In this book, the author, deadliest sniper in U.S. history tracks down and shoots the ten most important American firearms, from a flintlock rifle to a Colt revolver to the latest high-tech weapon he used as a Navy SEAL. He uses these guns as a window on United States history, making the sweeping argument that the American story has been tied to and shaped by the gun. He revisits turning points in American history, including the single sniper shot...

Fort Ticonderoga, Saratoga, Fort William Henry, Crown Point, Plattsburgh, Bennington, and Valcour Island all lie along the ancient warpath that is the Champlain Corridor. In this lively and informative new travel guide to historic places and events, the authors lead you to each venue, describing the events and their long-lasting impact. The Champlain Valley is one of the most historically rich regions of the country. It saw decisive military actions...

From the acclaimed author of "Agent Zigzag" comes an extraordinary account of the most successful deception--and certainly the strangest--ever carried out in World War II, one that changed the prospects for an Allied victory. The purpose of the plan--code named Operation Mincemeat--was to deceive the Nazis into thinking that Allied forces were planning to attack southern Europe by way of Greece or Sardinia, rather than Sicily, as the Nazis had assumed,...

This acclaimed bestseller brilliantly illuminates a hidden piece of World War II history as it tells the harrowing true story of nine American airmen shot down in the Pacific. One of them, George H. W. Bush, was miraculously rescued. What happened to the other eight remained a secret for almost 60 years. After the war, the American and Japanese governments conspired to cover up the shocking truth, and not even the families of the airmen were informed...

In 480 BC, a huge Persian army, led by the inimitable King Xerxes, entered the mountain pass of Thermopylae as it marched on Greece, intending to conquer the land with little difficulty. But the Greeks-led by King Leonidas and a small army of Spartans-took the battle to the Persians at Thermopylae, and halted their advance-almost. It is one of history's most acclaimed battles, one of civilization's greatest last stands. And in Thermopylae,...

"'Sicily,' said Goethe, 'is the key to everything.' The birthplace of Archimedes, Georgio de Chirico, and Muhammad al-Idrisi, it is the largest island in the Mediterranean. The stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the gateway between the East and the West, the link between the Latin world and the Greek, at once a stronghold, clearing-house and observation-point, it has been fought over and occupied in turn by all the great powers that have striven...

Story of four Israeli army officers from the 1948 War of Independence to the Six Day War in 1967.

"The Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Gandhi & Churchill goes beyond the mythologies of the World War II general to illuminate his strengths and weaknesses, placing his career against a backdrop of history while discussing how he shaped his character to meet national needs,"--NoveList.

Examines the archaeological finds and historical events which occurred in the Lake George and Lake Champlain region of New York, from the French and Indian War through the end of the twenty-first century.

From the former editor in chief of 'Haaretz,' the first in-depth, comprehensive biography of Ariel Sharon, the most dramatic and imposing Israeli political and military leader of the last forty years. The life of Ariel Sharon spans much of modern Israel's history. A commander in the Israeli Army from its inception in 1948, Sharon participated in the 1948 War of Independence, played decisive roles in the 1956 Suez War and the Six-Day War of 1967, and...