An "almost absurdly colorful" history of the WWII battle for the Levant: "In places . . . the material is like Casablanca meets The English Patient" ( The Wall Street Journal).In the spring of 1941, the Allied forces had one last hope: that the Axis would run through its fuel supply. In Blood, Oil and the Axis, historian John Broich tells the vital story of Iraq and the Levant during this most pivotal time of the war.Four I...

When did whiteness begin? Was its rise inevitable? In this powerful history, John Broich traces the emergence, evolution and contradictions of white supremacy, from its roots in the British empire, to the racial politics of the present. Focussing on the English-speaking world, he examines how ideas of whiteness connect to the history of slavery, Enlightenment thought, European colonialism, Social Darwinism and eugenics, fascism and capitalism. Far from being the natural order of things, Br...

This naval history reveals the story of Victorian-era officers and abolitionists who fought the illegal slave trade in the Indian Ocean.Though the British Empire outlawed the slave trade in 1807, many British ships continued the practice for decades along the eastern coast of Africa. The Royal Navy's response was to dispatch a squadron charged with patrolling the African coast for rogue slave ships. In Squadron, John Broich tells the story of the four Royal...

The white-knuckled bombing mission American airmen carried out on Hitler’s hometown is now told for the first time through the eyes of the men on the airplanes – as well as the innocent Austrians under the bombs – in this groundbreaking true story of the aerial bombing and its aftermath from retired CIA officer Mike Croissant.Foreword by Richard Overy, author of The Bombers and the BombedIn April 1945, Linz was one...

"A delightful exposition of commonly-encountered statistical fallacies and paradoxes and why they matter." —Samuel H. Preston, coauthor of Demography: Measuring and Modeling Population ProcessesAn essential guide to the ways data can improve decision making.Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Allen B. Downey knows well that people have an innate abil...

This award-winning biography delves beyond the myths about Ancient Rome's most famous assassin: "A beautifully written and thought-provoking book" (Christopher Pelling, author of Plutarch and History).Conspirator and assassin, philosopher and statesman, promoter of peace and commander in war, Marcus Brutus was a controversial and enigmatic man even to those who knew him. His leading role in the murder of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, 44 BC, immortaliz...

"This crisply written, well-documented account . . . examines diplomatic, military, political and economic developments in a crucial period leading up to WWII" ( Publishers Weekly)All Against All is the story of how a single winter, between November 1932 and April 1933, put the postwar world back on the path to global conflict. Historian Paul Jankowski reveals how domestic passions within various nations colluded to drive their governments towards...

This expert guide to plant formation and the origins of life "makes the solar system an even weirder and more wonderful place than it seemed before" ( Wall Street Journal).In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 3 revealed an astonishing truth: the far side of the moon is an enormous mountainous expanse, completely different from the vast lava-plains on the side facing Earth. But why would the two side of the moon be so different? And what might this tell us about o...

The historian and author of The Shanghai Massacre presents an in-depth chronicle of Hitler's plot to eliminate political rivals and his own SA Brownshirts.In the summer of 1934, Adolf Hitler conducted a ruthless purge of his own fascist colleagues, many of whom had helped the Nazi Party rise to power. The brawling street thugs of the SA had bludgeoned Hitler's political opposition into submission and played a significant role in transforming Germany into a...

The thrilling, true story of the race to find a leak in the United States Embassy in Moscow—before more American assets are rounded up and killed.Foreword by Gen. Michael V. Hayden (Retd.), Former Director of NSA & CIAIn the late 1970s, the National Security Agency still did not officially exist—those in the know referred to it dryly as the No Such Agency. So why, when NSA engineer Charles Gandy filed for a visa to visit Moscow, did the Rus...

What can we learn about the evolution of jaws from a pair of scissors? How does the flight of a tennis ball help explain how fish overcome drag? What do a spacesuit and a chicken egg have in common? Highlighting the fascinating twists and turns of evolution across more than 540 million years, paleobiologist Matthew Bonnan uses everyday objects to explain the emergence and adaptation of the vertebrate skeleton. What can camera lenses tell us about the eyes of marine reptiles? How does under...

Rooted in neuroscience, psychology and evolutionary biology, this study explores what happens when we stop paying attention and the effect on our behavior.If we've done our job well—and, let's be honest, if we're lucky—you'll read to the end of this description. Most likely, however, you won't. Somewhere in the middle of the next paragraph, your mind will wander off. Minds wander. That's just how it is.That may be bad news for me, but is it bad news for peopl...