At the beginning of the eleventh century, Catalonia was a patchwork of counties, viscounties, and lordships that bordered Islamic al-Andalus to the south. Over the next two centuries, the region underwent a dramatic transformation. The counts of Barcelona secured title to the neighboring kingdom of Aragon through marriage and this newly constituted Crown of Aragon, after numerous failed attempts, finally conquered the Islamic states positioned along its southern frontier in the mid-twelfth century. Successful conquest, however, necessitated considerable organizational challenges that threatened to destabilize, politically and economically, this triumphant regime. The Aragonese monarchy's efforts to overcome these adversities, consolidate its authority, and capitalize on its military victories would impose lasting changes on its governmental framework and exert considerable influence over future expansionist projects. In Victory's Shadow, Thomas W. Barton offers a sweeping new account of the capture and long-term integration of Muslim-ruled territories by an ascendant Christian regime and a detailed analysis of the influence of this process on the governmental, economic, and broader societal development of both Catalonia and the greater Crown of Aragon. Based on over a decade of extensive archival research, Victory's Shadow deftly reconstructs and evaluates the decisions, outcomes, and costs involved in this experience of territorial integration and considers its implications for ongoing debates regarding the dynamics of expansionism across the diverse boundary zones of medieval Europe.

The Mesan Alignment is revealed, and, for Honor Harrington and the Manticoran Star Kingdom, this means war! Unintended Consequences Sometimes things don’t work out exactly as planned. The Mesan Alignment has a plan—one it’s been working on for centuries. A plan to remake the galaxy and genetically improve the human race—its way. Until recently, things have gone pretty much as scheduled, but then the Alignment hit a minor bump in the road called the Star Empire of Manticore. So the Alignment engineered a war between the Solarian League, the biggest and most formidable interstellar power in human history. To help push things along, the Alignment launched a devastating sneak attack which destroyed the Royal Manticoran Navy’s industrial infrastructure. And in order to undercut Manticore’s galaxy-wide reputation as a star nation of its word, it launched Operation Janus—a false-flag covert operation to encourage rebellions it knows will fail by promising Manticoran support. The twin purposes are to harden Solarian determination to destroy the Star Empire once and for all, and to devastate the Star Empire’s reputation with the rest of the galaxy. But even the best laid plans can have unintended consequences, and one of those consequences in this case may just be a new dawn of freedom for oppressed star nations everywhere. About Shadow of Freedom: “This entry is just as exciting as Weber’s initial offering . . . The result is a fast-paced and action-packed story that follows [our characters] as they move from reaction to command of the situation. Weber builds Shadow of Freedom to an exciting and unexpected climax.”—Daily News of Galveston About Mission of Honor, #13 in the Honor Harrington series: “Weber combines realistic, engaging characters with intelligent technological projection and a deep understanding of military bureaucracy in this long-awaited Honor Harrington novel . . . Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice to see Honor back in action.”—Publishers Weekly “This latest Honor Harrington novel brings the saga to another crucial turning point . . . Readers may feel confident that they will be Honored many more times and enjoy it every time.”—Booklist About David Weber and the Honor Harrington series: “. . . everything you could want in a heroine . . . Excellent . . . plenty of action.”—Science Fiction Age “Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!”—Anne McCaffrey “Compelling combat combined with engaging characters for a great space opera adventure.”—Locus

Profiles of unsung American battlefield commanders—from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War. “A pleasure to read” (Raymond E. Franck, Brig. Gen., USAF, retired). History plays tricks sometimes. During the course of America’s experience, it has enshrined an exceptional few military leaders in our collective consciousness as “great,” while ignoring others often equally as deserving. For example, few of the thousands who pass by the traffic square between Fifth Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan realize that it houses the tomb of one of America’s best military commanders—William Worth—a hero in not one but two of the nation’s wars. Similarly, the Civil War general who never lost a battle and who many military historians believe fought one of the two most perfect battles in history was not Grant, Sherman, Lee, or Jackson; it was Thomas—who never extolled his own cause, but in all likelihood saved his nation’s. At the same time, conflicts themselves have often disappeared from consciousness, the public forgetting the fights the country waged against the Barbary Pirates, the British in 1812, and against the Seminoles and Apaches. In the Shadows of Victory describes the heroics and command acumen of twenty-five superb military leaders whose sacrifice and skill have often been neglected—from the War of Independence through the Mexican War and Civil War, and during numerous Native American conflicts. As such, it provides a fascinating tour through early American military history and the various martial challenges the young nation faced during its first century of existence. “Well written . . . reading about these officers’ achievements is an enjoyable experience.” —The Journal of America’s Military Past

It was a long, low room, with a fireplace, roughly built of limestone, at one end of it. The blazing logs illuminated one corner and sent strange shadows into the others, while the winter wind moaned drearily outside. At the right and left of the fireplace were rude counters, hewn from logs, resting on stumps of unequal height, and behind them were shelves, packed with the sordid miscellany of a frontier trading-post. A closed door on either side seemingly led to other apartments, but there was no sound save the wind and the crackle of the flames. A candle, thrust into the broken neck of a bottle, gave a feeble light to a little space around one end of the counter on which it stood. The rafters were low—so low that a tall man, standing on tiptoe, might easily unhook the smoked hams and sides of bacon that hung there, swaying back and forth when the wind shook the house. Walls, ceiling, and floor were of logs, cut into a semblance of smoothness. The chinks were plastered with a bluish clay, and the crevices in the floor were filled with a mixture of clay and small chips. At the left of the chimney was a rude ladder which led to the loft through an opening in the ceiling. Fingers of sleet tapped at the glass, swirling phantoms of snow drifted by, pausing for a moment at the windows, as if to look within, and one of the men moved his chair closer to the fire.

When fourteen La'Shel nearly lost her life. Although never fully recovered, she refused to be held back. She has a passion to uplift anyone on the road of life itself. The permeating vein throughout her poetry is in reflecting on life itself and seeing the victory: our responses determine who we become. This is a very victorious young woman!

Alphabet Squadron’s hunt for the deadliest TIE fighters in the galaxy continues in this Star Wars adventure! News of the New Republic’s victory still reverberates through the galaxy. In its wake, the capital ships of the newly legitimized galactic government journey to the farthest stars, seeking out and crushing the remnants of imperial tyranny. But some old ghosts are harder to banish than others. And none are more dangerous than Shadow Wing. Yrica Quell’s ragtag Alphabet Squadron still leads the search for Shadow Wing, but they’re no closer to their goal—and the pressure to find their quarry before it’s too late has begun to shake them apart. Determined to finish the fight once and for all, Quell works with New Republic Intelligence’s contentious Caern Adan and the legendary General Hera Syndulla to prepare the riskiest gambit of her starfighting career—a trap for Shadow Wing that could finish the chase once and for all. But in the darkness, their enemy has evolved. Soran Keize, last of the Imperial aces, has stepped into the power vacuum at the head of Shadow Wing, reinvigorating the faltering unit in their hour of need. Once adrift in the aftershocks of the war, Keize has found meaning again, leading the lost soldiers of his unit through to safety. The only thing standing in his way? The most mismatched squadron in the New Republic Navy, led by his former mentee: the traitor Yrica Quell.

The shadows are talking and they won't take no for an answer. Victory has returned safely to present-day Limani, sure that nothing so strange as time travel can ever happen to her again. Until the shadows begin speaking to her. And it turns out she's not the only one. Along with her sire Asaron and daywalker Mikelos, Victory will travel to a realm outside anything she could ever imagine. A previously unknown, ancient enemy threatens to tear apart the fabric of the world, and everything Victory thought she knew about magic will be completely rewritten. In this unfamiliar world, accompanied by long-lost companions, Victory must find her way home once more. But if the shadows have manipulated her life all along, will she have a home to return to? Or will the darkness consume Limani as well?

Victory isn’t always the end of the story. Paris, 1944. OSS Agent Kathryn Hammond sacrificed her heart and her career to save the woman she loved. Now, facing an uncertain future and an unrelenting enemy, she must fight for the only thing left that matters—victory. Unearthed secrets changed Jenny Ryan’s life forever. She longed for relevance but now finds herself the center of a high-stakes international tug of war for a hidden weapon that could change the world. As the two women navigate the dangerous world of espionage, they are faced with the ultimate test of love and loyalty. Can their love overcome the obstacles in their path, or have time and the shadows of the past cost them a second chance at happiness? Buy In the Shadow of Victory and join Kathryn and Jenny on their journey of forgiveness, healing, and devotion, as they discover the strength of their love in the thrilling conclusion to the sapphic noir Shadow series. Note: This is the fourth and final book in the Shadow series. Reading the books in order is highly recommended.

The Mediterranean theater in World War II has long been overlooked by historians who believe it was little more than a string of small-scale battles--sideshows that were of minor importance in a war whose outcome was decided in the clashes of mammoth tank armies in northern Europe. But in this ground-breaking new book, one of our finest military historians argues that the Mediterranean was World War II's pivotal theater. Douglas Porch examines the Mediterranean as an integrated arena, one in which events in Syria and Suez influenced the survival of Gibraltar. Without a Mediterranean alternative, the Western Allies would probably have committed to a premature cross-Channel invasion in 1943 that might well have cost them the war. Brilliantly argued, with vivid portraits of Churchill, Montgomery, FDR, Rommel, and Mussolini, this original, accessible, and compelling account of a little-known theater emphasizes the importance of the Mediterranean in the ultimate Allied victory in Europe in World War II.

What if Clinton/Gore lost in 1992? Or won in 1992 and lost in 1996? This book is a look back at the importance of all the right moves made by Bill Clinton from the New Hampshire primary to the selection of Al Gore as his running mate to his handling of the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994-95.