A Plain Sailorman in China is a biography of Cdr. Irvin Van Gorder Gillis, USN that recounts both his extraordinary family history – a fascinating slice of Americana in the 1800’s – and Irvin’s multi-faceted career as a naval officer for 25 years and then as successful rare Chinese book collector. Son of a U. S. Navy Rear Admiral, as a U.S. Naval Academy graduate in 1894 he distinguished himself academically at the Academy and soon operationally while serving aboard his first U. S...

Discover how history's only five-star admirals triumphed in World War II and made the United States the world's dominant sea power.Only four men in American history have been promoted to the five-star rank of Admiral of the Fleet: William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. These four men were the best and the brightest the navy produced, and together they led the U.S. navy to victory in World War II, establishing the United States as the world'...

"The definitive account of Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans' operational masterpiece—the almost bloodless conquest . . . of Middle Tennessee." —Sam Davis Elliott, author of Soldier of TennesseeJuly 1863 was a momentous month in the Civil War. News of Gettysburg and Vicksburg electrified the North and devastated the South. Sandwiched geographically between those victories and lost in the heady tumult of events was news that William S. Rosecrans's Army of...

“The best book by far on the Pacific War” (The New York Times Book Review), this classic one-volume history of World War II in the Pacific draws on declassified intelligence files; British, American, and Japanese archival material; and military memoirs to provide a stunning and complete history of the conflict.This “superbly readable, insightful, gripping” (Washington Post Book World) contribution to WWII history combines impeccable research with ...

World War II from a Leader Who Saw the War from Both the White House and the Bridge of a BattleshipVice Admiral John L. McCrea worked with the president of the United States on difficult and unusual assignments, associated with royalty and world-famous political and military leaders, and he commanded the USS Iowa and a task force in the Pacific. Over the years, many urged him to write a book, and before his passing he finally recorded his reminiscences.

"Four score and seven years ago..." begins Abraham Lincoln's beautiful speech commemorating the three-day battle that turned the tide of the Civil War. The South had been winning up to this point. So how did Union troops stop General Robert E. Lee's invasion of the North? With black-and-illustrations throughout and sixteen pages of photos, this turning point in history is brought vividly to life.

An "exciting and informative" account of the Civil War battle that opened the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, with illustrations included ( Lone Star Book Review).Charles Knight's Valley Thunder is the first full-length account in decades to examine the combat at New Market on May 15, 1864 that opened the pivotal Shenandoah Valley Campaign.Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who set in motion the wide-ranging operation to subjugate the South in 1864...

The Boeing (McDonnell Douglas, formerly Hughes) AH-64A Apache was the US Army's primary attack helicopter, and continues to dominate the skies.The most expensive rotary-winged aircraft ever built when it was introduced in the early 1980s, it has since proved its worth on battlefields all over the world, seeing action in the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.This book examines the design, development and deployment of a quick-reacting, airborne ...

**Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Award for Excellence in U.S. Army WritingFrom the liberation of the Philippines to the Japanese surrender, the final volume of John C. McManus's trilogy on the US Army in the Pacific War**“Brilliant [and] riveting… a truly great book.”—Gen. David Petraeus • “Triumphant [and] compelling.”—Richard Frank • “McManus is one of the best—if not the best—World War II historians working today.”—World War II magazin...

This fast-paced narrative traces the emergence of the United States Navy as a global power from its birth during the American Revolution through to its current superpower status. The story highlights iconic moments of great drama pivotal to the nation's fortunes: John Paul Jones' attacks on the British in the Revolution, the Barbary Wars, and the arduous conquest of Iwo Jima. The book illuminates the changes--technological, institutional, and functional--of the U.S. Navy from its days as a...

"Traces Butler's stormy career . . . As pure biography, Maverick Marine is a colorful story about a swashbuckling establishment-shaker."— Publishers WeeklySmedley Butler's life and career epitomize the contradictory nature of American military policy through the first part of this century. Butler won renown as a Marine battlefield hero, campaigning in most of America's foreign military expeditions from 1898 to the late 1920s. He ...

FINALIST FOR BIOGRAPHY, 2008, ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION DISTINGUISHED BOOK AWARD WINNER, 2009, THE DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN AWARD FOR BEST BOOK ON SOUTHERN HISTORY Jedediah Hotchkiss, Stonewall Jackson's renowned mapmaker, expressed the feelings of many contemporaries when he declared that Robert Rodes was the best division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. This well-deserved accolade is all the more remarkable considering that Rodes, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institut...