In the smoking ruins of our world, will the struggle for yesterday's technology spark tomorrow's global war? A new postapocalyptic novel, in which a young cowboy claims his destiny—and tries to prevent a catastophic war—from New York Times best-selling author John Ringo, Kacey Ezell, and Christopher L. Smith. WAR IN THE SMOKING RUINS OF TOMORROW! Thirty years ago, the world ended. Giant electrovoric ants and pterodons came through a rift in space-time, millions of humans died, and that was that. Without electricity, human ingenuity has provided some creative work-arounds to the energy problem, but most people survive at subsistence level. For Chuck Gordon, the simple life of a rancher was enough. But then he met a mysterious dying stranger and now he’s on the road of destiny across America accompanied by a warrior monk, a beautiful dragon tamer, a runaway cultist, and a mystic drunken lecher—all searching for the key to reclaiming humanity’s past—and future. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About The Valley of Shadows by John Ringo: ". . . fast-paced . . . building to an exciting climax . . . Ringo and Massa have written an end-of-the-world novel that is unconventional and entertaining."—Daily News of Galveston County About Black Tide Rising, coedited by John Ringo (featuring stories by Kacey Ezell and Christopher L. Smith): “. . . an entertaining batch of . . . action-packed tales. Certainly, fans of Ringo’s particular brand of action-adventure will be pleased.”—Booklist "This anthology broadens Ringo’s Black Tide world, serving up doses of humanity amid the ravenous afflicted. Comedy has a place in this harsh reality, and these stories stir adventure and emotion at a frantic clip throughout. Zombie fiction fans will be thrilled."—Library Journal About the Black Tide Rising Series: “Not only has Ringo found a mostly unexplored corner of the zombie landscape, he's using the zombie frame to tackle a broader theme: the collapse and rebirth of civilization. The zombie scenes are exciting, sure, but its the human story that keeps us involved. A fine series.”—Booklist on the Black Tide Rising Series About John Ringo: “[Ringo’s work is] peopled with three-dimensional characters and spiced with personal drama as well as tactical finesse.”—Library Journal “. . . Explosive. . . . Fans . . . will appreciate Ringo’s lively narrative and flavorful characters.”—Publishers Weekly “. . . practically impossible not to read in one sitting . . . exceedingly impressive . . . executed with skill, verve, and wit.”—Booklist “Crackerjack storytelling.”—Starlog About the work of Kacey Ezell: "Gritty, dark and damp. Much like the war itself."—Michael Z. Williamson, best-selling author of A Long Time Until Now "I loved Minds of Men."—D.J. Butler, best-selling author of Witchy Eye

In the smoking ruins of our world, will the struggle for yesterday's technology spark tomorrow's global war? A new postapocalyptic novel, in which a young cowboy claims his destiny--and tries to prevent a catastophic war--from New York Times best-selling author John Ringo, Kacey Ezell, and Christopher L. Smith.WAR IN THE SMOKING RUINS OF TOMORROW!Thirty years ago, the world ended. Giant electrovoric ants and pterodons came through a rift in space-time, millions of humans died, and that was that. Without electricity, human ingenuity has provided some creative work-arounds to the energy problem, but most people survive at subsistence level.For Chuck Gordon, the simple life of a rancher was enough. But then he met a mysterious dying stranger and now he's on the road of destiny across America accompanied by a warrior monk, a beautiful dragon tamer, a runaway cultist, and a mystic drunken lecher--all searching for the key to reclaiming humanity's past--and future.At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution. With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil's distillate" rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortez, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E.I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

It's the middle of a heat wave, and Charlie Schroeder is dressed in heavy clothing and struggling to row a replica eighteenth-century bateau down the St. Lawrence River. Why? Months earlier, Schroeder realized he knew almost nothing about history. But he wanted to learn, so the actor spent a year reenacting it. This book is Schroeder's account of the time he spent chasing Celts in Arkansas, raiding a Viet Cong village in Virginia, and flirting with frostbite en route to "Stalingrad" in Colorado. Along the way, he illuminates just how much the past can teach us about the present.--From back cover.

The weapon to end all wars is about to fall into the wrong hands.

"This book takes a fresh look at the most famous treason case in English history, a complex tale of treachery, suspicion, rebellion and retribution. [The author] shows how, starting with the most slender of leads, the Jacobean government built up a full picture of the conspiracy and tracked down the guilty men and brought them to justice. The story does not end with the bloody executions of Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators in 1606. For the first time in a book on the Gunpowder treason, [the author] investigates in depth the role in the plot played by the ninth earl of Northumberland, seen by many as the plotters' logical choice for a protector of the realm after blast, who was imprisoned in the Tower for sixteen years on suspicion of complicity. By examining the earl's political career in the years around 1605, the author shows how the government investigations, though shedding much light on the plot, never revealed the whole truth. [The author] cuts through the distortions of centuries of political and religious propaganda to explain the real motives of the Gunpowder plotters. [The author] disposes of the 'conspiracy theory, ' which holds that the king's chief minister, Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, framed the conspirators for his own political purposes, and ... sheds considerable light on the workings of early Jacobean government, particularly the privy council. [This book] should appeal to anyone interested in English history, as well as historians and students of seventeenth-century England"--

Spanning the days leading up to July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress prepares to debate the wisdom of seeking independence from their British masters. While most enlightened thinkers believe reconciliation will soon replace confrontation, negotiations between the two sides are continuing peacefully. On the surface the enlightened thinkers appear to be correct; however, both British and colonial leaders continue to make plans to the contrary.While the British continue to secretly assemble the largest naval armada in history, a shadowy plot has emerged from the highest levels of their government: an order to strike a decisive first blow and cut off the head of the snake.Patrick Rourke, a notorious and wealthy Philadelphia Tory, and his exotic mistress, Lydia Ames, are working with British agents on a sinister plot. Their goal is simple: to eliminate the leadership of the fledgling rebellion.In the meantime, members of the Second Continental Congress's Secret Committee have set in motion a bold plan to seek French military aid for the coming conflict. A ship full of gold is on its way to France to secure the deal. Unfortunately, the small committee has been compromised, and word of the shipment has fallen into the wrong hands.With the looming revolution in the background, we find our reluctant hero, Benjamin Cushman, thrust into the middle of the coming storm. Cushman decides to visit his best friend from childhood, Thomas Jefferson, only to be caught in the middle of the notorious British assassination plot.The assassination attempt is the springboard and culmination of various subplots set against the actual documented historical records of the weeks leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This historical fiction novel allows the reader to follow our Founding Fathers during one of the most crucial weeks in our history, the week leading up to the Fourth of July. It will expose the reader to the process, pressure, and politics that led to the courageous signing of the Declaration of Independence and perhaps the greatest closing line in human history, as the signers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for a simple yet powerful idea—freedom.

In the winter of 1924, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher travels to a school friend's house to witness the estate's famous Guy Fawkes celebration. But she gets more than a quiet weekend at the quaint family manse that she was originally hoping for. The home is the site of some severe family tension - the Viscount and head of family is a strict and unyielding sort, insisting that everyone - especially his children - meet his own unreasonable expectations. On the evening of the Guy Fawkes celebration, the Viscount is found dead on the floor of his study, killed by his own hand. What's more, he apparently first killed a guest - a married woman visiting England from Australia - before turning the gun on himself. Now it's up to Alec Fletcher, Daisy's husband and a DCI of Scotland Yard, to unravel the mystery and the long held family secrets that led to this state of affairs before anyone else can fall prey to the tragic cycle of events. A solution that will require, perhaps, more than a little help from Daisy herself.

The first full edition and English translation of the RA I.34 Firework Book. Produced from the early fifteenth century onwards, Firework Books are, broadly speaking, manuals on how to use gunpowder, witnessing a major development in warfare. Surviving in a corpus of some 65, each text has different content and components, but core elements are present throughout. An important example is a manuscript in the collection of the Royal Armouries (RA I.34), written in Early New High German, and (unlike many other manuscripts) still in what appears to be its original format and binding; it also, unusually, contains a number of illustrations. This volume provides the first full edition and English translation of the material, with a detailed analysis of its content and context. It positions the Firework Books at a crucial stage in the development of gunpowder artillery, offering an unparalleled insight into fifteenth-century gunpowder technology at a critical juncture of military and technological change at the end of the Middle Ages.