Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history—one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale. . . .“A novel that is intricate and arresting and, once begun, almost impossible to put down.”—Daily News “A timeless epic of man and war . . . Pressfield has created a new classic deserving a place beside the very best of the old.”—Stephen Coonts

    Historians and reviewers worldwide have hailed Antony Beevor's magisterial Stalingrad as the definitive account of World War II's most harrowing battle. In August 1942, Hitler's huge Sixth Army reached the city that bore Stalin's name. In the five-month siege that followed, the Russians fought to hold Stalingrad at any cost; then, in an astonishing reversal, encircled and trapped their Nazi enemy. This battle for the ruins of a city cost more than a million lives. Stalingrad conveys the experience of soldiers on both sides, fighting in inhuman conditions, and of civilians trapped on an urban battlefield. Antony Beevor has interviewed survivors and discovered completely new material in a wide range of German and Soviet archives, including prisoner interrogations and reports of desertions and executions. As a story of cruelty, courage, and human suffering, Stalingrad is unprecedented and unforgettable.

    On board, a passenger whose presence means the world is watching. Only the skill, determination and raw courage of a lifeboat crew and the British military forces despatched to save them offer any hope of survival. But set against the savagery of the Atlantic even that might not be enough... If you like Frederick Forsyth, Tom Clancy, Andy McNab, Chris Ryan, Rowland White or Damien Lewis then you’ll love Mike Lunnon-Wood. What readers are saying about Mike Lunnon-Wood and Let Not The Deep: 'Never has a book twisted my emotions as much as this book has. What a brilliant author Mike Lunnon-Wood is. Scarily, I LIVED every minute of this drama. I am exhausted and emotionally drained! This account of a rescue at sea by an RNLI Arun class lifeboat from the Scilly Isles was truly magnificent. Bravery will take on a new meaning after reading this book! 'Spellbinding' 'This is a gripping account of a very courageous, skilful and determined lifeboat rescue in appalling weather and is a fitting tribute to the magnificent work done by RNLI crews.' 'First-rate adventure' 'I found the writing to be excellent, the story exceptionally well crafted, the characters three dimensional, and genuinely people you could care about, not cardboard cut-outs. As I bought this book along with the others in the British Military Quartet by Mike Lunnon-Wood, I look forward to reading the other volumes, as this was a very entertaining and believeable read.' 'Great story' 'A must for anyone who likes to read about life at sea' 'Superb. Brilliantly written, and powerful.'

    So Gunter Koschorrek, a fresh young recruit, wrote his notes on whatever scraps of paper he could find and sewed the pages into the lining of his winter coat. Left with his mother on his rare trips home, this illicit diary eventually was lost—and did not come to light until some 40 years later when Koschorrek was reunited with his daughter in America. It is this remarkable document, a unique day-to-day account of the common German soldier’s experience, that makes up the memoir that is Blood Red Snow.

    While vast military forces converge for one of the most decisive battles of the war, a squad of U.S. Army soldiers undertake a mission to save one man: paratrooper James Ryan, the last survivor of a family of four brothers, the others having already been killed in action. Based on the screenplay by Robert Rodat and Frank Darabont.

    The SBS draws its manpower solely from the Marine Commando Units, and the Royal Marines are the oldest and most battle-honoured regiment in the world. FIRST INTO ACTION is the first Special Boat Services memoir written from the inside. It tells how Duncan Falconer trained with the Royal Marines in Deal before being recruited into the SBS at Poole in Dorset. The regimen of ruthless training is graphically described and the book also includes revelatory accounts of SBS operations in Ulster, Bosnia and the Gulf War, and of the intense rivalry between the SAS's individualist mentality and the more team-based, marine ethos of the SBS. Duncan Falconer's grippingly detailed memoir is sure to command the attention of anyone interested in the Special Forces and how they operate.

    Now, after six years of research, those missions are told in Blind Man's Bluff, a magnificent achievement in investigative reporting. It reads like a spy thriller -- except everything in it is true. This is an epic of adventure, ingenuity, courage, and disaster beneath the sea, a story filled with unforgettable characters who engineered daring missions to tap the enemy's underwater communications cables and to shadow Soviet submarines. It is a story of heroes and spies, of bravery and tragedy.

     Off the shore of Costa Rica, the Navy command ship USS Coronado launches an all-out assault against one of the most powerful drug lords in Central America. The strike force is in position; the Blackhawks are armed and airborne, and the high-tech fist of the U.S. military is poised to come down like a sledgehammer. Everything is going according to plan until the quiet jungle erupts in a chaos of blood, shrapnel, and fire. When CIA Operative Rick Holden and Naval Intelligence Officer Laura Peters begin investigating the circumstances of the ambush, they uncover something much more sinister than a failed military operation. There’s a conspiracy at the very heart of the American government. And bringing down the President of the United States is only the first step…

    The authors expose phony heroes who have become the object of award winning documentaries on national television, liars and fabricators who have become best selling authors, and others who have based their careers on non-existent Vietnam service.

    There are more than 500 separate items of equipment used between 1939 and 1945, from combat handguns to massive aircraft carriers. More than 600 full-color artworks accompany entries that feature a detailed history of each weapon's design and development, along with a full specifications table that includes performance, dimensions, armament, and crew details. A must-have for military buffs.

    At the time, he would have done anything to escape; only upon reflection years later did he realize that the self-confidence instilled in him by his drill instructors had probably saved his life in Vietnam. A few months after boot camp, Private Ball was shipped out to Vietnam, joining F Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, near Khe Sanh. As a grunt, in the vernacular of the Corps, Ball, like the other youths of F Company, did a difficult and deadly job in such places as the A Shau Valley, Leatherneck Square, the DMZ and other obscure but critical I Corps locales. His--their--fear of death mingled with homesickness. Little did they realize that the horrors of the Vietnam War--horrors that while in-country they often claimed did not even exist--would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

    

    This comprehensive chronology examines the Corps' history in synch with that of The United States. Includes over 600 moving, full-color photographs alongside insightful text from renowned service men. Also features: -A condensed historical timeline -A beautiful blue padded cover -A special section honoring thirty-one remarkable men who have led the Corps -A large format -And much more! Truly a magnificent work of art to be treasured and passed through the generations.

    Drawing from a wealth of unpublished sources and eyewitness accounts, Jonathan Walker s study of the Battle of Bullecourt is vital to an understanding of the difficulties that faced Great War commanders. Central to The Blood Tub is a reassessment of Sir Hubert Gough, one of the Great War's most colorful generals.In the late spring of 1917, the Allies attacked at Arras, and a combined British and Australian force under General 'Thruster' Gough assaulted the fortress village of Bullecourt. Despite using the new wonder weapon, the tank, Gough's first attack ended in disaster and bitter recriminations. He then launched a second massive attack. For the next two weeks, the Battle of Bullecourt dominated British offensive action on the Western Front. It was the excessive brutality and ferocity of the hand-to-hand fighting that earned Bullecourt the name 'Blood Tub'.Endorsements: An excellent, even handed account of a highly contentious battle Walker debunks many myths. British Army Review Jonathan Walker has produced a comprehensive and most readable account For serious students, and those simply interested in this period, it is a great read. Journal of the Australian War Memorial Walker s command of the sources held in archives in Britain and in Australia is masterly. This allows him to move easily from the concerns of high command to the experiences of the PBI, and to produce a picture of Bullecourt in the round The Blood Tub is a well-researched, well-written, and analytical account of the battles for Bullecourt in 1917. Professor Gary Sheffield, Military Illustrated Deeply researched and well-written. For the serious student of war, The Blood Tub will repay thoughtful reading. Tank Journal"

    But his unit's mission stayed the same: act as the eyes and ears of the 101st deep in the dreaded A Shau Valley--where the NVA ruled.Relentless thick fog frequently made fighter bombers useless in the A Shau, and the enemy had furnished the nearby mountaintops with antiaircraft machine guns to protect the massive trail network that snaked through it. So, outgunned, outmanned, and unsupported, the teams of L Company executed hundreds of courageous missions. Now, in this powerful personal record, Larry Chambers recaptures the experience of the war's most brutal on-the-job training, where the slightest noise or smallest error could bring sudden--and certain--death. . . .

    This is a story about men like Rudy Augarten (shown on the front cover), who interrupted his studies at Harvard to fly for Israel. This, despite the fact that Augarten had been shot down over occupied France during World War II, and survived sixty-three days behind enemy lines. Its about Chris Magee, a World War II ace and veteran of Pappy Boyingtons Black Sheep Squadron who felt the Jews deserved a homeland. And about American Indian Jesse Slade, who believed that fighting for Israel was the Christian thing to do. And Buzz Beurling, the legendary Falcon of Malta who sought to recapture the glory days of World War II. I Am My Brothers Keeper captures the powerful story of those Jews and Christians who stood up to be counted at a critical time in Jewish history. Only three years after the Holocaust, these volunteers helped establish the State of Israel. This story will forever change your understanding of the relationship between Americans and Israelis.

    Johnson was a soldier's officer, loved by his men and admired by his peers for his leadership, courage, and moral convictions. Lewis Sorley's biography provides a fitting testament to this remarkable man and his dramatic rise from obscurity to become LBJ's Army Chief of Staff during the Vietnam War.A native of North Dakota, Johnson survived more than three grueling years as a POW under the Japanese during World War II before serving brilliantly as a field commander in the Korean War, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism. The latter experiences led to a series of high-level positions that culminated in his appointment as Army chief in 1964 and a cover story in Time magazine.What followed should have been the most rewarding period of Johnson's military career. Instead, it proved to be a nightmare, as he quickly became mired in the politics and ordeal of a very misguided war.Johnson fundamentally disagreed with the three men--LBJ, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and General William Westmoreland--running our war in Vietnam. He was sharply critical of LBJ's piecemeal policy of gradual escalation and his failure to mobilize the national will or call up the reserves. He was equally despondent over Westmoreland's now infamous search-and-destroy tactics and reliance on body counts to measure success in Vietnam.By contrast, he advocated greater emphasis on cutting the North's supply lines, helping the South Vietnamese provide for their own internal defenses, and sustaining a truly legitimate government in the South. Unheeded, he nevertheless continued to work behind the scenes to correct the nation's flawed approach to the war.Sorley's study adds immeasurably to our understanding of the Vietnam War. It also provides an inspiring account of principled leadership at a time when the American military is seeking to recover the very kinds of moral values exemplified by Harold K. Johnson. As such, it presents a profound morality tale for our own era.

    forces had nearly perfected the art of Search and Rescue. But in the maelstrom of a battle on Easter Day of that year, an operation unlike any other was set in motion to save Lt. Col. Iceal "Gene" Hambleton -- call sign Bat 21 Bravo. For the next eleven days, an extraordinary group of U.S. airmen, soldiers, sailors, and Navy Seals braved one of the largest North Vietnamese Army offensives of the war to rescue one of their own.The legendary and controversial operation, which demanded heart-stopping heroics from every man involved, is relived in this unforgettable testament.

    Learn from a 30-year veteran how to find and follow tracks through any terrain; assess the age of tracks; relocate the trail after it's gone missing; foil every effort to throw off your pursuit; coordinate a four-man team while tracking armed fugitives; set up and run large tracking operations, use the latest high-tech gear to find fugitives and more.

    Lavishly illustrated with period photographs and drawi

    A remarkable memoir by the near-mythic coastwatcher who helped shape the first great Allied counter-offensive in the Pacific war.

    It took nearly thirty years and a chance reunion for him to realize just how much they had become a part of him. Successfully blending intense combat narrative and stirring emotional drama, Scott vividly captures both the unique village culture of a little-known, highly spiritual people and their complex relationship with Special Forces soldiers, who found it increasingly difficult to match their charges' commitment to the costly conflict. Building on his experiences as a Phoenix Program adviser near the Cambodian border, extensive interviews with Khmer Krom survivors, hundreds of hours of research in government archives, and requests for Freedom of Information Act disclosures, Scott seamlessly reconstructs the six-thousand-strong mercenary force's final crusade against communism, beginning in their ancestral home in 1970 and ending on the U.S. West Coast in 1995.

    Also included are incisive reader's questions--useful for educators and book clubs--in a volume that makes an essential contribution to a wider understanding of the Vietnam War.An indispensable and provocative read for anyone who wants to know more about the war that changed the face of late-twentieth-century America.

    GOTTERDAMMERUNG 1945: GERMANYS LAST STAND IN THE EAST, breaks new ground in this area bringing to light the desperate operations and battles in and around Budapest, East & West Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia, and Courland. Russ Schneider has collected a graphic selection of memoirs from German infantrymen, panzergrenadiers and panzer commanders and crewmen that participated in these horrific battles of annihilation. He relates the common German soldiers experiences fighting the Soviets, the attacks by massed Soviet infantry, the neverending artillery barrages, the endless retreat, life encircled in the trenches, fighting and dying in a panzer, street fighting in Budapest, evacuation by sea, and the reactions to Soviet brutality and reprisals against Germn soldiers and civilians. Schneider follows the hard pressed Wehrmacht as it tried to defend Germany against the overwhelming might of a Red Army bent on victory and revenge!

    Dr. Vedder, who earned the Silver Star for his courageous actions while accompanying his litter-bearers to and from the front lines under fire, delivers a unique account from the vantage points of surgeon, leader, and semi-objective observer."--USNI Proceedings

    Four powerful fronts (army groups) operated under close Stavka (high command) control. Over 1.8 million troops acomplished a feat unique in the history of the Red Army: the defeat and dismemberment of an entire German army group. This book is a translation of the Soviet General Staff Study No 18, a work originally classified as 'secret' and intended to educate Soviet commanders and staff officers. The operation is presented from the Soviet perspective, in the words of the individuals who planned and orchestrated the plans. A map supplement, including terrain maps, is provided to illustrate the flow of the operation in greater detail.

    Killing, watching friends die, leading soldiers to their deaths - all have a profound effect on those involved in the front line of war. There is a limit to what a soldier can endure before he becomes the victim of shell shock, battle fatigue, PTSD, or whatever terminology is in vogue.In this book, linked to a Channel 4 television series, individual soldiers tell their own stories of horrors to which they have been exposed, and of events that pushed them to the brink of human endurance. The author also relates the history of military psychiatry and the scientists who have to balance the demands of the army to "cure" soldiers and return them to battle with the demands of the soldiers themselves, struggling to understand their condition.

    experimented with and deployed biological weapons during the Korean War. Endicott and Hagerman explore the political and moral dimensions of this issue, asking what restraints were applied or forgotten in those years of ideological and political passion and military crisis. For the first time, there is hard evidence that the United States lied both to Congress and to the American public in saying that the American biological warfare program was purely defensive and for retaliation only. The truth is that a large and sophisticated biological weapons system was developed as an offensive weapon of opportunity in the post-World War II years. From newly declassified U.S., Canadian, and British documents, and with the cooperation of the Chinese Central Archives in giving the authors the first access by foreigners to relevant classified documents, Endicott and Hagerman have been able to tell the previously hidden story of the extension of the limits of modern war to include the use of medical science, the most morally laden of sciences with respect to the sanctity of human life. An important book for anyone interested in the history and morality of modern warfare.

    Embossed in high relief, richly gilt, and damascened in gold and silver, these lavish parade armors all'antica were worn by Renaissance kings and captains who wished to project an aura of power and virtue by arraying themselves like the heroes of ancient Roman history and mythology. The re-creation of classically inspired armor is invariably associated with Filippo Negroli, the most innovative and celebrated of the renowned armorers of Milan. Within the Negroli family of armorers, Filippo was the best known of his extremely successful generation, which included his brother Francesco, a skilled damascener in the service of Emperor Charles V, and his cousin Giovan Paolo, a talented master who provided armor to the French court. From large numbers of recently uncovered documents in the state, civic, and ecclesiastical archives of Milan, details have been gleaned of Negroli family members, their workshops and employees, marriages and deaths, property and testamentary arrangements, and business dealings with clients and fellow armorers. A digest of the documents is included, and a brief, cogent discussion of the manufacture and commerce of arms in sixteenth-century Milan provides a context for the work of these talented artists. The core of the book is a thorough reexamination of all the armors signed by Filippo Negroli. Additional works are attributed to him, and lost works are identified. The authors confirm the attribution of two magnificently damascened armors to Francesco Negroli, and they present Giovan Paolo Negroli's single signed work along with pieces they consider to be his. Each armor is described, illustrated, and placed in the context of the maker's oeuvre; its history of ownership is discussed; and its treatment in the critical literature is assessed.Around these superlative examples of Renaissance armor all'antica are grouped works that demonstrate the strong influence of the Negroli on contemporary Italian armorers as well as the variety and originality of armor design during the years 1535–55. The authors also touch on the sources of Renaissance armor through Greek and Roman prototypes, fourteenth- and fifteenth-century versions of classical-style armor, and sixteenth-century albums of designs. In the hands of a master like Filippo Negroli, whose virtuoso skill at modeling in high relief is unrivaled in the history of metalworking, traditional military costume was transformed into sculpture in steel. The extraordinary technical abilities of the Milanese armorers, combined with their imaginative adaptation of decorative motifs from the antique, such as lion and Medusa heads, fantastic creatures, and abundant foliate ornament, gave rise to an original art form that evokes the pomp and pageantry of the Renaissance courts. These treasured objects, many of which are still part of the royal collections they have been in since the sixteenth century, are generously illustrated in this book, which serves as the catalogue of an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    One of the trailblazing women in the Class of 1980 presents a dramatic and some-times disturbing novel about female midshipmen.

    Introduction by James McPherson.

    The story of the author's extraordinary experiences with three British special operations agencies.

    The NVA was the enemy, but the ultimate opponent was, quite simply, death. . . ."For assault helicopter crews flying in and around the NVA-infested DMZ, the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1970-71 was a desperate time of selfless courage. Now former army warrant officer Tom Marshall of the Phoenix, C Company, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne, captures the deadly mountain terrain, the long hours flown under enormous stress, the grim determination of hardened pilots combat-assaulting through walls of antiaircraft fire, the pickups amid exploding mortar shells and hails of AK fire, the nerve-racking string extractions of SOG teams from North Vietnam. . . . And, through it all, the rising tension as helicopter pilots and crews are lost at an accelerating pace.It is no coincidence that the Phoenix was one of the most highly decorated assault helicopter units in I Corps. For as the American departure accelerated and the enemy added new, more powerful antiaircraft weapons, the helicopter pilots, crew chiefs, and gunners paid the heavy price of withdrawal in blood. For more than 30 Percent of Tom Marshall's 130 helicopter-school classmates, the price of exit was their lives. . . .From the Paperback edition.

    . . .In 1966, U.S. Army Captain and Green Beret Steven M. Yedinak volunteered to lead what became the Mobile Guerrilla Force, one of the most effective fighting forces ever assembled for duty in Vietnam. Now the top secret missions conducted by the MGF have finally been declassified, allowing him to reveal the secrets behind MGF's harrowing maneuvers.Unlike the LRRPs' five-day "walks in the woods," the MGF Green Berets led well-trained, superbly disciplined Cambodian guerrillas deep into the North Vietnamese Army's secret base areas for four to six weeks at a time without artillery or close air support, and with damn little hope of a helicopter medevac. In the highly successful Blackjack-31 mission alone, the Mobile Guerrilla Force survived fifty-two enemy engagements while capturing prisoners, booby-trapping base camps, and gathering intelligence on NVA movements. Yedinak shares a heart-pounding, intensely personal account of the war they waged and the peace he ultimately sought. . . .

    

    This new edition has been expanded with many new photographs (many never before published), a special color photo section, and three detailed aircraft profile paintings. The reader will fly through the skies with Ilfrey in his P-38 as he and his unit, the famed 94th Fighter Squadron, befome the first group of American aircraft to fly from the USA to England. Thrill to the stories of aerial combat over North Africa as Ilfrey becomes one of America's first WWII air aces. Marvel at the flying exploits of Ilfrey as a member of the 20th Fighter Group/8th Air Force and join him on his incredible evasion story through German occupied France. This book is undoubtedly one of the finest stories of aerial combat that has ever been written.

    From the cover: "The Germans have taken over France. So now G.I. Joe is part of a top secret mission. He and the army are going to free France on D-Day."

    Originally allied with Germany to defend itself against Bolshevism, Hungary saw its army decimated in 1943 and was subsequently invaded - and occupied - by the Soviets. Now fifty years after the closing of the Iron Curtain, the memories of those who endured those years can finally be shared. Cecil Eby has compiled a historical chronicle of Hungary's wartime experiences based on interviews with nearly a hundred people who lived through those years. Here are officers and common soldiers, Jewish survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, pilots of the Royal Hungarian Air Force, Hungarian prisoners of war in Russian labor camps, and a host of others. We meet the apologists for the Horthy regime installed by Hitler and the activists who sought to overthrow it, and we relive the Red Army's siege of Budapest during the harsh winter of 1944-45 through the memories of ordinary citizens trapped there.

    Thorne who during World War II fought against the Russians, under the Finnish flag and later under the German flag. He won every medal for bravery that Finland could bestow during the conflict with the Soviet Union. Leading a special hand-picked unit, Thorne operated deep behind enemy lines for extended periods. Later, Thorne fled to the United States, joined the Green Berets, and became an officer and a legend.

    Army in VietnamAN UNCONVENTIONAL SOLDIERBorn in England to a British father and a Canadian mother, James Walker was raised almost exclusively at the British Sailors Orphan Home following his parents' divorce. After joining the British army as a teen, his mother--now living in the States--bought his way out of the military and brought him to America. There he volunteered for the LRRP detachment of the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. And history was made.James Walker soon became "Limey," the only British citizen in the 101st LRRPs. He and the other LRRPs of the detachment were given every sort of assignment under the blistering sun: long-range recons, surprise raids on villages, trail watching, even herding stray cattle with helicopters. Back in camp, however, they did nothing to diminish their reputation as hell-raisers--especially Walker, whose outlandish behavior eventually cost him an extension of his tour in Nam.

    His missions have ranged from extracting hostages in Sierra Leone to counter-terrorist operations in Northern Ireland - and he has always led from the front. A former senior NCO of the SAS, Hunter is the highest-ranking member of the regiment to tell his story yet. It is a story about British foreign policy, and the secret war which has been waged against foreign threats to the British and their allies.

    His crowning achievement, The History of the American Sailing Navy, has long been out-of-print, but its treatment of the subject remains unparallelled. Accompanying the authoritative text are detailed plans of over 50 sailing vessels as well reproductions of contemporary paintings and drawings. Lincoln Colcord said: "Chapelle, in my opinion, has the soundest ideas on the history of naval architecture and the development of American ship types of any man writing on the subject...HIs work will be of permanent historical value."

    Among his most harrowing duties was the aerial resupply of the Marine base at Khe Sanh during the most intense action of the Tet Offensive.

    He also includes information about the wearing of and display of medals and details all ranks and ratings.

    The Almanac of World War I provides a day-by-day account of the action on all fronts and of the events surrounding the conflict, from the guns of August 1914 to the 1918 Armistice and its aftermath. Daily entries, topical descriptions, biographical sketches, maps, and illustrations combine to give a ready and succinct account of what was happening in each of the principal theaters of war.

    We see him casually grow into manhood, and then the speed of change: things that take years to experience happen virtually overnight here, as he tries to find a moral resting place. No sooner did he arrive in Vietnam than the North Vietnamese Army started their costly 1968 Tet Offensive. This is a book for the ages. The book includes a 700 word Grunt Vietnam War Dictionary

    This comprehensive guide to the appreciation and appraisal of the blades of Japanese swords provides, at last, all the background that readers need to become true connoisseurs.The book is organized along historical lines for the sake of clarity and convenience, and its approach is always practical. Broad discussions of each tradition within the Gokaden focus on the features that distinguish specific schools and smiths-the various kinds of jihada, hamon, boshi, and hataraki favored in different periods and regions-making this an invaluable reference tool for all enthusiasts, especially those who wish to take part in kantei-kai, or sword appreciation meetings. Each section closes with an easy reference chart summarizing the distinctive features of the work of various schools and smiths.The chapter on terminology gives advice on what to look for when examining the different parts of a blade, again making reference to the unique features of particularly significant smiths. The chapter on care and appraisal of blades tells precisely how to handle blades and what to expect at a sword appraisal meeting, including an explanation of all the various responses that a judge may give in response to a bid.Richly illustrated throughout with more than 550 of the author's own painstaking oshigata illustrations-sword tracings onto which details are penciled in by hand-The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords is easily the most informative and comprehensive guide to the blades of Japanese swords ever to appear in English.Kokan Nagayama, who is widely recognized as one of the foremost living sword polishers, compiled the notes for this book over the course of many years spent teaching the arts of polishing and appraisal.Nagayama-sensei is widely recognized as one of the foremost living sword polishers and is a veteran teacher of both polishing and appraisal. Here in one accessible volume he distills the store of knowledge he has gained over a lifetime of intensive research.Nagayama-sensei and his senior pupils have for many years now taken an enlightened approach to study of Japanese swords outside of Japan. They have been of great assistance to collectors here in Great Britain and in other countries, traveling and living abroad, organizing exhibitions, teaching us and polishing our swords, always in an altruistic spirit. This translation is another example of this same approach. In the past we have often struggled on our own or in small groups to gain an understanding of this peculiarly Japanese cultural asset, and with many of the definitive books on the subject still untranslated, a wealth of information has in the past been inaccessible to the non-Japanese reader. The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords will be of great help in making educated judgments at kantei sessions, and will be an invaluable and constant reference work.-From the Foreword by Clive SinclaireChairman of the Token Society of Great Britain

    Most published accounts rely on English-language works written in the 1950s and 1960s. The Japanese-language sources have remained relatively inaccessible to Western scholars in part because of the difficulty of the language, a difficulty that Edward J. Drea, who reads Japanese, surmounts. In a series of searching examinations of the structure, ethos, and goals of the Japanese military establishment, Drea offers new material on its tactics, operations, doctrine, and leadership. Based on original military documents, official histories, court diaries, and Emperor Hirohito’s own words, these twelve essays introduce Western readers to fifty years of Japanese scholarship about the war and Japan’s military institutions. In addition, Drea uses recently declassified Allied intelligence documents related to Japan to challenge existing views and conventional wisdom about the war.

    Yet it goes on in the hearts and minds of surviving combat veterans over a quarter of a century later. They were sent as eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds to a country most had never heard of; they came back with psychic as well as physical wounds, which would never fully heal. Dr. Chalsma, profoundly stirred by his discovery of the therapeutic dynamics of testimony, videotaped the haunted memories of his PTSD patients at the West Haven (CT) VA Hospital. With his support, the men suspend some of the hypervigilance characteristic of prolonged trauma to expose the utter disruption of selfhood that is the legacy of their enduring nightmare. Each struggles individually to make sense of his own psychic landscape of alienation and terror and guilt and shame.

    "Hap" Arnold and brought to life by the imagination of two men, Lieutenant Colonel Philip G. Cochran and Lieutenant Colonel John R. Alison. In gathering men of character and tenacity, these two visionaries molded a unit which had to overcome orthodox military minds, paralyzing fear, and Burma's impregnable terrain before taking the fight to the Japanese. With a focus on the might and flexibility of air power, Cochran and Alison constructed an experimental unit which cut across the structured lines of conventional organizations. Forming an air arsenal which was totally unique in its composition and application, they combined the firepower of P-51A fighters and B-25H bombers with the logistical tentacles of C-47 transports, CG-4A gliders, L-5 and L-1 light planes, and UC-64 bush planes to reach far behind Japanese lines. The list of firsts is noteworthy - first airborne glider "snatch" in combat, first double tow of gliders into a combat arena, first helicopter operations, first helicopter combat rescue, first gunship employment, and first rockets fired against an enemy. Unorthodox and eclectic, the 1st Air Commandos serve as a model for conventional and special operations today.

    Now a comprehensive biographical dictionary profiles more than 500 of the most important figures in the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1812, and other conflicts of the period. Besides covering hundreds of the most prominent military leaders, entries feature political leaders, scientists, and engineers who developed new weapons and other relevant inventions, and even composers of the most popular marching songs. 320 pages, 250 b/w illus., 7 1/2 x 9 3/4.

    Contains Peter Pinney's writings of his New Guinea campaigns, published as The Barbarians, The Devil's Garden, Solomon Islands Diary, and The Glass Canon, now in one volume.

    Rex Applegate, William Fairbairn, Eric Sykes and Wild Bill Donovan trained and employed OSS and MID commandos during WWII. Includes the facts behind the development of point shooting, knife fighting, hand-to-hand combat and a staggering number of other fighting skills as taught by the top instructors of the era. Contains rare archival photos and the Colonel's graphic original lesson plans.

    What was I going to do with the block of wood? I never knew.' Leonard JacksonOn 22 June 1940 France surrendered to Germany and the invasion of Britain seemed a very real possibility.The Home Guard was formed to defend our villages and towns. Members came from reserved occupations, those who had failed their medicals, the elderly and the young, with miners and farmers training alongside former majors. Their weapons and ammunition were negligible at first, but slowly these amateur soldiers began to produce professional results.In this unique book of reminiscenses about life on the home front, we see these men as they practise with pitchforks and fall into ditches after a pint or two of ale on the job. But we also see them learning how to fire grenades after a day studying engineering and undertaking night watches after exhausting factory shifts - knowing they could be the last stop between the enemy and their families and homes.

    L. A.] Marshall asserted that only 15 to 25 percent of American soldiers ever fired their weapons in combat in World War II. . . .Shooting at the enemy made a man part of the “team,” or “brotherhood.” There were, of course, many times when soldiers did not want to shoot, such as at night when they did not want to give away a position or on reconnaissance patrols. But, in the main, no combat soldier in his right mind would have deliberately sought to go through the entire ear without ever firing his weapon, because he would have been excluded from the brotherhood but also because it would have been detrimental to his own survival. One of [rifle company commander Harold] Leinbaugh’s NCOs summed it up best when discussing Marshall: “Did the SOB think we clubbed the Germans to death?”

    Entranced by the power and precision of armaments, man has continuously invented faster, more accurate, and more devastating weapons, from the javelin, stone axe, sword, and the arrow to the cannon, musket, rifle, tank, super-fortress, and missile. In this study of the influence of armaments on history, J.F.C. Fuller shows how the inventive genius of man can potentially obliterate his sense of moral values and destroy civilization. Divided into armament epochs—Ages of Valour, Chivalry, Gunpowder, Steam, Oil, and Atomic Energy—Armament and History examines the most influential military innovations of each period as well as the key leaders (including Alexander, Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus, and Napoleon) who skillfully employed these weapons. Although the author acknowledges that war cannot be eliminated entirely, he urges man to impose restrictions on warfare before society descends into a second Dark Age. Completed immediately after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—chilling examples of mass destruction caused by armaments—this impassioned work remains relevant more than a half-century later.

    This time the JAG team investigates the murder of a Russian scientist and a US Navy nurse -- an investigation that draws them deep into the deadly depths of the Greenland Sea.

    Eyewitness accounts of the men who fought as captains, archers, artillerymen, billmen, men-at-arms and cavalry - both in England and abroad - are used to paint a vivid picture of fifteenth-century conflict in all its confusion and violence.

    Brings to life the stunning history of British special forces missions behind enemy lines in World War II.

    Because of the extensive coverage of armored vehicles, this volume will prove to be especially useful to modelers and dioramists. Over 600 color illustrations including wartime photos, detail shots of original items and plates covering camouflage and markings.

    Developed in great secrecy during the Cold War, it spearheaded the air assault on Iraq in 1991.At the Controls investigates the secret origins of the Stealth program and how the F-117A is able to penetrate heavily defended airspace that no other plane could venture near.At the Controls takes you on a combat mission with the F-117A, revealing how to attack enemy command bunkers with laser-guided bombs and how to defeat modern antiaircraft defenses.

    

    

    Zasloff unravel the tangled web of civil war from 1979 to the coup d'etat by Hun Sen in 1997, and the effort to hold a second election in summer 1998. They trace the years of diplomacy and warfare sustained by outside powers, the establishment of a constitutional government, and the achievements and shortfalls of the U.N. presence in Cambodia. In an epilogue the authors appraise the results of the election held in mid-1998. Their book provides the most complete and up-to-date account of international peacekeeping and political rescue in long-suffering Cambodia.

    history, a tragic struggle that cost the lives of 58,000 Americans and 970,000 Vietnamese. The three-volume Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War, edited by Spencer Tucker, has been hailed as the most comprehensive reference work on that watershed event. Now Tucker has produced an abridged one-volume edition, a miracle of concision that includes virtually all the entries found in the parent volume, in condensed form. Here are more than 900 alphabetically arranged entries--plus over 200 primary source documents--that illuminate every aspect of the Vietnam War. There are entries on Buddhists, defoliation, post-traumatic stress disorder, the fall of Ngo Dinh Diem, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The volume covers military and domestic fronts; air, land, and sea campaigns and battles; weapons, strategies, and tactics; key Vietnamese and American figures; the anti-war movement and international repercussions of the war; and the impact of the war on film, art, literature, and society. The volume also includes important background information, such as the developments that led to U.S. involvement in the war and postwar Vietnamese history to the present. Tucker provides extensive coverage of both American and Vietnamese perspectives, and has incorporated numerous entries by Vietnamese contributors.

    The study develops a working model of insurgency, explaining it as both a unique method and type of war-making. Significant findings include the inability of policymakers to perceive a potential insurgency in Vietnam as early as 1946, subsequent American involvement in not one, but three Asian insurgencies during the 1950s, and the ultimate failure of the U.S. military to meet the insurgency challenge in South Vietnam. This inability to eliminate the insurgency led not only to the complete breakdown of the South Vietnamese government, but was the primary reason why further U.S. military action after 1965 would prove ineffectual. This historical narrative also follows the involvement of several key players, including the personalities of Edward Lansdale, Sir Robert Thompson, Archimedes Patti, and Vo Nguyen Giap, who through their life experiences and writings, provide a keen profundity into why insurgencies occur, why they fail, and why they succeed.