Modern War

Russia has been locked into a winter of authoritarian rule at home and military adventures abroad under Vladimir Putin. In Kremlin Winter, Robert Service, one of our finest historians of Russia, plots the seasonal shifts in events since 2012 and those that may be expected in the immediate future. When Mikhail Gorbachëv introduced perestroika in the mid-1980s, the USSR went through a springtime of growth and release.

The Chinese Civil War was a decades-long struggle between the Nationalists and Communists that reshaped China and reverberated across the globe. This concise yet comprehensive book covers the war’s early battles, the impact of the Japanese invasion during World War II, and the final showdown that saw Chiang Kai-shek’s retreat to Taiwan. Listen about the ideologies and strategies of both sides and explore the global consequences of this war, which marked a pivotal moment in Cold War history.

Discover World War 2's hidden heroes and villains. Spies, Code Breakers, and Secret Agents explores the intriguing world of spycraft and shows you what goes on behind the scenes in war. From spy schools and ciphers to sneaky tools and secret armies, this guide takes you on a declassified tour of the undercover operations that helped decide the outcome of World War 2. There's also more than a dozen short spy-ographies that cover some of the most famous (and infamous!) agents that were active during the war.

Old Gods never die…or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

From the foremost historian of 20th-century Spain, A People Betrayed is the story of the devastating betrayal of Spain by its political class, its military and its Church. This comprehensive history of modern Spain chronicles the fomenting of violent social division throughout the country by institutionalised corruption and startling political incompetence. Most spectacularly during the Primo de Rivera and Franco dictatorships, grotesque and shameless corruption went hand-in-hand with inept policies that prolonged Spain’s economic backwardness well into the 1950s.

In The Drone Age, Michael J. Boyle addresses some of the biggest questions surrounding the impact of drones on our world today and the risks that we might face tomorrow. Will drones produce a safer world because they reduce risk to pilots, or will the prospect of clean, remote warfare lead governments to engage in more conflicts? Will drones begin to replace humans on the battlefield? Will they empower soldiers and peacekeepers to act more precisely and humanely in crisis zones? How will terrorist organizations turn this technology back on the governments that fight them?

Imagine the impact on world history if Robert E. Lee had listened to General Longstreet at Gettysburg and withdrawn to higher ground instead of sending Pickett uphill against the entrenched Union line. Or if Napolon, at Waterloo, had avoided mistakes he'd never made before. The advice that would have changed the outcome of these crucial battles is found in a book on strategy written centuries before Christ was born.

In 1958, Richard Nixon described Afghanistan as "unconquerable." On August 15, 2021, he was proven right. After twenty years of intervention, US and NATO forces retreated, enabling the Taliban to return to power. Tens of thousands were killed in the long, unwinnable war, and millions more were displaced—leaving the future of Afghanistan hanging in the balance. Leading expert Amin Saikal traces the full story of America's intervention, from 9/11 to the present crisis.

Delve into the heart of religious history, where the enduring legacy of the Abrahamic faiths converge with tales of war and theology, revealing their profound impact on contemporary society. In this compelling narrative, religious historian Frank Kenny navigates the complex evolution of a warlike deity from the early scriptures of Jerusalem to the verses of the Bible and Qur’an they inspired. Challenging the one-dimensional portrayal of a benevolent God, The God of War offers a multifaceted view that spans the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Now in its second edition, The Virtues of Captain America is updated to include all the new developments in Captain America's saga. This edition also offers new material on Sam Wilson—formerly Captain America's partner the Falcon who recently became Captain America himself—and how his interpretation of the role compares to Steve Rogers's.

Pivoting from studies that emphasize the dominance of progressivism on American college campuses during the late sixties and early seventies, Lauren Lassabe Shepherd positions conservative critiques of, and agendas in, American colleges and universities as an essential dimension of a broader conversation of conservative backlash against liberal education. This book explores the story of how stakeholders in American higher education organized and reacted to challenges to their power from the New Left and Black Power student resistance movements of the late 1960s.

A cultural and intellectual history of sincerity, from its emergence during the Protestant Reformation to its present incarnations and adversaries. People have long been duped by "straight-talking" politicians, confessional talk-show hosts, and falsely earnest advertisers. As sincerity has become suspect, the upright and honest have taken refuge in irony.

New Deal Law and Order follows President Franklin Roosevelt, Attorney General Homer Cummings, and their war on crime coalition, which overcame the institutional and political challenges to the legitimacy of national law enforcement. Promises of law and order helped to manage tensions among key Democratic Party factions—organized labor, Black Americans, and white Southerners. Their anticrime program, featuring a strengthened criminal code, an empowered FBI, and the first federal war on marijuana, was essential to the expansion of national authority previously stymied on constitutional grounds.

The advice handed down by Sun Tzu in "The Art of War" is surprisingly practical. Strategic principles such as planning, precise timing, and gaining the advantage are just as important to modern political campaigns as they were 2000 years ago. In "Ancient Wisdom for Modern Campaigns," Caitlin Huxley, a campaign strategist with over 15 years of experience, translates the ancient time-honored wisdom and shares relevant personal stories from the campaign trail, taking candidates through the process of planning, organizing, and winning political campaigns using these proven methods.

Earth was being watched from afar...by creatures far greater than man...and which coveted what man possessed. The War of the Worlds is invasion literature at its finest. H.G. Wells' popular classic has never been out of print, and is presented here in a stunning new, modern edition. Bonnem's insightful narration runs the gamut of emotions, simultaneously communicating both the horror of events and the innate humanity of this timeless tale.

In today’s modern world, every political regime - even the most authoritarian or repressive - describes itself as democracy or a democratic people’s republic. The concept of rule by the people and on behalf of the people has come to be accepted as the norm. Very few would overtly espouse the cause of dictatorship, absolute monarchy, or oligarchy as the most desirable political system upon which to base the government of any country.

A Modern Military Mother - Tales from the Domestic Frontline is about the life, reflections and rants of military wife Clare Macnaughton. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad and sometimes crazy, this is a quick and easy listen, with Clare herself reading her account of life on the domestic frontline. Meet ‘Hagar’, the Chinook-flying husband frequently on secret missions in ‘Afghan’, and the children, a son, ‘The Grenade’, and, a daughter, ‘The Menace’.

Most people think of snipers as shooters perched in urban hides, dealing out death unseen from a considerable distance. But this description barely scratches the surface. Special operations snipers are men with stacked skill sets who have the ability to turn the tide of battles, even when they aren't pulling the trigger. Snipers have played an outsized role in the War on Terror that has earned them the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, and countless other honors.

Though it might be hard to believe, the Americans did not have a covert operations organization when they joined World War II, and like the British, it took them some time to realize it could be a powerful tool. As a result, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was not established until June 13, 1942, six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This book provides an examination of the Korean War, including its causes, key players, and lasting legacy. From the invasion of South Korea by North Korea to the armistice that ended hostilities in 1953, this book covers all aspects of this conflict. You will learn about its diplomatic and military history, as well as how it shaped international relations for decades to come.