Before the Pilgrims: the Untold History before Jamestown and Plymouth


Pippa Pralen - 2019
    40 years before the Jamestown colony, the Spanish founded a "Jamestown-type" colony in Virginia. Early explorers met Indians who surprisingly spoke English. Long before 1619 the recognized arrival of slaves, in 1526, the first African slaves were brought to America by the Spanish. A fierce competition arose between France, Spain and England to win the New World. Colonies floundered, were abandoned or destroyed by the English. It wasn’t easy surviving in this “new world” in spite of the early glowing reports. Why did Jamestown and Plymouth colonies succeed when others failed? The 2nd half of this book explores the first successful English colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth and why they succeeded when others could not. Strange and curious facts: the first Indian contact in Plymouth was an Indian asking for a glass of beer! Enjoy a detailed look of what really took place in America’s beginnings. It’s more interesting than your school history books!

Sniper in Helmand: Six Months on the Frontline


James Cartwright - 2012
    As a result, snipers are regarded as the elite of their units and their skills command the ungrudging respect of their fellows - and the enemy. The Author is one such man who recently served a full tour of duty with 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. James describes the highs and lows of almost daily front line action experienced by our soldiers deployed on active service in arguably the most dangerous area of the world. As part of the Battle Groups crack Mobile Operations Group, Jamess mission was to liquidate as many Taliban as possible. The reader experiences sniper tactics and actions, whether in ambush or quick pre-planned strikes, amid the ever present lethal danger of IEDs. His book, the first to be written by a trained sniper in Afghanistan, reveals the psychological pressures and awesome life-and-death responsibility of his role and, in particular, the deadly cat-and-mouse games with the enemy snipers intent on their own kills. These involved the clinical killing of targets at ranges of 1,000 meters or greater. Sniper in Helmand is a thrilling action-packed, yet very human, account of both front line service in the intense Afghanistan war and first-hand sniper action. Andy McNab inspired James to join the army and has written a moving foreword.

The Spanish Armada


Jay Williams - 1966
    The ensuing events brought a Spanish word, armada, into the English language and created a host of legends. Intrepid English sea dogs in tiny ships, it was said, had bravely faced down towering Spanish galleons. Finally, a storm sent by a vengeful God wrecked most of that proud fleet on its way home. Award-winning author Jay Williams sheds new light on the traditional picture. Although the English were superior sailors, the two fleets were evenly matched. Moreover, the battle emerges as the high point of a four-year cold war between England and Spain. Only when set in the context of a Europe bitterly divided between Catholics and Protestants can the contest be fully understood. The personalities of Queen Elizabeth I of England and King Philip II of Spain and their commanders - especially Francis Drake - are also key to this dramatic story.

Annoying The French Encore!


Stephen Clarke - 2012
    And the past couple of years have shown that this annoying never stops. To give just three examples:After a mid-Atlantic collision between French and British nuclear submarines, France's Minister of Defence seemed to blame the accident on ... shrimps.When French political superstar Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York, France's establishment was outraged. It soon emerged that sexual harassment was regarded as a basic human right by the country's male �lite. (This theme provided so much excellent material that I decided to include it in the plot of my soon-to-be published novel, The Merde Factor.)And when David Cameron walked out of a Eurosummit, a French politician accused him of being 'like a man at a wife-swapping party who refuses to bring his own wife.' Yes, a very French image, and it just one of the many anti-Anglais insults that came flying across the Channel.You will find all this, and much more, in Annoying the French Encore! Because, for the French, the merde never ends.Yours historically,Stephen Clarke, Paris, August 2012'Tremendously entertaining' Sunday Times'Relentlessly and energetically rude' Mail on Sunday

They Flew Hurricanes


Adrian Stewart - 2006
    Many pilots, including Douglas Bader, thought it was superior to the Spit--but together they saved Britain from Nazi invasion and possible defeat.Adrian Stewart has produced a gloriously atmospheric and nostalgic book capturing the spirit of these great aircraft and the pilots who flew them. It tracks the aircraft as it was developed and improved, and follows it to the many theaters of the war where it saw service. Among the lesser-known are Burma and hazardous convoy protection in the Arctic and Mediterranean, flying from makeshift carriers. This book will fascinate specialist aviation historians and those who enjoy a rattling good war story, and includes a superb selection of rare photographs.

Underneath It All


Erica Mena - 2013
    When I m alone I am haunted by my truth. A girl who entered this world in a jail cell. A girl who was served struggle with a side of pain on a broken platter. A girl who was thrown into a tank with sharks deep in a world whose motto is to eat or be eaten. I can still see the dirt underneath my nails; I've fought too hard to get where I am and I don t plan on looking back. However, there s always someone waiting to knock me down because they don t think I deserve it. Well I say to hell with them. I've put in too much to allow anyone to drag me down. So either you re riding with me or against me...

Safe Harbour


Marita Conlon-McKenna - 1995
    Their mother is seriously injured and their Dad is away fighting, so the children are sent to their grandfather in Ireland. Sophie is scared - they have never met grandfather but his letters cause such trouble in the house, and their Dad never speaks of him.How will they live in a strange country, with a man who probably hates them - and will the family ever be together again?

Jamestown


Marshall William Fishwick - 2017
    They would establish a British colony, find gold, and discover a water route to Asia. But what awaited them was far different - fire, hunger, sickness, death, even cannibalism. Here, from the noted historian Marshall W. Fishwick, is the dramatic story of Jamestown and the struggle of its leader, Captain John Smith, who, with the help of Pocahontas, daughter of the Algonquian chief Powhatan, succeeded against all odds.

Beyond Neptune Spear: The (Open) Secret History of SEAL Team Six, Post-9/11


Chris Martin - 2012
    Once mired in controversy and doubt, ST6 has blossomed into one of the most accomplished fighting units the world has ever known. Having taken down the highest of high-value targets, rescued American hostages in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Indian Ocean, and served as the silent guardian of the Coalition's conventional forces, SEAL Team Six has defined the post-9/11 world as much as it has been defined by it. The follow-up to SHAPING THE WORLD FROM THE SHADOWS -- the definitive open-source guide to Delta Force -- BEYOND NEPTUNE SPEAR is a contextual examination of DEVGRU's post-9/11 existence, from the most high-profile operations to the little-known missions that are still barely more than whispers. "Once again, Chris Martin has proven himself to be one of journalism's sharpest observers of U.S. special operations forces. BEYOND NEPTUNE SPEAR is a remarkable synthesis of the history, operations, and organization of SEAL Team Six. It is the most comprehensive guide to the unit ever published." - D.B. Grady, co-author of THE COMMAND: DEEP INSIDE THE PRESIDENT'S SECRET ARMY. "BEYOND NEPTUNE SPEAR tells much of what you wanted to know about SEAL Team Six post-9/11 but didn’t ask for fear of getting shot. Chris Martin begins with Team Six’s “rogue” beginnings then quickly springs into its operations post-9/11 until present. Although a short book, you’ll get bang for your buck here. For newcomers to the topic, BEYOND NEPTUNE SPEAR provides an exhaustive overview of Team Six’s current happenings. For experts on Team Six, Chris’s work provides an excellent summary of the post-9/11 Team with occasional information you probably missed. The reference page alone is a treasure for studying/reviewing the unit that whacked bin Laden. Also, because Chris used open sources to write this book, you don’t have to fear stealing government secrets and taking a bullet to the head." -Stephen Templin, New York Times bestselling co-author of SEAL TEAM SIX.

Valkyrie: The North American Xb-70: The Usa's Ill-Fated Supersonic Heavy Bomber


Graham M. Simons - 2011
    . . [with] new information, photographs and first-hand accounts." --FlypastDuring the 1950s, plans were being drawn at North American Aviation in Southern California for an incredible Mach-3 strategic bomber. The concept was born as a result of General Curtis LeMay's desire for a heavy bomber with the weapon load and range of the subsonic B-52 and a top speed in excess of the supersonic medium bomber, the B-58 Hustler. However, in April 1961, Defense Secretary McNamara stopped the production go-ahead for the B-70 because of rapid cost escalation and the USSR's newfound ability to destroy aircraft at extremely high altitude using either missiles or the new Mig-25 fighter. Nevertheless, in 1963 plans for the production of three high-speed research aircraft were approved and construction proceeded. In September 1964 the first Valkyrie, now re-coded A/V-1, took to the air for the first time and in October went supersonic.This book is the most detailed description of the design, engineering and research that went into this astounding aircraft. It is full of unpublished details, photographs and firsthand accounts from those closely associated with the project. Although never put into full production, this giant six-engined aircraft became famous for its breakthrough technology, and the spectacular images captured on a fatal air-to-air photo shoot when an observing Starfighter collided with Valkyrie A/V-2 which crashed into the Mojave Desert."Well-illustrated with numerous diagrams and black and white photographs, the book provides an interesting insight into one of the so-called 'white elephant' projects of the 1960s." --Jets Monthly

Double Agent: My Secret Life Undercover in the IRA


Kevin Fulton - 2019
    "I am a British soldier and I'm saving lives. I'm saving lives. I'm a British soldier and I'm saving lives..."'Kevin Fulton was one of the British Army's most successful intelligence agents. Having been recruited to infiltrate the Provisional IRA at the height of The Troubles, he rose its ranks to an unprecedented level. Living and working undercover, he had no option other than to take part in heinous criminal activities, including the production of bombs which he knew would later kill. So highly was he valued by IRA leaders that he was promoted to serve in its infamous internal police - ironically, his job was now to root out and kill informers.Until one day in 1994, when it all went wrong. . . Fleeing Northern Ireland, Kevin was abandoned by the security services he had served so courageously and left to live as a fugitive. The life of a double agent requires constant vigilance, for danger is always just a heartbeat away. For a double agent within the highest ranks of the IRA, that danger was doubled. In this remarkable account, Kevin Fulton - former intelligence agent, ex-member of the IRA - tells a truth that is as uncomfortable as it is gripping.

U.S. History, Volume II: 1865-Present


Boundless - 2013
    History textbook is a college-level, introductory textbook that covers the exciting subject of U.S. History. Volume II covers 1865 through the present day. Boundless works with subject matter experts to select the best open educational resources available on the web, review the content for quality, and create introductory, college-level textbooks designed to meet the study needs of university students.This textbook covers:Reconstruction: 1865-1877 -- The End of the War, The Aftermath of the War, The Battle over Reconstruction, Reconstruction in the South, The Reconstructed South, The Grant PresidencyThe Gilded Age: 1870-1900 -- The Gilded Age, The Second Industrial Revolution, The Rise of the City, The Rise of Big Business, The Rise of Immigration, Work in Industrial America, The Transformation of the West, Conquest in the West, The Transformation of the South, Politics in the Gilded Age, Urban Reform, Corruption and Reform, The Agrarian and Populist Movements, The Silver SolutionRace, Empire, and Culture in the Gilded Age: 1870-1900 -- Culture in the Gilded Age, Popular Culture, Cheap Amusements, Education, The Rise of Realism, Labor and Domestic Tensions, The Labor Wars, War, Empire, and an Emerging American World PowerThe Progressive Era: 1890-1917 -- The Progressive Era, Labor, Local, and Political Reform, The Politics of Progressivism, Grassroots Progressivism, Progressivism: Theory and Practice, Changing Ideas of Freedom, Roosevelt's Progressivism, Roosevelt's Second Term, From Roosevelt to Taft, Woodrow Wilson and Progressivism, The Limits of ProgressivismWorld War I: 1914-1919 -- The Wilson Administration, American Neutrality, America's Entry into the War, America and WWI, The War at Home, The "American", The Fight for Peace, Diplomacy & Negotiations at the War's End, The Transition to Peace: 1919-21From the New Era to the Great Depression: 1920-1933 -- The New Era, The Roaring Twenties, The Culture of Change, Resistance to Change, Wall Street Crash of 1929, The Great DepressionThe New Deal: 1933-1940 -- Franklin D. Roosevelt and the First New Deal, The New Deal, Critical Interpretations of the New Deal, The Social Cost of the Depression, Toward a Welfare State, Roosevelt's Second Term, Culture in the Thirties, The Second New Deal, The Legacy of the New DealFrom Isolation to World War II: 1930-1943 -- Non-Interventionism, The Beginning of the War, Conflict in Europe, Conflict in the Pacific, America's Early Involvement, Mobilization in the U.S., Social Effects of the War, The War in Germany, The War in the Pacific, The End of WWIIThe Cold War: 1947-1991 -- Origins of the Cold War, The Cold War, Truman and the Fair Deal, The Cold War and KoreaThe Politics and Culture of Abundance: 1943-1960 -- The Politics of Abundance, The Culture of Abundance, The Eisenhower Administration, The Policy of Containment, The Emergence of the Civil Rights MovementThe Sixties: 1960-1969 -- The Election of 1960, The Expansion of the Civil Rights Movement, Counterculture, The John F. Kennedy Administration, The Lyndon B. Johnson AdministrationThe Conservative Turn of America: 1968-1989 -- The Nixon Administration, Watergate, The Ford Administration, The Carter Administration, The Reagan AdministrationThe Challenges of Globalization and the Coming Century: After 1989 -- The George H.W. Bush Administration, America's Emerging Culture, The Clinton Administration, Globalization and the U.S.

History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of West Virginia


Wills De Hass - 1851
     This area was dangerous and many who had ventured there alone had never returned. But slowly over the course of this century settlers continued to push further west until regions such as West Virginia were populated with more and more adventurous young men and women. The settlement of these lands did not occur without difficulties and colonizers frequently came into conflict with the local Native American populations. Wills De Hass’s remarkable book History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of West Virginia is a fascinating history of how the lands of the west were first settled by white emigrants in the eighteenth century and how these settlers came into frequent strife with the Native American tribes who had previously lived there. Beginning with Columbus’ discovery of this great continent Wills De Hass charts the colonization of this expansive land. He records with brilliant detail the early encounters that Europeans had with the men and women that they found already living across the region and explains how various nations from across the Atlantic made their first tentative footholds on this newly discovered land. De Hass records how settlers were not only conflict with Native Americans but also with each other as this region descended into war, firstly during the French and Indian War and shortly afterwards during the American War of Independence. Particularly fascinating throughout the book are the biographical sketches of various well-known frontiersmen who were particularly influential in the Ohio Valley and northwestern Virginia. This book is perfect for anyone interested in the early settlement of western regions prior to 1795 and how this area was frequently in conflict as settlers attempted to assert their rights against the wishes of the Native American populations. Wills de Hass was a lecturer and writer on archaeological and historical subjects. His book History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of Western Virginia was first published in 1851 and De Hass passed away 1910.

Dusty's Winter


Maeve Binchy - 2016
    Soon, Dusty is able to accomplish a great deal: she works long hours and is made senior partner at her firm, she keeps her own flat, and she falls hopelessly and irresponsibly in love with a married man. But, when her father telephones to report some disturbing news, Dusty must return home for the winter. There, heartbroken but still dutiful, Dusty finally reunites with her oldest friends.         First published in the US as part of her encouraging book of missives to aspiring writers, The Maeve Binchy Writers’ Club, “Dusty’s Winter” is essential Maeve. Inspiring and down-to-earth, her stories are full of the stuff of everyday life. Ireland’s “best-loved writer of her generation,” Maeve Binchy often wrote about ordinary life in small-town Ireland, and she is fondly remembered for the warmth and generosity of her prose.   Maeve Binchy has received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Book Awards in 1999 and the Irish PEN/A.T. Cross Award in 2007 and is the author of many bestselling books including Maeve’s Times, Chestnut Street, and A Week in Winter.   An eBook short.

A Love Song for the Duke


Aria Norton - 2020
    Her talent and great prospect of becoming a successful musician are about to go to waste though when her father decides to marry her off to someone she despises to financially secure the family. Sophia feels trapped in an undesirable future, until she meets the handsome Duke of Berkshire by chance and under the false identity of a high society member. Apart from making her heart flutter, could he also be the solution to all her problems? Guy Bastable, the Duke of Berkshire, has mourned for a long time. Nothing can soothe his passion for revenge on the man who left his sister to die. At least that’s the case until he saves a young woman from a collision and realizes that there’s something more to live for; an extraordinary lady that is nothing like any other woman he’s met before. The more time he spends with the charming Sophia, the more his vengeance and pain give place to other, deeper feelings. Could she be the salvation he has been looking for? Sophia’s and Guy’s growing love might be undeniable, but it’s also based on a tale of lies that Sophia will struggle to free herself from. Through their connection, Sophia will discover the greatest truth of all in the midst of her lies, but nothing guarantees that her feelings will be believed. This time it’s not her future or financial security she is worried about losing, but something much more important. Will love manage to overcome the reckless lies and the class barriers or is this romance doomed right from its dishonest start? "A Love Song for the Duke" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.