SCOTT (copy 1): from the John Holmes Library collection.

Renowned for its accuracy, brevity, and readability, this book has long been the gold standard of concise histories of the Napoleonic Wars. Now in an updated and revised edition, it is unique in its portrayal of one of the world's great generals as a scrambler who never had a plan, strategic or tactical, that did not break down or change of necessity in the field. Distinguished historian Owen Connelly argues that Napoleon was the master of the broken play, so confident of his ability to improvise, cover his own mistakes, and capitalize on those of the enemy that he repeatedly plunged his armies into uncertain, seemingly desperate situations, only to emerge victorious as he "blundered" to glory. Beginning with a sketch of Napoleon's early life, the book progresses to his command of artillery at Toulon and the "whiff of grapeshot" in Paris that netted him control of the Army of Italy, where his incredible performance catapulted him to fame. The author vividly traces Napoleon's campaigns as a general of the French Revolution and emperor of the French, knowledgeably analyzing each battle's successes and failures. The author depicts Napoleon's "art of war" as a system of engaging the enemy, waiting for him to make a mistake, improvising a plan on the spot-and winning. Far from detracting from Bonaparte's reputation, his blunders rather made him a great general, a "natural" who depended on his intuition and ability to read battlefields and his enemy to win. Exploring this neglected aspect of Napoleon's battlefield genius, Connelly at the same time offers stirring and complete accounts of all the Napoleonic campaigns.

Choices about budget priorities are arguably the most important made by the federal government, profoundly affecting the well-being of citizens. Bruce Jansson documents how presidents from FDR to Clinton have made ill-advised choices that wasted trillions of dollars. Going beyond charges of corruption or bureaucratic waste, the book is an eye-opening exposé revealing innumerable useless projects (military as well as civilian), unnecessary tax concessions, and the use of interest payments to cover deficit spending, among other costly mistakes. Using Office of Management and Budget projections through 2004, Jansson shows how the madness continues—and how an informed electorate can put an end to it.

Hiroshima is the story of six people—a clerk, a widowed seamstress, a physician, a Methodist minister, a young surgeon, and a German Catholic priest—who lived through the greatest single manmade disaster in history. In vivid and indelible prose, Pulitzer Prize–winner John Hersey traces the stories of these half-dozen individuals from 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, when Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city, through the hours and days that followed. Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told, and his account of what he discovered is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of Hiroshima.

The Indian military setback against the Chinese attack in 1962 was high time for an honest soul-searching. Quite a few books written by Army officers have tried to tell their version of the untold story. Brig. Dalvi's account of the Sino-Indian War is by far the most remarkable and authentic. He was present in the theatre of war throughout, commanded a brigade and was held captive by the Chinese for seven months. In discussing the day-to-day events from 8 September to 20 October 1962 the author graphically tells the truth which only an actual participant could experience and know. The background of the war is drawn from his first-hand information as a high-ranking commander.

It is based on the inspiring definitions of the word introduction (1651): My actions of bringing in a newly weapon (since August 1945) brought into the world and to its process of the application in war and with an in-depth initiation in the knowledge of elementary instruction regarding Deterrents and Deterrence thereof, which leads to the knowledge or understanding of the impact of both fission and fusion nuclear weapons on war/politics/foreign policy/strategy and the fate of the Earth/Gaia/Gods Creation, thanks to my insights gained personally at Grove City College, the University of Chicago, U.S. Navy (Air Intelligence Officer) and State Department (Foreign Service Officer) and herewith presented as my introduction to the formal introduction of my halting, but determined attempts to deter a thermonuclear World War III and Armageddon too (1945-2012). Modified from Introduction (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Third Edition, 1959, p. 1036)

An account of the mid-19th-century war in Afghanistan documents how the British government sought to protect regional interests by attempting to install a puppet ruler only to be defeated by united Afghanistan tribes, in a volume that profiles key contributors and discusses how the war set the stage for subsequent hostilities.

For anyone whose best-laid plans have been foiled by faulty thinking, Blunder reveals how understanding seven simple traps-Exposure Anxiety, Causefusion, Flat View, Cure-Allism, Infomania, Mirror Imaging, Static Cling-can make us all less apt to err in our daily lives.

With unrivalled political savvy and a keen sense of irony, distinguished political scientists Anthony King and Ivor Crewe open our eyes to the worst government horror stories and explain why the British political system is quite so prone to appalling mistakes.