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Origins of the European Security System: The Helsinki Process Revisited, 1965-75 (Css Studies In Security And International Relations)
by Andreas Wenger Vojtech Mastny Christian NuenlistThis edited volume explores the significance of the earlyHelsinki process as a means of redefining and broadening the concept of security during the latter half of the Cold War. The early Helsinki process introduced innovative confidence-building measures, and made human rights a requirement of a legitimate and well-functioning international sys
Origins of the First World War: Revised (Seminar Studies)
by Gordon MartelOrigins of the First World War summarizes the policies, issues and crises that brought Europe to war in 1914. Examining the strategic and political problems that confronted each of the great powers and the way in which social and economic factors influenced the decision-making process, Martel discusses the position of each power and their place in the system of alliances which dominated international politics. The fourth edition has been revised and updated throughout to incorporate the body of new scholarship that has appeared since the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of war. In a clear and accessible manner, it explains: how and why the alliance system was created how alliances led to a network of complicated strategic commitments how an escalating series of international crises from the turn of the century fuelled preparations for war why the peculiarities of the Balkan situation are essential in understanding the outbreak of war in 1914. This book also includes an updated Guide to Further Reading, Who’s Who of important figures and Glossary of key terms, and the selection of documents has been expanded to include the key treaties as well as evidence of popular militarism and nationalism. Concise, accessible and analytical, it is essential introductory reading for all students interested in the origins of the First World War.
Origins of the Just War: Military Ethics and Culture in the Ancient Near East
by Rory CoxA groundbreaking history of the ethics of war in the ancient Near EastOrigins of the Just War reveals the incredible richness and complexity of ethical thought about war in the three millennia preceding the Greco-Roman period, establishing the extent to which ancient just war thought prefigured much of what we now consider to be the building blocks of the Western just war tradition.In this incisive and elegantly written book, Rory Cox traces the earliest ideas concerning the complex relationship between war, ethics and justice. Excavating the ethical thought of three ancient Near Eastern cultures—Egyptian, Hittite and Israelite—he demonstrates that the history of the just war is considerably more ancient and geographically diffuse than previously assumed. Cox shows how the emergence of just war thought was grounded in a desire to rationalise, sacralise and ultimately to legitimise the violence of war. Rather than restraining or condemning warfare, the earliest ethical thought about war reflected an urge to justify state violence. Cox terms this presumption in favour of war ius pro bello—the “right for war”—characterizing it as a meeting point of both abstract and pragmatic concerns.Drawing on a diverse range of ancient sources, Origins of the Just War argues that the same imperative still underlies many of the assumptions of contemporary just war thought and highlights the risks of applying moral absolutism to the fraught ethical arena of war.
Origins of the North Korean Garrison State: The People’s Army and the Korean War (Cold War History)
by Youngjun KimThis book investigates the origins of the North Korean garrison state by examining the development of the Korean People’s Army and the legacies of the Korean War. Despite its significance, there are very few books on the Korean People’s Army with North Korean primary sources being difficult to access. This book, however, draws on North Korean documents and North Korean veterans’ testimonies, and demonstrates how the Korean People’s Army and the Korean War shaped North Korea into a closed, militarized and xenophobic garrison state and made North Korea seek Juche (Self Reliance) ideology and weapons of mass destruction. This book maintains that the youth and lower classes in North Korea considered the Korean People’s Army as a positive opportunity for upward social mobility. As a result, the North Korean regime secured its legitimacy by establishing a new class of social elites wherein they offered career advancements for persons who had little standing and few opportunities under the preceding Japanese dominated regime. These new elites from poor working and peasant families became the core supporters of the North Korean regime today. In addition, this book argues that, in the aftermath of the Korean War, a culture of victimization was established among North Koreans which allowed Kim Il Sung to use this culture of fear to build and maintain the garrison state. Thus, this work illustrates how the North Korean regime has garnered popular support for the continuation of a militarized state, despite the great hardships the people are suffering. This book will be of much interest to students of North Korea, the Korean War, Asian politics, Cold War Studies, military and strategic studies, and international history.
Origins of the War of 1914
by Luigi Albertini Isabella M. MasseyA classic study of the causes of World War One written in the 1950's. Vol Two is a stand alone examination of the immediate origins of the war.
Orion Shall Rise (Gateway Essentials #11)
by Poul AndersonCenturies after a worldwide nuclear war has decimated Earth's population and devastated the land, four opposing pockets of civilisation vie for control of the planet - and of the precious resources that survived the destruction.Nothing less than the future of Mankind is at stake . . .A novel of politics and people, adventure and passion, of worlds real and imagined, ORION SHALL RISE is a powerful and utterly enthralling speculation on our global destiny - and a gripping story as only Poul Anderson could write it.
Orkney and Scapa Flow at War 1939–45 (Towns And Cities In World War Two Ser.)
by Craig Armstrong“Reminds us of the courage and immense sacrifices made by Orcadians, and tells of the efforts made by the British to protect their remote islanders. Superb.” —Books MonthlyOrkney was a key strategic location during the Second World War. The vast anchorage of Scapa Flow was the main haven for the Royal Navy’s Home Fleet, making it a prime target for the Luftwaffe, and attempts to bomb the anchorage were made from the beginning of the war.In the early hours of 14 October 1940, a German submarine apparently penetrated Scapa Flow’s defenses and managed to sink the aging battleship HMS Royal Oak with the loss of 834 of her crew, including many boy sailors. The loss spurred changes to the defenses of Scapa Flow, which hugely impacted Orkney.Orcadians also made a huge contribution to the war effort through farming and in providing support to the thousands of sailors, soldiers and airmen who were based locally. Orcadians also raised considerable funds and gathered much-needed items, including scrap metal and even sphagnum moss for use in the treatment of wounds. Large numbers of Orcadians worked in the fishing industry and this was a staple supplier of food for the islands, as well as a key employer. The men aboard the trawlers were used to danger, but the war ramped this up even further as many became prey to German attacks from the air.Although isolated from the mainland, the people of Orkney made a very substantial contribution to the war effort and many paid the ultimate price, losing their lives in the service of their country.“Another beautiful volume for the series.” —On the Old Barbed Wire
Orphan Brigade
by Henry V. O'NeilThe action-packed sequel to Glory Main Life has not been easy for Lieutenant Jander Mortas since making it to the Glory Main headquarters--with a telepathic alien entity in tow. After turning down his powerful father's offer of a desk job as an ambassador, Jander is heading back to the war zone. After joining an emergency reaction force of combat veterans known as the Orphans, Jander must work hard to get his platoon in shape for the next deployment--while learning the ropes himself. Because disaster soon strikes, and the Orphan Brigade is shipped out to Fractus, a harsh planet invaded by the enemy--the Sims.Meanwhile, Jander's sister, Ayliss, is on a mission of her own: to uncover a scandal that would bring an end to her father's dubious reign as Chairman of the Emergency Senate. But Olech Mortas is hiding even more than his children could ever know ...
Orphan Star (Gateway Essentials #521)
by Alan Dean FosterAll of his life Flinx had lived in the marketplace on Drallar with his foster mother, an ageing shopkeeper. But Flinx did not belong there and although he knew nothing of his true parents he was determined to find out about himself and the strange mental abilities that he had been endowed with. His search was to lead him into the clutches of Challis, one of the most depraved and powerful men in the Commonwealth ... on to Terra where the records of his birth were kept ... and finally to Ulru-Ujurr where the priceless and mysterious Janus jewels came from and where a new civilisation was about to be born.
Orphan's Alliance
by Robert BuettnerHumans have been discovered on the Outworlds. And the Army decides to send emissaries. Emissaries like Jason Wander. As intraplanetary conflicts rage around him, and the personal stakes get ever higher, Jason finds that playing planet-hopping politician can be harder than commanding armies. When united mankind squares off to battle the Slugs for a precious interstellar crossroad, Jason will discover that the most dangerous enemy may be the one he least expects.
Orphan's Destiny
by Robert BuettnerAt twenty-five, General Jason Wander has fought and won man's only alien conflict. Now, after long years in space, he's coming home...but to what? Earth's desperate nations, impoverished by war damage and military spending, are slashing defense budgets. There's just one problem with this new worldwide policy-the first alien invasion was merely Plan A. Suddenly, the real assault begins: Earth is attacked by a vast armada of city-sized warships. To block their invasion, mankind has only one surviving craft and a single guerrilla strike force...a suicide squad led by Jason Wander.
Orphan's Journey
by Robert BuettnerIn the years since the last Slug War, Jason's command style hasn't made him any friends in the Army. Now, in an effort to keep him out of trouble, the Army has sent Jason to the vast, Earth-orbiting resort called New Moon. At the core of this enormous space station is a starship, a relic from the last war. When a test run of the ship goes wrong, Jason, along with a handful of others, will be torn from orbit and thrust into space. Now, stranded on an alien planet, Jason realizes that not only are his friends are looking to him for rescue, but an entire planet sees him as their only hope.
Orphan's Triumph
by Robert BuettnerJason Wander is ready to lead the final charge into battle. After forty years of fighting the Slugs, mankind's reunited planets control the vital crossroad that secures their uneasy union. The doomsday weapon that can end the war, and the mighty fleet that will carry it to the Slug homeworld, lie within humanity's grasp. Since the Slug Blitz orphaned Jason Wander, he has risen from infantry recruit to commander of Earth's garrisons on the emerging allied planets. But four decades of service have cost Jason not just his friends and family, but his innocence. When an enemy counter stroke threatens to reverse the war and destroy mankind, Jason must finally confront not only his lifelong alien enemy, but the reality of what a lifetime as a soldier has made him.
Orphanage
by Robert BuettnerMankind's first alien contact tears into Earth: projectiles launched from Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, vaporize whole cities. Under siege, humanity gambles on one desperate counterstrike. In a spacecraft scavenged from scraps and armed with Vietnam-era weapons, foot soldiers like eighteen-year-old Jason Wander-orphans that no one will miss-must dare man's first interplanetary voyage and invade Ganymede. They have one chance to attack, one ship to attack with. Their failure is our extinction.
Ortolans
by Claire LorrimerOrtolans, a magnificent stately home that holds a mysterious grip on all those who live in it, hides a secret that has lain undiscovered for four hundred years. Three passionate, remarkable women play a vital part in the long, violent history of the house. In the 18th Century there is Eleanor, forced into an unhappy marriage with a ruthless adventurer plotting to take over the property. In the 19th Century there is hot-headed Sophia, prepared to risk everything to save it. And in the 20th Century there is Emma, who loves Ortolans but refuses to sacrifice her career for its sake, even if it means letting it fall into ruins. But just when it seems all is lost, the house finally gives up its incredible secret...
Ortona
by Mark ZuehlkeA masterful retelling one of the major victories of Canadian troops over the German army's elite division during WWII.In one blood-soaked, furious week of fighting, from December 20 to December 27, 1943, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division took the town of Ortona, Italy, from elite German paratroopers ordered to hold the medieval port town at all costs. Infantrymen serving in the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and the Seaforth Highlanders, supported by tankers of the Three Rivers Regiment, moved from house to house in hand-to-hand combat amid heavy shelling and wrested the town from the grip of the fierce German defenders. Getting into Ortona had been a battle of its own. Ortona, the pearl of the Adriatic, stands on a promontory impregnable from three sides, with seacliffs on the north and east, and a deep ravine on the west. The Canadian infantrymen, drawn from virtually every corner of Canada, attacked from the south under the command of Major-General Chris Vokes, fighting across narrow gullies, mud-choked vineyards and olive groves, into the narrow streets of Ortona itself. When the vicious battle was over, 2605 Canadians were dead or wounded. But the town that had become known as "Little Stalingrad" was now in Allied hands.
Ortona Street Fight (Rapid Reads)
by Mark ZuehlkeDecember 20, 1943. Two Canadian infantry battalions and a tank regiment stand poised on the outskirts of a small Italian port town. They expect to take Ortona quickly. But the German 1st Parachute Division has other ideas. For reasons unknown, Hitler has ordered Ortona held to the last man. Houses, churches and other buildings are dynamited, clogging the streets with rubble. Germans with machine guns lie in ambush. Snipers slip from one rooftop to another. The Canadians seem to have walked into a death trap. This is a battle fought at close range, often hand to hand. Casualties on both sides are heavy. In the end, raw courage and ingenuity save the Canadians. Ortona Street Fight is a riveting telling of what is considered one of the most epic battles that Canadian soldiers have ever fought.
Osaka 1615: The Last Battle of the Samurai
by Stephen Turnbull Richard HookIn 1614-15 Osaka Castle was Japan's greatest fortification, measuring approximately 2 miles in length with walls 100 feet high. It was guarded by 100,000 samurai, determined to defend the last of the once-powerful Toyotomi clan. The castle was seemingly impenetrable; however, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the ruling dynasty, was determined to destroy this remaining threat to the Tokuwaga ruling dynasty. This book explores the bitter struggle of the Summer and Winter campaigns, which eventually saw the last great clash of the samurai and defined the balance of power in Japan for years to come.
Osama: The First Casualty of War is the Truth, the Second is Your Soul
by Chris RyanDespatches from the secret world behind the headlines. Former SAS legend Chris Ryan brings you his seventeenth novel, filled with his trademark action, thrills and inside knowledge. Osama Bin Laden is dead. The President of the United States knows it. The world knows it. And SAS hero Joe Mansfield knows it. He was on the ground in Pakistan when it happened. He saw Seal Team 6 go in, and he saw them extract with their grisly cargo. He was in the right place at the right time. Or maybe, the wrong place at the wrong time. Because now, somebody wants Joe dead, and they're willing to do anything to make it happen. His world is violently dismantled. His family is targeted, his reputation destroyed. And as a mysterious and ruthless enemy plans a devastating terror attack on both sides of the Atlantic, Joe knows this: his only chance of survival is to find out what happened in Bin Laden's compound the night the Americans went in. But an unseen, menacing power has footprints it needs to cover. And it will stop at nothing to prevent him uncovering the sinister truth...
Osama: The first casualty of war is the truth, the second is your soul
by Chris RyanFrom the author of the bestselling Danny Black series and the hit TV show Strikeback.Despatches from the secret world behind the headlines. Former SAS legend Chris Ryan brings you his seventeenth novel, filled with his trademark action, thrills and inside knowledge. Osama Bin Laden is dead.The President of the United States knows it. The world knows it. And SAS hero Joe Mansfield knows it. He was on the ground in Pakistan when it happened. He saw Seal Team 6 go in, and he saw them extract with their grisly cargo. He was in the right place at the right time.Or maybe, the wrong place at the wrong time.Because now, somebody wants Joe dead, and they're willing to do anything to make it happen. His world is violently dismantled. His family is targeted, his reputation destroyed. And as a mysterious and ruthless enemy plans a devastating terror attack on both sides of the Atlantic, Joe knows this: his only chance of survival is to find out what happened in Bin Laden's compound the night the Americans went in.But an unseen, menacing power has footprints it needs to cover. And it will stop at nothing to prevent him uncovering the sinister truth...
Osama: The first casualty of war is the truth, the second is your soul
by Chris RyanDespatches from the secret world behind the headlines. Former SAS legend Chris Ryan brings you his seventeenth novel, filled with his trademark action, thrills and inside knowledge. Osama Bin Laden is dead.The President of the United States knows it. The world knows it. And SAS hero Joe Mansfield knows it. He was on the ground in Pakistan when it happened. He saw Seal Team 6 go in, and he saw them extract with their grisly cargo. He was in the right place at the right time.Or maybe, the wrong place at the wrong time.Because now, somebody wants Joe dead, and they're willing to do anything to make it happen. His world is violently dismantled. His family is targeted, his reputation destroyed. And as a mysterious and ruthless enemy plans a devastating terror attack on both sides of the Atlantic, Joe knows this: his only chance of survival is to find out what happened in Bin Laden's compound the night the Americans went in.But an unseen, menacing power has footprints it needs to cover. And it will stop at nothing to prevent him uncovering the sinister truth...
Osama: The first casualty of war is the truth, the second is your soul
by Chris RyanDespatches from the secret world behind the headlines. Former SAS legend Chris Ryan brings you his seventeenth novel, filled with his trademark action, thrills and inside knowledge. Osama Bin Laden is dead.The President of the United States knows it. The world knows it. And SAS hero Joe Mansfield knows it. He was on the ground in Pakistan when it happened. He saw Seal Team 6 go in, and he saw them extract with their grisly cargo. He was in the right place at the right time.Or maybe, the wrong place at the wrong time.Because now, somebody wants Joe dead, and they're willing to do anything to make it happen. His world is violently dismantled. His family is targeted, his reputation destroyed. And as a mysterious and ruthless enemy plans a devastating terror attack on both sides of the Atlantic, Joe knows this: his only chance of survival is to find out what happened in Bin Laden's compound the night the Americans went in.But an unseen, menacing power has footprints it needs to cover. And it will stop at nothing to prevent him uncovering the sinister truth...(P)2012 Hodder & Stoughton
Ostland
by David ThomasBased on a horrifying true story of one of the Holocaust's worst Nazi war criminals comes a crime thriller that combines a police procedural, courtroom thriller, and a fast-paced war-time narrative. In Ostland David Thomas confronts the question of how does one man charged with eradicating evil become one of its greatest perpetrator. In wartime Berlin the brilliant, idealistic young detective Georg Heuser joins the Murder Squad in the midst of the biggest manhunt the city has ever seen. A serial killer is slaughtering women on S-Bahn trains and leaving their battered bodies by the tracks. Heuser must confront evil eye-to-eye as he helps track down the murderer. Soon after, Heuser is promoted by the SS and sent off to oversee the systematic murder of thousands of Jews in the new empire the Nazis call Ostland. Years after the end of the war Heuser thinks his diabolical past has been forgotten. Yet, an enterprising young lawyer, Paula Siebert, searching through Soviet archives, discovers Heuser and his fellow officers' crimes. Siebert is haunted by one question: how could a once decent man have become a sadistic monster? Desperate to cover his tracks, Heuser uses his training as a lawyer and years as a police detective to distance himself from his co-conspirators and escape justice. Ostland is a gripping detective thriller, a harrowing account of the Holocaust and a thought-provoking examination of the human capacity for evil.
Oswald Boelcke: Germany's First Fighter Ace and Father of Air Combat
by R.G. HeadThis biography of the pioneering WWI flying ace who mentored the Red Baron is &“fascinating . . . [it] captures combat aviation at its inception&” (MiG Sweep: The Magazine of Aviation Warriors). With a total of forty victories, Oswald Boelcke was Germany&’s first ace in World War I—and a century later he remains a towering figure in the history of air warfare, renowned for his character, inspirational leadership, organizational genius, development of air-to-air tactics, and impact on aerial doctrine. Paving the way for modern air forces across the world with his pioneering strategies, Boelcke had a dramatic effect on his contemporaries. The famed Red Baron&’s mentor, instructor, squadron commander, and friend, he exerted a tremendous influence upon the German air force. He was one of the first pilots to be awarded the famous Pour le Mérite, commonly recognized as the &“Blue Max.&” All of this was achieved after overcoming medical obstacles in childhood and later life with willpower and determination. Boelcke even gained the admiration of his enemies: After his tragic death in a midair collision, Britain&’s Royal Flying Corps dropped a wreath on his funeral, and several of his captured foes sent another wreath from their German prison camp. His name and legacy live on, as seen in the Luftwaffe&’s designation of the Tactical Air Force Wing 31 &“Boelcke.&” This definitive biography reveals his importance as a fighter pilot who set the standard in military aviation.
Oswestry & Whitchurch in the Great War (Your Towns & Cities in the Great War)
by Janet JohnstoneAt the outbreak of hostilities, Oswestry and Whitchurch in rural north Shropshire were busy market towns that depended largely on agriculture for a living and justly famed for butter and cheese production. Within weeks of Lord Kitcheners impassioned call for volunteers, scores of local men, many employed in farm work, had accepted the kings shilling and travelled to training camps, some never to return.Those left behind were soon experiencing changes, as rules and regulations were swiftly implemented by the Defence of the Realm Act. Food shortages became apparent, rationing was introduced, private houses were turned into auxiliary hospitals, Belgium refugees arrived, and lighting restrictions came into force. Shortages of men resulted in women taking on the mens tasks; they coped very successfully, leading to lasting changes in attitude.Two of the biggest training camps in the country Park Hall, Oswestry and Prees Heath, Whitchurch were constructed on land just a few miles distant from the towns boundaries, and people had to learn quickly to cope with a massive influx of soldiers. Photographs illustrating the building of one of the camps have been included in this book, to demonstrate just how much was achieved in such a short period of time.Using information and illustrations gleaned from various sources, this book endeavours to paint a true picture of what life was like on the Home Front throughout the conflict, and hopes to keep alive the memory of the men who fought in the war and the women and children who remained at home anxiously waiting for their loved ones to return.