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Oppose Any Foe: The Rise of America's Special Operations Forces
By Mark Moyar. 2017
Oppose Any Foe is the epic story of America's most elite warriors: the Special Operations Forces. Born as small appendages…
to the conventional armies of World War II, the Special Operations Forces have grown into a behemoth of 70,000 troops, including Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Air Force Night Stalkers, Special Operations Marines, Rangers, and Delta Force. Weaving together their triumphs and tribulations, acclaimed historian Mark Moyar introduces a colorful cast of military men, brimming with exceptional talent, courage and selflessness.In a nation where the military is the most popular institution, America's Special Operations Forces have become the most popular members of the military. Through nighttime raids on enemy compounds and combat advising of resistance movements, special operators have etched their names into the nation's registry of heroes. Yet the public knows little of the journey that they took to reach these heights, a journey that was neither easy nor glamorous.Fighting an uphill battle for most of their seventy-five year history, the Special Operations Forces slipped on many an occasion, and fell far on several. Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama have enthusiastically championed Special Operations Forces, but their enthusiasm has often surpassed their understanding, resulting in misuse or overuse of the troops. Lacking clearly defined missions, Special Operations Forces have had to reinvent themselves time and again to prove their value in the face of fierce critics-many of them from the conventional military, which from the start opposed the segregation of talent in special units.Highlighting both the heroism of America's most elite soldiers and the controversies surrounding their meteoric growth, Oppose Any Foe presents the first comprehensive history of these special warriors and their daring missions. It is essential reading for anyone interested in America's military history-and the future of warfare.The Shining Sea: David Porter and the Epic Voyage of the U.S.S. Essex during the War of 1812
By George C. Daughan. 2013
Shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812, Captain David Porter set out at the helm of the USS…
Essex, intent on rounding Cape Horn and hunting British whaling and merchant ships in the Pacific Ocean. Porter’s odyssey took him to exotic isles and brought glory to the fledgling American navy, and in The Shining Sea, celebrated historian George C. Daughan tells the full story of this historic voyage for the first time. Porter’s cruise is now regarded as the greatest maritime adventure of the period, but his monomaniacal quest to capture a British man-of-war ultimately cost him his ship and the lives of over two-thirds of his crew--a disgraceful end to a daring journey. A thrilling narrative of risk and ruin on the high seas, The Shining Sea brings to life one of the war’s greatest tragedies, capturing Porter’s immense hubris and his cataclysmic failure.Where Have All the Flowers Gone? The Diary of Molly MacKenzie Flaherty (Dear America)
By Ellen Emerson White. 2002
In 1968 Massachusetts, after her brother Patrick goes to fight in Vietnam, fifteen-year-old Molly records in her diary how she…
misses her brother, volunteers at a Veterans' Administration Hospital, and tries to make sense of the Vietnam War and tumultuous events in the United States. Includes historical notes.Foreign Fighters under International Law and Beyond
By Christophe Paulussen, Andrea De Guttry, Francesca Capone. 2016
This book offers various perspectives, with an international legal focus, on an important and underexplored topic, which has recently gained…
momentum: the issue of foreign fighters. It provides an overview of challenges, pays considerable attention to the status of foreign fighters, and addresses numerous approaches, both at the supranational and national level, on how to tackle this problem. Outstanding experts in the field - lawyers, historians and political scientists - contributed to the present volume, providing the reader with a multitude of views concerning this multifaceted phenomenon. Particular attention is paid to its implications in light of the armed conflicts currently taking place in Syria and Iraq. Andrea de Guttry is a Full Professor of International Law at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy. Francesca Capone is a Research Fellow in Public International Law at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna. Christophe Paulussen is a Senior Researcher at the T. M. C. Asser Instituut in The Hague, the Netherlands, and a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague.The Future of Violence: Robots and Germs, Hackers and Drones-Confronting A New Age of Threat
By Benjamin Wittes, Gabriella Blum. 2015
The ability to inflict pain and suffering on large groups of people is no longer limited to the nation-state. New…
technologies are putting enormous power into the hands of individuals across the world--a shift that, for all its sunny possibilities, entails enormous risk for all of us, and may even challenge the principles on which the modern nation state is founded. In short, if our national governments can no longer protect us from harm, they will lose their legitimacy. Detailing the challenges that states face in this new world, legal scholars Benjamin Wittes and Gabriella Blum controversially argue in [Title TK] that national governments must expand their security efforts to protect the lives and liberty of their citizens. Wittes and Blum show how advances in cybertechnology, biotechnology, and robotics mean that more people than ever before have access to technologies--from drones to computer networks and biological data--that could possibly be used to extort or attack states and private citizens. Security, too, is no longer only under governmental purview, as private companies or organizations control many of these technologies: internet service providers in the case of cyber terrorism and digital crime, or academic institutions and individual researchers and publishers in the case of potentially harmful biotechnologies. As Wittes and Blum show, these changes could undermine the social contract that binds citizens to their governments. In this brave new world of dispersed threats, Wittes and Blum persuasively argue that the best means for safeguarding our liberty and privacy are strong governmental surveillance and security networks. Indeed, they show--through engaging looks at political thinkers from Thomas Hobbes to the Founders and beyond--that security and liberty are mutually supportive, rather than existing in a precarious balance in which the increase in one leads to a proportional decrease in the other. And not only must we bolster our domestic security efforts, but we must think internationally. Our best defense is increasingly a transnational one: more multinational forces and greater action to protect (and protect against) the territory of weaker states who do not yet have the capability to police themselves. [Title TK] is at once an exposé of our emerging world--one in which students can print guns with 3-D printers and scientists’ manipulations of viruses can be recreated and unleashed by ordinary people--and an authoritative blueprint for how government and individuals must adapt to it.1812: The Navy's War
By George C. Daughan. 2011
At the outbreak of the War of 1812, America’s prospects looked dismal. It was clear that the primary battlefield would…
be the open oceanbut America’s war fleet, only twenty ships strong, faced a practiced British navy of more than a thousand men-of-war. Still, through a combination of nautical deftness and sheer bravado, the American navy managed to take the fight to the British and turn the tide of the war: on the Great Lakes, in the Atlantic, and even in the eastern Pacific. In 1812: The Navy’s War, prizewinning historian George C. Daughan tells the thrilling story of how a handful of heroic captains and their stalwart crews overcame spectacular odds to lead the country to victory against the world’s greatest imperial power. A stunning contribution to military and national history, 1812: The Navy’s War is the first complete account in more than a century of how the U. S. Navy rescued the fledgling nation and secured America’s future.Foppish, impulsive, and philandering: William Jackson was every Georgian parent’s worst nightmare. Gentlemen were expected to be honorable and virtuous,…
but William was the opposite, much to the dismay of his father, a well-to-do representative of the East India Company in Madras. In The Profligate Son, historian Nicola Phillips meticulously reconstructs William’s life from a recently discovered family archive, describing how his youthful misbehavior reduced his family to ruin. At first, William seemed destined for a life of great fortune, but before long, he was indulging regularly in pornography and brothels and using his father’s abundant credit to swindle tradesmen. Eventually, William found himself in debtor’s prison and then on a long, typhus-ridden voyage to an Australian penal colony. He spent the rest of his days there, dying a pauper at the age of thirty-seven. A masterpiece of literary nonfiction as dramatic as any Dickens novel, The Profligate Son transports readers from the steamy streets of India, to London’s elegant squares and seedy brothels, to the sunbaked shores of Australia, tracing the arc of a life long buried in history.In Defense of Flogging
By Peter Moskos. 2011
Moskos (law, police science, and criminal justice administration, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and City U. of New York)…
offers a creative critique of the current criminal justice system. Whether or not he actually believes that flogging is the most appropriate alternative, the author presents details regarding recommended implementation in an attempt to open up discussion of alternatives to imprisonment. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)Ancient Chinese Warfare
By Ralph D. Sawyer. 2011
The history of China is a history of warfare. Rarely in its 3,000-year existence has the country not been beset…
by war, rebellion, or raids. Warfare was a primary source of innovation, social evolution, and material progress in the Legendary Era, Hsia dynasty, and Shang dynasty--indeed, war was the force that formed the first cohesive Chinese empire, setting China on a trajectory of state building and aggressive activity that continues to this day. In Ancient Chinese Warfare, a preeminent expert on Chinese military history uses recently recovered documents and archaeological findings to construct a comprehensive guide to the developing technologies, strategies, and logistics of ancient Chinese militarism. The result is a definitive look at the tools and methods that won wars and shaped culture in ancient China.Verdeckte strafprozessuale Ermittlungsmaßnahmen
By Thomas A Bode. 2011
Die Heimlichkeit ist kleinster gemeinsamer Nenner und zugleich dogmatischer Problempunkt der verdeckten strafprozessualen Ermittlungsmaßnahmen. Entspricht Heimlichkeit dem Zwang zu selbstbelastenden…
Aussagen? Warum können rein beobachtende Maßnahmen überhaupt die grundrechtlich geschützten Freiheiten des Einzelnen verkürzen? Sind die Vorschriften der StPO Rechtfertigungen für solche Eingriffe oder hierfür zu unbestimmt und unverhältnismäßig? In welchen Fällen scheitert eine Rechtfertigung an der Missachtung der Menschenwürde? Antworten auf diese Fragen sind nicht nur für eine fundamentale Kritik der verdeckten Maßnahmen und ihrer Regelungen notwendig. Sie sind auch unverzichtbar, um die Vorschriften der verdeckten Maßnahmen in der StPO verstehen und sinnvoll auslegen zu können. Mit einem eigenständigen Ansatz zur Beantwortung der Grundlagenfragen werden anwendungsbezogene Lösungsvorschläge erarbeitet, die auch aktuelle Spezialprobleme wie die Online-Durchsuchung und die Quellen-TKÜ betreffen.Male on Male Rape: The Hidden Toll of Stigma and Shame
By Michael Scarce. 1997
Operation Kinetic: Stabilizing Kosovo
By Sean M. Maloney, Gen. Mike Jackson. 2018
In the late 1990s NATO led the Kosovo Force KFOR charged with stabilizing Kosovo and the…
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia after genocide and other atrocities were carried out in the Balkan region Operation Kinetic is not only a history of the origins and operations of the Kosovo Force but also a history of the vital operations conducted by the Canadian Army units and their allies assigned to KFOR during the crucial early days and months after entry into the province in 1999 and through 2000 Operating alongside American British French Norwegian Finnish and Swedish forces these surveillance and response units were instrumental in preventing violence in numerous areas before it could escalate and draw in the Serbian Army which could have led to further genocide or war in the region Sean M Maloney a Canadian military historian with extensive field experience in the Balkans draws on numerous interviews and firsthand accounts of an operation that would later serve as a model in preparing for similar efforts in Afghanistan and provide a blueprint for stabilizing operations around the worldCreated in partnership with the world-renowned Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, this beautifully packaged, informative card deck captures, in…
words and stunning photographs, 100 of the museum's most important artifacts. The NASM is the world's largest, most-visited collection of historical aircraft and spacecraft, and commemorate major milestones in flight and space exploration. The 100 treasures in this deck, hand-selected by the curators, include the Spirit of St. Louis, flown by Charles Lindbergh on the first non-stop transatlantic flight; Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1, in which he broke the sound barrier; Buzz Aldrin's space suit, worn during the Apollo 11 mission, and the Space Shuttle Discovery, which flew 39 missions and spent 365 days in space. Each card includes a photograph of the object on the front and a 200-word description plus key data on the back.Last to Die: A Defeated Empire, a Forgotten Mission, and the Last American Killed in World War II
By Stephen Harding. 2015
On August 18, 1945, US Army sergeant Anthony J. Marchione bled to death in the clear, bright sky above Tokyo.…
Marchione, a gunner in the US Air Forces, died like so many before him in World War II--quietly, cradled in the arms of a buddy. Though tragic, Marchione’s death would have been no more notable than any other had he not had the dubious distinction of being the last American killed in World War II combat. Based on official American and Japanese histories, personal memoirs, and the author’s exclusive interviews with many of the story’s key participants, Last to Die is a rousing tale of air combat, bravery, cowardice, hubris, and determination, all set during the turbulent and confusing final days of World War II.The Castaway's War: One Man's Battle against Imperial Japan
By Stephen Harding. 2016
In the early hours of July 5, 1943, the destroyer USS Strong was hit by a Japanese torpedo. The powerful…
weapon broke the destroyer's back, flooded her engine room, killed dozens of sailors, and sparked raging fires. While accompanying ships were able to rescue most of Strong's surviving crewmen, scores were submerged in the ocean as the shattered warship sank beneath the waves-and a young officer's harrowing story of survival began. Based on official American and Japanese histories, personal memoirs, and the author's exclusive interviews with key participants, The Castaway's War tells the entirely unique and very personal tale of Navy Lieutenant Hugh Barr Miller's fight for survival against both a hostile environment and an implacable human enemy.Dawn of Infamy: A Sunken Ship, a Vanished Crew, and the Final Mystery of Pearl Harbor
By Stephen Harding. 2016
As the Pearl Harbor attack began, a U.S. cargo ship a thousand miles away in the middle of the vast…
Pacific Ocean mysteriously vanished along with her crew. What happened, and why?On December 7, 1941, even as Japanese carrier-launched aircraft flew toward Pearl Harbor, a small American cargo ship chartered by the Army reported that it was under attack by a submarine halfway between Seattle and Honolulu. After that one cryptic message, the humble lumber carrier Cynthia Olson and her crew vanished without a trace, their disappearance all but forgotten as the mighty warships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet burned.The story of the Cynthia Olson's mid-ocean encounter with the Japanese submarine I-26 is both a classic high-seas drama and one of the most enduring mysteries of World War II. Did I-26's commander, Minoru Yokota, sink the freighter before the attack on Pearl Harbor began? Did the cargo ship's 35-man crew survive in lifeboats that drifted away into the vast Pacific, or were they machine-gunned to death? Was the Cynthia Olson the first American casualty of the Pacific War, and could her SOS have changed the course of history?Based on years of research, Dawn of Infamy explores both the military and human aspects of the Cynthia Olson story, bringing to life a complex tale of courage, tenacity, hubris, and arrogance in the opening hours of America's war in the Pacific.Our Year of War: Two Brothers, Vietnam, and a Nation Divided
By Daniel P. Bolger. 2017
Two brothers--Chuck and Tom Hagel--who went to war in Vietnam, fought in the same unit, and saved each other's life.…
They disagreed about the war, but they fought it together.1968. America was divided. Flag-draped caskets came home by the thousands. Riots ravaged our cities. Assassins shot our political leaders. Black fought white, young fought old, fathers fought sons. And it was the year that two brothers from Nebraska went to war.In Vietnam, Chuck and Tom Hagel served side by side in the same rifle platoon. Together they fought in the Mekong Delta, battled snipers in Saigon, chased the enemy through the jungle, and each saved the other's life under fire. But when their one-year tour was over, these two brothers came home side-by-side but no longer in step--one supporting the war, the other hating it.Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and his brother Tom epitomized the best, and withstood the worst, of the most tumultuous, shocking, and consequential year in the last half-century. Following the brothers' paths from the prairie heartland through a war on the far side of the world and back to a divided America, Our Year of War tells the story of two brothers at war--a gritty, poignant, and resonant story of a family and a nation divided yet still united.A Christmas Far from Home: An Epic Tale of Courage and Survival during the Korean War
By Stanley Weintraub. 2014
An anecdote-rich narrative of the 1950 holiday season during the Korean War, when, just after Thanksgiving, tens of thousands of…
US troops were surrounded in the Chosin reservoir area by hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops and began a terrible and difficult retreat, which finally ended on Christmas Day.While the big bad corporation has often been the offender in many of the world's greatest environmental disasters, in the…
case of the mass poisoning at Camp Lejeune the culprit is a revered institution: the US Marine Corps. For two decades now, revelations have steadily emerged about pervasive contamination, associated clusters of illness and death among the Marine families stationed there, and military stonewalling and failure to act. Mike Magner's chilling investigation creates a suspenseful narrative from the individual stories, scientific evidence, and smoldering sense of betrayal among those whose motto is undying fidelity. He also raises far-reaching and ominous questions about widespread contamination on US military bases worldwide.