From its origination, Arlington National Cemetery's history has been compellingly intertwined with that of African Americans. This book explains how the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the home of Robert E. Lee and a plantation of the enslaved, became a military camp for Federal troops, a freedmen's village and farm, and America's most important burial ground. During the Civil War, the property served as a pauper's cemetery for men too poor to be returned to their families, and some o...

In 1619, a group of thirty-two African men, women and children arrived on the shores of Virginia. They had been kidnapped in the royal city of Kabasa, Angola, and forced aboard the Spanish slave ship San Juan Bautista. The ship was attacked by privateers, and the captives were taken by the English to their New World colony. This group has been shrouded in controversy ever since. Historian Ric Murphy documents a fascinating story of colonialism, treason, piracy, kidnapping, enslave...

The first African-American aircraft carrier commander, Rear Admiral Lawrence Cleveland Chambers (1929- ) played a prominent role as captain of the USS Midway during the Vietnam War. During the evacuation of Saigon--known as Operation Frequent Wind--he famously ordered several UH-1 helicopters pushed overboard to make room for an escaping South Vietnamese Air Force major to land his Cessna. Chambers, who had only commanded Midway for a few weeks, gave the order believing (wrongly) that he w...

"The war in Vietnam was not lost in the field, nor was it lost on the front pages of the New York Times or the college campuses. It was lost in Washington, D.C." —H. R. McMaster (from the Conclusion)Dereliction Of Duty is a stunning analysis of how and why the United States became involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Fully and convincingly researched, based on transcripts and personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations and...

The New York Times Bestseller2014 American Book Award WinnerWinner of the Ridenhour Prize for Reportorial Distinction“An indispensable, paradigm-shifting new history of the war...All these decades later, Americans still haven't drawn the right lesson from Vietnam.” —San Francisco ChronicleBased on classified documents and first-person interviews, a startling history o...

Mercenaries have been with us since the dawn of civilization, yet in the modern world they are little understood. While many of today's freelance fighters provide support for larger military establishments, others wage war where the great powers refuse to tread. In War Dog, Al Venter examines the latter world of mercenary fighters effecting decisions by themselves. In the process he unveils a remarkable array of close-quarters combat action.Having personally visited every locale he ...

Packed with startling revelations, this inside look at the secret side of the Cold War exposes just how close America came to total annihilation."With access to newly declassified documents, Keeney delivers a jolting year-by-year history of SAC's transformation into a massive worldwide force primed to launch bombers within 15 minutes of the order." — Publishers WeeklyOne of the most detailed pictures yet of the com...

“John Carney is one of the few heroes I have.”–LT. COL. L. H. “BUCKY” BURRUSS, USA (Ret.)Founding member and Deputy Commander of Delta ForceWhen the U.S. Air Force decided to create an elite “special tactics” team in the late 1970s to work in conjunction with special-operations forces combating terrorists and hijackers and defusing explosive international emergencies, John T. Carney was the man they turned to. Since then Carney and the U.S. Air Force Special Tactical ...

No single weapon has spread so much raw power to so many people in so little time—and had such a devastating effect—as the AK-47 assault rifle. This book examines the legacy of this world-changing weapon, from its creation as means of fighting the Nazis to its ubiquity today in every kind of conflict, from civil wars in Africa to gang wars in L.A.

**“Few people understand the centrality of the Vietnam War to our situation as much as Christian Appy."—Ken BurnsThe critically acclaimed author of Patriots offers profound insights into Vietnam’s place in America’s self-image**.How did the Vietnam War change the way we think of ourselves as a people and a nation? Christian G. Appy, author of the widely praised oral history of the Vietnam War Patriots, now examines the relationship between the war’s...

The US-Soviet arms race, told through the story of a colorful and visionary American Air Force officer—melding biography, history, world affairs, and science to transportthe reader back and forth from individual drama to world stage."Compulsively readable and important.” —The New York Times Book ReviewIn this never-before-told story, Neil Sheehan—winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award -- details American Air Force...

The United States Navy SEAL Teams were only founded as recently as 1962, on the orders of President John F. Kennedy, but they already have a reputation as one of the best special forces units in the world. The US Navy SEALs tells the story behind these SEa, Air, and Land (SEAL) specialists. The book begins with the SEALs' origins in World War II, when the Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) prepared beaches in Normandy and the Pacific for US amphibious landings. The UDTs also served ...