Visar resultat för..."Rowman & Littlefield"

A psychotherapist and pool columnist breaks new ground by applying good science to the mental game of billiards and gives invaluable insight on competitive play.

Increase your strength, power, skill, and focus to maximize your climbing performance. Praise for Training for Climbing“Training for Climbing is a great resource. Whether you’re just starting out or already ticking 5.13, you’ll find valuable information here to help you climb harder. This is the most complete and up-to-date training guide available.”—Rock and Ice magazineDrawing on the latest climbing research, this third edition of the international best-selling Training for Climbing presents a comprehensive, evidence-based program for improving climbing performance. With the unique perspective of a veteran climber, researcher, and coach, Eric Hörst blends leading edge sport science with his decades of climbing and coaching experience to create a content-rich text packed with practical how-to and what-to-do information.A few of the new topics explored include:• Energy system training to develop greater strength, power-endurance, and aerobic endurance.• Recalibrating the brain’s central governor for higher power output and stamina.• Daily Undulating Periodization as an effective method of on-season programming.• “Training zones” for rock climbers—the secret to truly effective training!• Stabilizer training to improve arm power and reduce risk of shoulder injury.Also included are expanded chapters on developing strength, power, and endurance in the crucial finger flexor and pulling muscles, as well as a must-read chapter on developing exceptional core strength. Hörst completes his coaching with dedicated chapters on technique and mental training, performance nutrition, accelerating recovery, and injury prevention. The book’s 300-plus pages of expert instruction make for the most advanced and complete book of its type!Eric Hörst is an internationally renowned author and a climber of forty years. As a researcher and coach, Hörst has written hundreds of articles and coached thousands of climbers from around the world. He owns the popular website Training4Climbing.com.

This groundbreaking book unleashes a brilliant new plan for permanently curing heartburn by relieving the root cause of the problem: low stomach acid. The fact is that heartburn is caused by too little stomach acid -- not too much, as many doctors profess. As explained in this book, the current practice of reducing stomach acid may be a temporary fix, but this fix comes at a cost to our long-term health that is being ignored by the pharmaceutical companies, the FDA, and the thousands of physicians that prescribe anti-acid drugs like Prilosec, Tagamet, Zantac, Pepcid, and others.

Captain Bunn founded SOAR to develop effective methods for dealing with flight anxiety. Therapists who have found this phobia difficult to treat will find everything they need to give their clients success. Anxious flyers who have "tried everything" to no avail can look forward to joining the nearly 10,000 graduates of the SOAR program who now have the whole world open to them as they fly anxiety free wherever they want. This approach begins by explaining how anxiety, claustrophobia, and panic are caused when noises, motions—or even the thought of flying—trigger excessive stress hormones. Then, to stop this problem, Captain Bunn takes the reader step-by-step through exercises that permanently and automatically control these feelings. He also explains how flying works, why it is safe, and teaches flyers how to strategically plan their flight, choose the right airlines, meet the captain, and so on. Through this program, Captain Bunn has helped thousands overcome their fear of flying. Now his book arms readers with the information they need to control their anxiety and fly comfortably.

"The Arctic trails do indeed have their secret tales, and one of the best is that of The Mad Trapper of Rat River, equal to the legends of Bonnie and Clyde or John Dillinger. Now author Dick North (of course) may have solved the mystery of the Mad Trapper's true identity, thereby enhancing the saga."--Thomas McIntyre, author of Seasons & Days: A Hunting Life"A courageous and unrelenting posse on the trail of a furious and desperate wilderness outlaw . . . Lean and bloody, meticulously researched, The Mad Trapper of Rat River is a dark and haunting story of human endurance, adventure, and will that speeds along like the best fiction."--Bob Butz, author of Beast of Never, Cat of GodThey called it "The Arctic Circle War." It was a forty-eight-day manhunt across the harshest terrain in the world, the likes of which we will never see again. The quarry, Albert Johnson, was a loner working a string of traps in the far reaches of Canada's Northwest Territories, where winter temperatures average forty degrees below zero.The chase began when two Mounties came to ask Johnson about allegations that he had interfered with a neighbor's trap. No questions were asked. Johnson discharged the first shot through a hole in the wall of his log cabin. When the Mounties returned with reinforcements, Johnson was gone, and The Arctic Circle War had begun.On Johnson's heels were a corps of Mounties and an irregular posse on dogsled. Johnson, on snowshoes, seemed superhuman in his ability to evade capture. The chase stretched for hundreds of miles and, during a blizzard, crossed the Richardson Mountains, the northernmost extension of the Rockies. It culminated in the historic shootout at Eagle River.

Jack Kerouac was one of America's great writers of the latter half of the 20th century, yet he endured a life characterized by persistent hardship and disillusion. Leading Kerouac scholar Paul Maher Jr. targets the writer's embattled insight of self as central to his life and work. He reveals how Kerouac's troubled interactions with alcohol, drugs, and spirituality stamped its importance on his autobiographical prose and poetry and created a singular language that united thoughts on the human condition and spiritual liberation. Becoming Kerouac: A Writer In His Time affixes Kerouac's life and art in a fresh way, giving readers a rich perspective from which to understand this 20th-century literary genius.Using unpublished archival material, Becoming Kerouac focuses on the writer's critical formative years ––1940 to 1957–– to demonstrate his growth as a novelist and poet. Maher contends that Kerouac developed his singular language to capture human consciousness as it never had before. His futilities catapulted American literature to reflect its restless post-World War II anxieties. Narrating the events that comprised Kerouac's life, biographers have long struggled to illustrate his complexness and the contradictions that shaped his determinations and dogged his relationships. But without consideration of the writing, the troubles in life fail to reveal their deeper resonances by skillfully analyzing the work while tracing the events. Maher achieves a full portrait, revealing struggles that problematize his work. Becoming Kerouac fuses Kerouac's life and art to comprehend this misunderstood literary genius.

The third edition of the best Ironman triathlon training book in the market, this updated volume contains time-efficient training methods that have been honed over the years and have been proved to aid anyone in achieving their athletic dreams—from beginners to experienced competitors. This edition contains all new training plans, new swim sessions, new athlete profiles, and state-of-the-art flexibility and core strength regimens. Be Iron Fit contains:* The essential workouts with exercise photography * The training cycle * Core training * 30-week training programs * Effective time management * The principle of gradual adaptation * Effective heart-rate training * Proper technique * Equipment tips * Race and pre-race strategies * Mental training * Effective goal setting and race selection * Nutrition * And much more.

Mississippi Off the Beaten Path features the things travelers and locals want to see and experience––if only they knew about them. From the best in local dining to quirky cultural tidbits to hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales, Mississippi Off the Beaten Path takes the reader down the road less traveled and reveals a side of Mississippi that other guidebooks just don't offer.

The aim of this book, with its superb step by step photographs and detailed diagrams is to enable every owner to understand the workings of an outboard motor (2 or 4 stroke) and be able to fix it with relative ease.It includes: an explanation of the different parts that make up the engine and how they interact; how fuel is transformed into propulsion; regular maintenance and repair worksheets to help even the most mechanically ignorant to work on their outboard engine with confidence; the most common causes of breakdown; troubleshooting tables to allow you to diagnose and fix the most common engine problems and advice on how to winterize your outboard in one short afternoon.After reading this book, your outboard will no longer be a potential bother to you but an ally for better boating.

A vain man of good looks but no family ties to the Mob, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano worked his way up to acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, becoming its leader when official boss Joseph Massino went to prison in 2003. When the Mafia was crawling with secret operatives and informants caving to government pressure to flip, Basciano steadfastly obeyed the code of La Cosa Nostra. "I got faith in one guy," he said during a secretly taped meeting. That man was Massino, head of the Bonanno borgata. But for all his loyalty, Basciano was still a hot-headed, cold-blooded killer, which ultimately led to his arrest and downfall.Then in a remarkable betrayal that rocked the Five Families to their foundations, Massino secretly cooperated with the FBI—the first head boss ever to roll over. As a result, Basciano faced the death penalty, but a federal jury, disturbed by the prosecution's use of deadly criminal informants, reached a surprising verdict. Here from veteran crime author Anthony M. DeStefano comes the riveting story of the last true believer in the Mob's cult of brotherhood and his betrayal at the hands of the only man he ever trusted.

Fashion that was in vogue in the East was highly desirable to pioneers during the frontier period of the American West. It was also extraordinarily difficult to obtain, often impractical, and sometimes the clothing was just not durable enough for the men and women who were forging new homes for themselves in the West. Full hoopskirts were of little use in a soddy on the prairie, and chaps and spurs were a vital part of the cowboy's equipment.In this book, author Chris Enss examines the fashion that shaped the frontier through short essays; brief clips from letters, magazines, and other period sources; and period illustrations demonstrating the sometimes bizarre, often beautiful, and frequently highly inventive ways of dressing oneself in the Old West.

Donn Fendler's harrowing story of being lost in the Maine wilderness when he was just twelve, was made famous by the perennial best-seller, Lost on a Mountain in Maine. In Lost Trail, more than 70 years after the event, Donn tells the story of survival and rescue from his own perspective. Lost Trail is a masterfully illustrated graphic novel that tells the story of a twelve year old boyscout from a New York City suburb who climbs Maine,s mile-high Mt. Katahdin and in a sudden storm is separated from his friends and family. What follows is a nine-day adventure, in which Donn, lost and alone in the Maine wilderness with bugs, bears, and only a few berries to eat, struggles for survival.

How often have you taken one look at someone and ‘known’ that they were not to be trusted? Or conversely, instantly been sure that some new acquaintance was someone who was going to be your friend? You ‘know’ because you can instinctively see their character in their faces.The art of reading faces has been practiced in China for thousands of years. Now, with the help of this step-by-step guide, anyone can learn how to interpret different facial characteristics and acquire and instant knowledge of a person’s character, feelings, hidden desires, state of health, and mood.Everything is written in the face. High cheekbones, a pointed chine, flaring eyebrows or a turned-up nose all have specific meanings. Once you have learned how to interpret them you will gain greater self-knowledge and a deeper understanding of your friends, colleagues and partners. Your new insights will enable you to form more successful relationships and will give you the advantage in business dealings and interviews. You will know at once whether a person is trustworthy or has bad intentions, and your first impressions will be supported by the clear evidence in the face confronting you.Clear and practical, Face Reading includes 180 illustrations showing you all the facial features with detailed explanations of their meaning. Reading faces is entertaining and fun, but it is no mere party game; it will change your whole perception of the people around you as well as yourself.

The Long Way is Bernard Moitessier's own incredible story of his participation in the first Golden Globe Race, a solo, non-stop circumnavigation rounding the three great Capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin, and the Horn. For seven months, the veteran seafarer battled storms, doldrums, gear-failures, knock-downs, as well as overwhelming fatigue and loneliness. Then, nearing the finish, Moitessier pulled out of the race and sailed on for another three months before ending his 37,455-mile journey in Tahiti. Not once had he touched land.

“I will always be somebody.”This assertion, a startling one from a nineteenth-century woman, drove the life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the only American woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor. President Andrew Johnson issued the award in 1865 in recognition of the incomparable medical service Walker rendered during the Civil War. Yet few people today know anything about the woman so well-known--even notorious--in her own lifetime. Theresa Kaminski shares a different way of looking at the Civil War, through the eyes of a woman confident she could make a contribution equal to that of any man. She takes readers into the political cauldron of the nation’s capital in wartime, where Walker was a familiar if notorious figure. Mary Walker’s relentless pursuit of gender and racial equality is key to understanding her commitment to a Union victory in the Civil War. Her role in the women’s suffrage movement became controversial and the US Army stripped Walker of her medal, only to have the medal reinstated posthumously in 1977.

The author of the best-selling Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips and Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor takes on the crazy sexy subject of what and how we eat, drink, and think. Crazysexydiet.com On the heels of Kris Carr’s best-selling cancer survival guidebooks and her acclaimed TLC documentary comes her new journey into a realm vital to anyone’s health. Infused with her signature sass, wit and advice-from-the-trenches style, Crazy Sexy Diet is a beautifully illustrated resource that puts you on the fast track to vibrant health, happiness and a great ass! Along with help from her posse of experts, Carr lays out the fundamentals of her Crazy Sexy Diet: a low-glycemic, vegetarian program that emphasizes balancing the pH of the body with lush whole and raw foods, nourishing organic green drinks, and scrumptious smoothies. Plus, she shares the steps of her own twenty-one-day cleanse, and simple but delectable sample recipes. In ten chapters with titles such as, “pHabulous,” “Coffee, Cupcakes and Cocktails,” “Make Juice Not War,” and “God-Pod Glow,” Carr empowers readers to move from a state of constant bodily damage control to one of renewal and repair. In addition to debunking common diet myths and sharing vital tips on detoxifying our bodies and psyches—advice that draws both on her personal experience as a cancer survivor and that of experts—she provides helpful hints on natural personal care, how to stretch a dollar, navigate the grocery store, eating well on the run, and working through the inevitable pangs and cravings for your old not-so-healthy life. Crazy Sexy Diet is a must for anyone who seeks to be a confident and sexy wellness warrior. Including contributions by: Dean Ornish, M.D. – author and founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research InstituteNeal Barnard, M.D. – author, founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), author of Food for LifeKathy Freston – author of Quantum Wellness and health advocateAlejandro Junger, M.D. – author of Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself, and director of integrative medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, NYCRory Freedman – coauthor of Skinny Bitch and health advocateMark Hyman, M.D. – author of The UltraMind Solution and pioneer in functional medicineEmily Deschanel – star of the Fox series Bones and health advocateSharon Gannon – author of Yoga and Vegetarianism, and cofounder of Jivamukti YogaWayne Pacelle – president & CEO, The Humane Society of the United StatesStacy Malkan – author and cofounder of the Campaign for Safe CosmeticsDr. Lilli Link – specialist in raw foods and integrative nutrition Frank Lipman – author of Revive: Stop feeling Spent and Start Living Again and founder of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center Crazy Sexy tips for optimal healthFlood your body with alkaline nutrients * Flush stored waste products and chemicals * Reduce or eliminate animal products * *Dump sugar, you’re sweet enough * Go gluten-free *Shake your booty * Wrangle the monkeys in your mind and turn down the stress * Install healthy boundaries so you don’t burn out * Kill your television and Detox your In Box (Facebook too!) * Take fun seriously * Build a wellness posse support system *Be a "prevention is hot" cheerleader! Kris Carr’s television appearances have included: - CBS Evening News with Katie Couric- The Early Show- The Today Show- Montel- Access Hollywood- The Mike & Juliet Show- Good Morning America- The Oprah Winfrey Show Do you have any idea what it’s like to feel blissfully whole and comfortable in your skin? You will. The Crazy Sexy Diet and lifestyle will give you the tools to navigate through life with clarity, balance, and flow. Health is more than just the absence of disease; it is the presence of vitality. Health is freedom from obstruction; it’s living in a harmonious way that creates both inner and outer peace. . . . The Crazy Sexy Diet is loaded with wisdom, tips and advice from personal experien ce. If I feel great living and eating this way then you can feel fantastic! What I present to you is what works for me and countless other wellness warriors. This information just might save your life, or at the very least reduce the pesky cellulite. It’s an awakening without the disease, knowledge without the price. Changing your mind is the biggest obstacle you face. But once you do, you’ll realize that you are the one you’ve been waiting for. . . . From the Introduction

Norman Brokaw was CEO and Chairman of the William Morris Agency from 1989 to 1997, but his legacy may lie in his ascent from mailroom clerk to agent for some of Hollywood’s most iconic figures of the late 20th Century: Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak, Elvis (and Colonel Parker), Natalie Wood, Loretta Young, Clint Eastwood, Danny Thomas, Dick Van Dyke, Berry Gordy, Bill Cosby, Donna Summer, Brooke Shields plus many more. Under his guidance, the agency created a television department in the early 1950s, where he persuaded many skeptical Hollywood stars to make the move to the new medium. Under his influence on the late 1970s the agency began representing politicians, most notably among them President Gerald Ford. Much of what came to be known as American popular culture had its epicenter at William Morris, and Norman’s fingerprints can be found on most of it. As actress Kim Novak has said, “I have never known anyone who was so eager, so interested, or so positive.”

Spielberg, Brin, Dell, Seinfeld—phenomenally successful . . . and Jewish. Why have Jews risen to the top of the business and professional world in numbers staggeringly out of proportion to their percentage of the American population? Steven Silbiger has the answer. Based on the author's synthesis of wide reading and research, The Jewish Phenomenon sets forth seven principles that form the bedrock of Jewish financial success. With startling statistics, a wealth of anecdotes, and the fascinating details behind some of America's biggest business success stories, Silbiger convincingly shows how these seven keys have helped the Jews historically and how they continue to ensure Jewish success today. More important, the author makes clear that these principles are equally at the disposal of Jews and non-Jews alike. The amazing success of the Jews simply proves that they work. The Jewish Phenomenon pays tribute not merely to the success of a people but to the commonsense wisdom and enduring values that can enrich us all.

The Art of Kayaking is the distilled essence of a lifetime of kayak instruction at all skill levels around the world, with the added insights gained from years of designing kayaks, paddles, and kayaking equipment. This comprehensive kayaking manual by one of the biggest names in kayaking offers more essential detail about commonly used techniques than ever before published in a single volume. Color photo action sequences show how to perfect skills, and how to apply them. Maps, tables, and diagrams walk the reader through essential planning steps. No matter which type of kayak, paddle, or style of paddling the reader prefers, the appropriate techniques are described clearly and concisely. The progression through the book makes it easy to start as a beginner and to access as much information as can be tackled at any stage of development up to and including the expert. It is a definitive manual designed to stand the test of time.

Whether you're a soon-to-be fly fisher looking for the right book to get you started or you're reasonably proficient at at the sport and need a refresher course on tying knots for saltwater or the latest info on how to care for your waders or how to fish a dry fly in tricky currents, this invaluable best-selling guide is for you. The latest and most up-to-date and trustworthy information on:Tackle selection and care — rods, reels, lines, leaders, and knotsCasting — with instructive line drawings by Bob WhiteHundreds of flies in full colour, including fifty new patterns Presentation, striking, playing, and landingTactics for stream, stillwater, and saltNew techniques, including Tenkara and Czech nymphingHow to fish all the major game fish, fresh and saltwater, including salmon and steelheadPlus a new chapter on conservation, stream etiquette, and giving back.

Jack Kerouac was one of America's great writers of the latter half of the 20th century, yet he endured a life characterized by persistent hardship and disillusion. Leading Kerouac scholar Paul Maher Jr. targets the writer's embattled insight of self as central to his life and work. He reveals how Kerouac's troubled interactions with alcohol, drugs, and spirituality stamped its importance on his autobiographical prose and poetry and created a singular language that united thoughts on the human condition and spiritual liberation. Becoming Kerouac: A Writer In His Time affixes Kerouac's life and art in a fresh way, giving readers a rich perspective from which to understand this 20th-century literary genius.Using unpublished archival material, Becoming Kerouac focuses on the writer's critical formative years ––1940 to 1957–– to demonstrate his growth as a novelist and poet. Maher contends that Kerouac developed his singular language to capture human consciousness as it never had before. His futilities catapulted American literature to reflect its restless post-World War II anxieties. Narrating the events that comprised Kerouac's life, biographers have long struggled to illustrate his complexness and the contradictions that shaped his determinations and dogged his relationships. But without consideration of the writing, the troubles in life fail to reveal their deeper resonances by skillfully analyzing the work while tracing the events. Maher achieves a full portrait, revealing struggles that problematize his work. Becoming Kerouac fuses Kerouac's life and art to comprehend this misunderstood literary genius.

Generals South, Generals North highlights twenty-four commanders—twelve each from the Confederacy and the Union. Best-selling author and military historian Alan Axelrod presents a biography of each, narrates the major engagements in which each fought (emphasizing tactical leadership and outcome produced), and explores each man’s ever-controversial reputation. His consequent rankings are based on both historical and modern-day sources.

Fought during 1916, the Battle of the Somme was conceived by the French and British as a great offensive to be waged against Germany even as France poured incredible numbers of men into the slaughterhouse that was the desperate defense of Verdun. The French general-in-chief, Joseph “Papa” Joffre, was especially anxious to go on the offensive. For the French high command cherished the belief, born in the era of Napoleon, that the success of French arms depended on attack and that defense was anathema to what the nationalistic philosopher Henri Bergson called the “élan vital” of the French people, a quality, he argued, that set the Gallic race apart from the rest of the world. After more than five months, the British eked out a penetration of some six miles into German territory. The cost had been 420,000 Britons killed or wounded (70,000 men per mile gained)—and most of these were from “Kitchener’s Army,” so-called Pals Battalions, working- and middle-class volunteers promised that they could fight alongside their friends, co-workers, and neighbors. This meant that the Somme, more than any other battle before or since, devastated the young male population of entire British towns, villages, and neighborhoods. French losses were just under 200,000. The Germans lost at least 650,000. Just as the French refused to give up ground at Verdun, the Germans held on stubbornly at the Somme—so stubbornly that General Ludendorff actually complained that his men “fought too doggedly, clinging too resolutely to the mere holding of ground, with the result that the losses were heavy.”The only thing “conclusive” about the Somme was the ineluctable fact of death. No battle ever fought in any conflict provided a stronger incentive for all sides to reach a negotiated peace—the “peace without victory” that Woodrow Wilson, still standing on the sidelines, urged the combatants to agree upon. Instead, the Kaiser, appalled both by Verdun and the Somme, relieved Falkenhayn and replaced him with Hindenburg and Ludendorff, who had achieved great success on the Eastern Front. The new commanders created two new defensive lines, both well behind the Somme front. On the one hand, it was a retreat. On the other, it was a commitment to draw the French and British farther east and invite them to sacrifice more of their soldiery. The modest advance the British made was but the prelude to additional slaughter.

Now in paperback!Military Book Club® Main Selection History Book Club® Featured Alternate*The battle that transformed a group of common soldiers into the modern-day Marine CorpsMiracle at Belleau Wood begins in June 1918 at Les Mare Farm in France with just 200 U.S. marines, who spilled their blood to prevail against impossible odds, resisting an overwhelming German force of thousands and turned the battle back against the enemy, saved Paris, saved France, and saved the Allied hope of victory. Called “the Gettysburg of the Great War” by many at the time, it rescued America and its allies from almost certain defeat. This book tells the riveting story of the modern marines as America’s fiercest and most effective warriors, the world’s preeminent fighting elite. Miracle at Belleau Wood is the story of an epoch-making battle--a battle that elevated the Corps to legendary status and forever burned them into the American imagination. Praise for Miracle at Belleau Wood “Axelrod brings us back vividly to the shocking casualties of ‘the war to end all wars.’”—Bing West, author of No True Glory, former Assistant Secretary of Defense “Alan Axelrod has perfectly captured the embodiment of U.S. Marines and their unparalleled Esprit de Corps. . . . A must read!”—Jay Kopelman, author of the best-selling From Baghdad with Love “Axelrod is one of America’s great military historians. He’s done it this time with riveting non-stop action that reads like the best of Hemingway’s frontline reports plus the Marine Corps novels of W.E.B. Griffin. Axelrod pushes you right into the action, onto the battlefield, and never lets up.”—Paul B. Farrell, JD, PhD, syndicated columnist for Dow Jones’s MarketWatch, former Staff Sergeant in the US Marine Corps Praise for Patton: A Biography“Like Patton at his best: polished, precise, and persuasive.”—Kirkus Reviews

The Great War ate men, machines, and money without mercy or remission. At the end of 1915, the German army chief of staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, believed he knew how to finally kill the beast and win the war. On Christmas day, 1915, Falkenhayn sent a letter to Kaiser Wilhelm II proposing a campaign to demoralize Britain, whose industrial might and maritime power were the foundation of the alliance against Germany, while also knocking France out of the war. He wrote that the “strain on France has reached breaking point …. If we succeed in opening the eyes of her people to the fact that in a military sense they have nothing more to hope for, that breaking point would be reached and England’s best sword knocked out of her hand.” His plan was to attack a single point the French perceived as so vital that they would be compelled “to throw in every man they have.” Falkenhayn concluded: “If they do so, the forces of France will bleed to death” or, as he put it later, the “French army would be bled white.” Falkenhayn’s target of choice was Verdun, a place that, throughout virtually all of the history of Europe, had been a fortress. Located within a loop of the Meuse River, it occupied a strategic blocking position in the Meuse River valley. As recently as the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, Verdun had been the last of the French fortified cities to hold out against the German onslaught. After that war, it had been vastly augmented, so that it was now a circle of detached forts surrounding a central citadel. The town of Verdun itself, also fortified, was likewise encircled by forts distributed in a five-mile radius. The combined massive complex guarded not only passage through the river valley region, but also dominated a key railroad junction leading to points south, southwest, west, and north in France. Along with the related, but separate, Battle of the Somme, Verdun was among the most deadly battles in history. To understand this struggle is to understand all of World War I, including the principal stated motive of Woodrow Wilson for bringing the United States into the “European War” in April 1917. For him, Verdun proved both France’s determination to win at all costs and the likelihood that, without help, it would be defeated nevertheless. The unparalleled barbarity of Verdun, a product of the Old World, convinced the American president that only the principal nation of the New World could finally alter the grim course of human destiny. While many, both in 1916 and in the decades that followed, saw Verdun as a bloody monument to the inescapable futility of war, Wilson saw in it a hope for fighting what he would call a “war to end all wars.”

The American Revolution was a war, but it was also a time, a span of history, in which some people fought, but most just lived. They thought, acted, worked, raised families, worshipped, built, sold, bought, and tried to live as best they could in a time of hope, anxiety, despair, loss, gain, and, above all, disruption. In the Time of the Revolution is a popular, single-volume history of the American Revolution, 1775 to 1783, an intensely active, exciting, and critical span of time in North America. It began with a lopsided skirmish at Lexington, Massachusetts, culminated militarily in a major amphibious campaign mounted by a large Franco-American army against British army and naval forces at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781, and then passed through two more years of desultory combat and cruel fights between diehard Loyalists and vengeful Patriots before ending in the Treaty of Paris. During these eight years in an America that was a collection of young towns on the edge of a vast wilderness, the break-up with the mother country was the central fact of life.

An argument settler--and starter--for Civil War buffs who want to know which side had the better soldiers: Armies South, Armies North definitively compares the military forces of both sides. Civil War buffs are always arguing over which side had the better soldiers. Armies South/Armies North by Alan Axelrod helps readers reconsider their understanding of America’s most harrowing war. Axelrod is the author of more than one hundred books with a passion for military history and leadership. Each chapter of his new book compares the military forces with both quantitative and qualitative measures. Axelrod analyzes the equipment, the leadership and strategies, and the men who fought in each army, with additional focus on lesser known flash points during the war.

A Very Vintage Christmas embodies the nostalgia and sentimentality associated with the holiday season. Vintage ornaments, lights, decorations, cards and wrapping all conjure up happy memories of Christmases past and serve as tangible mementos of holidays shared with family and friends. In fact, finding these objects, decorating with them and sharing them with others brings an instant feeling of comfort and joy. Coupled with beautiful photographs, tips on collecting, and secret shopping haunts, A Very Vintage Christmas offers a 360-degree look at holiday décor in America and gives suggestions on how to make vintage finds work for today’s audience. While each chapter of A Very Vintage Christmas is unique, there is a common thread that runs through them all: the love of beautiful holiday decorations, and the interest in their history, value, and preservation. The book helps the everyday collector and enthusiast to build their own collection and offers tips on how to make the most of what they’ve got.

From the beginning of her modeling career in 1944 as Norma Jeane Mortensen to her death as the voluptuous Hollywood icon in 1962, Marilyn Monroe posed for thousands of modeling and publicity photos, scores of which have long been forgotten or abandoned in neglected studio archives. This book collects 100 of the rarest of the rare, seldom previously seen images of her brief modeling career, early days on the 20th Century Fox lot, then in candids between scene takes and traveling as a public figure as the wife of Arthur Miller and Joe DiMaggio. For the Monroe fans who think that they have seen it all, this book will provide a new lens on a beloved American icon.