Alan Axelrod identifies 18 smaller wars that led to great changes in history, from the Afghan Civil War that precipitated the rise of the Taliban history, from the Afghan Civil War that precipitated the rise of the to the Algerine War in 1815, seen as the first war on terror, to King Philip's War in 1675 that, in proportion to the population at the time, was the costliest war in American history and changed the colonies forever. Axelrod takes a fascinating look at the turning points in world history that people often overlook. Filled with more than 75 maps, illustrations, and paintings. An in-depth and gripping read for people who want to know more about important historical events.

Alan Axelrod identifies 18 smaller wars that led to great changes in history, from the Afghan Civil War that precipitated the rise of the Taliban to the Algerine War in 1815, seen as the first war on terror, to King Philip’s War in 1675 that, in proportion to the population at the time, was the costliest war in American history and changed the colonies forever. Axelrod takes a fascinating look at the turning points in world history that people often overlook. Filled with more than 75 maps, illustrations, and paintings. An in-depth and gripping read for people who want to know more about important historical events.

Americans are greatly concerned about the number of our troops killed in battle--33,000 in the Korean War; 58,000 in Vietnam; 4,500 in Iraq--and rightly so. But why are we so indifferent, often oblivious, to the far greater number of casualties suffered by those we fight and those we fight for? This is the compelling, largely unasked question John Tirman answers in The Deaths of Others. Between six and seven million people died in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq alone, the majority of them civilians. And yet Americans devote little attention to these deaths. Other countries, however, do pay attention, and Tirman argues that if we want to understand why there is so much anti-Americanism around the world, the first place to look is how we conduct war. We understandably strive to protect our own troops, but our rules of engagement with the enemy are another matter. From atomic weapons and carpet bombing in World War II to napalm and daisy cutters in Vietnam and beyond, our weapons have killed large numbers of civilians and enemy soldiers. Americans, however, are mostly ignorant of these methods, believing that American wars are essentially just, necessary, and "good." Trenchant and passionate, The Deaths of Others forces readers to consider the tragic consequences of American military action not just for Americans, but especially for those we fight against.

Is peace an aberration? The New York Times bestselling author of Paris 1919 offers a provocative view of war as an essential component of humanity. NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “Margaret MacMillan has produced another seminal work. . . . She is right that we must, more than ever, think about war. And she has shown us how in this brilliant, elegantly written book.”—H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World The instinct to fight may be innate in human nature, but war—organized violence—comes with organized society. War has shaped humanity’s history, its social and political institutions, its values and ideas. Our very language, our public spaces, our private memories, and some of our greatest cultural treasures reflect the glory and the misery of war. War is an uncomfortable and challenging subject not least because it brings out both the vilest and the noblest aspects of humanity. Margaret MacMillan looks at the ways in which war has influenced human society and how, in turn, changes in political organization, technology, or ideologies have affected how and why we fight. War: How Conflict Shaped Us explores such much-debated and controversial questions as: When did war first start? Does human nature doom us to fight one another? Why has war been described as the most organized of all human activities? Why are warriors almost always men? Is war ever within our control? Drawing on lessons from wars throughout the past, from classical history to the present day, MacMillan reveals the many faces of war—the way it has determined our past, our future, our views of the world, and our very conception of ourselves.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From a preeminent presidential historian comes a “superb and important” (The New York Times Book Review) saga of America’s wartime chief executives “Fascinating and heartbreaking . . . timely . . . Beschloss’s broad scope lets you draw important crosscutting lessons about presidential leadership.”—Bill Gates Widely acclaimed and ten years in the making, Michael Beschloss’s Presidents of War is an intimate and irresistibly readable chronicle of the Chief Executives who took the United States into conflict and mobilized it for victory. From the War of 1812 to Vietnam, we see these leaders considering the difficult decision to send hundreds of thousands of Americans to their deaths; struggling with Congress, the courts, the press, and antiwar protesters; seeking comfort from their spouses and friends; and dropping to their knees in prayer. Through Beschloss’s interviews with surviving participants and findings in original letters and once-classified national security documents, we come to understand how these Presidents were able to withstand the pressures of war—or were broken by them. Presidents of War combines this sense of immediacy with the overarching context of two centuries of American history, traveling from the time of our Founders, who tried to constrain presidential power, to our modern day, when a single leader has the potential to launch nuclear weapons that can destroy much of the human race. Praise for Presidents of War "A marvelous narrative. . . . As Beschloss explains, the greatest wartime presidents successfully leaven military action with moral concerns. . . . Beschloss’s writing is clean and concise, and he admirably draws upon new documents. Some of the more titillating tidbits in the book are in the footnotes. . . . There are fascinating nuggets on virtually every page of Presidents of War. It is a superb and important book, superbly rendered.”—Jay Winik, The New York Times Book Review "Sparkle and bite. . . . Valuable and engrossing study of how our chief executives have discharged the most significant of all their duties. . . . Excellent. . . . A fluent narrative that covers two centuries of national conflict.” —Richard Snow, The Wall Street Journal

The definitive chronicle of the Allied triumph in Europe during World War II, Rick Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy is now together in one ebook bundle From the War in North Africa to the Invasion of Normandy, the Liberation Trilogy recounts the hard fought battles that led to Allied victory in World War II. Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author Rick Atkinson brings great drama and exquisite detail to the retelling of these battles and gives life to a cast of characters, from the Allied leaders to rifleman in combat. His accomplishment is monumental: the Liberation Trilogy is the most vividly told, brilliantly researched World War II narrative to date. WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Handsomely illustrated with more than 100 striking, sometimes shocking, archival images gathered from around the world, The World's Bloodiest History combines compelling depictions of momentous events with fascinating character portraits and arresting eyewitness accounts to create an absorbing, multifaceted chronicle of a sobering, all-too-human legacy.

132 untold stories and 475 rare illustrations offer a completely new perspective on the Civil War.

Learn how to protect yourself from the American criminal justice system. Arrested: Bottling America's Criminal Justice System is not a book for just anyone. After all, if you're a career criminal with no remorse, it probably won't help you-but it could. If, on the other hand, you are a good, decent, law-abiding citizen who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time-or know someone who was-or you just want to know more about the American criminal justice system, this book is definitely for you. Practicing criminal defense attorney Dan Conaway has written Arrested to help us all understand our rights and responsibilities as upstanding citizens of the country we live in. "The Beast"-as he refers to our criminal justice system-has very little in common with the way it is depicted on TV crime dramas. Clearing away the fiction, Conaway addresses the following real-world topics: What should you say if a police officer stops you to ask "just a few quick questions"? Why does it take so long for most cases to go to trial? How can you help a family member who has been accused of a crime? Although not intended as a substitute for professional legal counsel, Arrested can be used as a guide as you work your way through the maze of one of the most complicated systems on the planet. With the help of fact-based scenarios, Conaway shows us all what could happen to any of us if we're not careful. Along with explanations of how we have become a "zero-toleranee" society-as well as the good and bad inherent in that label-and practical, real-life examples to learn from, Arrested will give you both the background and the foresight to know how to handle yourself in almost any situation. Book jacket.

For more than a century successive US and UK governments have sought to thwart nationalist, socialist and pro-democracy movements in the Middle East. Through the Cold War, the ‘War on Terror’ and the present era defined by the Islamic State, the Western powers have repeatedly manipulated the region’s most powerful actors to ensure the security of their own interests and, in doing so, have given rise to religious politics, sectarian war, bloody counter-revolutions and now one of the most brutal incarnations of Islamic extremism ever seen. This is the utterly compelling, systematic dissection of Western interference in the Middle East. Christopher Davidson exposes the dark side of our foreign policy – dragging many disturbing facts out into the light for the first time. Most shocking for us today is his assertion that US intelligence agencies continue to regard the Islamic State, like al-Qaeda before it, as a strategic but volatile asset to be wielded against their enemies. Provocative, alarming and unrelenting, Shadow Wars demands to be read – now.