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Jacques de Molay: El último gran maestre templario
By Marcelo Dos Santos. 2006
Conozca en este nuevo libro de Marcelo Dos Santos, autor de El manuscrito Voynich, la odisea de Jacques de Molay,…
último gran maestre de la Orden de los Templarios. A principios del siglo XIV la sociedad europea veía el imparable avance de las órdenes monásticomilitares. Los principales de entre estos miles de monjes guerreros eran los Caballeros Templarios (orden fundada en la Jerusalén recién conquistada en la cruzada) quienes fundaron verdaderos imperios espirituales y económicos en las sociedades europeas de su época. De estricta observancia religiosa, obediencia ciega a los reyes y al papado, valor a toda prueba y un enorme espíritu de sacrificio, los Templarios estaban obligados a aceptar el combate de uno contra tres, no podían comprar sus vidas con rescates si caían prisioneros y se les exigía cumplir con otras severísimas reglas. Además de ello, debían someterse a los tres votos tradicionales de los religiosos cristianos: obediencia, pobreza y castidad. Encontraron tiempo aún para dedicarse a la producción agrícola, a la construcción de muchas de las grandes catedrales europeas y a financiar grandes proyectos y emprendimientos. A pesar de todas sus virtudes, sin embargo, un buen día cayeron en desgracia y fueron aniquilados.The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World's Most Notorious Terrorists
By Tracy Walder, Jessica Anya Blau. 2020
A highly entertaining account of a young woman who went straight from her college sorority to the CIA, where she…
hunted terrorists and WMDs"A thrilling tale...Walder’s fast-paced and intense narrative opens a window into life in two of America’s major intelligence agencies" —Publishers Weekly (starred review)When Tracy Walder enrolled at the University of Southern California, she never thought that one day she would offer her pink beanbag chair in the Delta Gamma house to a CIA recruiter, or that she’d fly to the Middle East under an alias identity.The Unexpected Spy is the riveting story of Walder's tenure in the CIA and, later, the FBI. In high-security, steel-walled rooms in Virginia, Walder watched al-Qaeda members with drones as President Bush looked over her shoulder and CIA Director George Tenet brought her donuts. She tracked chemical terrorists and searched the world for Weapons of Mass Destruction. She created a chemical terror chart that someone in the White House altered to convey information she did not have or believe, leading to the Iraq invasion. Driven to stop terrorism, Walder debriefed terrorists—men who swore they’d never speak to a woman—until they gave her leads. She followed trails through North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, shutting down multiple chemical attacks.Then Walder moved to the FBI, where she worked in counterintelligence. In a single year, she helped take down one of the most notorious foreign spies ever caught on American soil. Catching the bad guys wasn’t a problem in the FBI, but rampant sexism was. Walder left the FBI to teach young women, encouraging them to find a place in the FBI, CIA, State Department or the Senate—and thus change the world.The Somme: The Royal Flying Corps And The Battle Of The Somme 1916
By Peter Hart. 2005
One of the bloodiest battles in world history—a military tragedy that would come to define a generation.On July 1, 1916,…
the British Army launched the &“Big Push&” that was supposed to bring an end to the horrific stalemate on the Western Front between British, French, and German forces. What resulted was one of the greatest single human catastrophes in twentieth century warfare. Scrambling out of trenches in the face of German machine guns and artillery fire, the Allied Powers lost over twenty thousand soldiers that first day. This &“battle&” would drag on for another four bloody months, resulting in over one million causalities among the three powers. As the oral historian at the Imperial War Museum in London, Peter Hart has brought to light new material never before seen or heard. The Somme is an unparalleled evocation of World War I&’s iconic contest—the definitive account of one of the major tragedies of the twentieth century.Valientes. El relato de las víctimas del franquismo y de los que les sobrevivieron
By Natalia Junquera. 2013
Éste es un libro de historias de hombres valientes, de héroes hasta ahora anónimos, de grandes injusticias y tragedias, de…
hogares rotos en los que nunca se habló del que faltaba. Con prólogo de Baltasar Garzón. Más de 150.000 personas murieron durante la Guerra Civil lejos del frente. En pueblos pequeños que no habían levantado trincheras. Los mataron por pertenecer a un sindicato, a un partido político. Por ser familiar de algún sindicalista, de algún político. Por ser esposa de un rojo, por tener un vecino envidioso, por haber ganado un conflicto de tierras, por haberse quedado con la chica que deseaba otro. Nadie persiguió o castigó a los verdugos. Nadie los llamó verdugos. Durante los siguientes cuarenta años fueron simplemente los vencedores. La periodista de El País Natalia Junquera, especialista en memoria histórica y robo de niños, ha dedicado más de seis años de investigación, de entrevistas, de viajes y de conversaciones con los hombres y las mujeres que sufrieron los crímenes de la Guerra Civil y del franquismo, una realidad silenciada que todavía hoy produce escalofríos. Valientes recoge las historias de esas víctimas que no tienen ni calles ni lápidas ni tumbas en los cementerios. Las vidas tan cortas de los que murieron de espaldas, frente a un árbol o una tapia, sacados de madrugada de sus casas. Las de quienes fueron fusilados tras consejos sumarísimos. Las de quienes murieron de hambre, frío y enfermedades abandonados en cárceles abarrotadas de sinsentido. Y las de los que les sobrevivieron: los que tuvieron que convivir durante décadas con los verdugos, con el silencio y con el miedo. «Natalia Junquera nos concede el privilegio de conocer de primera mano no sólo la realidad que vivieron las víctimas de la Guerra Civil y la posguerra y sus familiares en el pasado, sino la que aún viven hoy. Escalofriantes yemotivos testimonios de sufrimiento, de impotencia ante la injusticia que se estaba cometiendo, y de la fortaleza que tuvieron que sacar muchas familias para seguir adelante. Un libro excelente». Baltasar GarzónFootprints in the Dust: Nursing, Survival, Compassion, And Hope With Refugees Around The World
By Roberta Gately. 2018
Roberta Gately is a nurse and humanitarian aid worker who has served in war zones ranging from Africa to Afghanistan…
aiding refugees. Just the word refugee sparks conversation and fuel emotion. There are more than 22 million refugees worldwide and another 65 million who have been forcibly displaced. But who are these people? Images filter into our consciousness via dramatic photographs—but these photos only offer a glimpse into their stories. Footprints in the Dust aims to share the real stories of these refugees in hopes of revealing the truth about their experience. As a young ER nurse in Boston, Roberta was stopped cold by stark images of big-bellied babies with empty haunting stares in the news. She called the aid organization featured in the news story and within two months, she was on her way. Roberta would soon learn that world into which millions of children around the globe were born was fraught with unspeakable horrors. The only certainties for so many of these children were, and remain to this day—disease and devastating injury.Footprints in the Dust reveals the humanity behind the headlines, beginning where the newscasters end their reports. The people we meet within this riveting book are neither all saints nor all sinners—and impossible to forget.La guerra en la sangre: Los franco-argentinos ante la primer guerra mundial
By Hernán Otero. 2012
De la colección Nudos de la Historia argentina, el impacto de la PrimeraGuerra Mundial en argentinos e inmigrantes. ¿Cuál fue…
el impacto de la Gran Guerra de 1914-1918 en la Argentina? ¿Cuáles fueron los argumentos que dividieron a la sociedad a favor y encontra de la neutralidad de Yrigoyen? ¿Qué acciones llevaron a cabo lascomunidades migratorias? ¿Qué razones impulsaron a miles de extranjerosy a sus hijos argentinos a combatir o a rechazar abiertamente elimpuesto de sangre? Partiendo del grupo francés, caso límite en larespuesta a la movilización militar, y de documentación inédita dearchivos militares y diplomáticos, el libro analiza la anatomía de ladecisión que desgarró a las comunidades, a los migrantes y a susfamilias. Punto de encrucijada entre la historia cultural de la guerra,la historia de las migraciones y la historia diplomática, el textoaborda asimismo el rol de los diplomáticos extranjeros para doblegar laneutralidad; la integración de los inmigrantes europeos hacia elCentenario; el rol de la mujer; los conflictivos vínculos entreconsulados e inmigrantes; las tensiones entre el derecho del suelo y elderecho de sangre; los dramáticos efectos de la guerra sobre lascomunidades vencedoras y derrotadas; y los límites de cualquierdefinición sencilla de la nacionalidad y de la identidad de laspersonas.Para la colección Nudos de la Historia argentina hemos pedido ahistoriadores de primer nivel que escriban libros sólidos pero a la vezatractivos, susceptibles de ser leídos y disfrutados por personasinteresadas en la historia, aunque carezcan de una formaciónuniversitaria en la disciplina. Esperamos estar a laaltura del desafío.Malvinas. La trama secreta (Edición definitiva)
By Ricardo Kirschbaum, Eduardo Van Der Kooy, Oscar Raúl Cardoso. 2012
Edición ampliada del primer best seller de la primavera democrática. Tres jóvenes periodistas del diario Clarín publicaron en 1983 un…
librollamado a ser clave en más de un sentido. Por un lado, «Malvinas, latrama secreta» servía para entender qué había pasado realmente en esaguerra inaudita, cuyas heridas estaban aún en carne viva. Por otro, ellibro fue fundamental por marcar un hito en el terreno de la másrigurosa investigación periodística. Y finalmente, «Malvinas# llegabapara dejar en claro todo lo que había cambiado en la Argentina en apenasun año: palabras que se amontonaban allí donde solo había silencio,revelaciones reemplazando al oscurantismo, libertad en lugar derepresión.Esta edición ampliada incorpora un importante número de documentosdesclasificados reveladores del rol que asumieron las potenciasmundiales en el conflicto: la U.R.S.S. apoyando a los militaresargentinos y los Estados Unidos asumiendo sin medias tintas el papel dealiados de Gran Bretaña. De cualquier modo, estas nuevas pruebas no hancambiado la potencia ni la estructura original del relato. Como bienaclaran los autores: «Hemos sido, lo somos todavía, cronistas de lahistoria e investigadores periodísticos.De esa compulsión y de ese contrato dimos nuestra versión de aquellaguerra. En esta edición hemos hecho ajustes imprescindibles, dediferente magnitud, para que el texto pueda ser comprendido en el sigloXXI con una visión más vasta de la que teníamos en los últimos meses dela dictadura y en el umbral de la democracia, cuando amanecía la décadade los 80».Estaré en el paraíso (Colección Endebate #Volumen)
By Mayte Carrasco. 2012
Una cuidada antología de la obra de Augusto Monterroso, máximo exponente del género del microrrelato. Se presenta aquí una cuidada…
antología que traza un camino de ida y vuelta sobre la obra de Augusto Monterroso, amigo de las cosas irónicamente simples y máxima figura del género más breve de la literatura: el microrrelato. Articulado en dos bloques complementarios, este volumen recoge los cuentos y ensayos más narrativos del autor, proporcionando un viaje a la felicidad y a la sencillez, a la gracia y a la discreción, al humorismo y a la tristeza. Un tímido homenaje al más refinado de los escritores hispanoamericanos. Gabriel García Márquez dijo...«Hay que leerlo manos arriba. Su peligrosidad se funda en la sabiduría y la belleza mortífera de la falta de seriedad.»La primera guerra de Hitler
By Thomas Weber. 2012
La revelación de la vida privada y pública de Hitler y de la I Guerra Mundial basada en una investigación…
sin precedentes. Hitler mantenía que sus años como soldado en la I Guerra Mundial fueron los más influyentes de su vida. Sin embargo, y pese a las más de seis décadas transcurridas desde su muerte, su etapa en el Frente Occidental seguía hasta ahora rodeada de misterio y presunciones infundadas. La primera guerra de Hitler desvela por primera vez la verdadera experiencia del futuro líder nazi durante el conflicto. Haciendo uso de documentación inédita y de testimonios de sus compañeros de regimiento, Thomas Weber presenta una esclarecedora visión de la vida privada y pública de Hitler, muy alejada del mito que él mismo creó tras su llegada al poder. Este libro revela a un Hitler encargado de tareas de retaguardia, rechazado por los soldados del frente y en el que sus superiores detectaron ausencia de «cualidades delíder»; un personaje que permaneció inseguro de sus ideas hasta el final de la guerra y que ocultó, exageró y deformó sus vivencias a lo largo de su estudiada carrera. ¿Fue Hitler meramente un producto de su tiempo o una anormalidad que se escapa a toda previsión? La polémica y original obra de Weber arroja además luz sobre este interrogante que sigue desafiando a los historiadores y cuestiona la creencia unánimemente aceptada de que la I Guerra Mundial fue la experiencia crucial de su formación política e ideológica y el origen del camino que condujo de forma natural al nazismo. Reseña:«Weber altera sustancialmente nuestra visión de uno de los personajes más estudiados del siglo XX.»Norman Stone, Wall Street Journal «El título de este libro es preciso y completo, pero no da cuenta del alcance y la importancia de su contenido. Magnífico e impresionante.»Times Literary Supplement «Revelador y apasionante. Mediante unconcienzudo estudio, desmonta lugares comunes, tópicos y clichés.»Jacinto Antón, El País «Una exploración bien documentada que plantea interesantes preguntas sobre las creencias y actitud de Hitler durante la Primera Guerra Mundial.»Ian Kershaw «Fascinante de principio a fin. Una obra de referencia, tan reveladora como atrapante.»The Canada Post «¿Fue Hitler un soldado valiente durante la Primera Guerra Mundial? Thomas Weber desmonta todos los tópicos en torno al führer.»Eduardo González Calleja, ABC «Un estudio innovador y valioso basado en una hábil investigación. Revelador y accesible.»The Spectator «El joven historiador escudriña los cuatro años de Hitler como soldado durante la Primera Guerra Mundial para arrojar alguna luz nueva sobre el perfil de este personaje inevitable en las pesadillas de los europeos.»Víctor Amela, La VanguardiaLa gente como nosotros no tiene miedo
By Shani Boianjiu. 2012
Una revelación literaria: una joven autora con una audaz y provocadora novela sobre la vida de las chicas soldado en…
el Ejército Israelí. La premiada autora israelí Shani Boianjiu desvela una realidad desconocida, al tiempo que capta la energía sexual y la efervescente angustia de la adolescencia. Lea, Avishag y Yael son amigas de la escuela en un pequeño pueblo al norte de Israel. Durante las clases sueñan despiertas con los chicos que les gustan. Cuando cumplen los dieciocho años, son reclutadas por el Ejército y su vida cambia de forma inesperada. Yael se acuesta con un chico al que entrena como tirador. Avishag hace guardias y observa a los refugiados que se abalanzan sobre la alambrada. Lea, destinada en un puesto de control, imagina las historias que se ocultan tras los rostros familiares que pasan ante ella día tras día. Las tres viven al filo de la muerte, en la intensidad de ese instante eterno antes de queel peligro estalle. Ganadora del premio «5 Under 35» de la National Book Foundation (nominada por Nicole Krauss), finalista del premio Sami Rohr y del Women#s Prize for Fiction y traducida a 23 idiomas. Reseñas:«Una primera novela tensa como un thriller, romántica y psicológicamente audaz... Boianjiu escribe sobre la atrocidad y el absurdo de una guerra sin fin.»More «Irreverente, conmovedora. Una autora con un inusual talento literario para transportarnos hasta un sitio absolutamente remoto... Un libro provocador e inquietante.»The Jewish Journal «Memorable... Un retrato feroz y hermoso del daño causado por la guerra.»The Washington Post «Único y desgarrador. Leerlo es sentir como si te partieran el corazón en dos.»Etgar Keret «La gente como nosotros no tiene miedo describe en profundidad y con agudeza el efecto desorientador que el miedo produce en las mentes jóvenes.»The Observer «Un debut impresionante sobre la transición a la madurez de tres adolescentes que experimentan lo absurdo de la vida y el amor en el abismo de la violencia.»Vogue «La vida en el Ejército inicia la metamorfosis de niña a mujer. La descripción que Boianjiu realiza de la mente de estas jóvenes es fascinante... La prosa se lee como una pesadilla o un sueño, pero es en esta indecisión febril donde reside su poder.»The Economist «Con su mezcla de brutal hilaridad y emocionante angustia, esta es una primera novela brillante.»The Boston Globe «Las reflexiones de la novela sobre el amor y la pérdida, el deseo y la desesperación, son pura poesía... En esta novela, conviven lo cómico y lo grotesco, al igual que en el Israel de hoy en día.»Los Angeles Review of Books «Shani Boianjiu ha hallado el modo de exponer los efectos de la guerra y la doctrina nacional en la vida de los jóvenes israelíes... Incluso cuando escribe sobre la muerte, Boianjiu está mucho más llena de vida que cualquier otro escritor joven con el que me haya topado en mucho tiempo.»Nicole Krauss «Shani Boianjiu nos ofrece una visión reveladora sobre la juventud de un país marcado por el terrorismo y las fronteras hostiles... La gente como nosotros no tiene miedo marca la llegada de una escritora brillante.»Wall Street JournalFor much of the later nineteenth-century Britain regarded Russia as its main international rival, particularly as regarded the security of…
its colonial possessions in India. Yet, by 1907 Russia's political revolution, financial collapse and military defeat by Japan, transformed the situation, resulting in an Anglo-Russian rapprochement. As this book makes clear, whilst international affairs lay at the root of this new relationship, personal factors also played an important role in reversing many years of mutual animosity and suspicion. In particular the study explores the influence of the liberal anglophile Count Aleksandr Benckendorff, the Russian ambassador in London between 1903 and 1916. By 1905, Russia's multiple weaknesses required a prolonged period of external peace by eliminating frictions with the principal rival powers, Britain and Germany, while France and Britain realised that a British rapprochement with Russia would be necessary to counter Germany's power. Benckendorff, as one of the most important figures in the Russian diplomatic service, persuaded Nicholas II and his Foreign Minister, V.N. Lamsdorff, to drop their objections to various long-standing British demands in order to pave the way for a Triple Entente. Although the overarching Russian strategy was conceived as 'balancing' the imperial rivalries of Britain and Germany, numerous factors - not least Benckendorff's energetic pro-British stance - upset the scales and resulted in a stand-off with the Central Powers. Demonstrating how Benckendorff's fear of losing Britain's friendship made him oppose all Russia's efforts at improving Russo-German relations, this book underlines the pro-Entente policy’s role in setting Russia on the road to war. For when the Sarajevo crisis struck; there was now no hope of appealing to German goodwill to help defuse the situation. Instead Russia's status within the Entente depended on a show of determination and strength, which lead inexorably to a disaster oArmistice: Armistice (Images Of The The National Archives Ser.)
By Louise Bell. 2018
11th November 1918 saw the signing of the armistice that ended fighting between the Allies and Germany.This book will take…
the reader through the final year of the First World War and everything that led up to this day. Starting from the Spring Offensive, photos and images from The National Archives will highlight important points ranging from the last 100 days to the signing of the various treaties before this final armistice, finishing with a look at the Peace Parade in 1919. The physical and mental effects of the war will also be examined, and show how the war never really ended in 1918 for many.Many rarely seen images will be provided to support the narrative and further highlight the depth of The National Archives' First World War records.Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty: An Intimate Biography
By Stephen Roskill. 1981
Admiral Beatty was beyond doubt the best known fighting Admiral, perhaps the best known military leader, of the First World…
War. His conduct at Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank, and later at Jutland, caught the public imagination, while his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet in taking into custody the German High Sea Fleet in November 1918 associated him with perhaps the most tangible symbol of the collapse of Germanys military might. He is probably remembered by most for his comment at Jutland that there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today after two of his battlecruisers were sunk in quick succession.Stephen Roskills magnificent biography of Beatty explains so well why he has come to be seen as Britains last naval hero, an admiral in the mould of Nelson who won the unstinting devotion of all those who served with and under him. He came from an Anglo-Irish military family who exhibited the utmost gallantry on the field of battle with a corresponding recklessness in the hunting field, while he himself was extremely handsome and courageous and exuded charisma. His early promise led to fast promotion and he was to become the youngest Admiral since Nelson.But that is only one part of the story and there are aspects of his character that were not entirely admirable. There were, and still remain, questions over his handling of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron at Jutland at which his highly aggressive approach was contrasted with the prudence of his commander, Sir John Jellicoe, and the later animosities between the Jellicoe and Beatty camps reflect poorly on Beatty himself. His turbulent marriage and his extra-marital liaisons were to be suppressed in his official biography but in some ways these aspects are as significant to our understanding of him as Nelson and Emma Hamiltons great affair is to our reading of the Napoleonic era at sea.Roskill deals with all these issues and in doing so brilliantly reassesses Beatty place in history. Access to new material at the time of writing allowed him to write a balanced and wholly credible account of an extraordinary life, and this wonderfully readable and intimate biography will appeal to a whole new generation of readers.A Gallant County: The Regiments of Gloucestershire in the Great War
By Robin Grist. 2018
This book describes the campaigns fought by the Gloucestershire Regiments sixteen infantry battalions and the 1/1st RGH which saw action…
on all the Allied fronts. During The Great War the Gloucesters who already had more battle honors than any other regiment won another eighty-two.Over 46,000 men served in the Gloucesters and the RGH during the First World War without any member of either regiment being charged with either desertion or cowardice. Twenty-five Military Medals were won by 1st Gloucesters at Festubert on one day in April 1918, a record for a single battalion.A Gallant County captures the contrast between the fighting in the mud of the Western Front, the heat and dust of the Middle East and the horrors of Gallipoli. The author skilfully paints the picture of infantry and cavalry actions in the different theatres. 1/1st RGH were one of only two yeomanry regiments to fight from Egypt to Aleppo.The use of personal accounts and descriptions of acts of individual and collective gallantry make this a superb record of a Countys outstanding contribution to victory.Pandora’s Box: A History of the First World War
By Jörn Leonhard. 2020
Winner of the Norman B. Tomlinson, Jr. Prize “The best large-scale synthesis in any language of what we currently know…
and understand about this multidimensional, cataclysmic conflict.” —Richard J. Evans, Times Literary Supplement In this monumental history of the First World War, Germany’s leading historian of the period offers a dramatic account of its origins, course, and consequences. Jörn Leonhard treats the clash of arms with a sure feel for grand strategy. He captures the slow attrition, the race for ever more destructive technologies, and the grim experiences of frontline soldiers. But the war was more than a military conflict and he also gives us the perspectives of leaders, intellectuals, artists, and ordinary men and women around the world as they grappled with the urgency of the moment and the rise of unprecedented political and social pressures. With an unrivaled combination of depth and global reach, Pandora’s Box reveals how profoundly the war shaped the world to come. “[An] epic and magnificent work—unquestionably, for me, the best single-volume history of the war I have ever read…It is the most formidable attempt to make the war to end all wars comprehensible as a whole.” —Simon Heffer, The Spectator “[A] great book on the Great War…Leonhard succeeds in being comprehensive without falling prey to the temptation of being encyclopedic. He writes fluently and judiciously.” —Adam Tooze, Die Zeit “Extremely readable, lucidly structured, focused, and dynamic…Leonhard’s analysis is enlivened by a sharp eye for concrete situations and an ear for the voices that best convey the meaning of change for the people and societies undergoing it.” —Christopher Clark, author of The SleepwalkersNaval Air Station Whidbey Island (Images of America)
By William R. Stein, the PBY-Naval Air Museum. 2017
Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island in Washington State has a long and storied history that began in 1942 and…
continues to the present day. Tucked away on an island that is its namesake, NAS Whidbey was originally conceptualized as a small support base for an existing air station in nearby Seattle. That prewar plan was rapidly eclipsed by world events, and the proposed support base quickly evolved into an air station of its own right. Through historic photographs chosen from the archives of the US Navy, the PBY-Naval Air Museum, and the personnel of NAS Whidbey Island, both past and present, the story of the air station is told. These images will serve not only as a trip down memory lane for those stationed at Whidbey in days gone by, but will also illustrate to younger generations their connection to those who served in the not so distant past.Influenza: The Hundred Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History
By Jeremy Brown. 2018
On the 100th anniversary of the devastating pandemic of 1918, Jeremy Brown, a veteran ER doctor, explores the troubling, terrifying,…
and complex history of the flu virus, from the origins of the Great Flu that killed millions, to vexing questions such as: are we prepared for the next epidemic, should you get a flu shot, and how close are we to finding a cure? While influenza is now often thought of as a common and mild disease, it still kills over 30,000 people in the US each year. Dr. Jeremy Brown, currently Director of Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health, expounds on the flu's deadly past to solve the mysteries that could protect us from the next outbreak. In Influenza, he talks with leading epidemiologists, policy makers, and the researcher who first sequenced the genetic building blocks of the original 1918 virus to offer both a comprehensive history and a roadmap for understanding what’s to come. Dr. Brown digs into the discovery and resurrection of the flu virus in the frozen victims of the 1918 epidemic, as well as the bizarre remedies that once treated the disease, such as whiskey and blood-letting. Influenza also breaks down the current dialogue surrounding the disease, explaining the controversy over vaccinations, antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, and the federal government’s role in preparing for pandemic outbreaks. Though 100 years of advancement in medical research and technology have passed since the 1918 disaster, Dr. Brown warns that many of the most vital questions about the flu virus continue to confound even the leading experts. Influenza is an enlightening and unnerving look at a shapeshifting deadly virus that has been around long before people—and warns us that it may be many more years before we are able to conquer it for good.The prolonged conflict in Iraq has shown us war’s transformative effect. Civilians rivet themselves to events happening halfway around the…
world, while young soldiers return home from battlefields, coping with the memories of those events. How We Are Changed by War examines our sense of ourselves through the medium of diaries and wartime correspondence, beginning with the colonists of the early seventeenth century, and ending with the diaries and letters from Iraqi war vets. The book tracks the effects of war in private writings regardless of the narrator’s historical era allowing the writers to ‘speak’ to each other across time to reveal a profound commonality of cultural experience. Finally, interpreting the narratives by how the writers conveyed the content adds a richer layer of meaning through the lenses of psychology and literary criticism, providing a model for any society to examine itself through the medium of its members’ informal writings.Following the career of one relatively unknown First World War general, Lord Horne, this book adds to the growing literature…
that challenges long-held assumptions that the First World War was a senseless bloodbath conducted by unimaginative and incompetent generals. Instead it demonstrates that men like Horne developed new tactics and techniques to deal with the novel problems of trench warfare and in so doing seeks to re-establish the image of the British generals and explain the reasons for the failures of 1915-16 and the successes of 1917-18 and how this remarkable change in performance was achieved by a much maligned group of senior officers. Horne's important career and remarkable character sheds light not only on the major battles in which he was involved; the progress of the war; his relationships with his staff and other senior officers; the novel problems of trench warfare; the assimilation of new weapons, tactics and training methods; and the difficulties posed by the German defences, but also on the attitudes and professionalism of a senior British commander serving on the Western Front. Horne's career thus provides a vehicle for studying the performance of the British Army in the first quarter of the Twentieth Century. It also gives an important insight into the attitudes, ethos and professionalism of the officer corps which led that army to victory on the Western Front, exposing not only its flaws but also its many strengths. This study consequently provides a judgment not only on Horne as a personality, innovator and general of great importance but also on his contemporaries who served with the British Armies in South Africa and France during an era which saw a revolution in military affairs giving birth to a Modern Style of Warfare which still prevails to this day.Blaze of Light: The Inspiring True Story of Green Beret Medic Gary Beikirch, Medal of Honor Recipient
By Marcus Brotherton. 2020
For fans of Unbroken and Hacksaw Ridge comes the powerful true story of a Medal of Honor recipient who faced…
more than his fair share of battles—and overcame them through perseverance and faith. &“What Gary Beikirch did to receive his medal is unforgettable—and the story of what he overcame afterward is as big and moving as they come.&”—Gary Sinise After dawn the siege began. It was April 1, 1970, and Army Green Beret medic Gary Beikirch knew the odds were stacked against their survival. Some 10,000 enemy soldiers sought to obliterate the twelve American Special Forces troops and 400 indigenous fighters who stood fast to defend 2,300 women and children inside the village of Dak Seang. For his valor and selflessness during the ruthless siege, Beikirch would be awarded a Medal of Honor, the nation&’s highest and most prestigious military decoration. But Gary returned home wounded in body, mind, and soul. To find himself again, Gary retreated to a cave in the mountains of New England, where a redemptive encounter with God allowed Gary to find peace. New York Times best-selling author Marcus Brotherton chronicles the incredible true story of a person who changed from lost to found. Gripping and unforgettable, and written with a rich and vivid narrative voice, Blaze of Light will inspire you to answer hurt with ingenuity, to reach for faith, and to find clarity and peace within any season of storm.