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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > General
The acclaimed autobiography of Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt is
brought to the reader anew in this well-produced edition, inclusive
of all notes and appendices. Written over years and published in
1913, this lengthy yet engrossing biography sees one of the United
States finest Presidents recount his life in his own words.
Theodore Roosevelt sets out events in a way which clarify how he
came to possess his beliefs. We hear of his love of the great
outdoors which would in turn result in the establishment of
America's national parks, and his belief in commerce as an engine
for progress which would lead to the state-sponsored construction
of the Panama Canal during his presidency. Seldom straying to
dryness or heady description of the many and varied events of his
life, Theodore Roosevelt instead imbues every chapter with keynote
personality and liveliness. Personal letters with influential
figures are shared, placing the reader deep in the political world
which this popular, charismatic leader was immersed.
In this biography of JoaquÃn de Arredondo, historian Bradley
Folsom brings to life one of the most influential and ruthless
leaders in North American history. Arredondo (1776-1837), a Bourbon
loyalist who governed Texas and the other interior provinces of
northeastern New Spain during the Mexican War of Independence,
contended with attacks by revolutionaries, U.S. citizens, generals
who had served in Napoleon's army, pirates, and various American
Indian groups, all attempting to wrest control of the region. Often
resorting to violence to deal with the provinces' problems,
Arredondo was for ten years the most powerful official in
northeastern New Spain. Folsom's lively account shows the
challenges of governing a vast and inhospitable region and provides
insight into nineteenth-century military tactics and Spanish
viceregal realpolitik. When Arredondo and his army - which included
Arredondo's protégé, future president of Mexico Antonio López de
Santa Anna - arrived in Nuevo Santander in 1811, they quickly
suppressed a revolutionary upheaval. Arredondo went on to expel an
army of revolutionaries and invaders from the United States who had
taken over Texas and declared it an independent republic. In the
Battle of Medina, the bloodiest battle ever fought in Texas, he
crushed the insurgents and followed his victory with a purge that
reduced Texas's population by half. Over the following eight years,
Arredondo faced fresh challenges to Spanish sovereignty ranging
from Comanche and Apache raids to continued American incursion. In
response, Arredondo ignored his superiors and ordered his soldiers
to terrorize those who disagreed with him. Arredondo's actions had
dramatic repercussions in Texas, Mexico, and the United States. His
decision to allow Moses Austin to colonize Texas with Americans
would culminate in the defeat of Santa Anna in 1836, but not before
Santa Anna had made good use of the lessons in brutality he had
learned so well from his mentor.
Napoleon's lightning conquest of Prussia, accomplished within a
month in the autumn of 1806, was perhaps his most spectacularly
successful campaign. The twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt, won on
the same day, October 14th, by Napoleon himself and his most able
Marshal, Davout, annihilated the Prussian army and on 25th October,
exactly a month after invading Prussia, Napoleon entered Berlin and
enforced a humiliating peace on his beaten enemy. In his classic
account of the campaign, published exactly 100 years ago, F.
Loraine Petre explains how Prussia's once vaunted military might
ossified in the twenty years after Frederick the Great's death,
leading to timidity and political paralysis. What Field-Marshal
Roberts in his foreword calls 'a selfish and suicidal policy' of
ignoring France as she picked off neighbouring Austria led to
defeat and occupation, but ultimately to much needed reform and the
re-birth of the Prussian army with its ultimate revenge on Napoleon
at Leipzig and Waterloo.
Autobiography of World War Two Luftwaffe pilot Hans Ulrich Rudel,
the most highly decorated German serviceman of WW2, and the only
one to be awarded the Third Reich's most prestigious medal which
was specially created for Rudel by Hitler himself, the Knight's
Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and
Diamonds. Shot down over 24 times, Hans Rudel is credited with
destroying over 500 tanks, 2,000 ground targets, the Russian
battleship Marat, two cruisers and a destroyer, and was so
successful against Russian forces that Joseph Stalin put up a
100,000 rouble ransom on his head. His flying record of over 2,500
combat missions remains unmatched by any pilot since. Until his
death in 1982 Hans Rudel remained a loyal supporter of Adolf
Hitler, and National Socialism. Hans Rudel remained a complex
character, but arguably one of WW2's most heroic figures. This is a
new edition of this classic war epic which includes new maps,
photographs, and footnotes, with an introduction by British air ace
Group Captain Douglas Bader.
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