George Washington insisted that his portrait be painted with one. Daniel Boone created a legend with one. Abraham Lincoln shot them on the White House lawn. And Teddy Roosevelt had his specially customized. In this first-of-its-kind book, historian Alexander Rose delivers a colorful, engrossing biography of an American icon: the rifle. Drawing on the words of foot soldiers, inventors, and presidents, based on extensive new research, and spanning from the Revolution to the present day, American Rifle is a balanced, wonderfully entertaining history of the rifle and its place in American culture.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Turn: Washington’s Spies, now an original series on AMC Based on remarkable new research, acclaimed historian Alexander Rose brings to life the true story of the spy ring that helped America win the Revolutionary War. For the first time, Rose takes us beyond the battlefront and deep into the shadowy underworld of double agents and triple crosses, covert operations and code breaking, and unmasks the courageous, flawed men who inhabited this wilderness of mirrors—including the spymaster at the heart of it all. In the summer of 1778, with the war poised to turn in his favor, General George Washington desperately needed to know where the British would strike next. To that end, he unleashed his secret weapon: an unlikely ring of spies in New York charged with discovering the enemy’s battle plans and military strategy. Washington’s small band included a young Quaker torn between political principle and family loyalty, a swashbuckling sailor addicted to the perils of espionage, a hard-drinking barkeep, a Yale-educated cavalryman and friend of the doomed Nathan Hale, and a peaceful, sickly farmer who begged Washington to let him retire but who always came through in the end. Personally guiding these imperfect everyday heroes was Washington himself. In an era when officers were gentlemen, and gentlemen didn’ t spy, he possessed an extraordinary talent for deception—and proved an adept spymaster. The men he mentored were dubbed the Culper Ring. The British secret service tried to hunt them down, but they escaped by the closest of shaves thanks to their ciphers, dead drops, and invisible ink. Rose’s thrilling narrative tells the unknown story of the Revolution–the murderous intelligence war, gunrunning and kidnapping, defectors and executioners—that has never appeared in the history books. But Washington’s Spies is also a spirited, touching account of friendship and trust, fear and betrayal, amid the dark and silent world of the spy.
In the grand tradition of John Keegan’s enduring classic The Face of Battle comes a searing, unforgettable chronicle of war through the eyes of the American soldiers who fought in three of our most iconic battles: Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima. This is not a book about how great generals won their battles, nor is it a study in grand strategy. Men of War is instead a riveting, visceral, and astonishingly original look at ordinary soldiers under fire. Drawing on an immense range of firsthand sources from the battlefield, Alexander Rose begins by re-creating the lost and alien world of eighteenth-century warfare at Bunker Hill, the bloodiest clash of the War of Independence—and reveals why the American militiamen were so lethally effective against the oncoming waves of British troops. Then, focusing on Gettysburg, Rose describes a typical Civil War infantry action, vividly explaining what Union and Confederate soldiers experienced before, during, and after combat. Finally, he shows how in 1945 the Marine Corps hurled itself with the greatest possible violence at the island of Iwo Jima, where nearly a third of all Marines killed in World War II would die. As Rose demonstrates, the most important factor in any battle is the human one: At Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima, the American soldier, as much as any general, proved decisive. To an unprecedented degree, Men of War brings home the reality of combat and, just as important, its aftermath in the form of the psychological and medical effects on veterans. As such, the book makes a critical contribution to military history by narrowing the colossal gulf between the popular understanding of wars and the experiences of the soldiers who fight them. Praise for Men of War “A tour de force . . . strikingly vivid, well-observed, and compulsively readable.”—The Daily Beast “Military history at its best . . . This is indeed war up-close, as those who fought it lived it—and survived it if they could. Men of War is deeply researched, beautifully written.”—The Wall Street Journal “A brilliant, riveting, unique book . . . Men of War will be a classic.”—General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army (Retired) “The fact is that Men of War moves and educates, with the reader finding something interesting and intriguing on virtually every page.”—National Review “This is a book that has broad value to a wide audience. Whether the reader aims to learn what actually happens in battle, draw on the military lessons within, or wrestle with what actually defines combat, Men of War is a valuable addition to our understanding of this all-too-human experience.”—The New Criterion “A highly recommended addition to the literature of military history . . . [Rose] writes vividly and memorably, with a good eye for the telling detail or anecdote.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Using the firsthand accounts of brave soldiers who fought for freedom, Rose sheds new light on viewpoints we haven’t heard as widely before. It’s a welcome perspective in an era where most people have no military experience to speak of.”—The Washington Times “Rose poignantly captures the terror and confusion of hand-to-hand combat during the battle.”—The Dallas Morning News “If you want to know the meaning of war at the sharp end, this is the book to read.”—James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The War That Forged a Nation
The House of Percy resounds throughout Shakespeare's history plays, the Wars of the Roses and the centuries-long Anglo-Scottish Wars. In the Middle Ages, the earls of Northumberland were famed, or notorious, as the Kings in the North, a region they ran almost as an hereditary domain. Alexander Rose traces the history of this ancient and sometimes haughty dynasty, from the moment William de Percy stepped into England alongside William the Conqueror to the waning of the medieval era after the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The book considers the family within its broader context of British history - too often regarded as purely 'Southern English' history - and offers readers the grand sweep of Anglo-Scottish history from the perspective of individuals. The Percys' commanding role in the English wars against Scotland, as well as their part in the Hundred Years War, the Crusades and the politics of the time, feature prominently. Today, as the United Kingdom threatens to crack into its constituent parts,KINGS IN THE NORTH shows us how and why it came together in the first place.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Washington’s Spies, the thrilling story of the Confederate spy who came to Britain to turn the tide of the Civil War—and the Union agent resolved to stop him. In 1861, soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, two secret agents—one a Confederate, the other his Union rival—were dispatched to neutral Britain, each entrusted with a vital mission. The South’s James Bulloch, charming and devious, was to acquire a cutting-edge clandestine fleet intended to break President Lincoln’s blockade of Confederate ports, sink Northern merchant vessels, and drown the U.S. Navy’s mightiest ships at sea. The profits from gunrunning and smuggling cotton—Dixie’s notorious “white gold”—would finance the scheme. Opposing him was Thomas Dudley, a resolute Quaker lawyer and abolitionist. He was determined to stop Bulloch by any means necessary in a spy-versus-spy game of move and countermove, gambit and sacrifice, intrigue and betrayal. If Dudley failed, Britain would ally with the South and imperil a Northern victory. The battleground was the Dickensian port of Liverpool, whose dockyards built more ships each year than the rest of the world combined, whose warehouses stored more cotton than anywhere else on earth, and whose merchant princes, said one observer, were “addicted to Southern proclivities, foreign slave trade, and domestic bribery.” From master of historical espionage Alexander Rose, The Lion and the Fox is the astonishing, untold tale of two implacable foes and their twilight struggle for the highest stakes.
‘GARDEN OF STARS by Rose Alexander is a stunning debut novel, rich in detail and brimming with emotion.’ – Books of all Kinds The Alentejo, Portugal 1934
A secret from the war with the power to change one woman’s future... 1939: War has broken out, and in Albania Bekim’s family take in a Jewish family fleeing from Nazi Austria. The years of war will shape his life in unimaginable ways as Bekim grows to love Hannelore, doing everything in his power to protect her. But will he be enough to keep her safe? 2019: Following a shock redundancy, Ruth is taking an extended holiday in southern Italy where she befriends local Zak. When Zak’s dying father asks them to solve a mystery from his past, Ruth leaps at the chance. Journeying through his homeland of Albania, Ruth and Zak race to find the sacred artefacts hidden in the mountains during the war. A stunning and emotional novel of love and danger, perfect for fans of Lorna Cook and Rachel Hore. Praise for Out of the Mountain's Shadow ‘I have to say this is one of the best World War II Historical Fiction books I have read. I have not read any others that take place in Albania. I loved all the characters in the book’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Reader review ‘Powerful, gripping, and emotional. It’s another look at the horrors of World War II and how simple ordinary people went to great lengths to protect those that were being persecuted. I highly recommend’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Reader review ‘Outstanding - the best book I have read in a long time. Before reading this book I knew nothing about the history of Albania but learnt from reading this novel and it has instilled me to find out more. The characters were all very likeable.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Reader review ‘My first book by this author and what a revelation ... a tale of courage, hope and love. It’s quite a harrowing journey, and I'm so delighted to have had the privilege to be on it. This book has been executed with such fine detail I have absolutely nothing but 5-star praise for this book’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Reader review
The Golden Age of Aviation is brought to life in this story of the giant Zeppelin airships that once roamed the sky—a story that ended with the fiery destruction of the Hindenburg. “Genius . . . a definitive tale of an incredible time when mere mortals learned to fly.”—Keith O’Brien, The New York Times At the dawn of the twentieth century, when human flight was still considered an impossibility, Germany’s Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin vied with the Wright Brothers to build the world’s first successful flying machine. As the Wrights labored to invent the airplane, Zeppelin fathered the remarkable airship, sparking a bitter rivalry between the two types of aircraft and their innovators that would last for decades, in the quest to control one of humanity’s most inspiring achievements. And it was the airship—not the airplane—that led the way. In the glittery 1920s, the count’s brilliant protégé, Hugo Eckener, achieved undreamed-of feats of daring and skill, including the extraordinary Round-the-World voyage of the Graf Zeppelin. At a time when America’s airplanes—rickety deathtraps held together by glue, screws, and luck—could barely make it from New York to Washington, D.C., Eckener’s airships serenely traversed oceans without a single crash, fatality, or injury. What Charles Lindbergh almost died doing—crossing the Atlantic in 1927—Eckener had effortlessly accomplished three years before the Spirit of St. Louis even took off. Even as the Nazis sought to exploit Zeppelins for their own nefarious purposes, Eckener built his masterwork, the behemoth Hindenburg—a marvel of design and engineering. Determined to forge an airline empire under the new flagship, Eckener met his match in Juan Trippe, the ruthlessly ambitious king of Pan American Airways, who believed his fleet of next-generation planes would vanquish Eckener’s coming airship armada. It was a fight only one man—and one technology—could win. Countering each other’s moves on the global chessboard, each seeking to wrest the advantage from his rival, the struggle for mastery of the air was a clash not only of technologies but of business, diplomacy, politics, personalities, and the two men’s vastly different dreams of the future. Empires of the Sky is the sweeping, untold tale of the duel that transfixed the world and helped create our modern age.
Ever seen a cactus in the winter? The Winter's Cactus is an autobiographical collection of poetry that takes readers into the depths of their innermost being. The Winter's Cactus survives the storm despite being trapped in a blizzard of existential crisis, survivor's guilt, depression, love, and violence. Transform your pain into passion and your struggle into success by defining your storm and conquering it. Empower your mind to remind you of who you are and harness the power of your storm. Greatness will not be seen from you until you make it apparent. That is why, at all costs, you must survive the winter!
‘Under an Amber Sky is simply Sublime. I was cast under a spell and was completely enthralled. Definitely a feast of different emotions. I loved it!’ – Dash Fan, Blogger From the bestselling author of GARDEN OF STARS comes a heartwarming and emotional story of hope and second chances.
Every so often a book will come along that promises answers to some of life's dilemmas ... and then delivers on the promise: In Sherilyn Alexander's book, "The Gift of a Rose," the reader is treated to a journey through spiritual growth and healing, with a final destination being a clearer comprehension of Truth based in reality. After a physical illness, given a life altering prognosis, rather than accept it, Sherilyn dedicated her hopes for survival on continuing to walk her own path ~ she healed her body by first healing her soul. Interspersing her own engaging story of healing with unforgettable words of wisdom from Eastern spiritual guide Paramahansa Yogananda and other master teachers; Sherilyn inspires readers to gain knowledge about Truth, the supreme teacher, accept the gift and responsibility of their own intuition, and quietly take a leadership role in their own life:A Leap of Faith: Sherilyn recounts her unconventional journey of surrender, from her initial leap of faith, through first rounds of healing, to the discovery of some critical lessons about how once lost harmony and balance is regained, not only physically, but energetically and spiritually as well.Ms. Alexander knows of what she writes and the author has been noted for her "...excellent job of demonstrating the apparent contradictions that make the journey to difficult for so many people. "Walk Silently - in a Straight Line: "The choice was to die at 24 years old or to accept the challenge and start walking," says Sherilyn, and as shared in her book, she chose to walk, holding onto the thought, "You were born an original, don't die a copy." The story of her spiritual journey based on unconditional love, compassion and kindness is her legacy.Leadership Role in Life: A surprise comes when the reader realizes that the purest leader is not one who leads from the front, but rather the quiet leader, who is able to follow others silently, always observing, always changing to embrace growth, and always perfecting the precious ability to listen and to be heard. Sacred Intuition: As the journey continues forward, Sherilyn's life becomes increasingly actionable to help herself. She grows into providing service to others. The reader begins to realize that spiritual growth is not easy because everything is uncertain inside - few are naturally shown how to see through intuition. Sherilyn shares the need to not only complete lives externally but internally as well by realizing "heaven within" through a process of physical- energy-spirit integration that leads to creating life as a masterpiece.True Soul's Purpose: Sherilyn's sincerest hope is that these lessons shared in The Gift of a Rose will be helpful to the reader in remembering their true soul's purpose, and then taking the actions necessary in the creation of a healthy and peaceful life through this simple Truth: "Our life and time here on earth is a gift, and we have endless choices, on a daily basis, as to how to grow our lives by using our best assets, strengths, wisdom, and kindness to help ourselves and share with others. What finally came into focus for me was remembering my purpose for this life, and how I needed to become of one mind with the best weavers of creative actions in the universe." (~ The Gift of a Rose)Within silence you can hear, a place of supreme Truth, high Self is found and only one rule is followed: "The duty of the present moment." To carry on peacefully with our work, leaving God's business to Him; it is certain that whatever happens in an individual's spiritual life or activities is always for the best: "God works wonders for those He loves." (~Psalms 4:3).Let Life be One of Service: By "living with proper use and unfolding soul capabilities," planetary consciousness is beneficially influenced. This is the utmost service rendered: Seeing to our own spiritual education and, by doing so, God's light shines through every thought, word and action.
The second book in the sensational series inspired by the true story of two friends who landed a deal on Shark Tank. Sixth-grade students-turned-entrepreneurs are on a mission to save the world, one bug at a time! After snagging second place at their school's startup pitch competition, Hallie and Jaye are confident that their edible bug business is the food of the future. Now their ultimate goal is to get Chirps chips--tortilla chips made with cricket powder--on every grocery store shelf. First, they get to move on to the county pitch competition to try and win tickets to New York City to compete in the next round. But there are a few bumps along the way, with their cricket supply shrinking, no kitchen to cook in, and trouble brewing between the two teammates. Can they clinch first place, or will their business go bust before it really begins? Based on the true story of a sustainable protein start-up company, this illustrated novel is a reimagining for a middle-grade reader. Chirps founders Rose Wang and Laura D'Asaro met as freshmen at Harvard University and cooked up the concept of selling chips made with cricket flour to help Americans feel more comfortable eating bugs. Together, Rose and Laura appeared on the TV show Shark Tank to pitch their idea and landed a deal with Mark Cuban. Chirps chips are now sold in stores across the nation.
Once Juliet was on board, Howard climbed down off the other side of the wagon and climbed up onto his own horse. Juliet looked at Howard. What are you doing, Mr. Jones? she asked, and Howard replied, You can drive one of these, Mrs. Nicholson, Ill follow you. It will be a lot easier if Im on my own horse to deal with any problems if any should arise, okay? Where will this adventure take Howard and Juliet?
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