Will Fowler - Böcker

This edited collection explores how different dictators and authoritarian parties and factions have frequently succeeded in rising to power in modern Latin America, often retaining political and/or military control for long periods of time. The volume examines whether there are common factors within the Latin American sociopolitical, cultural, and historical context that have allowed authoritarianism to play such a fundamental and recurrent role in the continent's development. Including chapters on Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Paraguay, and Honduras, the work will be of interest to scholars and students alike in comparative politics, Latin American history, and Latin American studies.

The chapters in this volume provide a varied yet consistent analysis of the ways in which ideologies have been used, misused, or abandoned in Latin America in the twentieth century. The volume offers scholars and students a challenging collection of interpretations of and explanations for the ways in which ideologues and ideologies have played a crucial role in the political development of the continent. And, while illuminating key reasons for the rise and fall of specific ideologies and their repeated betrayal throughout the century—from anarchism to communism, to socialism, to Peronism, to neoliberalism—the volume indicates how much there is still left to learn about the importance of ideological discourse in the mind and polity of Latin America. With chapters examining Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Paraguay, and Argentina, this work will be of interest to all Latin Americanists.

Historians have paid scant attention to the five years that span from the conclusion early in 1848 of Mexico’s disastrous conflict with the United States to the final return to power in April 1853 of General Antonio López de Santa Anna. This volume presents a more thorough understanding of this pivotal time, and the issues and experiences that then affected Mexicans. It sheds light on how elite politics, church-state relations, institutional affairs, and peasant revolts played a crucial role in Mexico’s long-term historical development, and also explores topics like marriage and everyday life, and the public trials and executions staged in the aftermath of the war with the U.S.

When Germany occupied the originally ‘demilitarised’ Channel Islands in 1940, Hitler ordered the area to be staunchly fortified with colossal permanent structures like Battery Moltke on Jersey. As it was the only piece of the British Isles in Nazi control, he was determined that the islands should remain German forever. Churchill was equally obsessed, urging numerous commando raids and harebrained schemes for the invasion and liberation of the islands. But when France was freed in 1944, the Channel Islands were completely bypassed. German troops were cut off from their supplies and the island population began to starve. Occupied for almost the entire war, these quintessentially English islands serve as a fascinating microcosm of what Britain might have been like under Nazi rule. With one German soldier to every three islanders, resistance had to remain at a low level: possession of a radio merited a prison sentence. The Last Raid is an atmospheric account of life under German occupation, as well as the political manoeuvring behind the scenes. With the first detailed account in English of the Granville Raid, a unique German commando operation, Will Fowler combines the social experience of war with the military to form a fascinating chronicle of the fight for the Channel Islands during the Second World War.

Ypres was a medieval town known for its textiles; however, it became infamous during the Great War with trench warfare, poison gas and many thousands of casualties. As the German Army advanced through Belgium, it failed to take the Ypres Salient. On 13 October 1914, German troops entered Ypres. On looting the city, the Germans retreated as the British Expeditionary Force advanced. On 22 November 1914, the Germans commenced a huge artillery barrage killing many civilians. In 1917, the Third Battle of Ypres commenced making it an exceptionally dangerous place to live. In 1918, a German major offensive was launched, but the British held firm. Ypres was finally safe in late September 1918 when German troops withdrew from the Salient. Today the battlefields of Ypres contain the resting place of thousands of German and British soldiers. This book explores the first and second battles of Ypres through narrative, eye-witness accounts and images.

This is an illustrated historical reference guide to military, law enforcement and antique firearms from around the globe. It contains the world's most important small guns from the medieval hand cannon and the matchlock handgun to the Luger P08 and today's FN P90. It features famous small arms including the Colt.45, the Browning High-Power M1935, the Smith & Wesson and the Sten submachine gun. It incorporates 180 specially commissioned photographs and artworks, including cutaway diagrams to show internal components and gun operation. Expertly written by leading professionals in their field, this is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of small arms, gun manufacture and war. This comprehensive encyclopedia of small arms is both an authoritative reference work and a stunning visual directory. This book, illustrated with 180 photographs and diagrams, looks at early weapons, then brings readers up to date with the arms that have shaped the conflicts of the last 150 years. Old weapons are often objects of beautiful craftsmanship, both in their workings and their ornate inlay, carvings or metalwork. Just as impressive are the sleek, light and efficient modern designs.Written by military experts, this is an essential handbook for anyone interested in the history of small arms, gun manufacture and conflicts of war.

This fully updated encyclopedia of small arms is an authoritative reference work featuring two stunning visual directories. The chronological survey of arms development looks at the origins of firearms, beginning with gunpowder and developing through handguns, matchlocks, wheel-locks and flintlocks. It outlines each of the advances in gun technology such as the percussion principle and the beginnings of the modern cartridge system. It also describes the introduction of mass production methods and the craft of the gunmaker. The 20th century and beyond is dominated by the manufacture of arms for major worldwide conflicts, and the rapid development of submachine guns in the period between the two World Wars. Modern arms are explained in detail, covering the materials, mechanics and technology used including the rise of Super Magnum revolvers and pistols, and the personal defence weapon. The main part of the book is made up of two illustrated directories. They present an unparalleled photographic guide to the most significant small guns. Grouped according to country of origin, the entries focus on the salient features of each gun and the military and technological context in which the gun was developed. Special information boxes accompany each entry with specification details such as calibre, magazine capacity, barrel length and unloaded weight. A comprehensive list of manufacturers and a glossary is also included. Written by leading experts in the field, this superb guide will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of small arms, gun manufacture and conflicts of war.

This fully updated encyclopedia is an authoritative reference work with two stunning visual directories. It explains the development of rifles and machine guns through the centuries, and shows the capabilities and individual specifications of modern weapons. The chronological story of arms development begins with the first crude hand cannons and black powder flintlocks used in the Revolutionary, Napoleonic and American Civil wars. The encyclopedia covers the progress of firearm design from the Industrial Age to the modern day, with details of the individual developments of rifles and machine guns, and their use in major conflicts. Readers are introduced to some of the designers and manufacturers involved in weapons design, as well as the materials, mechanics and technology involved in arms production. The directories present a photographic guide to the world's rifles and machine guns. Grouped according to country of origin, each gun's features are listed, with the military and technological context in which the weapon was developed. Information boxes accompany each entry and include details such as calibre, magazine capacity, barrel length and unloaded weight. A list of manufacturers, a glossary and an index complete this easy-to-use encyclopedia. Written by leading experts in the field and superbly illustrated, the book is essential reading for all enthusiasts interested in gun manufacture and weapons of war. An unparalleled guide to the world's most important rifles and machine guns, from the medieval period to the present day. Includes superb directories of arms from different regions of the world, organized according to country of manufacture. Shows the key features of each weapon, including calibre, magazine capacity, barrel length and unloaded weight. With 600 photographs and artworks, and specification boxes for detailed study. The most important and famous rifles and machine guns are listed, including the Mauser, Lee-Enfield and the SAR 240. Written by three outstanding arms experts.

In mid-nineteenth-century Mexico, garrisons, town councils, state legislatures, and an array of political actors, groups, and communities began aggressively petitioning the government at both local and national levels to address their grievances. Often viewed as a revolt or a coup d’État, these pronunciamientos were actually a complex form of insurrectionary action that relied first on the proclamation and circulation of a plan that listed the petitioners’ demands and then on endorsement by copycat pronunciamientos that forced the authorities, be they national or regional, to the negotiating table. In Independent Mexico, Will Fowler provides a comprehensive overview of the pronunciamiento practice following the Plan of Iguala. This fourth and final installment in, and culmination of, a larger exploration of the pronunciamiento highlights the extent to which this model of political contestation evolved. The result of more than three decades of pronunciamiento politics was the bloody Civil War of the Reforma (1858–60) and the ensuing French Intervention (1862–67). Given the frequency and importance of the pronunciamiento, this book is also a concise political history of independent Mexico.

Often translated as "revolt," a pronunciamiento was a formal, written protest, typically drafted as a list of grievances or demands, that could result in an armed rebellion. This common nineteenth-century Hispano-Mexican extraconstitutional practice was used by soldiers and civilians to forcefully lobby, negotiate, or petition for political change. Although the majority of these petitions failed to achieve their aims, many leading political changes in nineteenth-century Mexico were caused or provoked by one of the more than fifteen hundred pronunciamientos filed between 1821 and 1876. The first of three volumes on the phenomenon of the pronunciamiento, this collection brings together leading scholars to investigate the origins of these forceful petitions. From both a regional and a national perspective, the essays examine specific pronunciamientos, such as the Plan of Iguala, and explore the contexts that gave rise to the use of the pronunciamiento as a catalyst for change. Forceful Negotiations offers a better understanding of the civil conflicts that erupted with remarkable and tragic consistency following the achievement of independence, as well as of the ways in which Mexican political culture legitimized the threat of armed rebellion as a means of effecting political change during this turbulent period.

The pronunciamiento, a formal list of grievances designed to spark political change in nineteenth-century Mexico, was a problematic yet necessary practice. Although pronunciamientos rarely achieved the goals for which they were undertaken and sometimes resulted in armed rebellion, they were nonetheless both celebrated and commemorated, and the perceptions and representations of pronunciamientos themselves reflected the Mexican people's response to these "revolutions."The third in a series of books examining the pronunciamiento, this collection addresses the complicated legacy of pronunciamientos and their place in Mexican political culture. The essays explore the sacralization and legitimization of these revolts and of their leaders in the nation's history and consider why these celebrations proved ultimately ineffective in consecrating the pronunciamiento as a force for good, rather than one motivated by desires for power, promotion, and plunder. Celebrating Insurrection offers readers interpretations of acts of celebration and commemoration that explain the uneasy adoption of pronunciamientos as Mexico's preferred means of effecting political change during this turbulent period in the nation's history.

Behind every pronunciamiento, a formal list of grievances designed to spark political change in nineteenth-century Mexico, was a disgruntled individual, rebel, or pronunciado. Initially a role undertaken by soldiers, a pronunciado rallied military communities to petition for local, regional, and even national interests. As the popularity of these petitions grew, however, they evolved from a military-led practice to one endorsed and engaged by civilians, priests, indigenous communities, and politicians. The second in a series of books exploring the phenomenon of the pronunciamiento, this volume examines case studies of individual and collective pronunciados in regions across Mexico. Top scholars examine the motivations of individual pronunciados and the reasons they succeeded or failed; why garrisons, town councils, and communities adopted the pronunciamiento as a political tool and form of representation and used it to address local and national grievances; and whether institutions upheld corporate aims in endorsing, supporting, or launching pronunciamientos. The essays provide a better understanding of the rebel leaders behind these public acts of defiance and reveal how an insurrectionary repertoire became part of a national political culture.

Building on recent historiography, this is a breakthrough study of Santa Anna.-S. F. Voss, ChoiceAntonio LÓpez de Santa Anna (1794–1876) is one of the most famous, and infamous, figures in Mexican history. Six times the country’s president, he is consistently depicted as a traitor, a turncoat, and a tyrant-the exclusive cause of all of Mexico’s misfortunes following the country’s independence from Spain. He is also, as this biography makes clear, grossly misrepresented. Will Fowler provides a revised picture of Santa Anna’s life, offering new insights into his activities in his bailiwick of Veracruz and in his numerous military engagements.The Santa Anna who emerges from this book is an intelligent, dynamic, yet reluctant leader, ingeniously deceptive at times, courageous and patriotic at others. His extraordinary story is that of a middle-class provincial criollo, a high-ranking officer, an arbitrator, a dedicated landowner, and a political leader who tried to prosper personally and help his country develop at a time of severe and repeated crises, as the colony that was New Spain gave way to a young, troubled, besieged, and beleaguered Mexican nation.

On the night of 1–2 April 1982, the Argentinian Junta led by Gen. Leopoldo Galtieri made its move against the Falkland Islands.On 3 April British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher faced an appalled and furious House of Commons to announce that Argentine armed forces had landed on British sovereign territory; had captured the men of Royal Marine detachment NP8901; had run up the Argentine flag at Government House; and had declared the islands and their population to be Argentine.This absorbing text by William Fowler details the land forces that contested the Falklands War.

As a 'Special Forces' organization the Royal Marines and their supporting Commando-trained arms are unique.While other special forces trace their origins to World War I, the Royal Marines date back to 1664. Since then, they have seen action across the world, from their memorable role in the capture of Gibraltar in 1704 to their crucial involvement in World Wars I and II. This book examines the Royal Marines' service and training from the Suez Crisis of 1956, through to their involvement in Northern Ireland and the Falklands in the 1980s.Numerous illustrations, including photographs and colour plates, detail the uniforms and equipment of the Marines.

Historians have paid scant attention to the five years that span from the conclusion early in 1848 of Mexico’s disastrous conflict with the United States to the final return to power in April 1853 of General Antonio López de Santa Anna. This volume presents a more thorough understanding of this pivotal time, and the issues and experiences that then affected Mexicans. It sheds light on how elite politics, church-state relations, institutional affairs, and peasant revolts played a crucial role in Mexico’s long-term historical development, and also explores topics like marriage and everyday life, and the public trials and executions staged in the aftermath of the war with the U.S.

Latin America since 1780 provides an accessible introductory text aimed at Spanish linguists and historians taking modules in Latin American history. It provides a compelling continental-based historical narrative supported throughout by incisive evaluation, pedagogical features, and authentic source texts in the original Spanish. This book focuses on key events such as the Wars of Independence, the Mexican, Cuban and Sandinista Revolutions, and the recent shift to the left, as well as providing short inserts on the main political protagonists such as Simon Bolívar, Getulio Vargas and Hugo Chávez.The 3rd edition has been revised in line with crucial recent political, cultural and economic developments. It offers an entirely new chapter covering the key events and issues of the 21st century, fresh topics for essays and presentations, increased attention to literary, ethnic and social culture and a new e-resource offering English translations of Spanish sources.

Latin America since 1780 provides an accessible introductory text aimed at Spanish linguists and historians taking modules in Latin American history. It provides a compelling continental-based historical narrative supported throughout by incisive evaluation, pedagogical features, and authentic source texts in the original Spanish. This book focuses on key events such as the Wars of Independence, the Mexican, Cuban and Sandinista Revolutions, and the recent shift to the left, as well as providing short inserts on the main political protagonists such as Simon Bolívar, Getulio Vargas and Hugo Chávez.The 3rd edition has been revised in line with crucial recent political, cultural and economic developments. It offers an entirely new chapter covering the key events and issues of the 21st century, fresh topics for essays and presentations, increased attention to literary, ethnic and social culture and a new e-resource offering English translations of Spanish sources.

Pearson English Readers bring language learning to life through the joy of reading.  Well-written stories entertain us, make us think, and keep our interest page after page. Pearson English Readers offer teenage and adult learners a huge range of titles, all featuring carefully graded language to make them accessible to learners of all abilities.  Through the imagination of some of the world’s greatest authors, the English language comes to life in pages of our Readers. Students have the pleasure and satisfaction of reading these stories in English, and at the same time develop a broader vocabulary, greater comprehension and reading fluency, improved grammar, and greater confidence and ability to express themselves.  Find out more at english.com/readers

Unlike wars between nations, wherein the population generally comes together to defend its borders and is united by a common national goal, civil wars tear countries apart, divide families, and turn neighbors against each other. Civil wars are a form of self-harm in which a country’s people seek redemption through self-destruction, punishing or severing those parts that are seen to have made the nation ill. And yet civil wars-with their characteristically appalling violence-remain chillingly common, defying the notion that they are somehow an aberration.In The Grammar of Civil War Will Fowler examines the origin, process, and outcome of civil war. Using the Mexican Civil War of 1857–61 (or the War of the Reform, the political and military conflict that erupted between the competing liberal and conservative visions of Mexico’s future), Fowler seeks to understand how civil wars come about and, when they do, how they unfold and why. By outlining the grammatical principles that underpin a new framework for the study of civil war, Fowler stresses what is essential for one to take place and explains how, once it has erupted, it can be expected to develop and end, according to the syntax, morphology, and meanings that characterize and help understand the grammar of civil war generally.

The 'Confrontation' between Malaysia and Indonesia in Borneo - the war against Indonesian raids across a 900-mile border - eventually involved nearly 20,000 British and Commonwealth troops, with air and naval support.Yet, by mutual consent, astonishingly little was reported at the time. This 'secret war' saw the perfection of SAS jungle tactics and audacious secret missions deep inside enemy territory, including the award to a Gurkha soldier of the British Army's only 'living VC' for 40 years. This book reveals the experiences of the soldiers who survived and succeeded amidst some of the world's worst jungle terrain.

One of the most prestigious and versatile units of the British armed forces, the Royal Marine Commandos served in many theatres worldwide, performing a number of conventional and specialised roles. During the period covered in this account, conscription to the Royal Marines came to an end and the unit became a professional and dedicated force, with a tough recruitment programme and a focus on teamwork. This book provides a detailed look at the service life of a Royal Marine Commando in a time of great change, exploring the developments that took place in recruitment, training, equipment, weaponry, dress and tactical deployment in the post-World War II period.

The night before D-Day, light infantry and a detachment of Royal Engineers landed by gliders at Pegasus Bridge, which spanned the Caen Canal. Quickly overwhelming the guards, they managed to hold the bridge and help prevent German reinforcements from reaching the British landing beaches. Will Fowler provides a detailed blow-by-blow account of this classic wartime raid.

In September 2000 the notorious militia gang, 'West Side Boys' kidnapped eleven British soldiers in Sierra Leone and Operation Barras was launched as the rescue operation. Fast roping in from helicopters, the SAS soldiers engaged in a heavy firefight with the militia, killing several, and capturing their leader. Meanwhile the Paras advanced on foot, fighting their way through a village to recover the Land Rovers abandoned by the kidnapped soldiers. The operation was a complete success, with all the soldiers being rescued. This daring raid is brought to life with specially commissioned artwork, detailed maps and overhead shots to recreate one of the greatest hostage-rescue success stories.

This book lets you travel back in time and find out about the first weapons and their uses - including stone clubs, flint axes, wooden spears, bronze daggers and steel swords. This book helps you discover how people defended themselves with moats, find out why combat dress developed from eye-catching uniforms to camouflage gear, and how the ultra-modern stealth bomber evolved from the fragile-looking bi-plane. Fact boxes highlight key dates; information panels provide technical details about weapons and military hardware; and clear maps show battle sites and tactics. It features over 400 evocative illustrations, maps and action photographs that capture the atmosphere and power of war. It is a superb reference book, ideal for 8- to 12-year olds. From the earliest times, humans have always had a need for weapons, whether for hunting, attacking or for protection. This book takes the reader through time, exploring the reality of what it was like to live in the past, from prehistoric times to life in the modern world.Each weapon - from clubs, axes and slings through crossbows, helmets and swords, and then sophisticated tanks, submarines and modern fighter planes - is set in the context of the lives of the people who used them. Vivid illustrations, maps and photographs are included throughout, making this an enthralling book that captures the imagination and brings history to life.