boy-king Henry, Pope Innocent III, Archbishop Stephen Langton, William Marshal - Starkey tells a story of treachery and idealism, politics and peace-making that is surprising and enthralling.Informative, entertaining and controversial, Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charterchallenges centuries of myth-making to demonstrate how important it is we understand the true significance of that day beside the Thames, over eight hundred years ago.
The Magnificent Bastards
by Keith NolanOn April 29, 1968, the North Vietnamese Army is spotted less than four miles from the U.S. Marines' Dong Ha Combat Base. Intense fighting develops in nearby Dai Do as the 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, known as "the Magnificent Bastards," struggles to eject NVA forces from this strategic position.Yet the BLT 2/4 Marines defy the brutal onslaught. Pressing forward, America's finest warriors rout the NVA from their fortress-hamlets-often in deadly hand-to-hand combat. At the end of two weeks of desperate, grinding battles, the Marines and the infantry battalion supporting them are torn to shreds. But against all odds, they beat back their savage adversary. The Magnificent Bastards captures that gripping conflict in all its horror, hell, and heroism."Superb . . . among the best writing on the Vietnam War . . . Nolan has skillfully woven operational records and oral history into a fascinating narrative that puts the reader in the thick of the action."-Jon T. Hoffman, author of Chesty"Real and gripping . . . combat with all the warts on."-Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak, USMC (Ret.)From the Paperback edition.
The Magnificent Bastards: The Joint Army-Marine Defense of Dong Ha, 1968
by Keith NolanOn April 29, 1968, the North Vietnamese Army is spotted less than four miles from the U. S. Marines' Dong Ha Combat Base. Intense fighting develops in nearby Dai Do as the 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, known as "the Magnificent Bastards," struggles to eject NVA forces from this strategic position. Yet the BLT 2/4Marines defy the brutal onslaught. Pressing forward, America's finest warriors rout the NVA from their fortress-hamlets-often in deadly hand-to-hand combat. At the end of two weeks of desperate...
Magnificent but Not War: The Second Battle of Ypres, 1915
by John DixonThe book is a detailed account of the fighting around Ypres during April and May 1915. It is essentially a day-by-day record of the Second Battle of Ypres which draws heavily upon personal accounts, regimental histories and war diaries to present a comprehensive study of the battle in which Germany became the first nation to use poisonous gas as a weapon. Each phrase of the battle (the Battle of Gravenstafel; the Battle of St. Julien; the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge and the Battle of Bellewarde Ridge) is discussed in detail with maps and photographs where appropriate. the main text is accompanied by a number of appendices including officer casualties; Victoria Cross winners and the British Order of Battle for Hill 60 and the Second Battle of Ypres.
"A Magnificent Fight"
by Robert J. CressmanThis book recounts how the Wake Island garrison survived nearly daily bombings and repulsed the first Japanese attempt to take the atoll. The author uses extensive Japanese materials--many never before used or available-- to identify the enemy order of battle and the roles each unit played in the drama.
The Magnificent Mitscher
by Theodore Taylor&“First-class . . . more than the biography of a great aviator and military leader. It also is a detailed and lively history of naval aviation.&” —The New York Times Air Adm. Marc Mitscher is a legend in military circles for developing an entirely new concept of war at sea. His skills as both a carrier tactician and genius for leading men rank him with the best World War II combat commanders. However, because Mitscher shunned publicity and destroyed his private papers shortly before his death in 1947, his accomplishments are not widely known. In this outstanding biography, Theodore Taylor traces the aviator&’s brilliant career from its beginnings and makes clear the major role played by the admiral in developing the Navy&’s air program, providing a lively and detailed history of the progress of naval aviation. &“The likable personality and day by day achievements of Mitscher shine through to lift this above the run of the mill military biography.&” —Kirkus Reviews
The Magnificent Showboats
by Jack VanceThe Magnificent Showboats follows the farcical adventures of Apollon Zamp, owner of the showboat Miraldra's Enchantment, and his troupe of acrobats, magicians and actors. Zamp is invited by the King of Soyvanesse to travel up the river Vissel to the distant city of Mornune, there to participate in a contest. A rich prize awaits the showboat captain who stages the most spectacular performance and succeeds in entertaining the king.
Magnum! The Wild Weasels in Desert Storm: The Elimination of Iraq's Air Defence
by Brick Eisel Jim 'Boomer' SchreinerA detailed look at the day-to-day life of a pilot serving during the Persian Gulf War against Iraq. This book is based upon a journal Jim Schreiner kept during his deployment to the Persian Gulf region for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Building upon that record and the recollections of other F-4G Wild Weasel aircrew, the authors show a slice of what life and war was like during that time. The pawns in the game, the ones that actually had to do the fighting and dying were the hundreds of thousands of men and women who left their homes and families to live for seemingly endless months in the vast, trackless desert while the world stage-play unfolded. To them, the war was deeply personal. At times, the war was scary; at other times, it was funny as hell. Usually, if you survive the former, it turns into the latter.
Magyar Warriors: The History of the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces 1919–1945
by Dénes Bernád Charles K. KlimentThe Hungarian armed forces (known as the Honvédség) were built up in the 1930s, their expansion gaining momentum once Hungary became free of the strict post-WWI Trianon treaty limitations in August 1938. Politically, Hungary was looking for a strong ally, who would help it to recover at least some of the territories containing sizable Magyar ethnic populations that had been lost after the First World War. Initially, in the mid-1930s, Italy gave political assistance and supplied military material, then - on the eve of WWII - Germany also lent support. In November 1938, Hungary managed to peacefully recover a chunk of its former territory from Czechoslovakia, followed by the Sub-Carpathian area during a brief border war in March 1939, then the northern part of Transylvania from Rumania in August 1940. Later, in April 1941, the Bachka region and parts of Baranya were also taken back from the dismembered Yugoslavia, in a swift military action. The rub was that Hungary was sucked into the cauldron of the Eastern front, and soon the Honvéds (Hungarian soldiers) found themselves deep in Soviet territory, outgunned and outnumbered by the Red Army. Later on, from August 1944, the beleaguered Honvédség had to fight against the mighty Soviet army in defense of its own territory. Alongside tiny Croatia, Hungary remained the last German ally up to the bitter end. This comprehensive reference, to be published in two volumes, and the fruit of over twenty years of meticulous research, strives to provide a complete picture of the Hungarian armed forces between the years 1919-1945. It starts with a brief history of the Magyars, describes the political situation in Hungary before and during WWII, the building of the armed forces, the growth of domestic arms manufacturers, the organization of the armed forces units and how they changed during the war. The various campaigns of the war are described in great detail, illustrated with many photographs and maps. This, the first volume, contains approximately 550 photographs, many previously unpublished, as well as numerous tables and maps of the various campaigns. The authors drew on official Hungarian and German archives, and a multitude of private sources, both from individuals living in Hungary and Hungarian émigrés from the Western Diaspora. The result of this Herculean effort is a two-volume series destined to be the reference work on the topic, a must for people fascinated by military history, or generally interested in the 1100-year-long rich history of Hungary and its Magyar Warriors. Volume 2 will cover all small arms, artillery, soft-skin and armored vehicles, motorcycles, as well as aircraft, the insignia, markings and camouflage of armored vehicles and aircraft, both of Hungarian indigenous design and those supplied by Germany and Italy, complete with technical data, production and delivery figures. An extensive selection of b/w photographs and color plates will be included.
Mahan Goes To War: Effects Of World War I On The US Navy’s Force Structure And Operational Planning
by LCDR Brandon E. Todd USNA. T. Mahan's 1890 book The Influence of Sea Power on History presented a theory of sea power that proclaimed the capital ship-centered battle fleet essential to any great maritime nation's long-term prosperity. Mahan also formulated a beguilingly simple operational concept based on the teachings of Jomini. His ideas quickly became dogma in the world's navies, including the U.S. Navy. In the decades before World War I, the U.S. Navy's force structure and operational plans reflected Mahan's emphasis on the battleship and fighting as a concentrated fleet.The naval conflict between Germany and Great Britain in World War I did not resemble Mahan's vision for what war at sea between two great powers should look like. Rather than consisting of decisive battles between fleets of capital ships, the War involved distant blockade, raids, mining, and especially commerce raiding by German submarines. Mahan's rival theorist, Sir Julian Corbett, better described the character of World War I.Despite the advantage of almost three years of observing the European conflict, the U.S. Navy did little to prepare for this new kind of war. It entered the War in April, 1917 with a "top-heavy" force of battleships, and operational plans completely unsuited to the anti-submarine conflict it would undertake. This monograph attempts to determine the effects of World War I, a decidedly non-Mahanian war, on the U.S. Navy's force structure and operational planning. These variables manifest the Navy's ends, ways, and means, and thus shed light on the theoretical underpinnings of the Navy's policy.
Mahan on Naval Strategy
by Alfred Thayer Mahan an Introduction by John B. HattendorfThis book makes a valuable and original contribution to the study of strategic thinking of one of the greatest naval theoreticians of all time. Rather than taking one of Mahan’s many works and reprinting it, this volume offers a unique collection of articles and chapters from many books by Mahan, selected to capture the whole range of his thinking. With these key selections, readers have a single, convenient reference to help them toward a full understanding of Mahan’s logic and thinking.
The Maharajah's General: A fast-paced British Army adventure in India (Jack Lark, Book #2)
by Paul Fraser CollardIn The Maharajah's General by Paul Fraser Collard Jack Lark returns to the battlefield under a new name to face greater adventures in a brutal land. A must-read for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow. 'Collard ... evokes the horror of that era with great brio. Enthralling' The TimesJack Lark barely survived the Battle of the Alma. As the brutal fight raged, he discovered the true duty that came with the officer's commission he'd taken. In hospital, wounded, and with his stolen life left lying on the battlefield, he grasps a chance to prove himself a leader once more. Poor Captain Danbury is dead, but Jack will travel to his new regiment in India, under his name.Jack soon finds more enemies, but this time they're on his own side. Exposed as a fraud, he's rescued by the chaplain's beautiful daughter, who has her own reasons to escape. They seek desperate refuge with the Maharajah of Sawadh, the charismatic leader whom the British Army must subdue. He sees Jack as a curiosity, but recognises a fellow military mind. In return for his safety, Jack must train the very army the British may soon have to fight...
The Maharajah's General (Jack Lark, Book 2): A fast-paced British Army adventure in India
by Paul Fraser CollardIn The Maharajah's General by Paul Fraser Collard Jack Lark returns to the battlefield under a new name to face greater adventures in a brutal land. A must-read for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow. 'Collard ... evokes the horror of that era with great brio. Enthralling' The TimesJack Lark barely survived the Battle of the Alma. As the brutal fight raged, he discovered the true duty that came with the officer's commission he'd taken. In hospital, wounded, and with his stolen life left lying on the battlefield, he grasps a chance to prove himself a leader once more. Poor Captain Danbury is dead, but Jack will travel to his new regiment in India, under his name.Jack soon finds more enemies, but this time they're on his own side. Exposed as a fraud, he's rescued by the chaplain's beautiful daughter, who has her own reasons to escape. They seek desperate refuge with the Maharajah of Sawadh, the charismatic leader whom the British Army must subdue. He sees Jack as a curiosity, but recognises a fellow military mind. In return for his safety, Jack must train the very army the British may soon have to fight...
The Maharajah's General (Jack Lark, Book 2): A fast-paced British Army adventure in India
by Paul Fraser CollardIn The Maharajah's General by Paul Fraser Collard Jack Lark returns to the battlefield under a new name to face greater adventures in a brutal land. A must-read for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow. 'Collard ... evokes the horror of that era with great brio. Enthralling' The TimesJack Lark barely survived the Battle of the Alma. As the brutal fight raged, he discovered the true duty that came with the officer's commission he'd taken. In hospital, wounded, and with his stolen life left lying on the battlefield, he grasps a chance to prove himself a leader once more. Poor Captain Danbury is dead, but Jack will travel to his new regiment in India, under his name.Jack soon finds more enemies, but this time they're on his own side. Exposed as a fraud, he's rescued by the chaplain's beautiful daughter, who has her own reasons to escape. They seek desperate refuge with the Maharajah of Sawadh, the charismatic leader whom the British Army must subdue. He sees Jack as a curiosity, but recognises a fellow military mind. In return for his safety, Jack must train the very army the British may soon have to fight...(P)2013 Headline Digital
The Mahdist Revolution
by Major Robert N. RossiThis paper analyzes the Mahdist Revolution in the Sudan from 1881 to 1885. Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdallah proclaimed himself the Mahdi (the expected one or the deliverer in the Islamic faith) and fought the colonial Egyptian government of the Sudan and the British. Britain was drawn into the conflict by its interest in the Suez Canal, its heavy financial investments in Egypt, and its participation in suppressing the Arabi revolt.Mohammed Ahmed successfully defeated the Egyptian and British forces brought against him and established an Islamic state in the Sudan. He succeeded by effectively combining religious, economic, cultural, and military strategy under charismatic leadership.
The Maid: A Novel of Joan of Arc
by Kimberly CutterA &“stunning&” novel of Joan of Arc, the fifteenth century teenage visionary who led an army and saved France (Publishers Weekly, starred review). The tumultuous Hundred Years&’ War rages on and France is under siege. English soldiers tear through the countryside destroying all who cross their paths, and Charles VII, the uncrowned king, has neither the strength nor the will to rally his army. Meanwhile, in the quiet of her parents&’ garden in Domrémy, a seventeen-year-old peasant girl has a mystical vision and hears a powerful voice speak her name: Jehanne. The story of Jehanne d&’Arc, who believed she had been chosen by God to lead an army and save her country, has captivated our imaginations for centuries. But the story of a girl whose sister was murdered by the English; who sought an escape from a violent father and a forced marriage; who taught herself to ride and fight; and who somehow found the courage to persuade thousands to follow her—is at once thrilling, surprising, and heartbreaking. &“Impressive . . . Cutter evokes the novel&’s medieval world with striking details.&” —The New York Times Book Review &“Cutter&’s portrait of &‘Jehanne&’ as a strange, gritty teenage tomboy and true believer is compelling.&” —USA Today &“Cutter strips away the romanticism in favor of a more complex portrayal that raises some provocative questions.&” —O, The Oprah Magazine
The Maid the Greek Married (The Xenakis Reunion #2)
by Jackie AshendenIn this captivating marriage of convenience from Jackie Ashenden, will saying &“I do&” save Cinderella and the billionaire? She owes him her life……and vows to wear his ring!Imprisoned on a compound since childhood, housemaid Rose has no recollection of anything before. So when she learns superrich Ares Aristiades needs a wife, she proposes a deal: her freedom in exchange for marriage!Before binding her to him permanently, Ares gives virgin Rose a year to experience being his bride. His mansions across the globe are hers to share, but the hardened widower&’s heart is locked away. Still, their charged encounters make Ares feel far too much. Especially when he doesn&’t want to feel anything at all…From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.Read all The Xenakis Reunion books:Book 1: The Innocent's One-Night ProposalBook 2: The Maid the Greek Married
The Maiden: The Morland Dynasty, Book 8 (Morland Dynasty #8)
by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles1720: political intrigue besets the kingdom as the Stuarts try to claim the throne occupied by the Hanoverians and the Morlands have to use all their wiles to keep their fortunes intact.Jeremy Morland, sole heir to his father's will, has no option but to marry to cold-hearted Lady Mary to secure Hanoverian protection and safeguard his inheritance. Then the rebellion of '45 and the bloody massacre at Culloden thrust his daughter Jemima into the spotlight as the saviour of the family. Independent, single-minded, and a rare beauty, Jemima is a capable caretaker of the Morland heritage. Although Morland Place and its lands suffer from the excesses of her dissolute husband, Jemima's quiet courage earns her an abiding love and loyalty...
The Maiden: The Morland Dynasty, Book 8 (Morland Dynasty #8)
by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles1720: political intrigue besets the kingdom as the Stuarts try to claim the throne occupied by the Hanoverians and the Morlands have to use all their wiles to keep their fortunes intact.Jeremy Morland, sole heir to his father's will, has no option but to marry to cold-hearted Lady Mary to secure Hanoverian protection and safeguard his inheritance. Then the rebellion of '45 and the bloody massacre at Culloden thrust his daughter Jemima into the spotlight as the saviour of the family.Independent, single-minded, and a rare beauty, Jemima is a capable caretaker of the Morland heritage. Although Morland Place and its lands suffer from the excesses of her dissolute husband, Jemima's quiet courage earns her an abiding love and loyalty.
The Maid’s Disgrace: A gripping and romantic Victorian saga from the bestselling author
by Emma Hornby**Don't miss Emma Hornby's gripping new wartime saga, A DAUGHTER'S WAR - out now**---------------------A gritty and page-turning historical saga from the bestselling author of A Shilling for a Wife, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.Manchester, 1842Phoebe Parsons is a liar...a shameless harlot with unscrupulous morals...Phoebe Parsons is destitute, disgraced, and alone. After her mistress tragically dies, Phoebe is forced back onto the poverty-ridden streets of Manchester by her unforgiving new master. Desperately searching for work as a domestic maid, Phoebe soon discovers her reputation is in ruins.Fearing for her future and haunted by the harshness of her abandonment, Phoebe finds herself living with thieves and drunks in the smog and squalor - until she meets Victor Hayes. An officer removed from his duty and shamed by a cruel lie, Mr Hayes is a kind face among the uncertain threats of living in the alleyways. But Phoebe soon realises the sacrifices she must make to rebuild from the ground up...As their two worlds collide, can they make a new life from the wreckage? Or will the judgement of their peers make a pauper of Phoebe?----------------------------Readers love Emma Hornby:'Similar to Rosie Goodwin and Dilly Court, Emma Hornby tells a brilliant story that will keep you guessing with twists and turns. Pure talent.''Emma Hornby's books just keep getting better and better. Honest, gritty, lovely characters.''Keep writing Emma, you are very talented and can't wait for your next book. I've read them all.''Emma is a wonderful storyteller and I can't wait for the next one!''Thank you again Emma Hornby for a captivating read''Another beautifully written story by Emma Hornby'
Maidstone in the Great War (Your Towns And Cities In The Great War Ser.)
by Stephen WynnMaidstone in the Great War tells the remarkable story of this Kent county town's immense contribution to the Great War effort from the outbreak of war in 1914, to the long-awaited Allied victory in 1918. Maidstone has a long and illustrious military history it even had its own Civil War battle, dating back to 1648 and with the onset of the First World War, its civilians, like thousands of communities up and down the country, sent their men off to fight for their king and country. The town paid a hefty price as it lost nearly 900 of its young men. The harbinger of death catered for all strands of society, from the richest to the poorest, from those who toiled in the fields, to the loftiest of society. The book looks at the war year by year and how it directly and indirectly affected Maidstone. As more and more of its young men were killed and wounded, everyday life, or what passed for everyday life, continued the best that it could. The town's incredible support for the war on the Home Front was apparent from the very beginning. When the Mayor of Maidstone appealed to the town's people to support Lord Kitchener's request for blankets for his New Army, they responded in droves. Convalescing soldiers were tended to as passionately as Belgium refugees were looked after by the town's people; they freely and happily did this while coping with the unsettling reality that one or more of their loved ones may never return from the war. This is a superb account of the people of Maidstone's outstanding determination to see the war through.
The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB
by Milton Bearden James RisenA landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the dramatic inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them.Based on hundreds of interviews with operatives from both sides, The Main Enemy puts us inside the heads of CIA officers as they dodge surveillance and walk into violent ambushes in Moscow. This is the story of the generation of spies who came of age in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis and rose through the ranks to run the CIA and KGB in the last days of the Cold War. The clandestine operations they masterminded took them from the sewers of Moscow to the back streets of Baghdad, from Cairo and Havana to Prague and Berlin, but the action centers on Washington, starting in the infamous "Year of the Spy"--when, one by one, the CIA's agents in Moscow began to be killed, up through to the very last man.Behind the scenes with the CIA's covert operations in Afghanistan, Milt Bearden led America to victory in the secret war against the Soviets, and for the first time he reveals here what he did and whom America backed, and why. Bearden was called back to Washington after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan and was made chief of the Soviet/East Euro-pean Division--just in time to witness the fall of the Berlin Wall, the revolutions that swept across Eastern Europe, and the implosion of the Soviet Union.Laced with startling revelations--about fail-safe top-secret back channels between the CIA and KGB, double and triple agents, covert operations in Berlin and Prague, and the fateful autumn of 1989--The Main Enemy is history at its action-packed best.From the Hardcover edition.
Main Fleet to Singapore [Illustrated Edition]
by Capt. Russell GrenfellIncludes 14 illustrations and 6 maps.A fascinating in-depth account of the early months of the naval war against the Japanese during the Second World War. Includes the sinking of the Royal Navy battleship Prince of Wales and battle cruiser Repulse off Malaya in December 1941 and the American victory at Midway in June 1942.“A sharply written, often polemical, account of the Singapore naval base from its inception to its loss in 1942”—Foreign Affairs
Maine in World War I (Images of America)
by Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. Jason C. LibbyWith the same patriotic fervor as Maine�s response to a call for troops in the Civil War, more than 35,000 men and women across the state joined the armed forces in 1917�1918 to fight in aid of America�s European allies against Germany, as well as to redress German destruction of American vessels in the North Atlantic. Mainers also provided vital support to the United States and the Allies through war-related industries, like shipbuilding, munitions, textiles, and agriculture, while purchasing more than $100 million in war bonds and donating bandages, books, and other comforts of home to the troops. The war may have been �over there,� but its effects were found throughout the state of Maine.
Mainland China's Taiwan Policy: From Peaceful Development to Selective Engagement (Routledge Focus on Public Governance in Asia)
by Xin QiangThe Taiwan issue has always been a core national interest of mainland China, which has steadfastly vowed to fulfill national reunification. This book provides a comprehensive and updated explanation of the strategic motivations, behavioral logic, and policymaking rationale of Beijing’s Taiwan policy. It will aid readers in predicting the future development of cross-Strait relations, reducing the risk of strategic miscalculations, and defusing potential geostrategic perils. The book analyzes Beijing’s changing policy toward Taiwan during the Kuomintang and Democratic Progressive Party administrations. It explains the key driving forces for Beijing’s Taiwan policy in these different periods, which have displayed fundamental shifts from confrontation to cooperation and then back to confrontation. The book also delves into how the rising strategic rivalry between China and the US may influence Beijing’s Taiwan policy and the prospect of cross-Strait relations in the near future. The book will be a useful reference to deepen intellectual understanding of Beijing’s broader security and diplomatic policies. It will also appeal to government policymakers who have a keen and vested interest in peace and security in the West Pacific.