Social sciences

This is the first book-length study devoted to the vessels of the Confederate Navy, including all types used during the conflict: ironclads (both domestic and foreign-built), commerce raiders, blockade runners, riverine and ocean-going gunboats, torpedo and submersible vessels, and floating batteries. The book emphasizes the development, construction, and design of these vessels using, where avail

Few commanders symbolize the evolution of the German U-boat arm during the Second World War as does Adalbert “Adi” Schnee. In 1940, Schnee successively commanded three Type II U-boats—U-6, U-60 and U-121— in which he registered his first successes in the Atlantic. From the beginning of 1941, he was appointed commander of U-201, the first Type VIIC U-boat allotted to I Flotilla. During seven patrol

At the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union decorated 217 men of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine who had performed “heroic acts” during convoy and anti-submarine duties in the Atlantic. For the last decade, David Schwind has made it his mission to identify and track down every remaining medal and capture the stories of these brave men. This book is the culmination of that

Volume two (of a four volume series) reveals the story of the seventy-eight German U-boats that passed through the port of Lorient from July 1941 to July 1942. The book explains the major phases in the Battle of the Atlantic in which U-boats were operating and particularly the surprise attacks on merchant traffic along the American coast. It details the Allied actions against the port of Lorient a

This first volume (of a four volume series) on the German U-boats at Lorient, France, covers the period from June 1940 to June 1941, and reveals the evacuation of the port by the French navy and the subsequent takeover by the Kriegsmarine. Illustrated with over 600 photographs, it details the installation of the German navy at Lorient and the first year of the presence of the U-Boot arm in this po

Volume three (of a four-volume series) reveals the fate of the ninety-two German U-boats that passed through Lorient from August 1942 to August 1943. From October 1942, Type IX U-boats left Lorient for distant seas beyond the South African Cape and succeeded in sinking three times as many ships as those that attacked the North Atlantic convoys! This book also details the terrible effects of the ma

German naval officer Rolf Mützelburg was one of the outstanding figures of the WWII German U-boat arm. After obtaining regular successes against the North Atlantic convoys during his first four missions, he found new victims directly along the shores of Canada. Mützelburg received the highest decorations of the period and became one of the top U-boat aces. Furthermore, he shared with Adalbert Schn

Through well-researched text, as well as drawings and color photography, this book captures the magnificence of European cathedrals and the brilliance of the Master Builders and craftsmen who designed and built them. Cathedral building is a fusion of man’s greatest accomplishments in the arts, sciences, and humanities over the centuries. More than 250 photos and drawings capture the quality and cr

This modern textbook provides an extensive depiction of more than 75 dagger fencing techniques according to 15th-century dagger Master Hans Talhoffer's manuscripts, among other fencing luminaries, from past and present. In the Middle Ages, dagger fighting was part of every fencer’s standard repertoire—just as combat training was for swordsmen. The authors have spent years thoroughly researching th

Based on research and personal interviews, this book presents the most successful North Vietnamese pilots’ careers from their training years to their missions and aerial victories. There were nineteen aces in the Vietnamese People’s Air Force during the war. An additional eight MiG pilots were also successful in dogfights; each claimed four aerial victories. More than 240 illustrations feature rar

Presented here are the biographies of the 130 men of the Fallschirmjäger—Hitler’s elite paratroopers, who won the Knight’s Cross and its higher grades. These men fought on nearly every front during the Second World War, from their first action in Denmark in April 1940, to their last major battle at Monte Cassino. A total of twenty-four Knight’s Crosses were awarded to Fallschirmjäger troops during

In just two-and-a-half years, beginning in 1964, two unmanned and ten manned flights took place in the Gemini program. This program was the turning point in the space race with the USSR; from then on the Americans took the lead. Flights lasting two weeks, into the Van Allen Belt, the first extravehicular activities, rendezvous maneuvers and docking with other spacecraft—all of this was achieved by

Project Mercury was America's entry into the manned spaceflight program. When the program began in 1958, the Soviet Union was far ahead of the US in the race for supremacy in space. With immense effort, and in record time, NASA, the newly created spaceflight organization, developed a space transport system with orbital capsule and booster rockets. They used it to send Alan Shepard on a first subor

This is the amazing story of legendary WWII U-boat commander, and Knight's Cross recipient, Peter Cremer. Cremer was appointed commander of U-333, a type VIIC submarine with a close-knit crew. During his first North Atlantic patrol U-333 sank three ships; unfortunately, the third victim was actually a German blockade-runner. Cremer was acquitted before a court martial. During his second patrol, th

This book is a detailed history of the 23rd Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier Division “Nederland,” the Dutch volunteer SS combat formation. Employed exclusively on the eastern front, except for a brief period in Croatia, the “Nederland” formations participated in many of the most difficult defensive battles on the northeastern front: Leningrad, the Narva bridgehead, the Tannenberg line, Dorpat in Kurland

This book is a detailed history of the 27th Waffen-SS Division “Langemarck,” the Flemish volunteer SS combat formation. “Langemarck” was employed chiefly on the Eastern Front, first in the Ukraine in early 1944, then participating with a combat group in Estonia along the Tannenberg Line in the summer of 1944, alongside other European Waffen-SS volunteers subordinate to III.SS-Pz.Korps--covering th

This is a pictorial history of Jack Northrop's dream, the B-2A Spirit, a low-observable, strategic, long-range, heavy bomber with the ability to penetrate sophisticated and dense enemy air-defense shields. It is capable of all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet, with a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles (nm) unrefueled, and over 10,000 nm with one refueling, giving it the ability to f

Drawn from some of the world’s most prestigious collections, this comprehensive work is a visual and historical reference exploring the craftsmanship and technical progress of German pistol development from 1871 to 1914. Using specially commissioned color photography, these ultra-rare and priceless side arms, many of which are shown for the first time, are portrayed in stunning detail, highlightin

Drawn from some of the world’s most prestigious collections, this comprehensive work is a visual and historical reference exploring the craftsmanship and technical progress of German pistol development during the 1914-1945 World War I, Weimar, and Third Reich years. Using specially commissioned color photography, these ultra-rare and priceless side arms, many of which are shown for the first time,

Originally one of the paramilitary groups that arose in Germany's turbulent 1920s , the SS grew from its original protection activities into the"Death's Head" troops and the Verfugungstruppe, and later during WWII, the Waffen-SS. During its evolution, the SS changed from its black uniform into a variety of uniforms that eventually resembled those of the German army, in various types of fabric, and