For the first time, Sophie Harwood uses the Old French tradition as a lens through which to examine women and warfare from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The result is a skilled analysis of gender roles in the medieval era, and a heightened awareness of how important literary texts are to our understanding of the historical period in which they circulated. Medieval Women and War examines both the text and illustrations of over 30 Old French manuscripts to highlight the ways in many of the texts differ from their traditionally assumed (usually classical) sources. Structured around five pivotal female types - women cited as causes for violence, women as victims of violence, women as ancillaries to warriors, women as warriors themselves, and women as political influences - this important book unpicks gendered boundaries to shed new light on the social, political and military structures of warfare as well as adding nuance to current debates on womanhood in the middle ages.

The U.S. Army's official guide to map reading, determining location, and navigating. For a soldier, knowing where you are is a matter of life and death, and so it comes as no surprise that the Army has produced the most complete, clear, and thorough guide to map reading and navigation available. The book starts with a comprehensive explanation of the meaning and uses of maps, whether photographic, planimetric (standard-style), or topographic, then proceeds to the use of those maps, discussing compass techniques, celestial navigation, and determination of distance. There is a detailed section on interpreting topographic maps, with notes on tactical considerations for differing terrain, as well as determining the ease of movement through an area. The book's crucial, well-illustrated chapters have invaluable information on: Training Strategy * Maps * Marginal Information and Symbols Grids * Scale and Distance * Direction * Overlays Aerial Photographs * Navigation Equipment and Methods Elevation Relief * Terrain Association * Mounted Land Navigation Navigation in Different Types of Terrain * Unit Sustainment There is also information on field sketching, the tricky art of map folding, units of measure and conversion factors, map symbols, orienteering, and the global positioning system (GPS).

Do the news media have any role in the transformation of war and warfare? A constellation of labels by academics and practitioners have been coined in the last twenty years to describe the new forms of a phenomenon as old as the human race. However, this book claims that it remains to be fully understood what the specific role of the news media is in this process. It argues that the news media, old and new alike, alter the cognitive and strategic environment of the actors of war and politics and change the way these interact with one another. Building on a four-dimensional definition of power and focusing on the role of television, this book recognises the importance of interactions upon the understanding of any social phenomenon. It suggests that the nature of war is changing partly because it is no longer just a matter of linear strategic interactions but also, and mainly, of 'mediated' ones.

This book deals with the impact of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars on the British Isles. Previous work has concentrated on the ideological formations associated with the French conflict, especially anti-revolutionary loyalism and ideas of Britishness. Here, Dr Cookson provides a new perspective on the social response to the demands of war, through a detailed examination of the mobilization of armed force for the regular army, militia, and volunteers in response to the French encirclement of Britain and Ireland. Dr Cookson's study sheds interesting light on the nature of the British state and the extent of its dependence on society's self-organizing powers. He uses the evidence on mobilization to show the differences in the nature of state and society in various parts of the British Isles, and examines the impact on Scottish and Irish identities within the unions. In England, he shows how mobilization often owed more to working-class pragmatism and the `town-making' interests of urban rulers than to national defence patriotism. The result is a fascinating `war and society' study which is also a significant contribution to urban history.

A discussion of the radical alteration of the character of American society caused by World War II. The war redefined the relationship of government to the individual and of individuals to each other, and it posed questions about the relationship between civilians and the military, between liberty and security, between special interests and national purpose.

"The Men of Fox Company: History and Recollections of Company F, 291st Infantry Regiment, Seventy-Fifth Infantry Division" describes the actions of an infantry rifle company fighting in Europe during World War II. Sometimes the Seventy-Fifth Division was called the "Diaper Division" because the mean age of the men was just twenty-two years versus the widely acknowledged average age of twenty-six years for most other divisions. Fox Company was part of Second Battalion, 291st Infantry Regiment of the Seventy-Fifth ID, which were formally activated at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, on April 15, 1943.

The division was thrown into combat soon after arriving in Europe in December of 1944. Over the next ninety-four days, they fought three campaigns in Europe. Fox Company first went into combat during the Battle of the Bulge and then moved to southern France to fight in the Colmar Pocket. Next, they went to Holland, where they defended along the Maas River and later in Germany along the Rhine River. Finally, Fox Company fought in the battle for the Ruhr.

"The Men of Fox Company includes the recollections of several men providing a view of the war not often seen-directly from the soldiers, sergeants, and officers who survived the experience to tell their personal stories.

Ulysses S. Grant was the first four-star general in the history of the United States Army and the only president between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson to serve eight consecutive years in the White House. As general in chief, Grant revolutionized modern warfare. As president, he brought stability to the country after years of war and upheaval. Yet today Grant is remembered as a brilliant general but a failed president.

In this comprehensive biography, Jean Edward Smith reconciles these conflicting assessments of Grant's life. He argues convincingly that Grant is greatly underrated as a president. Following the turmoil of Andrew Johnson's administration, Grant guided the nation through the post-Civil War era, overseeing Reconstruction in the South and enforcing the freedoms of new African-American citizens. His presidential accomplishments were as considerable as his military victories, says Smith, for the same strength of character that made him successful on the battlefield also characterized his years in the White House.

An unprecedented description of the critical energy situation throughout Asia, this book examines the energy resources, naval forces, and national strategies of the nations of that vast landmass, set against the priorities and resources of the United States. Energy security in Asia is crucial to the continued economic growth and hence the national security of the region's nations. Providing such security requires a combination of naval, political, and economic policies. Despite dramatic news coverage to the contrary, Cole's research reveals that the nations of the region-of which the United States must be counted-are in fact acting more together than apart in striving to ensure the security of scarce energy resources they all require. No issue in today's international environment is more important than energy security. Even the North Korean nuclear development program must be taken as a subset of this subject. As the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations have done in past decades, the People's Republic of China is striving to establish proprietorship of energy resources throughout their lifecycle, from recovery from the ground to sale in the market place. This important book demonstrates the vacuity of that paradigm, illustrating the multilateral nature of energy security.

In its various manifestations, the campaign to end child soldiering has brought graphic images of militarized children to popular consciousness. In the main, this has been a campaign that has seemed to speak to African contexts without as much reflection on the myriad ways in which the lives of children are militarized in advanced (post)industrial societies. Proceeding from this quite striking omission, the contributors to this volume move beyond the usual focus on the global South. Making what will be an important contribution to a much needed critical turn in the vast and still rapidly growing child soldier literature, they address multifarious ways in which childhood is militarized beyond the global South through enactments of militarism that have drawn much less in the way of critical inquiry.

Gardner explores the global ramifications of the NATO-Russian relationship. He argues that NATO enlargement into Central Europe risks the overextension of NATO's political consensus and could provoke Russia and other states that do not expect to become full members of the alliance. He concludes by proposing an alternative system of security for the region. Gardner explores the global ramifications of the NATO-Russian relationship. He examines NATO's Partnership for Peace initiative as it relates to Russia, and he argues that NATO risks provoking Russia and other states that do not expect to become full members of the alliance. He contends that if NATO and Russia cannot reach a compromise over a new system of security in Central and Eastern Europe, then Russia could adopt an increasingly assertive Eurasian stance by more closely aligning with potentially anti-Western states such as Belarus, China, India, Iraq, and Iran. Likewise, the possibility of a renewed division of Europe cannot be ruled out. Gardner asserts that it is absolutely necessary to draw Russia into a concerted relationship with the United States and the European Union. He concludes by formulating a viable system of cooperative-collective security for all Central and Eastern European states backed by conjoint NATO, European, and Russian security guarantees. This is a thoughtful and provocative analysis of great interest to policymakers and students of international relations and contemporary defense issues.

World War I was the greatest cataclysm Europe had ever known, directly involving 61 million troops from 16 nations. Yet the history of the war and the reasons it started and spread so rapidly were vastly more complex than the players realized. Written by highly respected authorities, this book discusses the literature on all aspects of the war, making it an excellent starting point for anyone seeking guidance to the immense, and often daunting, body of World War I literature. The struggle mobilized manpower from home, troops from the colonies abroad, and—in most countries-women as well as men. Governments increasingly intervened in everyday life. New weapons and organizational structures were developed. Yet the history of the war and the reasons it started and spread so rapidly were vastly more complex than the players realized. Written by highly respected authorities, this book discusses the literature on all aspects of the war. Dennis Showalter's opening chapter covers the controversial issue of the war's origins—a complex subject that has been much debated by historians. Ensuing chapters consider the literature on each of the participating countries. The broader subjects of the war at sea and the war in the air are also covered. Daniel Beaver's final chapter discusses the mobilization of industry and the new military technology. This book is an excellent starting point for anyone seeking guidance to the immense, and often daunting, body of World War I literature.

Go along with the Colonel on this nostalgic trip back to the 1950's and life growing up in the Midwest. Follow him on his solo trek across Europe and the year that made him a man in the Aviation Cadet Program. Next it's many a day in Vietnam over the course of the war and the hardships faced by the aviators and their families on a daily basis. Life in the "fast lane" or five years in the Pentagon gives the reader a close look at the many challenges faced by the Staff Officer in the "building." Finally, the harrowing experience of life in a high school classroom for 19 years caps off the interesting adventure. Lt. Col. Watson amassed almost 5,000 hours flight time with 1,300 of it being combat time in Vietnam. He was "in country" for over 500 days covering parts of 1965,1966,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972, and 1973. He was decorated 39 times including the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 12 Air Medals, 2 Commendations Medals, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry just to mention a few. His travels took him north of the Arctic Circle to the southernmost tip of South America, all over Europe and the Far East with stops in 68 countries on 6 continents. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this most interesting story of an Air Force Officer and his travels in support of our national interests.

On August 6, 1945, when the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Furuta family was living one mile away from the hypocenter. Five year old Kikuko, her mother, Masako, and her two brothers barely escaped with their lives. However, their soldier father was not so fortunate. Masako never talked about her family's experiences on that day and the grim days following the bombing. Then one day, Masako started to talk about what happened breaking a silence of nearly fifty years. Written by Kikuko (Furuta) Otake, now a retired assistant professor of Japanese in the United States, Masako's story is a collection of prose-poetry, based on the true story of her family's tragedy. It is written with an "Objectivist" lineation similar in its understated power to Charles Reznikoff's Testimony. Kikuko Otake's Masako's Story is a powerful addition to the literature of the Atomic Bomb, and yet more evidence that we should all work together to stop the Nuclear madness.

Although war has been analyzed from many perspectives, no scholar has satisfactorily explained why the human race fights and how we came to create a degree of military sophistication capable of destroying the entire species. Gabriel addresses these questions in his study of the origins and development of warfare. He looks particularly at the relationship between the evolution of the social institution of war and the development of the military institutions, tactical sciences, and technology required for organized conflict. Beginning with a discussion of the biological and evolutionary history of man, Gabriel investigates the proposition that the human race is genetically predisposed to warlike behavior. He next reviews the archaeological record to test the common assumption that war has existed from the earliest times. He traces the evolution of the social institutions and technology of war in a succession of ancient cultures beginning with the Bronze Age. The development of armies, tactics, logistics, and weapons is examined, together with the psychological and social implications of mankind's choice to use them. The work concludes with a discussion demonstrating how the practice of war in modern times relates to the perpetuation of values and institutional forms created by earlier societies--especially those of classical Greece and Rome. The first study to integrate the findings of cultural anthropology with the concerns of military analysis, this work will be of interest to students and academics in these and related fields.

After one of the most controversial and divisive periods in the history of American foreign policy under President George W. Bush, the Obama administration was expected to make changes for the better in US relations with the wider world. Now, international problems confronting Obama appear more intractable, and there seems to be a marked continuity in policies between Obama and his predecessor.
Robert Singh argues that Obama's approach of 'strategic engagement' was appropriate for a new era of constrained internationalism, but it has yielded modest results. Obama's search for the pragmatic middle has cost him political support at home and abroad, whilst failing to make decisive gains. Singh suggests by calibrating his foreign policies to the emergence of a 'post-American'world, the president has yet to preside over a renaissance of US global leadership. Ironically, Obama's policies have instead hastened the arrival of a post-American world.