The award-winning author of Target Switzerland uses "a wide breadth of research to attempt to answer why Switzerland escaped the Nazi onslaught" ( Daly History Blog).While surrounded by the Axis powers in World War II, Switzerland remained democratic and, unlike most of Europe, never succumbed to the siren songs and threats of the Nazi goliath.This book tells the story with emphasis on two voices rarely heard. One voice is that of scores of ...

The author of Sparta: Rise of a Warrior Nation continues his revealing history of the Ancient Greek city-state in this chronicle of its decline and defeat.Universally admired in 479 BC, the Spartans became masters of the Greek world by 402 BC, only for their state to collapse in the next generation. What went wrong? Was the fall of Sparta inevitable? In Sparta: Fall of a Warrior Nation, Philip Matyszak examines the political blunders and failures ...

The author of The Great Illyrian Revolt examines one of the Roman Empire's most pivotal defeats—a surprise attack by Germanic barbarians in 9 AD.For twenty years, the Roman Empire conquered its way through modern-day Germany, claiming all lands from the Rhine to the Elbe. However, when at last all appeared to be under control, a catastrophe erupted that claimed the lives of 10,000 legionnaires and laid Rome's imperial ambitions for Germania into the dust.

"This thoroughly researched and superbly written study" examines the final days of WWII combat within Germany during the occupation of Franconia ( WWII History).At the end of World War II, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower turned US forces toward the Franconian region of Germany, ordering them to cut off and destroy German units before they could escape into the Alps. Opposing this advance were German forces headed by SS-Gruppenführer Max Simon, a committed Nation...

A medieval historian examines what we really know about the man who was "Merlin the Magician" and his impact on Britain.Merlin has remained an enthralling and curious individual since he was first introduced in the twelfth century in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. But although the Merlin of literature and Arthurian myth is well known, his "historical" figure and his relation to medieval magic are less familiar. In this book Anne Lawrence-...

A definitive chronicle of the 1871 Chicago Fire as remembered by those who experienced it—from the author of Chicago and the American Literary Imagination.Over three days in October, 1871, much of Chicago, Illinois, was destroyed by one of the most legendary urban fires in history. Incorporated as a city in 1837, Chicago had grown at a breathtaking pace in the intervening decades—and much of the hastily-built city was made of wood. Starting in Catherine and...

Recently adapted into the War Queens podcast hosted by authors Emily and Jon Jordan, featuring Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel. Now available on Apple, Spotify, Audible, and all major listening platforms."Masterfully captures the largely forgotten saga of warrior queens through the ages . . . an epic filled with victory, defeat, and legendary women." —Patrick K. O'Donnell, bestselling author of The Indispensables

A 2021 USA Today Bestseller! Get thousands of facts at your fingertips with this essential resource: business, the arts and pop culture, science and technology, U.S. history and government, world geography, sports, and so much more.The World Almanac® is America’s bestselling reference book of all time, with more than 83 million copies sold. For more than 150 years, this compendium of information has been the authoritative source for school, librar...

Palace eunuch and secretary Stephen records Empress Theodora's life as she navigates wars, political and religious crises, a citywide rebellion, and the first world plague pandemic, all in a male-dominated world.. As the most powerful woman of the Byzantine Empire, one-time prostitute Theodora installs her own candidate for pope, legislates women's rights, and shuts down a massive riot, saving the empire. "A gorgeous tapestry of impeccable research and intricate worldbuilding."

This cultural history of Ancient Sparta chronicles the rise of its legendary military power and offers revealing insight into the people behind the myths.The Spartans of ancient Greece are typically portrayed as macho heroes: noble, laconic, totally fearless, and impervious to pain. And indeed, they often lived up to this image. But life was not as simple as this image suggests. In truth, ancient Sparta was a city of contrasts.We might admire their physical...

The multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–winning Grand Master of Science Fiction delivers an intergalactic adventure about freeing humanity.Far into the reaches of space, Anson Guthrie and a band of colonists have forged a new existence on Amaterasu not as physical beings but as downloaded consciousness watched over by the benevolent Life Mother. Yet as idyllic as their lives may be, back home on Earth the situation is growing grim.Earth's inhabitants are now com...

"A searing memoir-meets-manifesto . . . [arguing] that society needs to radically reframe the crime of rape and how we think about survival." ―Gabrielle Korn, author of Yours for the TakingLonglisted for the 2020 National Book Award for NonfictionTime 's 100 Must-Read Books of 2020Publishers Weekly , Best Books of 2020