In the mild climate of the Mediterranean, a rare blossom once bloomed: a prosperous, urbanised society inhabited by various ethnic and religious groups living harmoniously together for nearly two-hundred years. At the apex of this society, ruled a feudal elite notorious for its wealth and love of luxury. It was composed of politically savvy, diplomatically adept, well-educated and multilingual men – and women. These women played an astonishing and indispensable role in shaping the character of their unique society. They were ruling queens, independent barons, nuns and pilgrims. They were merchants and artisans, diplomats and spies. They were warriors defending besieged cities and the most pitiful victims of conflict as slaves after a defeat. While many primary sources readily recorded specific and noteworthy actions taken by individual women, there is no comprehensive or systematic description of women’s contribution to the life and society of Outremer. All we have are fragments of a mosaic badly damaged by time. Yet even these remnants have largely been neglected due to the prevailing emphasis on the era’s military history. The Powerful Women of Outremer redresses that imbalance. In a chronological narrative, women’s contributions to the crusader states are highlighted. The book then explores women’s societal role in thematic chapters. Finally, a series of short biographies shine a light on the lives of individual women. By piecing together the scattered remnants of the historical mosaic, The Powerful Women of Outremer offers readers a clearer understanding of the importance of women to the history of the Near East and a richer picture of the women themselves.
Not all lovers are young. Rhys Jenkins is "Chiefy" of a Spitfire squadron in late 1940, a full-time job in itself, but he is also a widower with two teenage children in need of his attention. Hattie FitzSimmons has devoted her life to the Salvation Army ever since WWI ended her hopes for a husband and family of her own. They are no longer young when they find each other, but they both feel things are 'right' -- until Rhys discovers that Hattie has been hiding something from him. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History (cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," and "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena has published nineteen historical novels and won numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the battle. He went on to say: "Refreshingly, it got it smack-on the way it was for us fighter pilots.
On 24 June 1948 the Sovient Union abrubtly closed all land and water access to the Western Sectors of Berlin. Over 2 million civilians, dependent on the surrounding territory and the West for food, fuel, and other basic goods, were suddenly cut off from all necessities of life. The Western Allies had the option of withdrawing their garrisons and allowing the Soviet Union to take control of the entire city, or of trying to supply the city by air. Never in history had 2 million people been supplied exclusively by air before. None of the senior military commanders believed it could be done. But the political leadership in London and Washington insisted that it must be done. A withdrawal from Berlin would discredit the West at a critical moment in history, when the Soviet Union was expanding aggressively across Europe. Worse, it would endanger the political stability and economic recovery of all of Europe. So the largest and most ambitious Airlift in history was set in motion. It began without the West really knowing what the Berliners needed in order to survive - much less how much those supplies weighed. It was launched despite a lack of airlift expertise in theatre or a unified command structure, an almost complete absence of aircraft and aircrew resources in Germany and serious inadequacies in airfields and air traffic control. But once it took wing, it flew and turned into something that not even its originators and advocates had ever imagined or expected.
Book I in the Award-Winning Jerusalem Trilogy B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice Hollywood made him a blacksmith; Arab chronicles said he was "like a king." He served a leper, but defied Richard the Lionheart. He was a warrior and a diplomat both. This is the first book of a three-part biography of the historical Balian d'Ibelin.
Balian, the landless son of a local baron, goes to Jerusalem to seek his fortune. Instead, he finds himself trapped into serving the young prince suffering from leprosy, an apparent sentence to obscurity and death. But the unexpected death of King Amalric makes the leper boy King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, and Balian’s prospects begin to improve. The Byzantine princess Maria Comnena is just thirteen years old when she arrives in the Kingdom of Jerusalem at her great uncle’s orders to cement the alliance between the two Christian kingdoms in the East. The child wife of a man almost three times her own age, she is despite her excellent education and intelligence little more than a pretty doll in the eyes of her husband. When she fails to produce a male heir for the desperate king, her marriage becomes a gilded prison. Until suddenly the king is dead and Maria finds herself a wealthy widow at just twenty years of age. Meanwhile, the charismatic Kurdish leader Saladin has united the forces of Islam and vowed to drive the Christians into the sea. While King Baldwin IV—and Balian—struggle to save the Holy Land for Christendom by whatever means they can, the internal rivalries of Templars and Hospitallers, the advocates of offense and defense, and the bitter rivalries of barons threaten to tear the kingdom apart.
Fighting a war with milk, coal and candy bars.... In the second book of the Bridge to Tomorrow Series, the story continues where "Cold Peace" left off. Berlin is under siege. More than two million civilians in Hitler's former capital will starve unless they receive food, medicine and more by air. USAF Captain J.B. Baronowsky and RAF Flight Lieutenant Kit Moran once risked their lives to drop high explosives on Berlin. They are about to deliver milk, flour and children's shoes instead. Meanwhile, two women pilots are flying an air ambulance that carries malnourished and abandoned children to freedom in the West. Until General Winter deploys on the side of Russia.... Based on historical events, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader delivers an insightful, exciting and moving tale about how former enemies became friends in the face of Russian aggression -- and how close the Berlin Airlift came to failing under the assault of 'General Winter.
Emperor Frederick II, called "enlightened" by historians yet decried as a despot by contemporaries, unleashes a civil war that tears the Holy Land apart. The heir to an intimidating legacy, a woman artist, and a boy king are caught up in the game of emperors and popes. Set against the backdrop of the Sixth Crusade, "Rebels against Tyranny" takes you from the harems of Sicily to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, from the palaces of privilege to the dungeons of despair. This is a timeless tale of youthful audacity taking on tyranny?but sometimes courage is not enough....
In this, the third book in the Jerusalem Trilogy, Balian d'Ibelin has survived the devastating Christian defeat at the Battle of Hattin and walked away a free man after the surrender of Jerusalem, but he is baron of nothing in a kingdom that no longer exists. Haunted by the tens of thousands of Christians now in Saracen captivity, he is determined to regain what has been lost. The arrival of a vast crusading army under the soon-to-be-legendary Richard the Lionheart offers hope -- but also conflict, as natives and crusaders clash and French and English quarrel.
John d'Ibelin, son of the legendary Balian, will one day defy the most powerful monarch on earth. But first he must survive his apprenticeship as squire to a man determined to build a kingdom on an island ravaged by rebellion. The Greek insurgents have already driven the Knights Templar from the island, and now stand poised to destroy Richard the Lionheart's legacy to the Holy Land: a crusader foothold on the island of Cyprus.
Book I in the Award-Winning Jerusalem Trilogy B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice Hollywood made him a blacksmith; Arab chronicles said he was "like a king." He served a leper, but defied Richard the Lionheart. He was a warrior and a diplomat both. This is the first book of a three-part biography of the historical Balian d'Ibelin.
In late November 1943, Flight Engineer Christopher "Kit" Moran, DFM, refuses to fly to Berlin on what should have been the seventh "op" of his second tour of duty. His superiors post him off the squadron for "lack of moral fibre." He is sent to a mysterious DYDN center. Here, psychiatrist Wing Commander Dr. Grace must determine if he has had a mental breakdown requiring psychiatric treatment -- or if he deserves humiliation and disciplinary action for cowardice. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History (cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," and "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena has published nineteen historical novels and won numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the Battle. He went on to say: "Refreshingly, it got it smack-on the way it was for us fighter pilots.
Sparta at the start of the fifth century BC is in crisis. The Argives are attacking Sparta's vulnerable island of Kythera, but King Cleomenes is more interested in meddling in Athenian affairs. His co-monarch, King Demaratus, opposes Cleomenes' ambitions, and soon the kings are at each other's throats. Exploiting this internal conflict, Corinth launches a challenge to Spartan control of the Peloponnesian League, while across the Aegean Sea, the Greek cities of Ionia are in rebellion against Persia -- and pleading for Spartan aid. King Cleomenes' youngest half-brother Leonidas has only just attained citizenship. He has no reason to expect that this revolt will shape his destiny. At twenty-one, Leonidas is just an ordinary ranker in the Spartan army, less interested in high politics than putting his private life in order. He needs to find reliable tenants to restore his ruined estate, and, most important, to find the right woman to be his bride. Meanwhile, his niece Gorgo is growing up. Not particularly pretty, she is, nevertheless, precocious and courageous -- qualities that get her into trouble more than once. This is the story of both Leonidas and Gorgo in the years before Leonidas becomes king of Sparta and before the first Persian invasion of Greece sets Leonidas on the road to Thermopylae. This is the second book in a trilogy of biographical novels about Leonidas and Gorgo. The first book, A Boy of the Agoge, described Leonidas's childhood in Sparta's infamous public school. This second book focuses on his years as an ordinary citizen, and the third will describe his reign and death.
They opposed Hitler's diabolical regime on moral grounds. They sought to defend human dignity and restore the rule of law -- at the risk of their own lives. Traitors to Hitler, they were heroes to the oppressed. They remain an inspiration to anyone fighting against immoral and corrupt governments anywhere in the world. Adolf Hitler seems to have captivated all of Germany, yet even as one Nazi victory follows another, individuals with integrity and compassion remain opposed to him, his regime and all it stands for. People like Philip, Alexandra, and Marianne. They feel isolated and hopeless until they discover each other -- and learn that their concerns are shared by men in the very highest places in the German High Command.... Helena P. Schrader holds a PhD in History from the University of Hamburg, which she earned with a ground-breaking dissertation about General Friedrich Olbricht, a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her research entailed extensive primary and secondary research in what was then East and West Germany, including interviews with over one hundred survivors of Nazi Germany. Helena later served as an American diplomat in Europe and Africa. Her historical novels have collectively won more than twenty literary awards, including Best Biography 2017 and Best Historical Fiction 2020. In addition, she is the author of non-fiction books on women in aviation, the Berlin Airlift, the German Resistance and the crusades.
WINNER of the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction - Chanticleer International Book Awards 2020 WINNER of SILVER for Wartime & Military Fiction in the Global Book Awards 2022 WINNER of a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction and a BRAG Medallion Finalist for - Book Excellence Awards 2021 (Military Fiction), Feathered Quill Book Award 2021 (Historical Fiction), and Readers Favorites Book Award 2021 (Military Fiction) Summer 1940: The Battle of France is over; the Battle of Britain is about to begin. If the swastika is not to fly over Buckingham Palace, the RAF must prevent the Luftwaffe from gaining air superiority over Great Britain. Standing on the front line is No. 606 (Hurricane) Squadron. As the casualties mount, new pilots find a cold reception from the clique of experienced pilots, who resent them taking the place of their dead friends. Meanwhile, despite credible service in France, former RAF aerobatics pilot Robin Priestman finds himself stuck in Training Command -- and falling for a girl from the Salvation Army. On the other side of the Channel, the Luftwaffe is recruiting women as communications specialists -- and naïve Klaudia is about to grow up.
Emperor Frederick II has re-established Christian control over Jerusalem by means of a treaty with the Egyptian Sultan al-Kamil, but the Sultan brags that he will drive the Christians out as soon as the ten-year truce expires. The common people of the Holy Land show their contempt for the Emperor and his treaty by pelting him with offal, while the barons resist Frederick's absolutism with the demand for rule of law. Filled with resentment and bitterness toward his impertinent subjects, the Emperor vows to destroy the family that embodies the independent spirit of Outremer: the Ibelins. The Emperor's deputies will stop at nothing to fulfill their orders, but the Ibelins fight back. Then the Pope goes over to the side of the Emperor, and Balian's marriage becomes a spiritual weapon turned against his father.
In the mild climate of the Mediterranean, a rare blossom once bloomed: a prosperous, urbanised society inhabited by various ethnic and religious groups living harmoniously together for nearly two-hundred years. At the apex of this society, ruled a feudal elite notorious for its wealth and love of luxury. It was composed of politically savvy, diplomatically adept, well-educated and multilingual men – and women. These women played an astonishing and indispensable role in shaping the character of their unique society. They were ruling queens, independent barons, nuns and pilgrims. They were merchants and artisans, diplomats and spies. They were warriors defending besieged cities and the most pitiful victims of conflict as slaves after a defeat. While many primary sources readily recorded specific and noteworthy actions taken by individual women, there is no comprehensive or systematic description of women’s contribution to the life and society of Outremer. All we have are fragments of a mosaic badly damaged by time. Yet even these remnants have largely been neglected due to the prevailing emphasis on the era’s military history. The Powerful Women of Outremer redresses that imbalance. In a chronological narrative, women’s contributions to the crusader states are highlighted. The book then explores women’s societal role in thematic chapters. Finally, a series of short biographies shine a light on the lives of individual women. By piecing together the scattered remnants of the historical mosaic, The Powerful Women of Outremer offers readers a clearer understanding of the importance of women to the history of the Near East and a richer picture of the women themselves.
Riding the icy, moonlit sky-- They took the war to Hitler. Their chances of survival were less than fifty percent. Their average age was 21. This is the story of just one Lancaster skipper, his crew, and the woman he loved. It is intended as a tribute to them all. Flying Officer Kit Moran has earned his pilot's wings, but the greatest challenges still lie ahead: crewing up and returning to operations. Things aren't made easier by the fact that while still a flight engineer, he was posted LMF (Lacking in Moral Fibre) for refusing to fly after a raid on Berlin that killed his best friend and skipper. Nor does it help that he is in love with his dead friend's fiance, who is not yet ready to become romantically involved again.
Come and take them Book III in the Leonidas Trilogy Persia has crushed the Ionian revolt and is gathering a massive army to invade and punish mainland Greece, but in Sparta the dangers seem closer to home. The Eurypontid king Demaratus is accused of being a usurper, while the Agiad king Cleomenes is going dangerously mad. More and more Spartans turn to Leonidas, Cleomenes's half-brother and son-in-law, to provide leadership. But Leonidas is the younger of twins, and his brother Brotus has no intention of letting Leonidas lay claim to the Agiad throne without a fight. This novel follows Leonidas and Gorgo as they steer Sparta through the dangerous waters of domestic strife and external threat, working together as a team to make Sparta the best it can be. But the forces that will destroy not only Leonidas but his Sparta are already gathering -- not just in Persepolis and Sardis, but in the hubris of a rising Athens and the bigotry and xenophobia of his fellow Spartans. The murder of two Persian ambassadors by an agitated Spartan Assembly sets in train the inevitable conflict between Sparta and Persia that will take Leonidas to Thermopylae -- and into history. This is the third book in a trilogy of biographical novels about Leonidas and Gorgo. The first book, A Boy of the Agoge, described Leonidas's childhood in the Spartan public school. The second, A Peerless Peer, focused on his years as an ordinary citizen. This third book describes his rise to power, his reign, and his death.
David Goldman, a German Jew with Canadian citizenship, is shot down in flames while flying for the RAF in September 1940. His face is burned beyond recognition, and he is told he will never fly again. While the legendary plastic surgeon Dr. McIndoe reconstructs a face and hands one painful operation at a time, the 22-year-old former fighter pilot must come to terms with the stranger in the mirror and decide who he really is. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History (cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," and "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena has published nineteen historical novels and won numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the Battle. He went on to say: "Refreshingly, it got it smack-on the way it was for us fighter pilots.
During World War II, a few, carefully selected women in the US and the UK were briefly given the unprecedented opportunity to fly military aircraft. Yet the story of these pioneer women pilots is made even more intriguing by the fact that, despite many notable similarities in the utilisation and organisation of the women in their respective countries, they experienced radically different fates. Throughout the war, the contribution of the women of the British ATA to the war effort was recognized and praised both from official quarters and in the press. By contrast, the American WASPs were first glamorized and made into Hollywood stars - and then subjected to a slander campaign. What accounts for this dramatic difference in the treatment of women pilots doing essentially the same job? This book seeks to answer these questions. The women who participated in the ATA and WASP have been allowed to speak for themselves. The story these women have to tell is exciting and intriguing.
David Goldman, a German Jew with Canadian citizenship, is shot down in flames while flying for the RAF in September 1940. His face is burned beyond recognition, and he is told he will never fly again. While the legendary plastic surgeon Dr. McIndoe reconstructs a face and hands one painful operation at a time, the 22-year-old former fighter pilot must come to terms with the stranger in the mirror and decide who he really is. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History (cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," and "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena has published nineteen historical novels and won numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the Battle. He went on to say: "Refreshingly, it got it smack-on the way it was for us fighter pilots.
Three years after WWII, Europe struggles with rationing, widespread unemployment and a growing Soviet threat. Hitler's former capital lies ruined under the joint control of wartime allies bitterly at odds. With the currency worthless, the population lives on hand-outs or turns to crime and prostitution. Deep inside the Soviet Zone of occupation, Berlin appears to be an ideal target for a communist take-over, putting the defenders of democracy on a collision course with Stalin's merciless aggression. A Battle of Britain ace, a female air traffic controller, a concentration camp survivor and an ex-ATA woman pilot are just some of those trying to find their place in the post-war world. An air ambulance service offers a shimmer of hope, but when a Soviet fighter brings down a British passenger liner, Berlin becomes a flashpoint. The world stands poised on the brink of World War Three. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena is the author of nineteen historical novels and winner of numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the battle. "Moral Fibre: A Bomber Pilot's Story" likewise won a Hemingway Award, a Maincrest Media Award and was a finalist for a Book Excellence Award.
Antyllus of Tegea had everything-wealth, power and respect-until his son was killed defending Tegea against Sparta. Now Tegea is on the rise, but Antyllus can find pleasure in nothing-not even his magnificent racehorses. While all Tegea believes Antyllus' chariot could bring Tegea an unprecedented Olympic victory, Antyllus knows that he lacks a driver capable of coaxing the best out of his team. More disturbing, Antyllus worries that Tegea's victory over Sparta is being used by certain radicals to undermine the democratic constitution. The Strategos that won the decisive victory is a demagogue-and he wants to extend the franchise to landless men. Out of spontaneous pity, Antyllus purchases an abused quarry slave. The slave not only carries the seemingly prophetic name of "Philip", (Lover of Horses) but has an uncanny affinity for horses as well. While Tegea slips into tyranny, Antyllus turns his back on politics and focuses his hopes and dreams on an Olympic Victory. This is the story of a slave and a charioteer in Archaic Greece. Based on Ancient sources but using predominantly fictional characters, The Olympic Charioteer describes the events that led to the establishment of the first "non-aggression pact" in recorded history.
Not all lovers are young. Rhys Jenkins is "Chiefy" of a Spitfire squadron in late 1940, a full-time job in itself, but he is also a widower with two teenage children in need of his attention. Hattie FitzSimmons has devoted her life to the Salvation Army ever since WWI ended her hopes for a husband and family of her own. They are no longer young when they find each other, but they both feel things are 'right' -- until Rhys discovers that Hattie has been hiding something from him. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History (cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," and "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena has published nineteen historical novels and won numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the battle. He went on to say: "Refreshingly, it got it smack-on the way it was for us fighter pilots.
A Stranger in the Mirror": Shot down in combat in September 1940, David Goldman awakes to find that his face is burned beyond recognition and he will never fly again. While the plastic surgeon recreates his face and hands one painful operation at a time, the 22-year-old pilot must decide who he really is. "A Rose in November": Rhys Jenkins, a widower with two teenage children, has finally obtained his dream: Ground Chief of a Spitfire squadron. But an unexpected attraction for an upper-class woman threatens to upend his life. "Lack of Moral Fibre": In late November 1943, Flight Engineer Kit Moran refuses to participate in a raid on Berlin, his 37th 'op.'; He is posted off his squadron for "Lack of Moral Fibre" and sent to a mysterious DYDN centre. Here, psychiatrist Dr Grace must determine if he needs psychiatric treatment - or disciplinary action for cowardice. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History (cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," and "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena has published nineteen historical novels and won numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the Battle of Britain, adding: "Refreshingly, it got it smack-on the way it was for us fighter pilots.
John d'Ibelin, son of the legendary Balian, will one day defy the most powerful monarch on earth. But first he must survive his apprenticeship as squire to a man determined to build a kingdom on an island ravaged by rebellion. The Greek insurgents have already driven the Knights Templar from the island, and now stand poised to destroy Richard the Lionheart's legacy to the Holy Land: a crusader foothold on the island of Cyprus.
The Near East in the era of the Crusades was home to diverse populations Orthodox and Latin Christians, Shia and Sunni Muslims, Jews and Samaritans. It was the meeting-point for Arab, Turkish, Byzantine and Frankish culture, the latter itself a mixture of Western traditions adapted to circumstances in the crusader states by the Europeans who had settled in the Holy Land. While the Crusades have become a synonym for brutality and bigotry, the crusader states represented a positive example of harmonious coexistence across two centuries. Likewise, while scholars from a wide range of disciplines including archaeology, art history, and medicine have shed light on diverse aspects of the crusader states, to date there is no single introductory source that provides a comprehensive overview of these unique states as a starting point for the uninitiated. The Holy Land in the Era of the Crusades aims to fill this gap while correcting common misconceptions by bringing together recent scholarly research on a range of topics to create a comprehensive description. It covers the history, demography, state institutions, foreign policy, economy, art, architecture, and lifestyle of the people who lived in the crusader states in the period from 1100 to 1300. It is organized in two main parts: a chronological historical overview, and a topical discussion of key features of these unique kingdoms. An additional, final chapter describes the rise and fall of the House of Ibelin to give the entire history a human face. The Holy Land in the Era of the Crusades would make an ideal textbook for undergraduates while offering hobby historians an introduction to the crusader states with tips for further research.
Balian, the landless son of a local baron, goes to Jerusalem to seek his fortune. Instead, he finds himself trapped into serving the young prince suffering from leprosy, an apparent sentence to obscurity and death. But the unexpected death of King Amalric makes the leper boy King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, and Balian’s prospects begin to improve. The Byzantine princess Maria Comnena is just thirteen years old when she arrives in the Kingdom of Jerusalem at her great uncle’s orders to cement the alliance between the two Christian kingdoms in the East. The child wife of a man almost three times her own age, she is despite her excellent education and intelligence little more than a pretty doll in the eyes of her husband. When she fails to produce a male heir for the desperate king, her marriage becomes a gilded prison. Until suddenly the king is dead and Maria finds herself a wealthy widow at just twenty years of age. Meanwhile, the charismatic Kurdish leader Saladin has united the forces of Islam and vowed to drive the Christians into the sea. While King Baldwin IV—and Balian—struggle to save the Holy Land for Christendom by whatever means they can, the internal rivalries of Templars and Hospitallers, the advocates of offense and defense, and the bitter rivalries of barons threaten to tear the kingdom apart.
Balian has survived the devastating defeat of the Christian army on the Horns of Hattin, and walked away a free man after the surrender of Jerusalem, but he is baron of nothing in a kingdom that no longer exists. Haunted by the tens of thousands of Christians now enslaved by the Saracens, he is determined to regain what has been lost. The arrival of a vast crusading army under the soon-to-be-legendary Richard the Lionheart offers hope -- but also conflict, as natives and crusaders clash and French and English quarrel.
In late November 1943, Flight Engineer Christopher "Kit" Moran, DFM, refuses to fly to Berlin on what should have been the seventh "op" of his second tour of duty. His superiors post him off the squadron for "lack of moral fibre." He is sent to a mysterious DYDN center. Here, psychiatrist Wing Commander Dr. Grace must determine if he has had a mental breakdown requiring psychiatric treatment -- or if he deserves humiliation and disciplinary action for cowardice. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History (cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," and "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena has published nineteen historical novels and won numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the Battle. He went on to say: "Refreshingly, it got it smack-on the way it was for us fighter pilots.
A Stranger in the Mirror": Shot down in combat in September 1940, David Goldman awakes to find that his face is burned beyond recognition and he will never fly again. While the plastic surgeon recreates his face and hands one painful operation at a time, the 22-year-old pilot must decide who he really is. "A Rose in November": Rhys Jenkins, a widower with two teenage children, has finally obtained his dream: Ground Chief of a Spitfire squadron. But an unexpected attraction for an upper-class woman threatens to upend his life. "Lack of Moral Fibre": In late November 1943, Flight Engineer Kit Moran refuses to participate in a raid on Berlin, his 37th 'op.'; He is posted off his squadron for "Lack of Moral Fibre" and sent to a mysterious DYDN centre. Here, psychiatrist Dr Grace must determine if he needs psychiatric treatment - or disciplinary action for cowardice. Helena P. Schrader is an established aviation author and expert on the Second World War. She earned a PhD in History (cum Laude) from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking dissertation on a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her non-fiction publications include "Sisters in Arms: The Women who Flew in WWII," "The Blockade Breakers: The Berlin Airlift," and "Codename Valkyrie: General Friederich Olbricht and the Plot against Hitler." In addition, Helena has published nineteen historical novels and won numerous literary awards. Her novel on the Battle of Britain, "Where Eagles Never Flew," won the Hemingway Award for 20th Century Wartime Fiction and a Maincrest Media Award for Historical Fiction. RAF Battle of Britain ace Wing Commander Bob Doe called it "the best book" he had ever seen about the Battle of Britain, adding: "Refreshingly, it got it smack-on the way it was for us fighter pilots.
Emperor Frederick II, called "enlightened" by historians yet decried as a despot by contemporaries, unleashes a civil war that tears the Holy Land apart. The heir to an intimidating legacy, a woman artist, and a boy king are caught up in the game of emperors and popes. Set against the backdrop of the Sixth Crusade, Rebels against Tyranny takes you from the harems of Sicily to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, from the palaces of privilege to the dungeons of despair. This is a timeless tale of youthful audacity taking on tyranny―but sometimes courage is not enough....
They opposed Hitler's diabolical regime on moral grounds. They sought to defend human dignity and restore the rule of law -- at the risk of their own lives. Traitors to Hitler, they were heroes to the oppressed. They remain an inspiration to anyone fighting against immoral and corrupt governments anywhere in the world. Adolf Hitler seems to have captivated all of Germany, yet even as one Nazi victory follows another, individuals with integrity and compassion remain opposed to him, his regime and all it stands for. People like Philip, Alexandra, and Marianne. They feel isolated and hopeless until they discover each other -- and learn that their concerns are shared by men in the very highest places in the German High Command.... Helena P. Schrader holds a PhD in History from the University of Hamburg, which she earned with a ground-breaking dissertation about General Friedrich Olbricht, a leading member of the German Resistance to Hitler. Her research entailed extensive primary and secondary research in what was then East and West Germany, including interviews with over one hundred survivors of Nazi Germany. Helena later served as an American diplomat in Europe and Africa. Her historical novels have collectively won more than twenty literary awards, including Best Biography 2017 and Best Historical Fiction 2020. In addition, she is the author of non-fiction books on women in aviation, the Berlin Airlift, the German Resistance and the crusades.
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