Social sciences

The artwork of Spider Webb explodes across these pages with bold strokes and bright flashes. Here are eighty dragons you have never seen before. Well known for his tattoo imagery, Spider takes the dragon myths of many cultures and gives them a modern twist that resonates with twenty-first century viewers. Believed to symbolize impending doom to some and great good fortune to others, Spider's drago

A perfect book for lovers of movies and movie posters. Over 300 color images of vintage movie posters include the extremely rare drive-in theater posters along with more common one-sheet size. These posters, often very different from the standard posters, were printed in smaller numbers, adding to their interest and value. All of these posters have less than ten known copies in existence, and many

Freddy, Jason, Frankenstein, and Dracula are just a few of the thrilling movie monsters in this illustrated, collectible reference guide. Monsters from major as well as minor horror films are brought back to life through domestic and international posters, movie stills, and publicity shots. Engaging commentary from leading horror fiction writers, editors, anthologists, and scholars accompany more

If you think your house may be haunted, you're not alone. Many people struggle with questions about ghosts and all the things that go along with them – disembodied voices, hearing furniture move across wooden floors that are really carpeted, cold spots, disappearing items; the list goes on. This, then, is the guide for you! Learn how to tell if your house is haunted, what ghosts are and why they a

Go behind the barbed wire and explore the many sanitariums or asylums that were intended to help the mentally ill but only contributed to their afflictions. Learn the history behind the infamous Riverside patient Mary Mallon, also known as "Typhoid Mary." Get spooked by the gothic and foreboding buildings at Danvers State Hospital in Danvers, Massachusetts, which became both the inspiration and th

In the years that preceded the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel invested heavily in the creation of a heavy attack force of four F-4 Phantom/Kurnass squadrons. They would fly 3,000+ sorties, claim 80+ kills, and suffer 30+ losses during the nineteen days of one of the most intensive, savage wars in modern military history. This book delves into the details of individual Israeli F-4 Phantom/Kurn

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

Israel acquired sixty-one Dassault Mystere IVA combat aircraft from France that were delivered to the Israeli Air Force from April to September 1956 and were issued to two units: Squadron 101 at Hatzor, in the south, and Squadron 109 at Ramat David, in the north. From 1956 until 1959, and to a lesser extent from 1959 until 1962, the Mystere was the ILAF's cutting-edge interceptor. From 1959, the M

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

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

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

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

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 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 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

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

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

The Imperial German Navy of WWI is a series of books (Warships, Campaigns, & Uniforms) that provide a broad view of the Kaiser's naval forces through the extensive use of photographs. Every effort has been made to cover all significant areas during the war period. In addition to the primary use of photographs, technical information is provided for each warship along with its corresponding service