History is replete with unanswered questions regarding our own past and that of the world in which we live. Some of these questions are mere curiosities; others are of the profoundest importance to our cultural identity and have a serious bearing on our future. Each self-contained chapter in The Enigmas of History covers a particular mystery, ranging across the globe and throughout history: from Atlantis to the Amazons; from the Ark of the Covenant to the enigma of the Black Madonnas; and from the weird mystery of Spring-heeled Jack to visions of the Virgin Mary. Among the topics explored are: • The strange history of the Dogon tribe of Mali in West Africa, who believe that they were visited in the distant past by amphibious beings from another star • The legend of the lost Himalayan kingdom of Shambhala • The mystery of the crystal skulls • The enigma of the indecipherable Voynich manuscript The Enigmas of History is an entertaining, informative compendium of strange events and weird encounters with the unexplained. It is packed with information on historical mysteries, puzzles and bewildering discoveries, and will intrigue the historian and general reader alike.

The two-hundred-year history of the United States' involvement in South Asia -- the key to understanding contemporary American policy in the region South Asia looms large in American foreign policy. Over the past two decades, we have spent billions of dollars and thousands of human lives in the region, to seemingly little effect. As Srinath Raghavan reveals in Fierce Enigmas, this should not surprise us. For 230 years, America's engagement with India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan has been characterized by short-term thinking and unintended consequences. Beginning with American traders in India in the eighteenth century, the region has become a locus for American efforts -- secular and religious -- to remake the world in its image. The definitive history of US involvement in South Asia, Fierce Enigmas is also a clarion call to fundamentally rethink our approach to the region.

A beautiful lady who can only be seen from far away, a machine that generates an entire civilization, a king who loves the hidden life of an inanimate statue, a city that appears once a year across a great chasm, an ancient Korean king assassinated in the dark of the night, a ghost that haunts soldiers on the DMZ - these are just some of the marvels you will encounter in these stories from the transcultural and metafictional imagination of Minsoo Kang. In diverse narratives grouped under the titles of Tales from a Lost History, Fables of the Dream World, and Stories from an Imaginary Homeland, Kang explores the nature and possibilities of storytelling itself as he spins out variations on an episodic theme, reinterprets an old myth, and struggles with a past that seeks a voice in the present. The result is a marvelously surrealistic landscape where histories, ideas, and legends freely intermingle and dance to the music of wonder and longing.

The history of humankind can be told in many different perspectives, and within each one is a juicy secret that illuminates what actually happened. Mysteries in History peaks under those rocks to find the truth, or at least locate a truth yet to be found. Mysteries in History is a magnificently illustrated comprehensive guide with stunning visuals that provides all (or most) of the answers. Whether it be simply the most accepted theories or the most puzzling great enigmas to date in world history. With hundreds of photographs, illustrations, special infographics, curiosities, and historical reconstructions, Mysteries in History captures the captivating essence hidden in every inexplicable fact. Some mysteries included are: Construction of the pyramids Mysterious death of Hitler The true identity of Tutankhamun The loss and discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls Rapid decline of the Mayas Secrets hidden in the tombs of Antiquity Much more! For the curious, the intrepid, and those who desperately want to know more about the world, the illustrated encyclopedia of secrets, Mysteries in History, is here for you.

"An exploration of the questions and mysteries that have puzzled scholars and experts about the Neolithic site of Stonehenge. Features include a map, fact boxes, biographies of famous experts on Stonehenge, places to see and visit, a glossary, further readings, and index"--

* Who built Stonehenge? * Why did the pharaohs build the pyramids? * Did Richard III kill the princes in the tower? * Could the Titanic have been saved? * Did Hitler murder his niece? PRAISE FOR UNSOLVED MYSTERIES OF HISTORY "Like a sleuth, Aron pieces together the possible answers . . . It's an engaging way to learn more about history and the new evidence that sheds light on long-standing theories." --Daily Press "Aron has produced a fascinating and judicious description of historical mysteries from the Neanderthals to Gorbachev. His entertaining account of historical controversies will leave every reader the wiser about the past." --Jack F. Matlock Jr., former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union "With unerring good sense and in well-paced prose, Paul Aron solves as best he can the major who-done-its, did-it-happens, and did-it-have-to-happens of world history. Unsolved Mysteries of History should keep readers engaged well into the night."-- Adam Potkay, author, A Passion for Happiness

Did the illustrious Hoysala king, Vishnuvardhana, create a fictional tale about his dynasty’s founder? Is Bengaluru’s Kadlekai Parishe a wholly British invention with no roots to the City’s founding years? Acutely aware of their inferior status in the royal hierarchy, did the Wodeyars use the origin stories they had fabricated two centuries earlier to enter into matrimonial alliances in north India? Is the greatest icon of temple-building in Karnataka, Jakanacharai, a mere legend? Did Ramanuja, the famed Vishishtadvaita philosopher, order the disfigurement of the Gommateshwara statue to achieve narrow religious ends? The construct of Indian history is embellished with its fair share of assumptions and glaring omission of facts; much of it infused with bias. To add to the conundrum, many a time, our forebears in Karnataka devised their own version of events that were often steeped in legend. This propensity for myth-making tossed accuracy into a grey area, which gave birth to a wealth of enigmas in its wake. Backed by insights from esteemed scholars, this book aims to separate fiction from fact. Unlock the hidden truths behind hoary myths and legends shrouded in the mists of time. The reality of history as you know it will stagger you.

What constitutes historical truth is often subject to change. Through ingenious detection, the accepted wisdom of one generation may become the discredited legend of another—or vice versa. In this wide- ranging study of historical investigation, former detective Joe Nickell allows the reader to look over his shoulder as he demonstrates the use of varied techniques in solving some of the world's most perplexing mysteries. All the major categories of historical mystery are here—ancient riddles, biographical enigmas, hidden identity, "fakelore," questioned artifacts, suspect documents, lost texts, obscured sources, and scientific challenges. Each is then illustrated by a complete case from the author's own files. Nickell's investigation of the giant Nazca drawings in Peru, for example—thought by some to provide proof of ancient extraterrestrial visitations—uses innovative techniques to reveal a very different origin. Other cases concern the 1913 disappearance of writer and journalist Ambrose Bierce, the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, the truth about the identity of John Demjanjuk ("Ivan the Terrible" to Polish death camp victims), the fate of a lost colonial American text, the authenticity of Abraham Lincoln's celebrated Bixby letter, and the apparent real-life model for a mysterious character in a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In reaching his solutions, Nickell demonstrates a wide variety of investigative techniques—chemical and instrumental analyses, physical experimentation, a "psychological autopsy," forensic identification, archival research, linguistic analysis, folklore study, and many others. His highly readable book will intrigue the scholar and the history buff no less than the mystery lover.

The author succeeds admirably in defining and describing the complex phenomenon known as Peronism, as well as the distinctive ethos from which it sprang. He also provides a concise history of Argentina, a biography of Juan Peron (and his comparably mythic wife Evita) and in a postscript reviews events in Argentina since Peron's death in 1974....Crassweller brings Peron into clear focus.