Specific wars and military campaigns Books

Book SynopsisNelson’s Lost Jewel tells the remarkable story of one of the most famous jewels in British history for the first time, and traces its journey from Constantinople to London. Secured for the nation by public appeal, it passed to the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich from where it was sensationally stolen in 1951, never to be seen again.Trade ReviewA part of history recreated in all its glory.

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Book SynopsisFrom 17 trunks in a Lakeland attic comes this eyewitness account of a soldier's life at a pivotal moment in the history of the British Empire. Allan Marriot Hutchins, handsome, quick-witted and adventurous, was one of thousands of young men from the shires who, in 1900, volunteered to fight determined, well-armed Boers in a war that foreshadowed the later carnage of the twentieth century, fought with maxim guns, heavy artillery and bitter reprisals against guerrillas and civilians. Allan served as a yeomanry trooper in South Africa and later as a commissioned officer in India where he distinguished himself in the Abor campaign to secure the little-explored frontier between Assam and China. His letters home and the letters he received from home and which still survive, his diaries and thoughts paint a picture of both the man and the wheels of history turning. He cannot write' said his schoolmaster but Allan can write and his writing brings to life the hardships and adventures of campaig

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Book SynopsisBeyond the Legend is the authorised biography of William (Bill) Speakman,who was awarded one of only four Victoria Crosses for action in the Korean War. It covers his sometimes controversial life, from his childhood in Altrincham, Cheshire, to his later life in South Africa about which little has been known previously. Authors Derek Hunt and John Mulholland also explore the myth of the beer bottle VC' (in which Speakman was said to have fended off the Chinese Communist Army by throwing empty beer bottles at them after they ran out of grenades), bringing to light what really happened on United Hill in November 1951. Speakman held the attacking Chinese army at bay for over four hours and led a final charge that allowed his company to withdraw from the hill. After Korea, he saw active service in Malaya, Borneo and Aden before retiring from the army, with the rank of sergeant, in 1968. Bill Speakman is one of only two surviving VC holders of the British Army and a true British hero.

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Book SynopsisMichael Broers is Professor of Western European History, University of Oxford and Fellow in Modern History, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. His books include The Napoleonic Empire in Italy, 1796-1814; The Politics of Religion in Napoleonic Italy; Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny and Europe Under Napoleon (I.B.Tauris)

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Book SynopsisTold through the eyes of witnesses to the fall of Kabul, Walkley award-winning journalist Andrew Quilty's debut book offers a remarkable record of this historic moment. As night fell on 15 August 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. After a 20-year conflict with the United States, its Western allies and a proxy Afghan government, the Islamic militant group once aligned with al Qaeda was about to bury yet another foreign foe in the graveyard of empires. And for the US, world superpower, this was yet another foreign disaster. As cities and towns fell to the Taliban in rapid succession, Western troops and embassy staff scrambled to flee a country of which its government had lost control. August in Kabul is the story of how America's longest mission came to an abrupt and humiliating end, told through the eyes of Afghans whose lives have been turned upside down: a young woman who harbours dreams of a university education; a presidential staffer who works desperately toTrade ReviewA gripping account. . . . Quilty’s narrative is powerful and illuminating, weaving together the personal stories of resilience, fear, and hope that unfolded amidst the chaos. He skillfully highlights the complexities of the situation, providing readers with a nuanced understanding of the larger geopolitical forces at play and the far-reaching consequences of foreign intervention in Afghanistan in chronological order. . . . A vital contribution to the historical record, offering readers a remarkable and deeply human perspective on a pivotal moment in recent history. With meticulous research, powerful storytelling, Quilty crafts a narrative that will leave a lasting impact on readers, urging them to reflect on the complexities of war, its aftermath. August in Kabul is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of the Afghan conflict and the profound impact it has had on individuals and nations alike. * Politics Today *By foregrounding the stories of ordinary Afghans who must now pick up the pieces, [August in Kabul] makes for compelling reading. -- Mike Phipps * Labour Hub *A vital eyewitness account by one of the few Western journalists to stay behind in Kabul throughout the evacuation. Quilty brings those hectic days in August to life on the page. * Matthieu Aikins, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of "The Naked Don't Fear the Water" *Few foreign journalists have put in as much time, or as much heart, into Afghanistan over the past decade as Andrew Quilty. His dedication and integrity has been unwavering even in face of great danger, hardship and pressure. His work in exposing the wrongdoing committed by U.S. backed forces is unparalleled, and anyone wishing to understand the West's defeat after 20 years of war should read this book. * Jessica Donati, author of Eagle Down (a Financial Times book of the year) and Wall Street Journal national security reporter. *"Andrew Quilty has written the definitive account of America's catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Blending courageous on-the-ground reporting with meticulous research, August in Kabul offers an authoritative and devastating answer to anyone who has wondered, How could this have happened? Quilty was not just in the mob outside of the airport as the last American aircraft left Kabul; he'd been living in the country, covering the events leading up to that moment, for the past nine years. Only someone with Quilty's deep experience could have written such a moving and revelatory chronicle, with such empathy and insight." * Luke Mogelson, Journalist and author of 'The Storm is Here' *Few foreign reporters have spent as much time in Afghanistan, or traveled the country as widely, as Andrew Quilty. As readers we are lucky that he was there when the Taliban captured Kabul. This astute and vivid first-hand account of the fall of Kabul, and of the fates of the people caught in the chaos, is a must-read. Quilty writes with passion, honesty and a photographer’s eye for detail. You may know the ending, but he makes everything leading up to it a genuine page-turner. * Sune Engel Rasmussen, Author and correspondent for The Wall Street Journal *The book is a huge inspiration to people both in Afghanistan and outside Afghanistan. . . . An amazing contribution. * New Books Network *Table of ContentsAuthor's Note Map Prologue Part 1: Early August - 'Everything was out of Control' 1. Antenna Post, Chak District, Maidan Wardak Province 2. Presidential Palace Kabul 3. Shah Shahid - Kabul-1 Part II: Mid-August - 'The Taliban are at the Gates' 4. Emirate City, Kabul 5. Resolute Mission Headquarters, Kabul 6. Shah Shahid - Kabul II 7. Parwan Detention Facility, Bagram District, Parwan Province Part 3: Late August - 'The War was now in Kabul' 8. Fort Myer, Virignia, USA 9. Deh Sabz District, Kabul 10. Emirate City, Kabul 11. Shah Shahid - Kabul III 12. Abbey Gate, Hamid Karzai International Airport 13. Hamid Karzai International Airport Index

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Book SynopsisThe Vietnam War ripped America apart and charted the nation''s tumultuous future. In their tens of thousands, young men went off to fight in what was an initially popular war only to face defeat and acrimony as national resolve wavered - and returned home to a nation that reviled them and tried to forget about them. Written by Andrew Wiest, the bestselling author of The Boys of ''67: Charlie Company''s War in Vietnam this book traces the American experience of Vietnam from the war''s popular inception to its morale-crushing and bitter conclusion. Based on rich collection housed at the Center of Military History and at the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech, Vietnam allows the reader a grunt''s-eye view of the conflict - from the steaming rice paddies and swamps of the Mekong Delta, to the triple-canopy rainforest of the Central Highlands, and to the forlorn Marine bases that dotted the DMZ. The stories contained within these pages detail everything from heroism and battle to heliTable of ContentsIntroduction /1 Who We Were /2 Drop and Give Me 20 /3 Welcome to Vietnam /4 Life and Death in the Nam /5 Combat /6 Loss /7 A World of Hurt /8 Changing Attitudes /9 Freedom Bird /10 Life After Nam /Bibliography /Acknowledgements /Exclusive Extract from The Boys of ‘67 /Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1979 the Soviet Union moved from military ''help'' to active intervention in Afghanistan. Four-fifths of the Afghan National Army deserted in the first year of the war, which, compounded with the spread and intensification of the rebellion led by the formidable guerrilla fighters of the Mujahideen, forced the Soviets to intensify their involvement. The Soviet army was in generally poor condition when the war started, but the troops of the airborne and air assault units were better trained and equipped. As a result they developed aggressive, sometimes effective tactics against an enemy that refused to behave the way most Soviet commanders wished him to. Featuring specially commissioned artwork, this absorbing study examines the origins, combat role and battlefield performance of the Soviet Union''s paratroopers and their Mujahideen adversaries during the long and bloody Soviet involvement in Afghanistan during the 1980s.

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Book SynopsisA new supplement bringing Bolt Action to a new period and conflict, the Korean War, with special rules, forces, and scenarios to game this conflict.This supplement for Bolt Action expands the rules-set from its World War Two roots to this new, and truly modern, conflict. Bolt Action: Korea contains all the rules, Theatre Lists, scenarios, and new and exciting units, never seen in Bolt Action before, to wargame this turbulent period of world history.

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Book Synopsis'The Legacy of Iraq' argues that mistakes made by the 2003 coalition and the Iraqi political elite set a sequence of events in motion that have had devastating consequences for Iraq, the Middle East and for the rest of the world.

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Book SynopsisPresenting numerous interconnected insights into life in Greater Syria in the twelfth century, this book covers a wide range of themes relating to Crusader-Muslim relations.

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Book SynopsisA major new collection of modern commentary? from scholars, historians, and Civil War buffs?on the significant events of the Civil War, culled from The New York Times' popular Disunion on-line journal Since its debut on November 6, 2010, Disunion, The New York Times' acclaimed journal about the Civil War, has published hundreds of original articles and won multiple awards, including 'Best History Website' from the New Media Institute and the History News Network. Following the chronology of the secession crisis and the Civil War, the contributors to Disunion, who include modern scholars, journalists, historians, and Civil War buffs, offer ongoing daily commentary and assessment of the Civil War as it unfolded.Now, for the first time, this fascinating and historically significant commentary has been gathered together and organized in one volume. In The New York Times: Disunion, historian Ted Widmer, has selected more than 100 articles that cover events beginning with Lincoln's presidential victory through the Emancipation Proclamation. Topics include everything from Walt Whitman's wartime diary to the bloody guerrilla campaigns in Missouri and Kansas. Esteemed contributors include William Freehling, Adam Goodheart, and Edward Ayers, among others.The book also compiles new essays that have not been published on the Disunion site by contributors and well-known historians such as David Blight, Gary Gallagher, and Drew Gilpin Faust. Topics include the perspective of African-American slaves and freed men on the war, the secession crisis in the Upper South, the war in the West (that is, past the Appalachians), the war in Texas, the international context, and Civil War?era cartography. Portraits, contemporary etchings, and detailed maps round out the book.

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Book SynopsisA refreshingly bold and informed analysis of the developments that led to the Nigerian Civil War.

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Book SynopsisAfter Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, he was sent into exile on St Helena, arriving in October 1815. For the six years until his death, he was an 'eagle in a cage', reduced from the most powerful figure in Europe to a prisoner on a rock in the South Atlantic. But the fallen emperor was charmed and entertained by Betsy Balcombe, the pretty teenage daughter of a local merchant.Anne Whitehead brings to life Napoleon's time on St Helena and the web of connections around the globe which framed his last years. Betsy's father, William Balcombe, was well-connected in London, and he smuggled letters and undertook a clandestine mission to Paris for Napoleon.Betsy's friendship with Napoleon cast a shadow over the rest of her colourful life. She married a Regency cad, who soon left her and their daughter, and she travelled to Australia in 1823 with her father, who was appointed the first Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales. After her father was exposed for fraud and the family lost their fortune, she returned to London and published a memoir which turned her into a celebrity.With her extraordinary connections to royalty in London and to the Bonaparte family and their courtiers, Betsy Balcombe led a life worthy of a Regency romance. This new account reveals Napoleon at his most vulnerable, human and reflective, and a woman caught in some of the most dramatic events of her time.Trade ReviewAnne Whitehead deftly weaves a lively, poignant tale of Napoleon's last years on St Helena and the precocious teenager whose impudent charm briefly enlivened his exile. Her indefatigable pursuit of a tantalising archival trail takes her readers from St Helena to England, Scotland, France and New South Wales, uncovering a life curiously shadowed by its early brush with fame. -- Professor Penny Russell, University of Sydney, author of Savage or Civilised?A fascinating exploration of the life journey of Betsy Balcombe Abell from St Helena to Sydney to London. This is a well-researched and readable history of the dramatic repercussions for an English family of its proximity to Napoleon in his final years on St Helena. -- Professor Ann Curthoys, University of SydneySt Helena: an exiled emperor in the garden pavilion and in the house a pretty flighty teenager. And therefrom spring some fascinating narratives, ending up, after a disastrous marriage to a stylish cad, in colonial New South Wales. -- Marion Halligan, award-winning author of Shooting the FoxDeftly woven... Whitehead's history is thorough, possibly the best account of Betsy, interesting for what it tells us about the life of an ordinary woman. * Sydney Morning Herald *The most meticulously researched version yet of Betsy's incredible life... Remarkable. * Herald Sun *

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Book SynopsisWorld War I is one of the iconic conflicts of the modern era. For many years the war at sea has been largely overlooked; yet, at the outbreak of that war, the British Government had expected and intended its military contribution to be largely naval. This was a war of ideologies fought by and for empires. Britain was not defending simply an island; it was defending a far flung empire. Without the navy such an undertaking would have been impossible. In many respects the Royal Navy fought along the longest 'front' of any fighting force of the Great War, and it acted as the leader of a large alliance of navies. The Royal Navy fought in the North and South Atlantic, in the North and South Pacific, its ships traversed the globe from Australia to England, and its presence extended the war to every continent except Antarctica. Because of the Royal Navy, Britain could finance and resource not only its own war effort, but that of its allies. Following the naval arms race in the early 20th century, both Britain and Germany were equipped with the latest naval technology, including revolutionary new vessels such as dreadnoughts and diesel-powered submarines. Although the Royal Navy's operations in World War I were global, a significant proportion of the fleet's strength was concentrated in the Grand Fleet, which confronted the German High Seas Fleet across the North Sea. At the Battle of Jutland in 1916 the Royal Navy, under the command of Admiral Jellicoe, fought an iconic, if inconclusive battle for control of shipping routes. The navy might not have been able to win the war, but, as Winston Churchill put it, she 'could lose it in an afternoon'. The Royal Navy was British power and prestige. 43,244 British navy personnel would lose their lives fighting on the seas in World War I. This book tells their story and places the Royal Navy back at the heart of the British war effort, showing that without the naval dimension the First World War would not have been a truly global conflictTable of ContentsIntroduction The Action and Inaction of the Surface Fleet Amphibious Operations Supporting Roles Underwater Warfare Economic Warfare at Sea The Naval War on Land and in the Air Women and the Royal Navy Appendix: Chronology

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Book SynopsisEvening Standard's January 2019 Book of the WeekThe gripping story of one woman's war against ISIS on the frontlines of Syria.Joanna Palani made headlines across the world when her role fighting ISIS in the Syrian conflict was revealed. She is one of a handful of western women who joined the international recruits to the Kurdish forces in the region and this is the first time her extraordinary story has been told. Inspired by the Arab Spring, Joanna left behind her student life in Copenhagen and travelled to the Middle East in order to join the YPJ - the all-female brigade of the Kurdish militia in Syria. After undergoing considerable military training, including as a saboteur and sniper, Joanna served as a YPJ fighter over several years and took part in the brutal siege of Kobani. Despite her heroism, she was taken in to custody on her return to Denmark for breaking laws designed to stop its citizens from joining ISIS, making her the first person to be jailed for joining the international coalition. In this raw and unflinching memoir, Joanna not only provides an eye-witness account of this devastating war but also reveals the personal cost of the battles she has fought on and off the frontlines.Trade ReviewThere is something rather magnificent about this 25-year-old... Palani is a force of nature. * Evening Standard, Book of the Week *

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The Spanish Civil War was fought on land and at sea but also in an age of great interest in air warfare and the rapid development of warplanes. The war in Spain came a turning point in the development of military aircraft and was the arena in which new techniques of air war were rehearsed including high-speed dogfights, attacks on ships, bombing of civilian areas and tactical air-ground cooperation. At the heart of the air war were the Condor Legion, a unit composed of military personnel from Hitler's Germany who fought for Franco's Nationalists in Spain. In this book, Michael Alpert provides the first study in English of the Spanish Civil War in the air. He describes and analyses the intervention of German, Italian and Soviet aircraft in the Spanish conflict, as well as the supply of aircraft in general and the role of volunteer and mercenary airmen. His book provides new perspectives on the air war in Spain, the precedents set for World War II and the possible lessons learnt.

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Book SynopsisWriting to his mother the day after the fighting, Captain Thomas Wildman of the 7th Hussars described ‘a victory so splendid & important that you may search the annals of history in vain for its parallel’. Little wonder, for Waterloo was widely recognised – even in its immediate wake – as one of the most decisive battles in history: after more than twenty years of uninterrupted conflict, this single day’s encounter finally put paid to French aspirations for European hegemony. The culminating point of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo also witnessed levels of determination and bravery by both sides which far exceeded anything experienced by the veterans of Wellington’s recent campaigns in Spain and Portugal. Indeed, it was that unconquerable spirit which left over 50,000 men dead on the field of battle and tens of thousands of others wounded.This thoroughly researched and highly detailed account of one of history’s greatest human dramas looks first at the wider strategic picture before focusing on the tactical roles played by individual British units – all meticulously examined with the benefit of an extensive array of hitherto unexploited primary sources which reveal the battlefield experience of officers and soldiers as never before.Refusing simply to repeat the same unchallenged accounts and to commit the same errors of previous historians, this work relies exclusively on hundreds of first-hand accounts, by men of all ranks and from practically every British regiment and corps present on that fateful day, to provide a fresh and revised perspective on one of the most pivotal events of modern times.

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Book SynopsisJust under 200,000 Irishmen took part in the American Civil War, making it one of the most significant conflicts in Irish history. Hundreds of thousands more were affected away from the battlefield, both in the US and in Ireland itself. The Irish contribution, however, is often only viewed through the lens of famous units such as the Irish Brigade, but the real story is much more complex and fascinating. From the Tipperary man who was the first man to die in the war, to the Corkman who was the last General mortally wounded in action; from the flag bearer who saved his regimental colours at the cost of his arms, to the Roscommon man who led the hunt for Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, what emerges in this book is a catalogue of gallantry, sacrifice and bravery.

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Book SynopsisThere is a widespread belief that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are in many respects synonymous, that their ideology and objectives are closely intertwined and that they have made common cause against the West for decades. Such opinions have been stridently supported by politicians, media pundits and senior military figures, yet they have hardly ever been scrutinised. This is all the more surprising given that the West's present entanglement in Afghanistan is commonly predicated on the need to defeat the Taliban in order to forestall further terrorist attacks worldwide. The relationship between the two groups and the individuals who established them is undeniably complex, and has remained so for many years. Links between the Taliban and al-Qaeda were retained in the face of a shared enemy following the invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, an adversary that was selected by al-Qaeda rather than by the Taliban, and which led the latter to become entangled in a war that was not of its choosing. This book is the first to examine in detail the relationship from the Taliban's perspective based on Arabic, Dari and Pashtu sources, drawing on the authors' many years experience in southern Afghanistan, the Taliban's heartland. They also interviewed Taliban decision-makers, field commanders and ordinary fighters while immersing themselves in Kandahar's society. Van Linschoten and Kuehn's forensic examination of the evolution of the two groups allows the background and historical context that informed their respective ideologies to come to the fore. The story of those individuals who were to become their key decision-makers, and the relationships among all those involved, from the mid-1990s onwards, reveal how complex the interactions were between the Taliban and al-Qaeda and how they frequently diverged rather than converged. An Enemy We Created concludes that there is room to engage the Taliban on the issues of renouncing al-Qaeda and guaranteeing that Afghanistan will deny sanctuary to international terrorists. Yet the insurgency is changing, and it could soon be too late to find a political solution. The authors contend that certain aspects of the campaign, especially night raids and attempts to fragment and decapitate the Taliban, are transforming the resistance, creating more opportunities for al-Qaeda and helping it to attain its goals.Trade Review'This book is one of the best informed, most sophisticated and most insightful works yet to appear on the Afghan Taliban and their relationship to Al-Qaeda. It makes a brilliant contribution to Afghan historiography, and should be compulsory reading for Western policymakers working on Afghanistan today.' -- Professor Anatol Lieven, King's College London'Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the war in Afghanistan. In offering a forensic dissection of the relationship between al Qaeda and the Taliban, over many years, it offers bad news, and good news: that, in taking on the Taliban, we may be fighting the wrong enemy in the wrong country; but that the Taliban may be open to a negotiated settlement - provided America gets on with it.' -- Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, British Ambassador to Kabul 2007-2009, Special Representative for Afghanistan'Ignore anybody claiming to be an expert on the Taliban or al Qaeda if they have not read An Enemy We Created. Most books on the subject are written without fieldwork, by people lacking the language skills, the courage, the integrity or the dedication of these two authors. Thanks to their Arabic, Dari and Pashtu skills as well as their groundbreaking and unprecedented fieldwork, Strick van Linschoten and Kuehn have written the essential book on the subject. Say nothing about the region until you have read it!' -- Nir Rosen, author of Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World and Fellow at New York University's Center on Law and Security'A fascinating look deep into the shifting interactions of the Taliban and Al Qaeda by authors who have lived close to the persons they study. Their conclusions about the radicalisation of the younger generation of the Afghan Taliban and the unintended consequences of NATO military actions are directly relevant to policy considerations of today's war in Afghanistan.' -- Ronald Neumann, Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan 2005-2007'One of the key justifications of the escalation of the war in Afghanistan is the (supposedly) unshakable link between Al Qaeda and the Taliban. So far, studies addressing this question have generally been written with a limited understanding of the Taliban movement. Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn, who recently edited the memoirs of Mullah Zaeef, My Life With the Taliban, here offer a major contribution to the understanding of the complex and changing relationship between the two movements. Specialists in the field will find an erudite and balanced work based on multiple interviews with key players and a deep knowledge of local politics. But, beyond academia, their conclusions should be part of the discussion about the current strategy. If the Taliban are not controlled or even under the influence of Al Qaeda, a negotiated settlement becomes a reasonable goal. One can only hope that Washington will listen to these knowledgeable voices and start understanding the real nature of the Taliban movement.' -- Gilles Dorronsoro, visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Professor at the Sorbonne University (Paris)'Finally, someone has taken on the often-repeated but not-much-sourced assumption that every group hiding in the Afpak mountains is more or less the same thing, that Afghan and Pakistani Taliban as well as Al Qaeda and Pakistani sectarians and jihadists are all part of a big 'terrorism syndicate'. This is not only wrong but also dangerous since policies are conceived on this basis. Strick van Linschoten and Kuehn provide plenty of material, amongst it a lot that has never been scrutinised before, and they do it from knowing what they are talking about from inside the country, not from behind Hesco walls. It is a gold mine for people who really want to know. Can the Obama administration spend some atoms of its Afpak budget to buy a couple of hundred copies and distribute it amongst those involved in the upcoming policy review?' -- Thomas Ruttig, Co-director and Senior Analyst of Afghanistan Analysts Network'Anybody who wants to stop the bloodshed in Afghanistan and Pakistan, anybody who wants the conflict to finally break from its feverish climb to new heights of violence, must study the relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda. We need to understand the difference between people who want to kill infidels all over the world, and those who merely want to be left alone. Making peace with the latter will help us survive the former. This excellent work represents the first serious examination of this crucial and mysterious relationship, at least in the unclassified realm, and deserves a close reading by students of the war.' -- Graeme Smith, Emmy-award winning journalist for The Globe and Mail'The authors' research and scholarship make a powerful case and their book is likely to become the definitive text on the matter.' -- Jonathan Steele in International Affairs'[Strick van Linschoten and Kuehn] bring the empathy and experience of old chroniclers such as Caroe but none of the romantic condescension towards the "wily Pathan". ... Their central thesis in An Enemy We Created is that "the issue of international terrorism from within Afghanistan's borders may not necessarily be as big a potential problem as is currently believed". That is because, like Tenet, we have persistently overestimated the degree of intellectual and operational agreement between two strains of jihad - one local and contingent, the other global and unyielding. These were forged in parallel during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But, as Strick van Linschoten and Kuehn demonstrate, they had radically different influences.' -- Financial Times'A significant contribution to the history and understanding of the problems in Afghanistan.' -- Asian Affairs'[T]his book offers a rich, evidence-based contribution to the field, significant for its level of detail and the uncovering of new and valuable sources. The authors convey a welcome clarity of insight so often missing from press coverage, and which those who direct policy would do well to listen to.' -- South Asia Research

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Book SynopsisWarlords are charismatic military leaders who exploit weak central authorities in order to gain control of sub-national areas. Notwithstanding their bad reputation, warlords have often participated in state formation. In Empires of Mud Giustozzi analyses the dynamics of warlordism in Afghanistan within the context of such debates. He approaches this complex task by first analysing aspects of the Afghan environment that might have been conductive to the fragmentation of central authority and the emergence of warlords and then accounts for the emergence of warlordism in the 1980s and subsequently. He accounts for the phenomenon from the 1980s to today, considering Afghanistan's two foremost warlords, Ismail Khan and Abdul Rashid Dostum, and their political, economic, and military systems of rule. Despite the intervention of Allied forces in 2001, both of these leaders continue to wield considerable power. The author also discusses Ahmad Shah Massoud, whose 'system' incorporated elements of rule not dissimilar from that of the warlords. Giustozzi reveals common themes in the emergence of warlordism, particularly the role of local military leaders and their gradual acquisition of 'class consciousness,' which over time evolves into a more sophisticated, state-like, or political party-like, structure.Trade Review'Assesses the dynamics of warlordism... [It offers] a chilling prognosis for those who believe that the solution to stabilizing Afghanistan will come only from the top down - - by building strong central government institutions. Although creating a strong centralized state, assuming it ever happens, may help ensure long-term stability, it is not sufficient in Afghanistan. The current top-down state-building and counterinsurgency efforts must take place alongside bottom-up programs, such as reaching out to legitimate local leaders to enlist them in providing security and services at the village and district levels. Otherwise, the Afghan government will lose the war.' -- Foreign Affairs'Giustozzi has written a masterful account of the dilemmas of state-building in Afghanistan and his concluding words should be heeded when he warns that he doubts that strong national leadership will emerge in a context of external intervention in Afghanistan.' -- International Affairs'The first book to provide a political sociology of warlordism in Afghanistan; its purpose is to understand in detail how warlord polities work, expand and disintegrate. Empires of Mud will become required reading, both for academics and policy-makers studying the phenomenon of warlordism, and for those with a specialist interest in Afghanistan.' -- Dr Jonathan Goodhand, School of Oriental and African Studies'Antonio Giustozzi's books and articles on Afghanistan are uniformly penetrating, and this work is no exception. The issue of warlordism in conflict is one of the most challenging that one can confront in both conceptual and practical terms, and he has contributed significantly on both fronts. Empires of Mud is an enlightening study which in its detailed appraisal of two major Afghan cases adds valuably to the literature on developments in that country since the communist coup of April 1978 sent Afghanistan into a tailspin from which it is yet to recover.' -- William Maley, Australian National University

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Book SynopsisDecades of Pakistani resentment over India's stance on Kashmir, and its subsequent attempt to force a military solution on the issue, led to the 1965 war between the two neighbours. It ended in a stalemate on the battlefield, and after a mere twenty-one days, the war was brought to a dramatic end with the signing of a peace treaty at Tashkent. The opposing sides both claimed victory, however, and also catalogues of heroic deeds that have since taken on the character of mythology. Although neither prevailed outright, the one undoubted loser in the conflict was the incumbent President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan, who staked his political and military reputation on Pakistan emerging victorious. With the superpowers unwilling assist in negotiations, and Pakistan reluctant to damage its alliance with America, the agreement that followed only reinforced India's position not to surrender anything during diplomacy that Pakistan had failed to gain militarily. This book examines in detail the politics, diplomacy and military manoeuvres of the war, using British and American declassified documents and memoirs, as well as some unpublished interviews. It provides a comprehensive overview of the conflict and makes sense of the morass of diplomacy and the confusion of war.Trade Review'Farooq Bajwa's book on the 1965 war is a mature study based on original research into hitherto unpublished material. ... [H]e eschews partisanship and strives to be fair. The reader is taken all the way through the dense thicket, by each chapter on Operation Gibraltar, Operation Grand Slam and Operation Riddle. [A] lucid account.' -- A.G. Noorani, Frontline' ... a panoptic account of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. Bajwa debunks several myths. ... Bajwa has done a commendable job in providing a comprehensive account of the conflict that will benefit students, scholars, and general readers alike. The book should be included in university courses focusing on South Asian politics and history.' -- Contemporary South Asia

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Book SynopsisWar in Afghanistan will never be understood without getting to grips with the small places - the provinces, districts, and villages - where most of the fighting occurred, away from the cities, in hundreds of hamlets, valleys, and farms amid a vast landscape. Those small places and their people were the frontlines, and it is only there that we can truly find answers to the questions that lay at the heart of the war: why people supported the Taliban, whether intervention brought peace, whether a better outcome was ever possible. Garmser is a small place that has seen much violence; a single district within one of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. Its 150,000 people inhabit a fertile strip along the Helmand River no more than 6 miles wide and 45 miles long. Carter Malkasian spent years in Garmser district as the political officer for the US Department of State. He tells the history of thirty years of war, from 1979 to 2012, explaining how the Taliban movement formed in Garmser; how, after being routed in 2001, they re- turned stronger than ever in 2006; and how Afghans, British, and Americans fought with them between 2006 and 2012. He describes the lives of Afghans who endured and tried to build some kind of order out of war. While Americans and British came and went, they carried on, year after year, inhabitants of a small place.Trade Review'War Comes to Garmser explores the war in Afghanistan from an explicitly provincial Afghan point of view, where foreigners (and even Kabul officials) are marginal actors rather than the centre of the story. Malkasian presents what is in effect a fifty-year oral history of a single district in volatile southern Afghanistan, illustrating the truism that all politics is local. - Even those with little interest in the politics cannot help but be drawn into the lives of the vivid characters Malkasian skilfully sketches.' * Times Literary Supplement *'Afghan officials and US commanders credit Malkasian with playing a critical role in the transformation of Garmser from one of the country's most violent, Taliban-infested districts to a place so quiet that some Marines wish they had more chances to fire their weapons.' * Washington Post *'... represents the kind of detailed study of Afghanistan that has been badly missing: Most people associated with the international military and development missions here come in for six-month or one-year stints. ... One mark of Malkasian's analytical mettle is that he presents, more so than any other writer I've read, a clear and fair picture of the Taliban and why they enjoyed so much support in the south. * New York Times *'The twelve years of this "Decade of War" have produced many good books on counterinsurgency. Carter Malkasian's War Comes to Garmser: Thirty Years of Conflict on the Afghan Frontier will be ranked among the best of them. Indeed, the value of this book extends beyond the case in question. It speaks to the unchanging nature of war and the complex, changing character of war in the information age.' * Parameters, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army *'There have been very few books about America's longest war, and even fewer good ones. ... To this short list can now be added another great book on the Afghan war, Carter Malkasian's War Comes to Garmser.' * John Nagl, Professor, US Naval War College *'In the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Malkasian spent two years in Garmser as a State Department political officer. His rich, shrewdly constructed history of the area shows how tribal elders used the United States and the Taliban as resources in their own turf battles [ - ] Malkasian's gem of a concluding chapter - which analyses the opportunities the United States missed during the early years of the war and offers specific recommendations on what could and should be done now - is best appreciated after a close reading of the preceding chapters. The effort will be amply repaid.' * John Waterbury, Foreign Affairs *'Add Malkasian - a brave, brilliant and practical man - to the names Lawrence, Galula, Lansdale and Vann. This is the definitive work on counterinsurgency at the district level. An absorbing detective story that answers the questions, "how does the Taliban take power at the village level, and how can they be defeated?"' * Bing West, author of The Village and The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy and the Way Out of Afghanistan *'War Comes to Garmser is a brilliantly written, minutely detailed and rigorously honest political-military history. A microcosm of the war in Afghanistan, it is evocative of opportunities missed and possibilities yet to exploit. A must-read for those who want understanding that is more than headline deep.' * Ronald E. Neumann, former United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (2005-2007), now president of the American Academy of Diplomacy *'In the nineteenth century Britain employed political officers on the troubled frontiers of its empire. They immersed themselves in their localities, learnt about the inhabitants and heard their stories. Carter Malkasian is an American twenty-first century political officer. Outwardly his deeply revealing book is about Afghanistan's experience of war over three decades, but it is also a mirror on the US itself. His message is clear: deep historical and cultural understanding is at the heart of good strategy.' * Hew Strachan, Chichele Professor of the History of War, Oxford University *

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Book SynopsisA Long Watch offers a story of human complexity amid entrenched narratives of Sri Lanka's long civil war. Pulled from a dark ocean after a battle at sea, Commodore Boyagoda became the highest-ranking prisoner detained by the Tamil Tigers. For eight years, he lived at close quarters with his declared enemy, his imprisonment punctuated by high-level talks about his fate, but also by extended conversations with his jailers and scratch games of badminton played in jungle clearings. Throughout, he observed his captors and fellow prisoners acutely, and with discreet empathy for the lives of others undone by war.A memoir retold in Ajith Boyagoda's temperate voice, his is an unblinking relation of experiences difficult, moving and ironic. From going to sea, to war, imprisonment and eventual homecoming, he accepted successive realities as ordinary, in order to survive them.Trade Review'The best book yet on the war in Sri Lanka [...] It is subtle and intimate, human and generous. The author has distilled conversations about that period into a remarkable book. It is brilliant.' * Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient *'The only prisoner memoir to have emerged thus far from Sri Lanka's ill-prosecuted quarter-century-long domestic conflict, A Long Watch is an informative and important contribution to an underwritten subject, most particularly because Boyagoda unashamedly rejects the 'ruthless terrorist' narrative his countrymen might well have expected him to uphold.' * The Spectator *'A deeply nuanced, non-sensational book: it is bold, yet tender [...] an invaluable, close-up account of the ways in which those who fight in these wars survive and don't survive.' * Sonali Deraniyagala, author of Wave: A Memoir of Life after the Tsunami *'Clear, vivid, and elegant, without a trace of either false heroics or self-pity.' * Michael Frayn *

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Book SynopsisRussia's forceful reentry into the Middle Eastern arena, and the accentuated continuity of Soviet policy and methods of the 1960s and '70s, highlight the topicality of this groundbreaking study, which confirms the USSR's role in shaping Middle Eastern and global history. This book covers the peak of the USSR's direct military involvement in the Egyptian-Israeli conflict. The head-on clash between US-armed Israeli forces and some 20,000 Soviet servicemen with state-of-the-art weaponry turned the Middle East into the hottest front of the Cold War. The Soviets' success in this war of attrition paved the way for their planning and support of Egypt's cross-canal offensive in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ginor and Remez challenge a series of long-accepted notions as to the scope, timeline and character of the Soviet intervention and overturn the conventional view that detente with the US induced Moscow to restrain Egyptian ambitions to recapture of the land lost to Israel in 1967. Between this analytical rethink and the introduction of an entirely new genre of sources-- memoirs and other publications by Soviet veterans themselves--The Soviet-Israeli War paves the way for scholars to revisit this pivotal moment in world history.Trade Review'Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez’s account of the Arab-Israeli conflict’s military climax from 1967 to 1973 is a groundbreaking work of scholarship that reveals the Soviet Union’s hidden hand in the escalation of Egypt-Israel hostilities. [This book] is a valuable resource for Cold War historians.' -- Journal of Modern Jewish Studies'Ginor and Remez provide compelling evidence that the Soviet Union played a far more active role in preparing for the 1973 Arab-Israeli war than either Moscow or Cairo wanted to acknowledge at the time . . . Because their research is so thorough and meticulous, their critics will not find it easy to persuasively counter'.'Richly detailed.' 'Ginor and Remez’s new evidence not only brings us closer to understanding history but helps frame Putin’s current involvement in the Middle East. Their focus on primary sources from Soviet veterans raises critical questions about previous ideas on the Soviets’ role in Egypt.' 'Gives readers an unprecedented, granular look at how the Soviets supported the Egyptians during the six years between the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War . . . it should be required reading for anyone interested in recent Middle East history and Russian military history and doctrine.''This book captivated me the minute I started reading it. A forensic examination of the period, it fills in a lot of missing information and should help readers today understand Putin's Russia even better as the events in Crimea, Ukraine and other places have taken a page or two out of this Soviet playbook.' * Mark T. Clark, Director, National Security Studies, California State University, San Bernardino; President, Association for Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) *'In fascinating detail we learn from the authors just how much more deeply the USSR was involved in arming and defending Egypt during the War of Attrition and thereafter as well as how much of what we thought we knew at the time was wrong. Through their admirably diligent pursuit of post-Soviet sources Ginor and Remez have brought the period into much sharper focus. Their work offers an important lesson into how great power politics have shaped and misshaped the history of the Middle East.' * David A. Korn, former Chief of the Political Section, US Embassy, Tel Aviv; author of Stalemate: The War of Attrition and Great Power Diplomacy in the Middle East, 1967-1970 *'In an important and unconventional reading of Middle Eastern and global history Ginor and Remez challenge the widely accepted picture of the USSR s position leading up to the Yom Kippur War. They provide evidence of Soviet support for Egypt by collecting the testimonies of Soviet veterans and cross-checking them against Western, Israeli and Arab records. The result of this work is an original and a much enlightening picture of the USSR s active involvement in the Middle East before that war and the ensuing developments.' * Aryeh Levin, former Israel ambassador to the USSR and Russia, author of Envoy to Moscow: Memories of an Israeli Ambassador, 1988-92 *'This is the most comprehensive, important, and detailed piece of research on the USSR s active military intervention in the Arab-Israeli conflict during the years 1967-1973, mainly based on Soviet, Egyptian and Israeli documentary sources, until now insufficiently studied or analyzed. The book will certainly serve as instructive for Middle East researchers, teachers, students, and all interested in this subject.' * Yosef Govrin, former ambassador and Deputy Director-General for Eastern Europe, Israel Foreign Ministry, author of Israeli-Soviet Relations, 1953 1967: From Confrontation to Disruption *'A terrific book that is likely to provoke much discussion and debate -- not just history, but also a way of understanding the enduring interests and involvement of the Soviet Union in the Middle East. As we try to understand Russian behavior in that region today, this book will become indispensable in providing textured historical context.' * Daniel Kurtzer, Professor of Middle East Policy Studies, Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; former United States ambassador to Egypt and Israel *

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Book SynopsisBeloved by his soldiers and respected by his enemies, Robert E. Lee is undoubtedly the most popular general in American history to fight on the losing side. This book takes an in-depth look at this southern gentleman as a strategist and a tactician, covering all of his most important victories and defeats. Although courted by Lincoln, Robert E. Lee could not fight against his native Virginia and joined the Confederacy. After assuming command of the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee ran off a string of shocking victories that left the North reeling. However, on two separate occasions, Lee led invasions into the North and both ended in defeat, first at Antietam and then at Gettysburg. Encompassing the huge body of research surrounding General Lee and presenting it with numerous photographs and newly commissioned artwork, this book provides a complete understanding of Lee as a battlefield commander.

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Book SynopsisFrance, early summer 1794. The French Revolution has been hijacked by the extreme Jacobins and is in the grip of The Terror. While the guillotine relentlessly takes the heads of innocents, two vast French and British fleets meet in the mid-Atlantic following a week of skirmishing. After fierce fighting, both sides claim victory. In The Glorious First of June Sam Willis not only tells, with thrilling immediacy and masterly clarity, the story of an epic and complex battle, he also places it within the context of The Terror, the survival of the French Revolution and the growth of British sea-power.Trade Review'One of the things that makes Willis such a joy to read is the blazing clarity of his explanations. By the time you've finished his book you'll appreciate every nuance of naval tactics' Mail on Sunday. * Mail on Sunday *'His portrayal [...] serves as a model for future studies' International Journal of Maritime History. * International Journal of Maritime History *'With his great gift for making complex events exceptionally clear, and an authentically salty understanding of the workings of wind, sea, sail and rig, this is a brilliant and subtly nuanced account' Sunday Times. * Sunday Times *'Those who would attempt to explain a great battle at sea in the age of sail need salt water in the veins and a skilled pen. In this marvellous book Dr Sam Willis proves that he has both' BBC History Magazine. * BBC History Magazine *'Willis brings a welcome pace and energy to what might otherwise have been a dry account of a rarely remembered sea battle' Glasgow Sunday Herald. * Glasgow Sunday Herald *'Willis's matchless grasp of historical detail brings it vividly to life' Mail on Sunday. * Mail on Sunday *Table of ContentsList of illustrations. Maps. Prologue: The First Regicide. Introduction. The First Terror. The First Surrender. The First and Greatest Sea Officer. The First War Artist. The First Convoy. The First Contact. The First Blood. The First of June. The First Reaction: Honour and Glory. The Second Reaction: Acrimony and Disgrace. The Second Terror. Epilogue. Appendix I: The Chronology. Appendix II: The Fleets. Appendix III: The Pocock Sketches. Appendix IV: The Biographies. Glossary. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisNelson continues to fascinate academics as well as the general public. He is still considered one of Britain's greatest heroes and featured within the top ten of the BBC poll of such figures. But why does Nelson still remain such a prominent figure in the national imagination? With 2005 being the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, Victoria Carolan embarks on a timely reappraisal of Nelson, the myth and the man. Beginning with Nelson's early life and an analysis of the condition and practice of the Navy at the time of Nelson's entry into service, Carolan goes on to examine Nelson's naval battles before Trafalgar, particularly the pivotal Battle of the Nile in which the then Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson, with a fleet of fourteen ships, captured six and destroyed seven French vessels out of a total of seventeen and in the process achieved one of the most decisive victories in the age of sail and re-established British command of the Mediterranean. Devoting a full section to the Battle of Trafalgar, Carolan looks in detail at the build-up to the battle, the events and progress of the battle, at the Admirals of the French and Spanish navies and explains why the battle was so decisive in the Napoleonic Wars. She goes on to look at the immediate aftermath of Nelson's death and his state funeral and then to his legacy, the building of monuments (particularly Trafalagar Square and Nelson's Column), the development of the Nelson myth, his depiction in film, his value for propaganda purposes during the two world wars and the current state of scholarship on Nelson.

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Book Synopsis'Discovering the Civil War' peels back 150 years of accumulated analysis, interpretation, and opinion to reveal a Civil War that is little-known. Featuring over 250 letters, diaries, photos, maps, petitions, receipts, patents, amendments and proclamations from the incomparable holdings of the National Archives, it takes a fresh look at the Civil War through little-known stories, seldom-seen documents, and unusual perspectives. Grouped into themes such as "Spies and Conspiracies," "Prisoners and Casualties," "Global War," and "Raising Armies," this new book looks beyond the battlefield to the experiences of ordinary people - be they the names of men listed in the "substitute book" who were paid to replace draftees, or firsthand accounts of the Battle of Gettysburg at the Gettysburg veterans 75th anniversary reunion in 1938. Famous documents, such as the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, are juxtaposed with innovative wartime patents, including a multipurpose device that could serve as a tent, knapsack, or blanket, and a message in Chinese script asking for Confederate ships to be barred from Chinese ports - proving that the Civil War became a truly international struggle.Table of ContentsMessage from the Archivist of the United States by David S. Ferriero Foreword by Ken Burns, Documentary Filmmaker Acknowledments Introduction Chapter 1: Breaking Apart Chapter 2: Raising Armies Chapter 3: Finding Leaders Chapter 4: We Were There Chapter 5: A Local Fight Chapter 6: A Global War Chapter 7: Spies and Conspiracies Chapter 8: Invention and Enterprise Chapter 9: Prisoners and Casualities Chapter 10: Emancipations Chapter 11: Endings and Beginnings Chapter 12: Remembering

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Book SynopsisMore than 2500 volunteers took the extraordinary decision to risk their lives in a foreign war, and more than 500 of them died. The book looks at their role in the key battles in Spain, including the heroic work of the medical volunteers. Drawing on contemporary photographs and images, Antifascistas documents the artistic and historical legacy of the International Brigades, and demonstrates the idealism, commitment and sacrifice of these exceptional men and women.

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Book SynopsisSouth Africa's armed forces invaded Angola in 1975, setting off a war that had consequences for the whole region that are still felt today. A far-away war contributes to a wider understanding of this war in Angola and Namibia. The book does not only look at the war from an "old" South African (Defence Force) perspective, but also gives a voice to participants "on the other side" - emphasising the role of the Cubans and Russians. This focus is supplemented by the inclusion of many never-before-published photographs from Cuban and Russian archives, and a comprehensive bibliography.

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Book SynopsisA Marine officer's innter struggle with turht after coming home from Iraq.

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Book SynopsisA proverbial cellar find brought to light a remarkable source for Napoleonic uniformology, which due to its artistic design but also high level of detail offers valuable support in the research of the military dress of Napoleonic mounted troops. A total of 56 large-format hand-coloured watercolours depict cavalry, artillery and train troops of the French Imperial period from 1804 to 1812, the Neapolitan army of 1812, and the Polish uprising of 1831. The work itself is introduced with a foreword by art historian Dr. Hans D. Baumann, commenting on the artistic representation and especially the provenance of the portfolio. It turned out that the watercolours by unknown artists were originally part of the library of the Royal Theatre in Berlin and finally reached Kassel via the salt mines of Thuringia in the course of the Second World War. From there they went to a private collector and then disappeared in the afore-mentioned cellar. The reference to the Royal Theatres in Berlin as well as the posture and presentation of some of the depicted cavalrymen quickly led to Richard Knötel‘s famous Große Uniformenkunde. This is because this doyen of German uniformology cited "coloured hand drawings from the library of the Royal Theatre of Berlin" as the source of some of his plates on the French army. His plates on the Neapolitan army are also partly based on the original source presented here for the first time. Even though the artist (or artists) probably did not produce the 56 watercolours until the late 1830s or 1840s, they are captivatingly accurate and have been assessed by Markus Gärtner and Markus Stein for their historical accuracy. Each plate is accompanied by a brief commentary, which usually classifies the depiction as correct - especially the rarer depictions, such as French carabiniers around 1812 in the sky-blue uniforms, underline the artist’s sound knowledge of Napoleonic military costume. As evidence of the painting’s contemporary origins, some plates are accompanied by illustrations by early 19th century military artists such as Martinet or Weiland, which obviously served as sources. Some illustrations are also supplemented by Knötel‘s plates, enabling readers to verify for themselves the impact these watercolours had on the creation of a work of such fundamental nature as the "Große Uniformenkunde". Thus this book spans 19th century uniformology from the early years to its perfection around 1890. In addition to the commentaries, the plates are also accompanied by historic details outlining the development and wartime deployment of the unit depicted, as well as the standards carried. These additions were made on the basis of rarer works of French military history, while modern works by military historians Markus Gärtner and Markus Stein were also consulted. Since the paintings depict mounted units throughout (both of the Guard and the Line), the reader is able to obtain a comprehensive picture of the splendour of Napoleonic cavalry turned out in their colourful uniforms. The artistic charm of a previously unpublished source and the wide range of units represented will surely make this book a highlight of any library.

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Book SynopsisThe Civil War still occupies a prominent place in the national collective memory. Yet battlefields were not the only landscapes altered by the war. Countless individuals saw their daily lives upended while the entire nation suffered. This book reveals this side of the war as it happened, examining the visual culture of the Northern home front.Trade Review"'The present is a year productive of strange and surprising events,' a newspaper editorialist wrote on July 4, 1861. 'It is one prolific of revolution and abounding in great and startling novelties.... We are entering, to say the least, upon a new and important epoch in the history of the world.' Today, when we look at Civil War images across the gulf of a century and a half, it is clear that those war years would prove to be an era not just of revolution, but also of revelation: the passing of timeworn realities and the intimation of things to come." (Adam Goodheart, author of 1861)"

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Book SynopsisExamining the American discourse over war and torture, the authors investigate the opinion pages of American newspapers, television commentary, and online discussion groups to offer the first empirical study of the national conversation about the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the revelations of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib a year later.Trade Review"Timely and topical, Post-Ethical Society contributes to ongoing national soul-searching about who we are and how we want to go about sorting out our proper role in the world. This is not mere armchair philosophizing. Here we are presented with totally solid, historical, publicly accessible, empirical data on subjects of major national and international importance. I'm very impressed." (Christian Smith, University of Notre Dame)"

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Book SynopsisOver the years, the US has been fighting wars so far from the public eye as to risk being forgotten, the struggles and sacrifices of its volunteer soldiers almost ignored. This book features images that depict the bedrooms of forty fallen soldiers - the equivalent of a single platoon - from the US, Canada, and several European nations.Trade Review"The need to see America's twenty-first-century war dead, and to make them seen-to give their absence presence-has consumed Ashley Gilbertson for much of the past decade.... To picture death, Gilbertson decided to picture how and where the dead had lived. He set about photographing their bedrooms, many of which had been preserved by their families in much the same spirit that Gilbertson preserved them with his camera: as memorials.... But taken together, these photographs defy any effort to seek in a room's furnishings an echo of its former occupant's fate. Their power lies in reminding us of the disconnect between life and death." (Philip Gourevitch, from the foreword)"

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Book SynopsisHelps draw the road map for counterinsurgency in the postmodern world. This book is suitable for cadets and junior military leaders - as well as general readers seeking a deeper understanding of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.Trade Review"This is a terrific and illuminating piece of writing, one of the best things to come out of the Iraq war. It reads to me like a history of the conflict as it would be told by a smart American platoon leader. It should be in the rucksack of every soldier heading to Iraq, and also should be read by anyone who cares about this war. If you want to support our troops, buy it right now." - Thomas E. Ricks, author of Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq"

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Book SynopsisIn recent years a highly industrious school of historians has begun asking whether the war should have been fought at all and whether it was perhaps not more the fault of the North than of the South. Seeking to revise earlier judgments they have become known as the revisionists, and one of the most gifted and studious of them all is Avery Craven, whose The Coming of the Civil War . . . is one of the landmarks of revisionist literature.Bruce Catton, American Heritage. . . those who would examine the democratic process during a period of progressive breakdown, in order to understand the dangers it embodies within itself, will find The Coming of the Civil War a classic analysis.Louis D. Rubin, Jr., Sewanee ReviewThe book has always been recognized, even by its most severe critics, as a work of consummate scholarship.T. Harry Williams, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate

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Book SynopsisAt the height of the Greek Civil War in 1948, thirty-eight thousand children were evacuated from their homes. The Greek Communist Party relocated half of them to orphanages in Eastern Europe, while their adversaries placed the rest in children's homes elsewhere in Greece. This book presents a comprehensive study of the two evacuation programs.Trade Review"This remarkable study breaks new ground in several areas: in its methodology, its style, and its topic. Balanced to an impressive degree, Children of the Greek Civil War succeeds magnificently in showing the parallels between the experiences of the two sides in a way that is moving as well as analytically compelling." (Michael Herzfeld, Harvard University)"

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Book SynopsisAt the height of the Greek Civil War in 1948, thirty-eight thousand children were evacuated from their homes. The Greek Communist Party relocated half of them to orphanages in Eastern Europe, while their adversaries placed the rest in children's homes elsewhere in Greece. This book presents a comprehensive study of the two evacuation programs.Trade Review"This remarkable study breaks new ground in several areas: in its methodology, its style, and its topic. Balanced to an impressive degree, Children of the Greek Civil War succeeds magnificently in showing the parallels between the experiences of the two sides in a way that is moving as well as analytically compelling." (Michael Herzfeld, Harvard University)"

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Book SynopsisThe first rule of warfare is to know one's enemy. The second is to know thyself. More than fifteen years and three quarters of a trillion dollars after the US invasion of Afghanistan, it's clear that the United States followed neither rule well. America's goals in Afghanistan were lofty to begin with: dismantle al-Qaeda, remove the Taliban from power, remake the country into a democracy. But not only did the mission come completely unmoored from reality, the United States wasted billions of dollars, and thousands of lives were lost. Our Latest Longest War is a chronicle of how, why, and in what ways the war in Afghanistan failed. Edited by historian and Marine lieutenant colonel Aaron B. O'Connell, the essays collected here represent nine different perspectives on the war all from veterans of the conflict, both American and Afghan. Together, they paint a picture of a war in which problems of culture and ideology derailed nearly every field of endeavor. The authors also draw troubling parallels to the Vietnam War, arguing that deep-running ideological currents in American life explain why the US Government has repeatedly used armed nation-building to try to transform failing states into modern, liberal democracies. In Afghanistan, as in Vietnam, this created a dramatic mismatch of means and ends that neither money, technology, nor the force of arms could overcome. The war in Afghanistan has been the longest in US history. We lost the war, and somehow we continue to lose it every day. These are difficult topics for any American or Afghan to consider, especially for those who fought in the war or lost friends or family in it. This sobering history written by the very people who have been fighting the war is impossible to ignore.

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Book SynopsisWhen we talk about the Civil War, we often describe it in terms of battles that took place in small towns or in the countryside: Antietam, Gettysburg, Bull Run, and, most tellingly, the Battle of the Wilderness. One reason this picture has persisted is that few urban historians have studied the war, even though cities hosted, enabled, and shaped Southern society as much as they did in the North. Confederate Cities, edited by Andrew L. Slap and Frank Towers, shifts the focus from the agrarian economy that undergirded the South to the cities that served as its political and administrative hubs. The contributors use the lens of the city to examine now-familiar Civil War-era themes, including the scope of the war, secession, gender, emancipation, and war's destruction. This more integrative approach dramatically revises our understanding of slavery's relationship to capitalist economics and cultural modernity. By enabling a more holistic reading of the South, the book speaks to contemporar

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Book SynopsisIn 1798 the armies of the French Revolution tried to transform Rome from the capital of the Papal States to a Jacobin Republic. Based on primary sources and incorporating two centuries of Italian, French, and international research, this work reveals what life was like for Romans in the age of Napoleon.Trade Review"A remarkable book that wonderfully vivifies an understudied era in the history of Rome.... This book will engage anyone interested in early modern cities, the relationship between religion and daily life, and the history of the city of Rome." - Journal of Modern History "An engaging account of Tosca's Rome.... Nicassio provides a fluent introduction to her subject." - History Today "Meticulously researched, drawing on a host of original manuscripts, memoirs, personal letters, and secondary sources, enabling Nicassio to bring her story to life." - History"

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