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Stealth Sweep
by Don PendletonA rogue mastermind from Chinese Intelligence has the resources to execute an attack for world domination. Remote-controlled stealth-attack drones carrying nuclear bombs are being smuggled into strategic strike points, and Mack Bolan must terminate the conspiracy before the bombs are released.
Steamboats in the Timber
by Ruby El HultIn the heyday of its water commerce, Lake Coeur d’Alene in northern Idaho was the scene of more steamboating than any other lake, salt or fresh, west of the Great Lakes. The old steamers brought gold, silver, and lead from the mines; lumber from the forests; mail to lonely homesteaders; and romance down the shadowy St. Joe River, whose silken waters flow into the Coeur d’Alene. The old steamboats are gone now from the lake—but here is their story, exciting, nostalgic and complete.Across Lake Coeur d’Alene, in the early days, the big mining boom in the Coeur d’Alene Mountains was carried out, and the ore-hauling stammers came and went. Across the lake water went the timber seekers in their rush to grab the white pine riches of the St. Joe country; and a new fleet of stammers carried timber barons, homesteaders and lumberjacks up the twisting, cottonwood-shaded St. Joe.On holidays the old stammers were transformed into excursion boats. The beauty of the mountain lake and its two rivers lured thousands of people from Spokane and the Palouse farmlands, who crowded into special trains and headed for the banner-draped boats. Gay crowds danced on deck, children had a hectic day, and amorous couples gazed languorously at the blue-and-silver waters as the excursion steamer trailed homeward in the moonlight.Here you will visit the bustling waterfront boom towns of Coeur d’Alene, Harrison, St. Maries, Ferrell, and St. Joe, just as they were in the glory days of steamboating, and as they are today. Romantic and factual history skilfully merge as the old towns, the rivermen, and the boats glide by in easy, informed narrative.
Steaming to Victory: How Britain's Railways Won the War
by Michael WilliamsIn the seven decades since the darkest moments of the Second World War it seems every tenebrous corner of the conflict has been laid bare, prodded and examined from every perspective of military and social history. But there is a story that has hitherto been largely overlooked. It is a tale of quiet heroism, a story of ordinary people who fought, with enormous self-sacrifice, not with tanks and guns, but with elbow grease and determination. It is the story of the British railways and, above all, the extraordinary men and women who kept them running from 1939 to 1945. Churchill himself certainly did not underestimate their importance to the wartime story when, in 1943, he praised ‘the unwavering courage and constant resourcefulness of railwaymen of all ranks in contributing so largely towards the final victory.’ And what a story it is. The railway system during the Second World War was the lifeline of the nation, replacing vulnerable road transport and merchant shipping. The railways mobilised troops, transported munitions, evacuated children from cities and kept vital food supplies moving where other forms of transport failed. Railwaymen and women performed outstanding acts of heroism. Nearly 400 workers were killed at their posts and another 2,400 injured in the line of duty. Another 3,500 railwaymen and women died in action. The trains themselves played just as vital a role. The famous Flying Scotsman train delivered its passengers to safety after being pounded by German bombers and strafed with gunfire from the air. There were astonishing feats of engineering restoring tracks within hours and bridges and viaducts within days. Trains transported millions to and from work each day and sheltered them on underground platforms at night, a refuge from the bombs above. Without the railways, there would have been no Dunkirk evacuation and no D-Day.Michael Williams, author of the celebrated book On the Slow Train, has written an important and timely book using original research and over a hundred new personal interviews.This is their story.
Steampunk Soldiers
by Philip Smith Joseph McculloughSteampunk Soldiers is a unique pictorial guide to the last great era of bright and colorful uniforms, as well as an important historical study of the variety of steam-powered weaponry and equipment that abounded in the days before the Great War of the Worlds.Between 1887 and 1895, the British art student Miles Vandercroft travelled around the world, sketching and painting the soldiers of the countries through which he passed. In this age of dramatic technological advancement, Vandercroft was fascinated by how the rise of steam technology at the start of the American Civil War had transformed warfare and the role of the fighting man. This volume collects all of Vandercroft's surviving paintings, along with his associated commentary on the specific military units he encountered.
Steamship Nationalism: Ocean Liners and National Identity in Imperial Germany and the Atlantic World (Routledge Studies in Modern European History)
by Mark A. RussellSteamship Nationalism is a cultural, social, and political history of the S.S. Imperator, Vaterland, and Bismarck. Transatlantic passenger steamships launched by the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) between 1912 and 1914, they do not enjoy the international fame of their British counterparts, most notably the Titanic. Yet the Imperator-class liners were the largest, most luxurious passenger vessels built before the First World War. In keeping with the often-overlooked history of its merchant marine as a whole, they reveal much about Imperial Germany in its national and international dimensions. As products of business decisions shaped by global dynamics and the imperatives of international travel, immigration, and trade, HAPAG’s giant liners bear witness to Germany’s involvement in the processes of globalization prior to 1914. Yet this book focuses not on their physical, but on their cultural construction in a variety of contemporaneous media, including the press and advertising, on both sides of the Atlantic. At home, they were presented to the public as symbolic of the nation’s achievements and ambitions in ways that emphasize the complex nature of German national identity at the time. Abroad, they were often construed as floating national monuments and, as such, facilitated important encounters with Germany, both virtual and real, for the populations of Britain and America. Their overseas reception highlights the multi-faceted image of the European superpower that was constructed in the Anglo-American world in these years. More generally, it is a pointed indicator of the complex relationship between Britain, the United States, and Imperial Germany.
Steel Boat, Iron Hearts: A U-boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505
by Hans Goebeler John VanzoThe story of the German submarine U-505 and its dramatic capture by the US Navy during WWII—told by one of its crewmen.Hans Goebeler is known as the man who “pulled the plug” on U-505 in 1944 to keep his beloved U-boat out of Allied hands. Steel Boat, Iron Hearts is his no-holds-barred account of service aboard a combat U-boat. It is the only full-length memoir of its kind, and Goebeler was aboard for every one of U-505’s war patrols.Using his own experiences, log books, and correspondence with other U-boat crewmen, Goebeler offers rich and very personal details about what life was like in the German Navy under Hitler. Because his first and last posting was to U-505, Goebeler’s perspective of the crew, commanders, and war patrols paints a vivid and complete portrait unlike any other to come out of the Kriegsmarine. He witnessed it all: from deadly sabotage efforts that almost sunk the boat to the tragic suicide of the only U-boat commander who took his life during WWII; from the terror and exhilaration of hunting the enemy to the seedy brothels of France. The vivid, honest, and smooth-flowing prose calls it like it was and pulls no punches.U-505 was captured by Captain Dan Gallery’s Guadalcanal Task Group 22.3 on June 4, 1944. Trapped by this “Hunter-Killer” group, U-505 was depth-charged to the surface, strafed by machine gun fire, and boarded. It was the first enemy ship captured at sea since the War of 1812. Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors tour U-505 each year at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.Includes photos and a special Introduction by Keith Gill, Curator of U-505, Museum of Science and Industry
Steel Fear: A Thriller
by John David Mann Brandon WebbAn aircraft carrier adrift with a crew the size of a small town. A killer in their midst. And the disgraced Navy SEAL who must track him down . . . The high-octane debut thriller from New York Times bestselling writing team Webb & Mann—combat-decorated Navy SEAL Brandon Webb and award-winning author John David Mann.&“Sensationally good—an instant classic, maybe an instant legend.&”—Lee ChildThe moment Navy SEAL sniper Finn sets foot on the USS Abraham Lincolnto hitch a ride home from the Persian Gulf, it&’s clear something is deeply wrong. Leadership is weak. Morale is low. And when crew members start disappearing one by one, what at first seems like a random string of suicides soon reveals something far more sinister: There&’s a serial killer on board. Suspicion falls on Finn, the newcomer to the ship. After all, he&’s being sent home in disgrace, recalled from the field under the dark cloud of a mission gone horribly wrong. He&’s also a lone wolf, haunted by gaps in his memory and the elusive sense that something he missed may have contributed to civilian deaths on his last assignment. Finding the killer offers a chance at redemption . . . if he can stay alive long enough to prove it isn&’t him.
Steel Tiger
by Mark BerentVietnam, 1967. America's most daring fighter pilots faced their greatest challenge in a desperate war.... Now on his second tour, Major Court Bannister is haunted by a new, more determined breed of enemy and haunted by his brother's shocking act of treason. Captain Toby Parker fights a personal battle against alcohol, while flying on the edge of disaster, and Lieutenant Colonel Wolf Lochert wages a crossed border war against all enemies, regardless of their uniform they wear.
Steel and Blood
by Ha Mai VietCol. Ha Mai Viet presents a historically accurate and detailed account of the Vietnam War from the perspective of the South Vietnamese armor forces. Highly decorated for his valor and leadership of the armored units, the author spent ten years documenting what went on so he could offer an analysis of the war based on facts. He interviewed hundreds of people, including all senior South Vietnamese officers involved and many of lesser rank, as well as American advisers. Viet tells the story without glossing over the shortcomings of his fellow soldiers. His efforts serve as an invaluable record of his army's organization, combat operations, and interaction with U.S. advisers. Published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army.
Steel and Tartan: The 4th Cameron Highlanders in the Great War
by Patrick WattIn the summer of 1914 Scotland prepared for war.Steel and Tartan charts the adventures of the 4th Battalion, Queens Own Cameron Highlanders – from their training in Bedford with the Highland Division through to five major engagements in France, including the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and the Battle of Loos, to eventual break-up in March 1916 at the hands of the British Army administrators. Of the 1,500 men who fought with the Battalion, over 250 were killed and either buried in one of the many British war cemeteries in France or else left where they fell, their names etched on one of the memorials to the missing.Using previously unpublished diaries, letters and memoirs together with original photographs and newspaper accounts, Patrick Watt tells the story of the gallant officers and men of the 4th Camerons: those ‘Saturday night soldiers’ who went so eagerly to war in August 1914.
Steel of the DLI: Second Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry at War 1914–1918
by John SheenThe 2nd Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry was one of only two battalions of the regiment that did not have its history published in some form after the Great War, the other was the 1/7th (Territorial) Battalion. As the regular Home Service battalion of the regiment it was brought up to strength with Regular Reservists and men from the Special Reserve and went out to France in September 1914, where it fought at the Battle of the Aisne, before moving north to Flanders. The battalion was in action immediately that war was declared on 4th August 1914, when a detachment based at South Shields boarded a German Steamer on the River Tyne and took the crew prisoner and marched them through the town to the Police Station.The book includes material from unpublished letters and diaries of both officers and men and has lots of photographs from the Regimental Archives, a number of which show named officers and men in the trenches around Armentierres in 1915. Also included is a roll of all the officers that served with the battalion with date of joining and leaving the battalion. For the other ranks the original 1914 Star men are included in a roll that includes reinforcements that joined up to 1 November 1914. This roll has been crossed referenced against the South Africa Rolls to show those who had seen service in that campaign also. There is also a list of those that received gallantry awards. This must be one of the first histories of a regular battalion that fought in France during the Great War, published since the 1920s.
Steelpan Ambassadors: The US Navy Steel Band, 1957–1999 (Caribbean Studies Series)
by Andrew R. Martin“Maybe you won't like steel band. It's possible. But it's been said that the Pied Piper had a steel band helping him on his famous visit to Hamelin.” When the US Navy distributed this press release, anxieties and tensions of the impending Cold War felt palpable. As President Eisenhower cast his gaze towards Russia, the American people cast their ears to the Atlantic South, infatuated with the international currents of Caribbean music. Today, steelbands have become a global phenomenon; yet, in 1957 the exotic sound and the unique image of the US Navy Steel Band was one-of-a-kind. Could calypso doom rock 'n' roll? Band founder Admiral Daniel V. Gallery thought so and envisioned his steelband knocking “rock 'n' roll and Elvis Presley into the ash can.” From 1957 until their disbandment in 1999, the US Navy Steel Band performed over 20,000 concerts worldwide. In 1973, the band officially moved headquarters from Puerto Rico to New Orleans and found the city and annual Mardi Gras tradition an apt musical and cultural fit. The band brought a significant piece of Caribbean artistic capital—calypso and steelband music—to the American mainstream. Its impact on the growth and development of steelpan music in America is enormous. Steelpan Ambassadors uncovers the lost history of the US Navy Steel Band and provides an in-depth study of its role in the development of the US military's public relations, its promotion of goodwill, its recruitment efforts after the Korean and Vietnam Wars, its musical and technological innovations, and its percussive propulsion of the American fascination with Latin and Caribbean music over the past century.
Stella
by Takis WürgerUna historia de amor imposible en el contexto de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, el nazismo y la caza de judíos. Friedrich es un joven suizo que se muda a Berlín para seguir con su carrera artística. Allí conoce a Kristin, una chica muy hermosa y segura de sí misma que se hace cargo de él y le enseña a moverse entre los cenáculos de la efervescente vida nocturna de la ciudad, con sus cabarets y clubs de jazz. Pronto, la intensidad de su relación se convierte en una apasionada historia amorosa, hasta que un día Kristin se presenta en casa del muchacho con la cara y el cuerpo cubiertos de moretones. Friedrich se verá obligado entonces a decidir si es más importante preservar su integridad moral o salvar a su gran amor.
Stella: A Novel
by Takis WürgerIn this “spare, effecting novel,” a playboy in WWII Berlin discovers that the bliss of romance cannot shield him from the horrors of war (Publishers Weekly).Friedrich, a wealthy but naïve young man, arrives in Berlin from Switzerland in 1942 with dreams of becoming an artist. He is hypnotized by Kristin, a beautiful artist’s model who teaches him how to navigate a bustling city filled with danger. Yet the horror of war feels far away as Friedrich and Kristin luxuriate in the Grand Hotel, where even Champagne and fresh fruit can be obtained thanks to the black market.But the mood in the city darkens as the Nazi Party begins to terrorize anyone who might be disloyal to the Reich. And when Friedrich discovers that Kristin is not everything she seems, she tells him an astonishing secret: that her real name is Stella, and that she is Jewish, passing for Aryan.As Friedrich confronts Stella’s unimaginable choices, he finds himself woefully unprepared for the history he is living through. Based in part on a real historical character, Stella sets a tortured love story against the backdrop of wartime Berlin.
Step by Step: Political Writings, 1936-1939 (Winston S. Churchill Essays and Other Works #4)
by Winston S. ChurchillThe second volume in this enthralling collection of the British prime minister&’s journalistic work, tracing Hitler&’s rise to power and the threat of Nazism. Legendary politician and military strategist Winston S. Churchill was a master not only of the battlefield, but of the page and the podium. Over the course of forty books and countless speeches, broadcasts, news items and more, he addressed a country at war and at peace, thrilling with victory but uneasy with its shifting role on the global stage. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for &“his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.&” During his lifetime, he enthralled readers and brought crowds roaring to their feet; in the years since his death, his skilled writing has inspired generations of eager history buffs. This thrilling collection brings together Churchill&’s reporting for the Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard from 1936 to 1939—tracing Hitler&’s rise to power, the Nazi invasion of the Rhineland, and the looming specter of war. In the first few years of Nazi ascendance, many European intellectuals and leaders advocated negotiating with Hitler, reluctant to take steps towards outright war. Churchill is one of the few who understood the scope of the Nazi threat and advocated armament against Germany early on, a position that contributed to Britain&’s early entry into World War II. This collection is a must-read for anyone interested in this pivotal moment in world history, as told by one of its central figures.
Stephen Decatur
by Spencer C. TuckerBrave, energetic, intensely patriotic, Stephen Decatur is America's first great naval hero after John Paul Jones. His short and dramatic life is a story of triumph and tragedy told by the noted historian and author of some twenty books, Spencer Tucker. Decatur's raid into Tripoli Harbor in 1804 to burn the Philadelphia, a prized U.S. warship captured when it ran aground during the Barbary Wars, earned him international fame. An admiring Horatio Nelson described the feat as "the most bold and daring act of the age." Explaining the tremendous impact Decatur's action had on the early U.S. Navy, the author notes that it set a standard of audacity and courage for generations of future naval officers. At the age of twenty-five, Decatur was promoted to captain, becoming the youngest naval officer ever to attain that rank in the U.S. Navy. The book fully examines Decatur's astonishing achievements as it chronicles his rapid rise in the Navy, including his command of the Constitution and the United States, during the War of 1812, when he captured the British frigate Macedonian off the Azores. The book also recounts the cruise that many call his greatest triumph: Decatur sailed into the Mediterranean with a nine-ship American squadron to punish the dey of Algiers for taking American merchant shipping, securing peace with Algiers and keeping other Barbary states quiescent. Lionized by a grateful American public upon his return, Decatur offered a toast at a reception in his honor that is now legendary, "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!" In describing Decatur's life, the author also examines Decatur's relationshipwith James Barron, a Navy captain who fatally shot Decatur during a 1820 duel.
Stephen Dodson Ramseur
by Gary W. GallagherStephen Dodson Ramseur, born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, in 1837, compiled an enviable record as a brigadier in the Army of Northern Virginia. Commissioned major general the day after his twenty-seventh birthday, he was the youngest West Pointer to achieve that rank in the Confederate army. He later showed great skill as a divisional leader in the 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaigns before he was fatally wounded at Cedar Creek on 19 October of that year. Based on Ramseur's extensive personal papers as well as on other sources, this absorbing biography examines the life of one of the South's most talented commanders and brings into sharper focus some of the crosscurrents of this turbulent period.
Stephen E. Ambrose From D-Day to Victory E-book Box Set
by Stephen E. Ambrose"This e-book box set includes the following books by Stephen E. Ambrose, chronicling the pivotal moments from WWII--from D-Day to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Band of Brothers: A riveting account of Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army--responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals and letters, here are the stories, often in the men's own words, of these American heroes. D-Day: The preeminent chronicle of the most important day in the twentieth century --drawn from more than 1,400 interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans. Pegasus Bridge: A gripping account of the first engagement of D-Day--Pegasus Bridge. In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge."
Stephen E. Ambrose From D-Day to Victory E-book Box Set: Band of Brothers, D-Day, Pegasus Bridge
by Stephen E. Ambrose"This e-book box set includes the following books by Stephen E. Ambrose, chronicling the pivotal moments from WWII--from D-Day to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Band of Brothers: A riveting account of Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army--responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals and letters, here are the stories, often in the men's own words, of these American heroes. D-Day: The preeminent chronicle of the most important day in the twentieth century --drawn from more than 1,400 interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans. Pegasus Bridge: A gripping account of the first engagement of D-Day--Pegasus Bridge. In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge."
Stepping Into A Minefield: A Life Dedicated to Landmine Clearance Around the World
by Ian MansfieldIan Mansfield was serving in the Australian Army when he was selected to command a team of Australian combat engineers to go to Pakistan to train Afghan refugees in mine-clearance procedures. With millions of refugees expected to return to Afghanistan, the United Nations saw a humanitarian crisis looming and requested help from Western countries to tackle the landmine problem. In September 1991, Ian, along with his wife and two young children, left Australia on a one-year assignment … and didn’t return home for 20 years. This highly personal account recalls Ian’s pioneering efforts to set up a civilian program in Afghanistan to clear landmines for humanitarian purposes, and then his decision to leave the Australian Army and join the United Nations. He continued to work in the mine-action sector, setting up programs in Laos and Bosnia, and then working at the policy level at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Stepping into a Minefield highlights the dangers and the tragedies involved in landmine clearance, but also reveals the great humanity, dedication and humour of the thousands of brave men and women clearing landmines today. It also outlines the political, cultural and security ‘minefields’ that Ian had to navigate along the way, which were often more difficult to deal with than the real minefields.
Stepping on the Cracks
by Mary Downing Hahn<P>The poignant story of World War II back home at last <P>Culled from her memories of growing up under the shadows of WWII, this story has touched young readers for more than fifteen years. <P>Margaret and Elizabeth support everything about the war: the troops, the reasons for going to war, even the food rations. After all, this is the good war and the Americans are the good guys. <P>But when the girls stumble upon a classmate's secret, their feelings about the war begin to change. Is it really a good war? Is there ever such a thing? <P><b> Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction </b>
Steps to Deliverance (Tales of Mantica)
by Mark BarberOver a decade after violating his ruthless orders from his superiors in the Basilean military, ex-legion captain Dionne emerges from hiding in the Mountains of Tarkis, leading a force of rebels against the dark forces of the Abyss. Desperate to clamp down on the popular rebel leader, the Basilean Duma dispatches a force to bring the former legion officer to justice. Leading the paladins of this force is Tancred, freshly promoted and harboring political ambitions of his own. Under the brutal leadership of Hugh, the commander of the force, Tancred must struggle to find the balance between obeying orders, following the path of righteousness, and advancing his own ambitions.
Sterling Hayden's Wars (Hollywood Legends Series)
by Lee MandelA master sailor when he was barely in his twenties, Sterling Hayden (1916-1986) became an overnight film star despite having no training in acting. After starring in two major films, he quit Hollywood and trained as a commando in Europe. Hayden joined the OSS and fought in the Balkans and Mediterranean, earning a Silver Star for his distinguished service. Hayden's wartime admiration for the Yugoslavian Partisans led to a brief membership in the Communist Party after the war, and this would come back to haunt him when he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee where he became the first star to name names.After returning to Hollywood, Hayden's film career flourished as he starred in several films including The Asphalt Jungle, Denver and Rio Grande, and The Killing. His personal life, however, descended into chaos. His bitter custody battle with his second wife led to his well-publicized and controversial kidnapping of their four children for a voyage to Tahiti. Increasing alcohol and substance abuse would take its toll, but Hayden's career would be revived as a character actor in such classics as Dr. Strangelove and The Godfather. In addition, he proved to be an excellent author, penning two international bestsellers.Despite these achievements, his later years were characterized by depression, self-doubt, alcoholism, and substance abuse. His life was metaphorically a series of wars, including the most difficult of them all--the war that Sterling Hayden fought with himself.
Sticklers, Sideburns and Bikinis
by Graeme DonaldDid you know they started 'hearing through the grapevine' during the American Civil War? It was a reference to the telegraph lines used for communicating with the army. These looked like twisted grapevines. And why does the phrase now suggest unreliable information? Because the lines were used by enemy troops to send false battle reports. Similarly, 'deadline' has a rather disturbing and extremely sinister origin. Again originating in the American Civil War it refers to an actual line drawn in the dirt or marked by a fence around prisoners. If the prisoners crossed this line the guards would shoot to kill. And of course, "Cut to the quick," originally meant a sword blow that cut through the armor and into the flesh beneath.Jam-packed with many amazing facts, Stickler's Sideburns and Bikinis is an intriguing and entertaining trip through the words and phrases that originated in the military but are now used by soldier and civilian alike. The sources of many are surprising and their original use is often far removed from how we use the word today. From 'duds' to 'freelancers' and 'morris dancing' to 'snooker' this enthralling book describes the military origins of words that we all use without thought on a daily basis.
Stilicho: The Vandal Who Saved Rome
by Ian HughesThe period of history in which Stilicho lived was one of the most turbulent in European history. The Western Empire was finally giving way under pressure from external threats, especially from Germanic tribes crossing the Rhine and Danube, as well as from seemingly ever-present internal revolts and rebellions.Ian Hughes explains how a Vandal (actually Stilicho had a Vandal father and Roman mother) came to be given almost total control of the Western Empire and describes his attempts to save both the Western Empire and even Rome itself from the attacks of Alaric the Goth and other barbarian invaders.Stilicho is one of the major figures in the history of the Late Roman Empire and his actions following the death of the emperor Theodosius the Great in 395 may have helped to divide the Western and Eastern halves of the Roman Empire on a permanent basis. Yet he is also the individual who helped maintain the integrity of the West before the rebellion of Constantine III in Britain and the crossing of the Rhine by a major force of Vandals, Sueves and Alans - both in AD 406 - set the scene for both his downfall and execution in 408 and the later disintegration of the West. Despite his role in this fascinating and crucial period of history, there is no other full-length biography of him in print.