Starting with twenty-eight followers, Francisco Pancho Villa rose out of banditry to become a dynamic strategist who mastered the tactical use of a diverse array of weapons, including modern railroads and cavalry, to contest control of Mexico. In his early days as a brigand, the peasantry idolized him because he often gave them the largesse of his raids on the wealthy haciendas. His military career began in 1910 during the Mexican Revolution, and by the time of his defeat at the Battle of Cel...

Most Americans regarded Antonio L?pez de Santa Anna as a villain for his brutal assault on the Alamo in 1836. What many donÆt realize is that few individuals have caused their own nation greater pain. He lost one-third of MexicoÆs territory in wars, sold almost another 30,000 square miles while pocketing most of the money, and repeatedly bankrupted the nation. His extravagance was legendary, as testified to by the burial of his amputated leg at the nationÆs great expense. He served as his cou...

The #1 New York Times –bestselling author of The Miracle of Dunkirk tells the story of the Texans who fought Santa Anna's troops at the Battle of the Alamo."Probably the best of all Alamo accounts . . . a history which should last." — The New York Times Book ReviewLooking out over the walls of the whitewashed Alamo, sweltering ...

A 354 page, complete History of Mexico with historic pictures. An easy read to learn the incredible history of the Republic from the Conquest until Today. The places, events, and the characters that played out their roles in one of the bloodiest histories ever recorded. Interspersed throughout are accounts of events taking place in the U.S. and the rest of the world simultaniously to give one a sense of the time.

Drawing on newly discovered sources and writing with brilliance, drama, and profound historical insight, Hugh Thomas presents an engrossing narrative of one of the most significant events of Western history.Ringing with the fury of two great empires locked in an epic battle, Conquest captures in extraordinary detail the Mexican and Spanish civilizations and offers unprecedented in-depth portraits of the legendary opponents, Montezuma and Cortés. Conquest i...

The B-2A 'Spirit' was an aircraft conceived to fight the Cold War but which has proved invaluable to both the 'New World Order' and more recently the 'War on Terrorism'.The combination of low-observability, precision strike, range and payload flexibility has made the 'Spirit' the weapon of choice when America hits its enemies at the start of a campaign. Spirits have fired the first shots of Operation 'Allied Force' over Kosovo and Serbia, as well as operations 'Enduring Freedom' an...

Winner of the Bolton-Johnson PrizeWinner of the Utley PrizeWinner of the Distinguished Book Award, Society for Military History“The Dead March incorporates the work of Mexican historians…in a story that involves far more than military strategy, diplomatic maneuvering, and American political intrigue…Studded with arresting insights and convincing observations.”—James Oakes, New York Review of Books“Superb…A remarkable a...

The samurai were the military elite of medieval and early modern Japan, and the men who led them were hailed as the very greatest, most heroic and most honourable of all samurai warriors.This first of two books examines the lives, equipment, battles and wider roles of the samurai commanders between 940 and 1576, the period from the emergence of the samurai to the triumph of Oda Nobunaga, who set Japan on the road to reunification.The styles of armour and we...

I was born in 1952 on a windy 21 of August at the Willen Crayvagen hospital in Germiston. My mother informed me that they stayed in Daisey Demelkers old house at Rose Deep in Germiston. Here is the story of where it all started, in other words, how my family came to settle in South Africa and where I fit in.During the 2nd World War, Rand Airport was an air force base. The houses at the airport were originally built to house the military personnel in the Air Force, who stationed at ...

The Maya of the Yucatán have long been drawn into the Mexican state's attempt to create modern Mexican citizens (mestizos). At the same time, they have contended with globalization pressures, first with hemp production and more recently with increased tourism and the fast-growing influence of American-based evangelical Protestantism. Despite these pressures to turn Maya into mestizo, the citizens of the small town of Maxcanú have used subtle forms of resistance—humor, satire, and language—...

Marx held that the progression of society from capitalism to communism was 'historically inevitable'. In Russia in 1917, it seemed that Marx's theory was being born out in reality. But was the Russian Revolution really inevitable?This collection of fourteen contributions from the world's leading Russian scholars attempts to answer the question by looking back at the key turning points of the revolution. From the Russo-Japanese conflict of 1904-5 through to the appropriation of chur...