The Samurai are the legendary warrior class of Japan. They played a crucial role in the country's history, politics and religion and their legacy continues to hold immense sway over popular culture.In this fascinating history, author Rod Johnson takes us through the rise and fall of the Samurai in Japanese society from the emergence of the new class in the eighth century through the turbulent periods of the Mongol invasions and the civil wars of the Sengoku period to the attempts o...

Get up to speed quickly with this comprehensive guide to SpringBeginning Spring is the complete beginner's guide to Java's most popular framework. Written with an eye toward real-world enterprises, the book covers all aspects of application development within the Spring Framework. Extensive samples within each chapter allow developers to get up to speed quickly by providing concrete references for experimentation, building a skillset that drives successful...

The Samurai are the legendary warrior class of Japan. They played a crucial role in the country's history, politics and religion and their legacy continues to hold immense sway over popular culture.In this fascinating history, author Rod Johnson takes us through the rise and fall of the Samurai in Japanese society from the emergence of the new class in the eighth century through the turbulent periods of the Mongol invasions and the civil wars of the Sengoku period to the attempts o...

A History of the Americas is an extraordinary narrative weaving together common threads of history of the two continents from the end of the ice ages until the present day.Covering the breadth of one of the world's largest and most important landmasses, A History of the Americas takes you from the emergence of the first civilizations of Norte Chico in Peru and the Olmecs in Mesoamerica to the rise of the Maya, Aztecs and Inca during the Middle Ages, as wel...

Declassified explores some of the most remarkable revelations to have emerged from top secret documents brought to light in recent years. It ranges from revelations of spies and sleeper agents, such as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, to the frankly bizarre Acoustic Kitty project, in which the US government trained cats to spy on the Kremlin, to the murky tale of the 'disappeared' citizens during Argentina's military dictatorship.In this book, the author explores these remarkable projec...

In his new book The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack, human paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall argues that a long tradition of "human exceptionalism" in paleoanthropology has distorted the picture of human evolution. Drawing partly on his own career—from young scientist in awe of his elders to crotchety elder statesman—Tattersall offers an idiosyncratic look at the competitive world of paleoanthropology, beginning with Charles Darwin 150 years ago, and continuing through the Le...

Declassified explores some of the most remarkable revelations to have emerged from top secret documents brought to light in recent years. It ranges from revelations of spies and sleeper agents, such as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, to the frankly bizarre Acoustic Kitty project, in which the US government trained cats to spy on the Kremlin, to the murky tale of the 'disappeared' citizens during Argentina's military dictatorship.In this book, the author explores these remarkab...

Forget what you were taught in seventh grade-this riveting book takes readers down American history's back alleys and side streets.From the arrival of the Mayflower through the 2016 election, On This Date explores five hundred years of American history, revealing a compelling tale for each day in the calendar year.Drawing from Carl M. Cannon's popular RealClearPolitics' "Morning Note," On This Date is focused on fascinating -- and sometimes unknown...

Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996) possessed one of the twentieth century's most astonishing voices. Historian Judith Tick offers a sublime portrait of this ambitious risk-taker whose exceptional musical spontaneity made her a transformational artist.Becoming Ella Fitzgerald clears up long-enduring mysteries. Archival research and in-depth family interviews shed new light on the singer's difficult childhood, the tragic death of her mother, and the year she spent in a girls' refor...

Flying the notorious "hump route" between India and China in 1943, a twin-engine plane suffered mechanical failure and crashed in a dense mountain jungle. Among the passengers and crew were celebrated CBS journalist Eric Sevareid, a Soviet double-agent posing as an OSS operative, and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell's personal political adviser. Against the odds, all but one of the twenty-one people aboard the aircraft survived—but they fell from the frying pan into the fire. They lan...

Learn about the origins of our species and all things revolution in The History Book.Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about History in this overview guide to the subject, great for novices looking to find out more and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The History Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching gra...

An account of a lynching that took place in New York in 1892, forcing the North to reckon with its own racismOn June 2, 1892, in the small, idyllic village of Port Jervis, New York, a young Black man named Robert Lewis was lynched by a violent mob. The twenty-eight-year-old victim had been accused of sexually assaulting Lena McMahon, the daughter of one of the town's well-liked Irish American families.The incident was infamous at once, for it was seen as a ...