Download or read book Crucible of War written by Fred Anderson and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 902 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this engrossing narrative of the great military conflagration of the mid-eighteenth century, Fred Anderson transports us into the maelstrom of international rivalries. With the Seven Years' War, Great Britain decisively eliminated French power north of the Caribbean — and in the process destroyed an American diplomatic system in which Native Americans had long played a central, balancing role — permanently changing the political and cultural landscape of North America. Anderson skillfully reveals the clash of inherited perceptions the war created when it gave thousands of American colonists their first experience of real Englishmen and introduced them to the British cultural and class system. We see colonists who assumed that they were partners in the empire encountering British officers who regarded them as subordinates and who treated them accordingly. This laid the groundwork in shared experience for a common view of the world, of the empire, and of the men who had once been their masters. Thus, Anderson shows, the war taught George Washington and other provincials profound emotional lessons, as well as giving them practical instruction in how to be soldiers. Depicting the subsequent British efforts to reform the empire and American resistance — the riots of the Stamp Act crisis and the nearly simultaneous pan-Indian insurrection called Pontiac's Rebellion — as postwar developments rather than as an anticipation of the national independence that no one knew lay ahead (or even desired), Anderson re-creates the perspectives through which contemporaries saw events unfold while they tried to preserve imperial relationships. Interweaving stories of kings and imperial officers with those of Indians, traders, and the diverse colonial peoples, Anderson brings alive a chapter of our history that was shaped as much by individual choices and actions as by social, economic, and political forces.
Download or read book The Course of Empire written by Eric Flint and published by Baen Publishing Enterprises. This book was released on 2003-09-01 with total page 738 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WOULD THEY DESTROY EARTH IN ORDER TO SAVE IT Conquered by the Jao twenty years ago, the Earth is shackled under alien tyranny¾and threatened by the even more dangerous Ekhat, who are sending a genocidal extermination fleet to the solar system. Humanity's only chance rests with an unusual pair of allies: a young Jao prince, newly arrived to Terra to assume his duties, and a young human woman brought up amongst the Jao occupiers. But both are under pressure from the opposing forces¾a cruel Jao viceroy on one side, determined to drown all opposition in blood; a reckless human resistance on the other, perfectly prepared to shed it. Added to the mix is the fact that only by adopting some portions of human technology and using human sepoy troops can the haughty Jao hope to defeat the oncoming Ekhat attack¾and then only by fighting the battle within the Sun itself. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
Download or read book Colonial Crucible written by Alfred W. McCoy and published by Univ of Wisconsin Press. This book was released on 2009-05-15 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the end of the nineteenth century the United States swiftly occupied a string of small islands dotting the Caribbean and Western Pacific, from Puerto Rico and Cuba to Hawaii and the Philippines. Colonial Crucible: Empire in the Making of the Modern American State reveals how this experiment in direct territorial rule subtly but profoundly shaped U.S. policy and practice—both abroad and, crucially, at home. Edited by Alfred W. McCoy and Francisco A. Scarano, the essays in this volume show how the challenge of ruling such far-flung territories strained the U.S. state to its limits, creating both the need and the opportunity for bold social experiments not yet possible within the United States itself. Plunging Washington’s rudimentary bureaucracy into the white heat of nationalist revolution and imperial rivalry, colonialism was a crucible of change in American statecraft. From an expansion of the federal government to the creation of agile public-private networks for more effective global governance, U.S. empire produced far-reaching innovations. Moving well beyond theory, this volume takes the next step, adding a fine-grained, empirical texture to the study of U.S. imperialism by analyzing its specific consequences. Across a broad range of institutions—policing and prisons, education, race relations, public health, law, the military, and environmental management—this formative experience left a lasting institutional imprint. With each essay distilling years, sometimes decades, of scholarship into a concise argument, Colonial Crucible reveals the roots of a legacy evident, most recently, in Washington’s misadventures in the Middle East.
Download or read book A Question of Torture written by Alfred McCoy and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A startling exposé of the CIA's development and spread of psychological torture, from the Cold War to Abu Ghraib and beyond In this revelatory account of the CIA's secret, fifty-year effort to develop new forms of torture, historian Alfred W. McCoy uncovers the deep, disturbing roots of recent scandals at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo. Far from aberrations, as the White House has claimed, A Question of Torture shows that these abuses are the product of a long-standing covert program of interrogation. Developed at the cost of billions of dollars, the CIA's method combined "sensory deprivation" and "self-inflicted pain" to create a revolutionary psychological approach—the first innovation in torture in centuries. The simple techniques—involving isolation, hooding, hours of standing, extremes of hot and cold, and manipulation of time—constitute an all-out assault on the victim's senses, destroying the basis of personal identity. McCoy follows the years of research—which, he reveals, compromised universities and the U.S. Army—and the method's dissemination, from Vietnam through Iran to Central America. He traces how after 9/11 torture became Washington's weapon of choice in both the CIA's global prisons and in "torture-friendly" countries to which detainees are dispatched. Finally McCoy argues that information extracted by coercion is worthless, making a case for the legal approach favored by the FBI. Scrupulously documented and grippingly told, A Question of Torture is a devastating indictment of inhumane practices that have spread throughout the intelligence system, damaging American's laws, military, and international standing.
Download or read book The Crucible of Islam written by G. W. Bowersock and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-10 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Little is known about Arabia in the sixth century, yet from this distant time and place emerged a faith and an empire that stretched from the Iberian peninsula to India. Today, Muslims account for nearly a quarter of the global population. A renowned classicist, G. W. Bowersock seeks to illuminate this obscure and dynamic period in the history of Islam—exploring why arid Arabia proved to be such fertile ground for Muhammad’s prophetic message, and why that message spread so quickly to the wider world. The Crucible of Islam offers a compelling explanation of how one of the world’s great religions took shape. “A remarkable work of scholarship.” —Wall Street Journal “A little book of explosive originality and penetrating judgment... The joy of reading this account of the background and emergence of early Islam is the knowledge that Bowersock has built it from solid stones... A masterpiece of the historian’s craft.” —Peter Brown, New York Review of Books
Download or read book The Crucible of Empire written by Eric Flint and published by Baen Publishing Enterprises. This book was released on 2010-03-01 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sequel to The Course of Empire When humans and their Jao overlords joined forces in a desperate battle to save the Earth from the malevolent race called the Ekhat, the relationship between the two species was changed forever. Two years later, humans and Jao are learning to work together in an uneasy alliance. Then, in a distant nebula, three Jao ships detect signs of another sentient species during a battle with the Ekhat. Only one of the ships returns, with most of its crew dead or injured. Earth's Preceptor Ronz suspects the unknown species was actually the Lleix, a name out of the Jao's past, and an ancient shame from the period in their development when they themselves were still ruled by the maniacal Ekhat. Ronz sends the Lexington, a massive ship built on Earth and crewed by both human and Jao, to investigate. The Lexington dwarfs any ship ever built by the Jao and even outmasses Ekhat ships, which may enable it to survive the attack that destroyed two of the three Jao ships. But if the expedition does find a surviving remnant of the Lleix, will the survivors trust the Jao? And should they? At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
Download or read book Ravenna written by Judith Herrin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 584 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting history of the city that led the West out of the ruins of the Roman Empire At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. For three centuries, the city attracted scholars, lawyers, craftsmen, and religious luminaries, becoming a true cultural and political capital. Bringing this extraordinary history marvelously to life, Judith Herrin rewrites the history of East and West in the Mediterranean world before the rise of Islam and shows how, thanks to Byzantine influence, Ravenna played a crucial role in the development of medieval Christendom. Drawing on deep, original research, Herrin tells the personal stories of Ravenna while setting them in a sweeping synthesis of Mediterranean and Christian history. She narrates the lives of the Empress Galla Placidia and the Gothic king Theoderic and describes the achievements of an amazing cosmographer and a doctor who revived Greek medical knowledge in Italy, demolishing the idea that the West just descended into the medieval "Dark Ages." Beautifully illustrated and drawing on the latest archaeological findings, this monumental book provides a bold new interpretation of Ravenna's lasting influence on the culture of Europe and the West.
Download or read book The Second British Empire written by Timothy H Parsons and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-06-14 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At its peak, the British Empire spanned the world and linked diverse populations in a vast network of exchange that spread people, wealth, commodities, cultures, and ideas around the globe. By the turn of the twentieth century, this empire, which made Britain one of the premier global superpowers, appeared invincible and eternal. This compelling book reveals, however, that it was actually remarkably fragile. Reconciling the humanitarian ideals of liberal British democracy with the inherent authoritarianism of imperial rule required the men and women who ran the empire to portray their non-Western subjects as backward and in need of the civilizing benefits of British rule. However, their lack of administrative manpower and financial resources meant that they had to recruit cooperative local allies to actually govern their colonies. Timothy H. Parsons provides vivid detail of the experiences of subject peoples to explain how this became increasingly difficult and finally impossible after World War II as Afr
Download or read book Crucible of Gold written by Naomi Novik and published by Del Rey. This book was released on 2012-03-06 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education comes the seventh volume of the Temeraire series, as the Napoleonic Wars bring Will Laurence and Temeraire to South America. “An absorbing adventure.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) The French have invaded Spain, forged an alliance with Africa’s powerful Tswana empire, and brought revolution to Brazil. Captain Will Laurence and his indefatigable fighting dragon, Temeraire, must travel to South America to negotiate with the Incas, who are also being wooed by the French. If they fail, Napoleon may conquer yet another continent in his campaign for world domination, and the tide of the war may prove impossible to stop. Don’t miss any of Naomi Novik’s magical Temeraire series HIS MAJESTY’S DRAGON • THRONE OF JADE • BLACK POWDER WAR • EMPIRE OF IVORY • VICTORY OF EAGLES • TONGUES OF SERPENTS • CRUCIBLE OF GOLD • BLOOD OF TYRANTS • LEAGUE OF DRAGONS
Download or read book Crucible of Empire written by James C. Bradford and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Spanish-American War of 1898 is often passed over by scholars and history buffs, but the approach of the centennial has generated a renewed interest in this conflict - its causes, consequences, and conduct - an area surprisingly lacking in study until now. This collection of essays by some of the nation's top naval and military historians - David F. Trask, Graham A. Cosmas, Harold D. Langley, and Jack Shulimson, to name a few - examines for the first time the actions of America's naval, military, and diplomatic communities during the war, actions that led to victory against Spain, the U.S. domination of the Philippines, and transformation of the United States into a world power. Drawing from primary sources, this book sheds new perspectives on the negotiations and diplomatic maneuvers preceding the war, and explores the boom in intelligence gathering by the United States. It explains how this new intelligence influenced the formation of military strategy and how the joint operations between the Army and Navy were carried out - and how effective they were. It examines the impact of the Marine Corps on the war and how this conflict changed the Corps itself. Crucible of Empire takes a fresh look at the controversial Battle of Santiago from the points of view of Commodores Sampson and Schley, and discusses numerous command problems and disagreements. Also considered are the expansionist designs of President McKinley, the taking of the Philippine Islands, and the resulting impact on the strategic planning, naval service, and defense responsibility of the United States beyond the Western Hemisphere. This volume contributes to the ongoing re-interpretation of this pivotal era of Americanhistory. Together the essays trace not only the impact of the armed forces on America's rise to world prominence, but also the transformation of the Navy, Army, and Marines as they entered the modern era.
Download or read book The Greeks written by Paul Cartledge and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2002-10-10 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an original and challenging answer to the question: 'Who were the Classical Greeks?' Paul Cartledge - 'one of the most theoretically alert, widely read and prolific of contemporary ancient historians' (TLS) - here examines the Greeks and their achievements in terms of their own self-image, mainly as it was presented by the supposedly objective historians: Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon. Many of our modern concepts as we understand them were invented by the Greeks: for example, democracy, theatre, philosophy, and history. Yet despite being our cultural ancestors in many ways, their legacy remains rooted in myth and the mental and material contexts of many of their achievements are deeply alien to our own ways of thinking and acting. The Greeks aims to explore in depth how the dominant group (adult, male, citizen) attempted, with limited success, to define themselves unambiguously in polar opposition to a whole series of 'Others' - non-Greeks, women, non-citizens, slaves and gods. This new edition contains an updated bibliography, a new chapter entitled 'Entr'acte: Others in Images and Images of Others', and a new afterword.
Download or read book The Span of Empire written by Eric Flint and published by Baen Books. This book was released on 2016-09-06 with total page 595 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new novel in New York Times best seller Eric Flint's science fiction Jao Empire series. It has become clear to both the Jao and their human and Lleix partners that if they are going to defeat the Ekhat who have been terrorizing the galaxy for eons, they need more allies. To that end, Preceptor Ronz, guardian of Earth and greatest living strategist of the Jao, has harnessed the energy of Earth's humans to create and send out an exploration fleet under the command of Caitlin Kralik. But after a long search, all the expedition has found are dead worlds and now-extinct intelligent species slaughtered by the genocidal Ekhat. Do they continue to search down the galactic arm in which Earth and the Jao worlds lie, or do they make an astounding leap in another direction? With friends like Gabe Tully, Tamt, Wrot and Caewithe Miller supporting her, Caitlin makes her decision. Meanwhile, the Ekhat, as murderous and destructive as they have always been, have a new generation of leaders growing into power who are even more implacable than those who have gone before them. The Ekhat have not forgotten the Jao, nor the damage they have done over the years to the Ekhat purpose. It's up to the Jao-human-Lleix confederation and the new allies they make to survive the onslaught and turn the tables on the Ekhat. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Jao Empire series entry #2 The Course of Empire by Eric Flint & K.D. Wentworth: “The action is fast and furious . . . a trimphant story . . . ”—The Midwest Book Review “Building to an exhilarating conclusion, this book cries out for a sequel.”—Publishers Weekly About Eric Flint’s best-selling Ring of Fire series: “…reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis …”—Publishers Weekly “…each new entry appears better than the previous one, a seemingly impossible feat…terrific.”—Midwest Book Review “[C]ombines accurate historical research with bold leaps of the imagination.”—Library Journal The Jao Empire Series The Course of Empire The Crucible of Empire The Span of Empire
Download or read book Women in the Crucible of Conquest written by Karen Vieira Powers and published by UNM Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first history of women's contributions to the Spanish colonization of the New World.
Download or read book Defying Empire written by Thomas M. Truxes and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-11-18 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This enthralling book is the first to uncover the story of New York City merchants who engaged in forbidden trade with the enemy before and during the Seven Years’ War (also known as the French and Indian War). Ignoring British prohibitions designed to end North America’s wartime trade with the French, New York’s merchant elite conducted a thriving business in the French West Indies, insisting that their behavior was protected by long practice and British commercial law. But the government in London viewed it as treachery, and its subsequent efforts to discipline North American commerce inflamed the colonists.Through fast-moving events and unforgettable characters, historian Thomas M. Truxes brings eighteenth-century New York and the Atlantic world to life. There are spies, street riots, exotic settings, informers, courtroom dramas, interdictions on the high seas, ruthless businessmen, political intrigues, and more. The author traces each phase of the city’s trade with the enemy and details the frustrations that affected both British officials and independent-minded New Yorkers. The first book to focus on New York City during the Seven Years’ War, Defying Empire reveals the important role the city played in hastening the colonies’ march toward revolution.
Download or read book The Crucible of Europe written by Geoffrey Barraclough and published by Berkeley : University of California Press. This book was released on 1976 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A People s Army written by Fred Anderson and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2012-12-01 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A People's Army documents the many distinctions between British regulars and Massachusetts provincial troops during the Seven Years' War. Originally published by UNC Press in 1984, the book was the first investigation of colonial military life to give equal attention to official records and to the diaries and other writings of the common soldier. The provincials' own accounts of their experiences in the campaign amplify statistical profiles that define the men, both as civilians and as soldiers. These writings reveal in intimate detail their misadventures, the drudgery of soldiering, the imminence of death, and the providential world view that helped reconcile them to their condition and to the war.
Download or read book Nationalizing Empires written by Stefan Berger and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays in Nationalizing Empires challenge the dichotomy between empire and nation state that for decades has dominated historiography. The authors center their attention on nation-building in the imperial core and maintain that the nineteenth century, rather than the age of nation-states, was the age of empires and nationalism. They identify a number of instances where nation building projects in the imperial metropolis aimed at the preservation and extension of empires rather than at their dissolution or the transformation of entire empires into nation states. Such observations have until recently largely escaped theoretical reflection.