The 'Defenestration of Prague', the coup d'etat staged by Protestant Bohemian nobles against officials of the Hapsburg Emperor triggered the Thirty Years War. When Habsburg Spain intervened in support of their Holy Roman Emperor relative, what had started as a localised political and religious dispute in Germany, transformed into a European and global conflict. In seeking to exploit the Bohemian revolt, Spanish Habsburg revanchist ambitions directed by the Spanish Count of Olivarez at the ...

An immersive account of 17th-century warfare during the Thirty Years War.A graphic study of military and military revolution in the pivotal 17th century in the context of the Thirty Years War, shown by dramatic battle scenes, personal, heroic and tragic for all levels of society, and all strikingly brought to life. The first 'world war' in Europe was a global conflict, showing that early modern war, despite the Enlightenment argument which contrasts medieval milita...

"…offers an interesting insight on his (the author's) two protagonists, namely their (differing) experience of conflict in Eastern Europe." - The Journal of Military History The conflict, personal rivalry and contrast in personality, generalship and command, between the two iconic commanders in the Thirty Years War, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden for the Protestant powers, and Albrecht von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland. More than just commanders at the tactical level they were statesmen...

"…what Pike reports in the book remains intriguing and suspenseful… an excellent, eye-opening book." – The VVA Veteran A forensic study of war, imperial history and international relations, following the Second World War and leading into the Cold War and defeat of Western imperialism in Asia. And above all, the story of the pivotal battle and French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. It shows France's revanchist attempt to regain imperial 'glory' in her former Asian empire following humiliation in t...

The radical, paradigm-shifting international bestseller that destroys our delusions about energy consumption and will change the way we talk about climate change.We have long been taught that humanity’s relationship with energy is one of progress, with wood superseded by coal, coal by oil, oil by nuclear—until at some future point everything will be replaced by “green” energy. But the long-held belief in transition and sustainability is completely untrue, Jean-Baptiste Fressoz argu...

Discover the key themes and big ideas behind the key events in the history of warfare—from the dawn of civilization to the 21st century.Tracing the epic 5,000-year story of warfare from the earliest battles to the War on Terror, The Military History Book explores and explains the causes and consequences of each, offering a new angle on military history. Entries analyze the key social and political driving forces, the arms and armaments, and the technologie...

**"Extraordinary . . . [this] series of true stories about the authentic nature of bears reveals them as the sensitive and intelligent beings they are." ―Carl Safina, New York Times–bestselling author of Becoming Wild and Beyond WordsGrizzly bears have long been feared as unpredictable and dangerous. But one man, Charlie Russell, was key in breaking down the myths and helping save these magnificent beings from extinction. A naturalist who spent ov...

Discover hundreds of intriguing, entertaining & often hilarious origins to the English language's most curious phrases in this trivia book from a bestselling author.English is filled with interesting phrases. This book reveals the surprising, captivating and even hilarious origins behind 400 of them, including:• Read between the Lines• Cat Got Your Tongue?• Put a Sock in It• Close, but No Cigar• Bring Home the Bacon• Caught Red-Handed• Under the Wea...

Richard Breitman's Official Secrets is an important work based on newly declassified archives.As defeat loomed over the Third Reich in 1945, its officials tried to destroy the physical and documentary evidence about the Nazis' monstrous crimes, about their murder of millions. Great Britain already had some of the evidence, however, for its intelligence services had for years been intercepting, decoding, and analyzing German police radio messages and SS ones...

"A wonderfully researched, written, and fast-paced book about the inevitable march toward World War II, and the personalities who made it a reality." —Fred Rasmussen, Baltimore SunFat Boy and the Champagne Salesman offers a compelling behind-the-scenes exploration of the road to World War II and the invasion of Poland by the Hitler's Third Reich. Focusing on the personal power plays within Hitler's inner circle, author Rush Lovin...

Winner of 15 literary awards, the #1 bestselling Tachyon Tunnel series is a gripping blend of adventure, romance, and hard science wrapped in an exploration of what happens when innovation outruns human wisdom.When engineer and scientist Alex Durant achieves a breakthrough once thought impossible, reality itself begins to bend. The tachyon tunnel is the most significant leap in human history. It unlocks th...

From the bestselling author of Three Ordinary Girls, the gripping, remarkably little-known true story of how the people of Denmark banded together during WWII to rescue nearly all of their Jewish citizens from Nazi persecution by ferrying them just a few at a time to sanctuary in Sweden.August 25, 1943. A lone bicyclist transports a cache of explosives, hidden in a beer crate, to a Copenhagen hall being readied to house German troops. In a violent...