Eagles on Their Buttons is a fascinating examination of the Fifth Regiment of Infantry, United States Colored Troops -- the Union Army's first black regiment from Ohio. Although the Fifth USCT was one of more than 150 regiments of black troops making up more than 10 percent of the Union Army at the end of the war, it was unique. The majority of USCT regiments were made up of freed men who viewed the army as an escape from slavery and a chance to take up arms against their former masters. The men serving in the 5th USCT, however, were freemen who were raised in a northern state and saw serving in the army both as a way to gain equal rights under the law and as an opportunity to prove their worth as men. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Where Eagles Come From is a fictional story but it is based on true life events of a young, African American girls’ life, in modern times. Masie is an only child who lives somewhat lonesome in southern California with her mother and father. Since her parents are professionals and often distracted with work, Masie becomes fascinated in finding a family beyond herself as an only child. Her annual summer vacations have her spending time at her Grandma’s house in the low country of South Carolina; a world away from California. Time spent here introduces Masie to clues of a family past found in a trunk kept away in the attic. These attic discoveries send Massie and her Grandma on adventures that reveal family ties to a “Freedom Seeker” born into slavery in Georgia. This “Freedom Seeker” joined the 135th United States Colored Troop after the emancipation as part of General William T. Sherman’s Army. This find results in the family coming together, after forty years of being disconnected, to learn about the contributions their relative made for his family and our nation. This is a celebration for Masie! The book highlights life experiences of a young girl growing up in the south, in modern times, and making discoveries about her family that were left to be forgotten. Discoveries that changes a young girl’s life and perspective. Additionally, the story shows how the differences in generations can find common motivations and needs that, when they work together to overcome them, can result in a very special, meaningful bond.

A bold expression of a fledgling republic's aspirations and bravado, the American bald eagle has been designed, drawn, illustrated, stamped, engraved, painted, sculpted, carved, photographed, and etched by thousands of artists and artisans since 1782, when it first appeared as the central figure on the Great Seal of the United States. As America's most versatile emblem, the eagle emanates confidence during peace and prosperity, and strength during crisis and war; as a North American native species it exemplifies nature's grandeur and the advance of conservation. In all, the bald eagle is a stirring national symbol made all the more vibrant by its indisputable dominion in the sky. American Eagle: A Visual History of Our National Emblem is a visual survey that explores the eagle in American life. A remarkable book that represents American culture, politics, and history, American Eagle will be the definitive source of this national icon for generations to come.

Best Books of the Month: Wall Street Journal, Kirkus Reviews From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Gulf, a sweeping cultural and natural history of the bald eagle in America. The bald eagle is regal but fearless, a bird you’re not inclined to argue with. For centuries, Americans have celebrated it as “majestic” and “noble,” yet savaged the living bird behind their national symbol as a malicious predator of livestock and, falsely, a snatcher of babies. Taking us from before the nation’s founding through inconceivable resurgences of this enduring all-American species, Jack E. Davis contrasts the age when native peoples lived beside it peacefully with that when others, whether through hunting bounties or DDT pesticides, twice pushed Haliaeetus leucocephalus to the brink of extinction. Filled with spectacular stories of Founding Fathers, rapacious hunters, heroic bird rescuers, and the lives of bald eagles themselves—monogamous creatures, considered among the animal world’s finest parents—The Bald Eagle is a much-awaited cultural and natural history that demonstrates how this bird’s wondrous journey may provide inspiration today, as we grapple with environmental peril on a larger scale.

The Italian Army developed a sound and unique combined arms doctrine for mechanized warfare in 1938. This new doctrine was called the “War of Rapid Decision.” It involved the use of mechanized warfare in the Italian version of the blitzkrieg. This doctrine evolved from the lessons learned in the Italian-Ethiopian War of 1935 to 1936 and the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. With Italy’s entry into World War II, military operations ensued along the Libyan-Egyptian border between the Italian 10th Army and a much smaller British Western Desert Force. The Italian Army in Libya outnumbered the British Army in Egypt by a ratio of four to one. The setting seemed to be ideal for the employment of the War of Rapid Decisions. Moreover, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, who was the commander of the Italian 10th Army in North Africa during its first campaign in the western desert, had pioneered this new form of mechanized warfare during the Ethiopian War. Surprisingly, the Italian forces in Libya did not employ their new doctrine, reverting instead to more conventional techniques of “mass.” It was Graziani’s failure to utilize the doctrine which he had helped to develop that led to Italy’s embarrassing defeat in 1941.

Two young men from different worlds. Bill Adams, son of an Ohio farmer sees more in life than following in his father´s footsteps behind a plow or nursing his uncle´s old plane crop-dusting. He leaves for college on the brink of events that will result in World War II. Bill has his life planned unaware how the next years will change things, forever.

Kurt Klaus, son of a German aristocrat, believes in Adolf Hitler. A staunch Nazi he graduates from glider school into the newly formed Luftwaffe and goes to Spain with the Condor Legion. Decorated at the war´s end he is ready for Hitler´s next step.

Young pilots headed for the war torn skies of Europe.

At the beginning of World War II, the Luftwaffe was the world's most advanced air force. With superior tactics, aircraft and training, it cut through opposition air forces. Despite this auspicious beginning, by 1945 the Luftwaffe was a dying force. The Allies were destroying German aircraft at unequal rates, and Luftwaffe aviators were dying in their thousands in an unbalanced battle to save Germany from destruction. Hitler's Eagles charts the turbulent history of the Luftwaffe from its earliest days to its downfall. Once Hitler was in power, the Luftwaffe came out of the shadows and expanded under a massive rearmament programme, then embarked upon the war that would define its existence. As well as providing a detailed history of the Luftwaffe's combat experience, the book expands on its human and material aspects. Aces and commanders are profiled and aircraft are described both technologically and tactically. The book conveys all the drama of the Luftwaffe's existence with Osprey's famous aviation artwork bringing the story incomparably to life.