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The Tortoise and the Soldier: A Story of Courage and Friendship in World War I
by Michael ForemanAs a boy, Henry Friston dreamed of traveling the world. He thought he was signing up for a lifetime of adventure when he joined the Royal Navy. But when World War I begins, it launches the world, and Henry, into turmoil. While facing enemy fire at Gallipoli, Henry discovers the strength he needs to survive in an unexpected source: a tortoise. And so begins the friendship of a lifetime. Based on true events, and with charming illustrations, this story of war, courage, and friendship will win the hearts of readers.
Torture and Democracy
by Darius RejaliThis is the most comprehensive, and most comprehensively chilling, study of modern torture yet written. Darius Rejali, one of the world's leading experts on torture, takes the reader from the late nineteenth century to the aftermath of Abu Ghraib, from slavery and the electric chair to electrotorture in American inner cities, and from French and British colonial prison cells and the Spanish-American War to the fields of Vietnam, the wars of the Middle East, and the new democracies of Latin America and Europe. As Rejali traces the development and application of one torture technique after another in these settings, he reaches startling conclusions. As the twentieth century progressed, he argues, democracies not only tortured, but set the international pace for torture. Dictatorships may have tortured more, and more indiscriminately, but the United States, Britain, and France pioneered and exported techniques that have become the lingua franca of modern torture: methods that leave no marks. Under the watchful eyes of reporters and human rights activists, low-level authorities in the world's oldest democracies were the first to learn that to scar a victim was to advertise iniquity and invite scandal. Long before the CIA even existed, police and soldiers turned instead to "clean" techniques, such as torture by electricity, ice, water, noise, drugs, and stress positions. As democracy and human rights spread after World War II, so too did these methods. Rejali makes this troubling case in fluid, arresting prose and on the basis of unprecedented research--conducted in multiple languages and on several continents--begun years before most of us had ever heard of Osama bin Laden or Abu Ghraib. The author of a major study of Iranian torture, Rejali also tackles the controversial question of whether torture really works, answering the new apologists for torture point by point. A brave and disturbing book, this is the benchmark against which all future studies of modern torture will be measured.
Torture and State Violence in the United States: A Short Documentary History
by Robert M. PallittoThe war on terror has brought to light troubling actions by the United States government which many claim amount to torture. But as this book shows, state-sanctioned violence and degrading, cruel, and unusual punishments have a long and contentious history in the nation. Organized around five broad thematic periods in American history—colonial America and the early republic; slavery and the frontier; imperialism, Jim Crow, and World Wars I and II; the Cold War, Vietnam, and police torture; and the war on terror—this annotated documentary history traces the low and high points of official attitudes toward state violence. Robert M. Pallitto provides a critical introduction, historical context, and brief commentary and then lets the documents speak for themselves. The result is a nearly 400-year history that traces the continuities and changes in debates over the meaning of torture and state violence in the U.S. and shows where state actions and policies have pushed and exceeded constitutional and international normative limits. Rigorously researched—and sometimes chilling—this volume is the first comprehensive reference work on state violence and torture in the U.S.
Torture and the Twilight of Empire: From Algiers to Baghdad (Human Rights and Crimes against Humanity #26)
by Marnia LazregTorture and the Twilight of Empire looks at the intimate relationship between torture and colonial domination through a close examination of the French army's coercive tactics during the Algerian war from 1954 to 1962. By tracing the psychological, cultural, and political meanings of torture at the end of the French empire, Marnia Lazreg also sheds new light on the United States and its recourse to torture in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book is nothing less than an anatomy of torture--its methods, justifications, functions, and consequences. Drawing extensively from archives, confessions by former torturers, interviews with former soldiers, and war diaries, as well as writings by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and others, Lazreg argues that occupying nations justify their systematic use of torture as a regrettable but necessary means of saving Western civilization from those who challenge their rule. She shows how torture was central to guerre révolutionnaire, a French theory of modern warfare that called for total war against the subject population and which informed a pacification strategy founded on brutal psychological techniques borrowed from totalitarian movements. Lazreg seeks to understand torture's impact on the Algerian population--especially women--and also on the French troops who became their torturers. She explores the roles Christianity and Islam played in rationalizing these acts, and the ways in which torture became not only routine but even acceptable. Written by a preeminent historical sociologist, Torture and the Twilight of Empire holds particularly disturbing lessons for us today as we carry out the War on Terror.
The Tortured Earth
by Gert Ledig Mervyn SavillAs the corporal stuffed the loose dirt into the exhaust pipe of the tank he realized how futile his effort was, but it gave him enormous satisfaction anyway—somehow he was striking back. The runner kept fingering the leaflet in this pocket, the leaflet guaranteeing him safety if he deserted the enemy, and wondering in his terror what to do. The counter-offensive for hill 608 had failed, and the company was almost totally wiped out. The major had ordered the attack knowing it to be hopeless, in a mood of revenge, for he had just learned his wife and daughter had been killed.With the enormous power of a human soul profoundly outraged by the calculated inhumanity of war, Gert Ledig has pounded out the most shattering novel of World War II…The Tortured Earth was first published in Germany, where it became an immediate bestseller and was received by all critics, without reservation, as “the best novel of the war.” One reviewer wrote: “Ledig’s book is at one and the same time brutal and sensitive, cold and immensely sympathetic, raw and yet hopeful.”
The Torturer in the Mirror
by Haifa Zangana Ramsey Clark Thomas Ehrlich ReiferBefore the US invasion of Iraq, before the American public saw the infamous photos from Abu Ghraib, the CIA went to the White House with a question: What, according to the Constitution, was the line separating interrogation from torture--and could that line be moved? The White House lawyers' answer--in the form of legal documents later known as the "Torture Memos"--became the US's justification for engaging in torture. The Torturer in the Mirror shows us how when one of us tortures, we are all implicated in the crime. In three uncompromising essays, Iraqi dissident Haifa Zangana, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and professor of sociology Thomas Ehrlich Reifer teach us how physically and psychologically insidious torture is, how deep a mark it leaves on both its victims and its practitioners, and how necessary it is for us as a society to hold torturers accountable.
Total Bravery (True Heroes #4)
by Piper J. DrakeTrue heroes will do anything to protect the women they love...As the newest recruit at Search and Protect, Raul has a lot to prove. Luckily, he's got the best friend and partner a man could ask for: a highly trained, fiercely loyal German Shepherd Dog named Taz. Together, Raul and Taz make an unbeatable team. But their first mission in Hawaii really puts them to the test when an international kidnapping ring sets its sights on the bravest woman Raul's ever met . . . Mali knows her latest job has put one hell of a target on her back. And on this small island paradise, there's nowhere to hide. With a service dog like Taz, Mali feels safe. Sharing close quarters with a smoldering muscle-for-hire like Raul, she feels something else - an unexpected wave of desire. Raul feels it too. But when the kidnappers make their move, he's got to turn that slow-burning passion into hard-hitting action - and save the life of the woman he loves.
Total Control (An 11th Hour Novel #2)
by Jackie AshendenOnce they were soldiers. Now they answer only to honor . . . The 11th Hour is made up of men and women who are no longer deemed fit to serve their country, but still need to fight a war. They work in shadows, keep their secrets—and follow their hearts . . . Helicopter pilot Kellan Blake has always hated being told what to do, so being discharged from the army for insubordination doesn't come as much of a surprise. What does surprise him is that when he joins up with the elite, underground 11th Hour squad instead, they send him straight home. The nest of vipers that calls itself his family is the next target for the team’s tech unit, so he’ll either have to brave their traps and deceptions himself—or watch his sweet, shy friend Sabrina walk into them alone . . . Sabrina’s no femme fatale, but since there's no one else with the tech skills to get the info they need, she’ll put on a party dress and take one for the team. But whoever decided she should pretend to be Kellan’s new fiancée hit a little too close to home. How can she concentrate on a dangerous mission when she's worried about giving away what she really feels for her loyal, passionate, smoking hot partner? At least she isn’t likely to blow their cover. Until she’s in the line of fire, and neither Kellan's demons nor his heart are hers to tame . . . Praise for Jackie Ashenden’s Dirty for Me “An intense scorcher of a story that is sure to delight fans and win her a legion of new devotees. . . . Unforgettable.” —RT Book Reviews, Top Pick “Tension and heat pervade the frequent sex scenes . . . Readers will eagerly anticipate future installments in the series.” —Publishers Weekly “Explosively sexy.” —Heroes & Heartbreakers
Total Defence Forces in the Twenty-First Century (Human Dimensions in Foreign Policy, Military Studies, and Security Studies #20)
by Joakim Berndtsson Irina Goldenberg Stéfanie Von HlatkyTotal defence, as a concept, combines and extends military and civil defence: in a state of war or emergency, all social institutions mobilize to defend the state. Total defence forces, led by a diverse workforce of defence and security professionals, are critical to both national defence and international security goals.Total Defence Forces in the Twenty-First Century looks at the various groups that make up this workforce: members of the military’s regular force, reservists, defence civil servants, and contractors working for private military and security companies. When civilian staff and military personnel work towards a common goal, their distinct professional cultures and identities can make integration challenging. Despite the often high levels of partnership, underlying differences affect the quality of the collaboration and, ultimately, organizational and operational effectiveness. Defence ministries around the world are increasingly recognizing the importance of optimizing the ways in which they employ and integrate civilian and military personnel.This volume focuses on a critical question: what are the main challenges to workforce integration and collaboration, and how can such challenges be overcome to deliver the full potential of the total defence force? Together, scholars and practitioners provide some answers.
Total Empire: A Garrett Sinclair Novel (Garrett Sinclair #2)
by A. J. TataGeneral Garrett Sinclair undertakes a rogue mission in the Sahara Desert to thwart an international nuclear threat in Total Empire, an explosive thriller from A. J. Tata.When Sergeant Major Sylvester “Sly” Morgan is killed on a mission, his daughter, Zoey, tells General Garrett Sinclair that her father's death wasn’t random. Morgan had recorded a high-level meeting between Chinese, American, and French diplomats as they spoke about a plan for a new global government.The “Chinese-U.S. Partnership”, or CUSP, intends to combine the world’s two largest economies and militaries to usher in a new era of partnership and leadership. But China’s offer has a deadline and penalties for noncompliance. As a safeguard, China has five high-tech hypersonic glide vehicles armed with nuclear weapons orbiting the earth ready to strike. When Zoey disappears in Africa, seemingly while in pursuit of her father’s killer, Sinclair and Dagger Team are caught off-guard as they scramble to catch up.Without authorization or support from his government, Sinclair takes his team into the maw of the Saharan death pit, the Eye of Africa. In what will prove to be his most dangerous mission yet, Sinclair must overcome tremendous odds, with the threat of nuclear Armageddon hanging in the balance.
Total Focus: Make Better Decisions Under Pressure
by Brandon Webb John David MannWhat do you do at work when a hundred crises seem to be happening at the same time? Do you pick just one priority or try to put out every fire? How can you stay composed, figure out what really matters, and act decisively? When former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Brandon Webb transitioned to civilian life, he struggled to get his first startup business off the ground. He raised millions for his new venture, only to lose it all as problems spiraled out of his control. In the wake of that failure, Webb realized that successful entrepreneurs need a skill he had already mastered: total focus. SEAL snipers define it as the ability to filter out noise and chaos so you can make life-or-death decisions under the extreme conditions of combat. If he could maintain total focus while staring through crosshairs at a man who might (or might not) be an Al Qaeda terrorist, surely he could do the same in the business world. So Webb started over, applying total focus to a new startup, a media company called Hurricane Group. His approach was so effective that in just five years, Hurricane grew to have a staff of over fifty, an audience in the tens of millions, and a valuation of more than $100 million. In this book, Webb teaches us to make better decisions under extreme pressure by emulating the habits of his fellow warriors, as well as other skills he learned on the job and from great friends and business leaders like Solomon Choi of 16 Handles, Matt Meeker of BarkBox, and Betsy Morgan of the Huffington Post and TheBlaze. For instance, you’ll discover:· The difference between total focus and tunnel vision is developing total situational awareness: the ability to spot opportunities and threats without getting distracted from your goal. · You can overcome indecisiveness and hesitancy by accepting violence of action: a decision to move forward with an imperfect plan, knowing that even the best-laid plans go wrong. · Entrepreneurs must learn to embrace the suck, refusing to quit when the going gets brutal, and recognizing that unexpected challenges may reveal your best shot at success.By following the tactics and wisdom of a generation of legendary snipers and business leaders, you’ll find the clarity of mind you need to accomplish your own mission—whatever it takes.
Total Germany: The Royal Navy's War against the Axis Powers 19391945 (Osprey Digital Ser.)
by David WraggCovers the Second World War Operations of the Royal Navy in One Concise VolumeOn the declaration of war in 1939, the British Admiralty signaled all warships and naval bases: "Total Germany, Total Germany."It was fortunate that of Germany's three armed services, the Kriegsmarine, under Grosseradmiral Erich Raeder, was the least well prepared. They had not expected to fight all-out war for another two to three years. While Admiral Karl Dönitz's U-boat force was to give the Allies much anxiety, Hitler was never comfortable or competent in his handling of naval surface forces. The all-important technological breakthroughs that played so crucial a role, particularly in the Battle of the Atlantic, are given due weight.Total Germany is a concise yet comprehensive account of the Royal Navy's part in the war at sea and the measures taken to ensure victory. It examines the markedly different approaches taken by the warring countries and reviews the differing strategies and tactics of the various theaters, such as the Far East, Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Arctic. It also addresses the influence of individual commanders on the outcome of the war at sea.Total Germany is a first-class read that covers World War II operations in one concise volume.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
'Total Germany': The Royal Navy's War Against the Axis Powers 1939–1945
by David WraggThe author of A Century of British Naval Aviation, 1909-2009 examines the losses and successes of the Royal Navy during World War Two. On the declaration of war in 1939, the British Admiralty signaled all warships and naval bases &“Total Germany, Total Germany.&” It was fortunate that of Germany&’s three armed services, the Kriegsmarine under Grosseradmiral Erich Raeder was the least well prepared. True, Admiral Karl Donitz&’s U-Boat force was to give the Allies many anxious times, but Hitler was never comfortable or competent in his handling of naval surface forces. &“Total Germany&” is a concise yet comprehensive account of the Royal Navy&’s part in the war at sea and the measures taken to ensure victory. The different approaches taken by the warring countries are expertly examined. The author reviews the differing strategies and tactics of the various theatres such as the Far East, Mediterranean, Atlantic and Arctic. &“Not only does it cover every major event during WWII the author brings up some other less well known actions. A thoroughly enjoyable read.&”—Ton Class Association
Total Lawfare: New Defense and Lessons from China’s Unrestricted Lawfare Program
by Patrick S. Nash Deniz GuzelThis book advocates for a novel doctrine of ‘total lawfare’ as part of a comprehensive approach to modern hybrid warfare.The book begins by introducing the military concept of ‘limited lawfare’ in the context of modern geopolitical conditions. It proceeds to set out a conceptual history of lawfare in the West, highlighting conceptual shortcomings and NATO’s limited capabilities in this branch of hybrid warfare. It then provides a comparative case study and strategic threat assessment of the Chinese concept of ‘unrestricted lawfare’. Against this, the book grounds an ethical doctrine of ‘total lawfare’ within the Western jurisprudential tradition and translates this into practice as a key pillar of modern defense strategy under the rule of law. The book concludes by advocating for a Thielian ‘New Defense’ industry centered upon ‘total lawfare’ as a legitimate and effective Western response to enemy aggression.The book will be of interest to academics, policy-makers, and students working in the fields of lawfare, jurisprudence, and military law.
Total Mobilization: World War II and American Literature
by Roy ScrantonSince World War II, the story of the trauma hero—the noble white man psychologically wounded by his encounter with violence—has become omnipresent in America’s narratives of war, an imaginary solution to the contradictions of American political hegemony. In Total Mobilization, Roy Scranton cuts through the fog of trauma that obscures World War II, uncovering a lost history and reframing the way we talk about war today. Considering often overlooked works by James Jones, Wallace Stevens, Martha Gellhorn, and others, alongside cartoons and films, Scranton investigates the role of the hero in industrial wartime, showing how such writers struggled to make sense of problems that continue to plague us today: the limits of American power, the dangers of political polarization, and the conflicts between nationalism and liberalism. By turning our attention to the ways we make war meaningful—and by excavating the politics implicit within the myth of the traumatized hero—Total Mobilization revises the way we understand not only World War II, but all of postwar American culture.
Total Onslaught: War and Revolution in Southern Africa Since 1945
by Paul MoorcraftThe end of the Second World War may have heralded peace in Europe but conflicts in Southern Africa were about to begin. The imperial powers were weakened by the cost of war and a string of wars challenged colonial rule in countries such as Namibia, Angola and Rhodesia. Once independence was achieved, civil wars between rival factions unfamiliar with democratic principles resulted. Liberation movements such as those in South Africa demanded self-rule and end to Apartheid. Tribal feuds, corruption and the ambitions of dictators led to more conflicts such as the protracted fighting in the Congo. These were wars that ran on until both sides were exhausted often only to be re-kindled after short periods of uneasy peace. The cost in human and material terms has been devastating and in too many cases remain so. Economic development has been frustrated and the result is often poverty, abuse and genocide. The Author who knows Southern Africa as a native is superbly equipped to tell this fascinating if tragic record.
Total Undersea War: The Evolutionary Role of the Snorkel in Dönitz's U-Boat Fleet, 1944–1945
by Aaron S. HamiltonAn analysis of the air mast-equipped German U-boats in World War II and Allied countermeasures.During the last year of World War II, the once surface-bound diesel-electric U-boat ushered in the age of “total undersea war.” This was due to the introduction of an air mast, or “snorkel” as it became known among the men who served in Doenitz’s submarine fleet. U-boats no longer needed to surface to charge batteries or refresh air; they rarely communicated with their command, operating silently and alone among the shallow coastal waters of the United Kingdom and across to North America. At first, U-boats could remain submerged continuously for a few days, then a few weeks, and finally for months at a time, and they set underwater endurance records not broken for nearly a quarter of a century. The introduction of the snorkel was of paramount concern to the Allies, who strived to frustrate the impact of the device before war’s end. Every subsequent wartime U-boat innovation was subordinated to the snorkel, including the new Type XXI Electro-boat wonder weapon. The snorkel’s introduction foreshadowed the nearly un-trackable weapon and instrument of intelligence that the submarine became in the postwar world.Total Undersea War answers many long-standing questions about the last year of the war: How and why did U-boats patrol so close inshore? How effective was acoustic and anti-radar camouflage? Why was U-boat wireless communication so problematic? How did U-boats navigate so effectively submerged? What were the health implications of staying submerged for a month or more? What does an accurate snorkel-configuration look like?This previously unpublished historical data is applied to a maritime archaeological case study about how the snorkel-equipped U-869 likely met its demise off the United States’ east coast in February, 1945. The theory that emerges based on a precise understanding of late-war snorkel operations is new and compelling. This exhaustive study, the first of its kind, draws upon wartime documents from archives around the world to re-evaluate the last year of the U-boat's deployment, all its key technological innovations, the evolving operations and tactics, and Allied countermeasures. It is destined to become an authoritative reference on late-war U-boat development for historians and maritime archaeologists alike for years to come.Praise for Total Undersea War“The snorkel's powerful influence during the Battle of the Atlantic is reflected in this riveting book that is filled with action photographs, schematics, and page-turning accounts of the great advantage given to the German navy by this revolutionary piece of equipment.” —Maritime Engineering Journal
Total Volunteer Force: Lessons from the US Military on Leadership Culture and Talent Management
by Tim KaneTim Kane analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the US armed forces leadership culture and personnel management. He proposes a blueprint for reform that empowers troops as well as local commanders. Kane's proposals extend the All-Volunteer Force reforms of 1973 further along the spectrum of volunteerism, emphasize greater individual agency during all stages of a US military career, and restore diversity among the services. The Leader/Talent Matrix–an analytic framework Kane develops in the book–offers a multidimensional view of an organization's personnel practices. A survey of hundreds of veterans and active-duty troops reveals world-class strengths in the US armed forces leadership culture but a wide array of weaknesses in talent management. The Total Volunteer Force returns autonomy to the army, navy, air force, and Marine Corps. Kane offers an array of reforms to improve performance evaluations, create a talent market for job-matching, and revolutionize compensation to better reward merit and skill.
Total War: From Stalingrad To Berlin
by Michael JonesIn February 1943, German forces surrendered to the Red Army at Stalingrad and the tide of war turned. By May 1945 Soviet soldiers had stormed Berlin and brought down Hitler's regime.Total War follows the fortunes of these fighters as they liberated Russia and the Ukraine from the Nazi invader and fought their way into the heart of the Reich. It reveals the horrors they experienced - the Holocaust, genocide and the mass murder of Soviet POWs - and shows the Red Army, brutalized by war, taking its terrible revenge on the German civilian population. For the first time Russian veterans are candid about the terrible atrocities their own army committed. But they also describe their struggle to raise themselves from the abyss of hatred. Their war against the Nazis - which in large part brought the Second World War in Europe to an end - is a tarnished but deeply moving story of sacrifice and redemption.
Total War: From Stalingrad To Berlin
by Michael JonesIn February 1943, German forces surrendered to the Red Army at Stalingrad and the tide of war turned. By May 1945 Soviet soldiers had stormed Berlin and brought down Hitler's regime.Total War follows the fortunes of these fighters as they liberated Russia and the Ukraine from the Nazi invader and fought their way into the heart of the Reich. It reveals the horrors they experienced - the Holocaust, genocide and the mass murder of Soviet POWs - and shows the Red Army, brutalized by war, taking its terrible revenge on the German civilian population. For the first time Russian veterans are candid about the terrible atrocities their own army committed. But they also describe their struggle to raise themselves from the abyss of hatred. Their war against the Nazis - which in large part brought the Second World War in Europe to an end - is a tarnished but deeply moving story of sacrifice and redemption.
Total War: From Stalingrad to Berlin
by Michael JonesThe powerful story of the Red Army's battle of liberation against the Nazi invader - from Stalingrad all the way to Berlin.In February 1943, German forces surrendered to the Red Army at Stalingrad and the tide of war turned. By May 1945 Soviet soldiers had stormed Berlin and brought down Hitler's regime. Total War follows the fortunes of these fighters as they liberated Russia and the Ukraine from the Nazi invader and fought their way into the heart of the Reich. It reveals the horrors they experienced - the Holocaust, genocide and the mass murder of Soviet POWs - and shows the Red Army, brutalized by war, taking its terrible revenge on the German civilian population. For the first time Russian veterans are candid about the terrible atrocities their own army committed. But they also describe their struggle to raise themselves from the abyss of hatred. Their war against the Nazis - which in large part brought the Second World War in Europe to an end - is a tarnished but deeply moving story of sacrifice and redemption.(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Totalitarian Democracy and After (Totalitarianism Movements and Political Religions)
by Yehoshua Arieli Nathan RotenstreichThis volume, first published in 1984, contains the principal papers from a distinguished colloquium held in 1982. Its avowed purpose is to investigate further the notion of "totalitarian democracy" and to look at its repercussions in the contemporary world.
Totalitarianism and Political Religions, Volume 1: Concepts for the Comparison of Dictatorships (Totalitarianism Movements and Political Religions #Vol. 1)
by Hans MaierWe are used to distinguishing the despotic regimes of the 20th century - communism, fascism, National Socialism, Maoism - very precisely according to place and time, origins and influences. But what should we call that which they have in common? On this question, there has been and is still a passionate debate.This book documents the first international conference on this theme, a conference that took place in September of 1994 at the University of Munich. The book shows how new models for understanding political history arose from the experience of modern despotic regimes. Here, the most important concepts - totalitarianism and political religions - are discussed and tested in terms of their usefulness.
A Touch of Magic
by Betty CavannaIt’s strange that Hannah Trent and Nancy Shippen should be such friends—Hannah, the quiet Quaker, daughter of the Shippens’ seamstress, dreamer of dreams made of homespun; Nancy, landed gentry, child of caprice and privilege, a reigning beauty in damask and lace. And how differently too they are touched by what is happening in Philadelphia, by the commotion in all the Colonies set off at the signing of a paper on a fourth day of July!For Nancy, as for her glamorous older cousin Peggy Shippen, the Revolution means beautiful clothes, gay parties, dashing young officers whose hardest battles are those in pursuit of imperious little hands. To the belles, the protected darlings of the great families, the Revolution means the most brilliant social life the staid old Quaker town has seen.A life, Hannah discovers, in bitter contrast to the privations of more humble citizens, to the sick and wounded in Carpenter’s Mansion, to the livid fear of patriots deserting the city, to the fever-bright eyes of the ragged Rebels at Valley Forge.For one whole morning at Valley Forge Hannah dares to hope that when the war is on Mark Allen will think of her as someone more than the girl who lives next door, back home in Elfreth’s Alley. Mark is a spy for General Washington and uses Hannah to help him get information about activities of the British.When the war is over, happiness for the Shippen girls is ended too, as history of course records.Peggy, brightest of the bright butterflies whose every breath seemed to Hannah drawn in magic, is the wife of the traitorous Arnold, and Nancy, once so eager for love, is married to a man of wealth she loathes.Hannah’s own fate is this book’s secret alone, a story of adventure and romance that every girl will find as magical in turn as only the Cavanna touch can make it.
Touch the Water, Touch the Wind: A Novel
by Amos OzThe third novel from the international bestselling author of Judas. “A profusion of delightful passages couched in unfailingly lovely language.” —The New York Times Book Review1939. As the Nazis advance into Poland, a Jewish mathematician and watchmaker named Pomeranz escapes into the wintry forest, leaving behind his beautiful, intelligent wife, Stefa. After the war, having evaded the concentration camps, they begin to build new lives; Stefa in Stalin’s Russia and Pomeranz in Israel, where, as they move toward reunion, another war is brewing. An intricate tale of people seeking escape from a hostile world in thrillingly fantastical ways.“Lyrical . . . Its youthfulness and energy are exhilarating.” —The New Yorker“A masterful aggregate of philosophical speculation, witty social commentary and solid story telling.” —Kirkus Reviews“An outstandingly rich book . . . a pleasure to read.” —Times Literary Supplement