Download or read book A Sailor of Austria written by John Biggins and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2005-09-01 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this ironic, hilarious, and poignant story, Otto Prohaska is a submarine captain serving the almost-landlocked Austro-Hungarian Empire. He faces a host of unlikely circumstances, from petrol poisoning to exploding lavatories to trigger-happy Turks. All signs point to the total collapse of the bloated empire he serves, but Otto refuses to abandon the Habsburgs in their hour of need.

Download or read book Tomorrow the World written by John Biggins and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2007-09-01 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laced with smart humor, this naval tale follows the early career of Lieutenant Otto Prohaska, a cadet in the Austro–Hungarian Navy at the turn of the century. Bad luck continues to shadow Otto, and when a fellow cadet breaks his leg, Otto must take his place on a scientific expedition bound for disaster. But even sinister quack scientists, a misguided attempt to establish a colony in Africa, and angry South Sea cannibals bent on destruction cannot keep Otto from fulfilling his patriotic duty.

Download or read book To the Last Salute written by Georg von Trapp and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sound of Music endeared Georg von Trapp (1880?1947) and his singing family to the world, and it also showed how desperately the Nazis wanted Captain von Trapp for their navy. In To the Last Salute we learn why. Trapp?s own story of his exploits as a submarine commander during the First World War is as exciting as it is instructive, bringing to stirring life a little-known chapter in the naval history of that war. In his many guises, Trapp describes life as captain of Austro-Hungarian U-boats in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, emerging by turn as the Imperial Austrian naval officer, the witty observer of international politics, and the indefatigable and ultimately heartbroken patriot opposing the Allied enemy. He relates deadly duels with submarine sweepers, narrow escapes and excruciatingly close calls, and the spectacular sinking of cargo and war ships?all while maintaining a keen sense of the camaraderie of seamen from every corner of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Trapp?s story, in English for the first time, offers a rare combination of human interest, historical insight, and true life-and-death adventure.

Download or read book Citizen Sailors written by Nathan Perl-Rosenthal and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-12 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the decades after the United States formally declared its independence in 1776, Americans struggled to gain recognition of their new republic and their rights as citizens. None had to fight harder than the nation’s seamen, whose labor took them far from home and deep into the Atlantic world. Citizen Sailors tells the story of how their efforts to become American at sea in the midst of war and revolution created the first national, racially inclusive model of United States citizenship. Nathan Perl-Rosenthal immerses us in sailors’ pursuit of safe passage through the ocean world during the turbulent age of revolution. Challenged by British press-gangs and French privateersmen, who considered them Britons and rejected their citizenship claims, American seamen demanded that the U.S. government take action to protect them. In response, federal leaders created a system of national identification documents for sailors and issued them to tens of thousands of mariners of all races—nearly a century before such credentials came into wider use. Citizenship for American sailors was strikingly ahead of its time: it marked the federal government’s most extensive foray into defining the boundaries of national belonging until the Civil War era, and the government’s most explicit recognition of black Americans’ equal membership as well. This remarkable system succeeded in safeguarding seafarers, but it fell victim to rising racism and nativism after 1815. Not until the twentieth century would the United States again embrace such an inclusive vision of American nationhood.

Download or read book Victura written by James W. Graham and published by ForeEdge. This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To truly understand the dynamics and magic of the Kennedy family, one must understand their passion for sailing and the sea. Many families sail together, but the Kennedys' relationship with Victura, the 25-foot sloop purchased in 1932, stands apart. Throughout their brief lives, Joe Jr., Jack, and Bobby spent many hours racing Victura. Lack of effort in a race by one of his sons could infuriate Joseph P. Kennedy, and Joe Jr. and Jack ranked among the best collegiate sailors in New England. Likewise, Eunice emerged as a gifted sailor and fierce competitor, the equal of any of her brothers. The Kennedys believed that Jack's experience sailing Victura helped him survive the sinking of his PT boat during World War II. In the 1950s, glossy Life magazine photos of Jack and Jackie on Victura's bow helped define the winning Kennedy brand. Jack doodled sketches of Victura during Oval Office meetings, and it's probable that his love of seafaring played a role in his 1961 decision to put a man on the moon, an enterprise he referred to as "spacefaring." Ted loved Victura as much as any of his siblings did and, with his own children and the children of his lost brothers as crew, he sailed into his old age: past the shoals of an ebbing career, and into his eventual role as the "Lion of the Senate." In Victura, James W. Graham charts the progress of America's signature twentieth-century family dynasty in a narrative both stunningly original and deeply gripping. This true tale of one small sailboat is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the great story of the Kennedys.

Download or read book Those in Peril written by Wilbur Smith and published by Bonnier Publishing Fiction Ltd.. This book was released on 2018-01-01 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE FIRST IN THE GRIPPING ACTION-PACKED HECTOR CROSS SERIES, FROM WILBUR SMITH. PERFECT FOR FANS OF BOURNE AND LEE CHILD'S JACK REACHER SERIES. Some debts can only be paid in blood . . . When Hazel Bannock, billionaire oil tycoon, discovers her daughter has been kidnapped by Al Qaeda pirates just off the coast of Somalia, she uses all the power at her disposal to rescue her daughter - but politics and diplomacy fail her at every turn. Her only hope is Hector Cross, an expert in surveillance, infiltration and combat. For all Hazel's connections and wealth, Cross is the one man who is offering to find her daughter. Hazel and Cross must work together to bring Cayla home, but neither of them realises that the kidnappers are not merely interested in ransom - what they have planned is far, far worse . . . The first Hector Cross thriller. Book 2 in the series, Vicious Circle, is out now in paperback and ebook. REVIEWS 'Those in Peril has much to recommend it . . . if you like your action plain, graphic and simple yet never entirely predictable, Smith will satisfy' - Sunday Express

Download or read book Alone against Hitler written by Jack Bray and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-05-19 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alone Against Hitler tells the lesser-known but pivotal story of former Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg. As one of the first leaders to defy Adolf Hitler during the buildup to WWII, his story is of lasting importance. Though young and untested upon entering office, von Schuschnigg courageously rejected the rising tide of Austrian Nazism, insisting on equal rights and respect for the Jewish minority. Jack Bray surveys the geopolitical conditions in Austria during the march to war, highlighting von Schuschnigg’s valiant four-year struggle to prevent his nearly defenseless small nation from being taken over from within by unrelenting, violent Austrian Nazis. Von Schuschnigg’s encounters with Hitler and other central characters of 1930s Germany (Himmler, Hess, Ribbentrop, Hindenburg, Goring, and Papen, as well as their ally, Mussolini) are recounted in scenes of high drama and vivid detail. For his daring defiance, and his refusal of offers to flee the Nazi invasion, von Schuschnigg paid a dear price—seven years in Nazi captivity and abuse to the point of breakdown. In one of Hitler’s final acts from the bunker where he would ultimately take his own life, the trembling fuhrer ordered von Schuschnigg to be killed. Just as von Schuschnigg was set to be executed, with the war at its eleventh hour, he received a near-miraculous deliverance. Although Kurt von Schuschnigg’s name may be unfamiliar now, he was for a brief moment at the center of world history, even gracing the cover of Time magazine in 1938. Alone Against Hitler profiles an oft-forgotten but crucially important figure in WWII history, celebrating the legacy of a man who bravely fought against evil.

Download or read book The Surgeon s Apprentice written by John Biggins and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-27 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born on Christmas Day 1610 in a Flanders cowshed, Frans Michielszoon van Raveyck grows up to become one of the most singular minds of the 17th century: surgeon, inventor, engineer, explorer, astrologer and proto-scientist, employed at various times - and with somewhat mixed results - in the service of most of the kings of Christendom.This first volume of his biography takes us from his humble nativity through his family's flight to England, his apprenticeship as a surgeon there, and finally to his involvement aboard a Dutch warship in the disastrous naval expedition to Cadiz in the autumn of 1625; an enterprise regarded by connoisseurs of incompetence as the worst-conducted military operation in Britain's entire history. Which young Frans, however, observing the chaos around him, attributes to the expedition having neglected to take a good astrologer along with it..."John Biggins is the author of a wry and fascinating tetralogy of novels... The Surgeon's Apprentice is another soundly researched tale... it makes for a good yarn." - The Spectator, Books of the Year 2010

Download or read book American Practical Navigator written by Nathaniel Bowditch and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 798 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Cruel Sea written by Nicholas Monsarrat and published by House of Stratus. This book was released on 2011-12-30 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The highly acclaimed 'Cruel Sea' is one of the all-time great naval and war thrillers. The film was a smash hit when released and it and the book continue to enjoy undiminished popularity. It covers the battle of the Atlantic and the people who fought it - their domestic triumphs, tragedies, worries and ambitions.

Download or read book The Story of Don John of Austria written by Luis Coloma and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book On the Beach written by Nevil Shute and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2010-02-09 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The most shocking fiction I have read in years. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off." THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE They are the last generation, the innocent victims of an accidental war, living out their last days, making do with what they have, hoping for a miracle. As the deadly rain moves ever closer, the world as we know it winds toward an inevitable end....

Download or read book Veterans written by Sasha Maslov and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2017-05-30 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ichiro Sudan trained to be a kamikaze. Roscoe Brown was a commander in the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American military aviators. Charin Singh, a farmer from Delhi, spent seven years as a Japanese prisoner of war and was not sent home until four years after the war ended. Uli John lost an arm serving in the German army but ultimately befriended former enemy soldiers as part of a network of veterans—"people who fought in the war and know what war really means." These are some of the faces and stories in the remarkable Veterans, the outcome of a worldwide project by Sasha Maslov to interview and photograph the last surviving combatants from World War II. Soldiers, support staff, and resistance fighters candidly discuss wartime experiences and their lifelong effects in this unforgettable, intimate record of the end of a cataclysmic chapter in world history and tribute to the members of an indomitable generation. Veterans is also a meditation on memory, human struggle, and the passage of time.

Download or read book Sailor Diplomat written by Peter Cameron Mauch and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Japan's pre-Pearl Harbor ambassador to the United States, Admiral Nomura Kichisaburo (1877-1964) played a significant role in a tense and turbulent period in Japanese-US relations. This biography casts light on the life and career of this important figure.

Download or read book Closed Cities written by Gregor Sailer and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stunning photo series on artificially created urban zones across the globe that are hermetically sealed off from the outside world.

Download or read book Be Unstoppable The 8 Essential Actions to Succeed at Anything written by Alden Mills and published by Tilbury House Publishers and Cadent Publishing. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than 25,000 copies sold in three languages! Updated and Expanded with New Content However your past has shaped you, your future is yours to shape, and if you want to shape it for success, you’ll find no better coach than Alden Mills. Using the power of a parable and his own experiences as a Navy SEAL and accomplished entrepreneur, Mills shares his proven framework for success as embodied by the action-based acronym UPERSIST: Understand the why; Plan in three dimensions; Exercise to execute; Recognize your reason to believe; Survey your habits; Improvise to overcome; Seek expert advice; and Team up. At the core of Be Unstoppable is the parable of a young skipper who meets a remarkable, seasoned captain. This chance meeting changes the young skipper’s direction in life, setting him on course to identify and achieve his dreams. Each chapter concludes with action steps distilled from the story and from Alden’s experiences as a U.S. Navy SEAL Commander and a business leader and entrepreneur. You see others who have the things you want money, joy, success and suppose that they were born with special talent or into a family which made these things easy to attain. They are just lucky. What you don't know is that there is a methodology to success. BE UNSTOPPABLE contains a system to gain this vital skillset.

Download or read book Black Jacks written by W. Jeffrey. Bolster and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few Americans, black or white, recognize the degree to which early African American history is a maritime history. W. Jeffrey Bolster shatters the myth that black seafaring in the age of sail was limited to the Middle Passage. Seafaring was one of the most significant occupations among both enslaved and free black men between 1740 and 1865. Tens of thousands of black seamen sailed on lofty clippers and modest coasters. They sailed in whalers, warships, and privateers. Some were slaves, forced to work at sea, but by 1800 most were free men, seeking liberty and economic opportunity aboard ship.Bolster brings an intimate understanding of the sea to this extraordinary chapter in the formation of black America. Because of their unusual mobility, sailors were the eyes and ears to worlds beyond the limited horizon of black communities ashore. Sometimes helping to smuggle slaves to freedom, they were more often a unique conduit for news and information of concern to blacks.But for all its opportunities, life at sea was difficult. Blacks actively contributed to the Atlantic maritime culture shared by all seamen, but were often outsiders within it. Capturing that tension, Black Jacks examines not only how common experiences drew black and white sailors together--even as deeply internalized prejudices drove them apart--but also how the meaning of race aboard ship changed with time. Bolster traces the story to the end of the Civil War, when emancipated blacks began to be systematically excluded from maritime work. Rescuing African American seamen from obscurity, this stirring account reveals the critical role sailors played in helping forge new identities for black people in America.An epic tale of the rise and fall of black seafaring, Black Jacks is African Americans' freedom story presented from a fresh perspective.