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...

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...

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...

National Book Award Finalist: The "impressive" conclusion to the "magisterial trilogy on the mythology of violence in American history" ( Film Quarterly)."The myth of the Western frontier—which assumes that whites' conquest of Native Americans and the taming of the wilderness were preordained means to a progressive, civilized society—is embedded in our national psyche. U.S. troops called Vietnam 'Indian country.' President John Kennedy invoked 'New Frontier...

EDWARD J. SMITH was the celebrated captain who went down with his ship.THOMAS ANDREWS was the great and selfless hero who died saving women and children.BRUCE ISMAY was the selfish coward who caused the ship to sink.When disaster struck on the night of 14 April 1912, the lives of everyone aboard the Titanic were changed forever. Lives were lost, heroes were made – and villains were cast.The Triu...

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...

Includes maps, photos, and firsthand accounts of participants: "There is no better book on this vital chapter in American history." —Terry Copp, author of Fields of FireCombining the personal recollections of soldiers with historical narrative and analysis of the actual invasion as it unfolded, this detailed description of the action at Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion of World War II comes from "the top living D-Day historian" ( USA Today...

“A heart-pounding, mind-bending adventure.” —Ilyon WooA riveting biography of Alexander the Great’s final years, when the leader’s insatiable desire to conquer the world set him off on an exhilarating, harrowing journey that would define his legacy.By 330 B.C.E., Alexander the Great had reached the pinnacle of success. Or so it seemed. He had defeated the Persian ruler Darius III and seized the capital city of Persepolis. His exhausted and ...

An illustrated history and guide to the Battle of Hastings by two leading medieval military historians.The Battle of Hastings, fought on 14 October 1066, changed the course of English history. This most famous moment of the Norman Conquest was recorded in graphic detail in the threads of the Bayeux Tapestry, providing a priceless glimpse into a brutal conflict.In this fresh look at the battle and its surrounding campaigns, leading medieval military historians...

"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...

The stories of thirty war criminals who escaped accountability, from a historian praised for his "well written, scrupulously researched" work ( The New York Times).This deeply researched book traces the biographies of thirty "typical" perpetrators of the Holocaust—some well-known, some obscure—who survived World War II. Donald M. McKale reveals the shocking reality that the perpetrators were rarely, if ever, tried or punished for their crimes, and nearly a...

National Book Award Finalist: A study of national myths, lore, and identity that "will interest all those concerned with American cultural history" ( American Political Science Review).Winner of the American Historical Association's Albert J. Beveridge Award for Best Book in American HistoryIn Regeneration Through Violence, the first of his trilogy on the mythology of the American West, historian and cultural critic Richard Slotkin ...