Captures all of the action and valor of the battlefield, as well as the trappings that go with it. Kids will browse eye-popping photographs and illustrations as they peruse fascinating facts and information about armor, weapon, uniforms, technology, military jets, battleships, military technology, top secret intellgence, and more. Topics include five ultimate battles, the greatest commanders of all time, and an entirely interactive chapter, in which...

"A overview of warriors throughout history--from Ancient Greece to the Middle Ages--the equipment they used, and the most famous warriors in history"--

This richly illustrated book offers a concise overview of the historical background to Patrick O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series, a straightforward exploration of what daily life in Nelson's navy was really like for everyone from the captain to the rawest recruit. Line drawings and charts help us to understand the construction and rigging of the great ships, the types and disposition of the guns, and how they were operated in battle. Contemporary...

"Is democracy dependent on war to survive? Peace, many would agree, is a goal that democratic nations should strive to achieve. Considering the question of whether democracy is dependent on war, two celebrated political scientists trace the ways in which governments have mobilised armies since antiquity. They find that our modern form of democracy not only evolved in a brutally competitive environment but also was quickly excised when the powerful...

When Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, launching World War Two, its army seemed an unstoppable force. The Luftwaffe bombed towns and cities across the country, and fifty divisions of the Wehrmacht crossed the border. Yet only two decades earlier, at the end of World War One, Germany had been an utterly and abjectly defeated military power. Foreign troops occupied its industrial heartland and the Treaty of Versailles reduced the vaunted...

"Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries...

What causes people to forsake their country and take arms against it? George Washington in the 1770s stood at the apex of Virginia society. Benjamin Franklin was more successful still, having risen from humble origins to world fame. John Adams revered the law. Yet all three men became rebels against the British Empire that fostered their success. Others in the same circle of family and friends chose differently-- and soon heard themselves denounced...