From the Crusades to the modern age of chemical warfare and smart bombs, history is littered with truly disastrous military campaigns. "How to Lose a War" chronicles some of the most remarkable strategic catastrophes and doomed military adventures of overreaching invaders and clueless defenders--whether the failure was a result of poor planning, miscalculations, monumental ego, or failed intelligence . . . or just a really stupid idea to begin with. Alexander invades India--and ends up in deep vindaloo. Sacre bleu! The French are humiliated by Prussia in 1870. spain's "invincible navy" breaks up off the coast of britain while attempting an invasion. the mau mau rebellion against the british in kenya shows us how not to run an insurgency. Chiang Kai-Shek's pathetic army fails to keep Mao's Communists from grabbing China.

History has never been more fun than it is in this fact-filled compendium of historical fiascoes and embarrassingly bad ideas.

Throughout history, the rich and powerful, and even just the dim-witted, have made horrifically bad decisions that have had resounding effects on our world. From kings to corporate leaders, from captains to presidents, no one is immune to bad decisions and their lasting legacy. The fiascoes that litter our history are innumerable ... and fascinating in their foolishness. This witty collection of historical mayhem chronicles unwise decisions from ancient Greece to modern-day Hollywood and everything in between. Learn such lessons as: Never trust Greeks bearing gifts of large wooden horses.Avoid building elementary schools on toxic waste dumps, even those with sweet monikers like Love Canal.Rabbits multiply like rabbits Down Under.Even if you use brightly colored paint on the boats, it's quite easy to misplace an entire country's navy.

With more than forty-five chapters of mind-boggling flubs and follies, fans of history, trivia, and those who just want a good laugh will adore this intriguing and fun read.

The U.S. Navy SEALs have long been considered among the finest, most courageous, and professional soldiers in American military history--an elite fighting force trained as parachutists, frogmen, demolition experts, and guerrilla warriors ready for sea, air, and land combat. Born out of a proud naval tradition dating back to World War II, the first SEAL teams were commissioned in the early 1960s. Vietnam was their proving ground.

In this remarkable volume, fifteen former SEALs--most of them original founding team members, or "plankowners"--share their vivid first-person remembrances of action in Vietnam. Here are honest, brutal, and relentlessly thrilling stories of covert missions, ferocious firefights, and red-hot chopper insertions and extractions, revealing astonishing little-known truths that will only add strength to the enduring SEAL legend.

A remarkable compendium of the worst military
decisions and the men who made them

The annals of history are littered with horribly bad military leaders. These combat incompetents found amazing ways to ensure their army's defeat. Whether it was a lack of proper planning, miscalculation, ego, bad luck, or just plain stupidity, certain wartime stratagems should never have left the drawing board. Written with wit, intelligence, and eminent readability, "How to Lose a Battle" pays dubious homage to these momentous and bloody blunders, including:

Cannae, 216 B.C.: the bumbling Romans lose 80,000 troops to Hannibal's forces.

The Second Crusade: an entire Christian army is slaughtered when it stops for a drink of water.

The Battle of Britain: Hitler's dreaded Luftwaffe blows it big-time.

Pearl Harbor: more than one warning of the impending attack is there, but nobody listens.

"How to Lose a Battle" includes more than thirty-five chapters worth of astonishing (and avoidable) disasters, both infamous and obscure -- a treasure trove of trivia, history, and jaw-dropping facts about the most costly military missteps ever taken.

A fascinating and fact-filled collection of the greatest and dumbest missteps of America's bloodiest conflict

For four years in the middle of the nineteenth century, brother fought brother on American soil. No American war ever had higher stakes than, or changed a nation as profoundly as, the terrible conflict between the Union and the Confederacy. A dark historical panorama populated by a remarkable cast of colorful characters, the War Between the States was indelibly marked by both brilliant military maneuvers and mind-boggling battlefield blunders that gravely threatened the continuation of the American Experiment.

With suitable irreverence, Bill Fawcett chronicles the unbelievably disastrous decisions made by both sides in this monumental clash, including:

The Second Battle of Bull Run, where Robert E. Lee looks smart beating a remarkably stupid general

How the Union's shortsighted Colonel James Ripley's bad decision arms the Confederate Army better than his own

Lincoln's roller-coaster search for competent commanders, a long-running dark comedy of tragic errors

A golden opportunity squandered: General Lee fails to exploit a vulnerable Union and capture Washington, D.C.

Pickett's disastrous charge and the many, many Confederate command failures at Gettysburg

Lincoln's contentious draft policy that nearly burns New York City to the ground

A remarkable compendium of wild schemes, mad plans, crazy inventions, and truly glorious disasters

Every phenomenally bad idea seemed like a good idea to someone. How else can you explain the Ford Edsel or the sword pistol--absolutely absurd creations that should have never made it off the drawing board? It Looked Good on Paper gathers together the most flawed plans, half-baked ideas, and downright ridiculous machines throughout history that some second-rate Einstein decided to foist on an unsuspecting populace with the best and most optimistic intentions. Some failed spectacularly. Others fizzled after great expense. One even crashed on Mars. But every one of them at one time must have looked good on paper, including: The lead water pipes of RomeThe Tacoma Narrows Bridge--built to collapseThe Hubble telescope--the $2 billion scientific marvel that couldn't seeThe Spruce Goose--Howard Hughes's airborne atrocity: big, expensive, slow, unstable, and made of wood

With more than thirty-five chapters full of incredibly insipid inventions, both infamous and obscure, It Looked Good on Paper is a mind-boggling, endlessly entertaining collection of fascinating failures.

An engrossing and fact-filled collection of the great screwups of the Great War

Never had there been a war on the scale of World War II--a global conflict so widespread and involving so many different military organizations from such a diverse pool of combatant countries that the consequences of every decision, both the brilliant and the bad, were multiplied one hundredfold. Bill Fawcett, popular chronicler of monumental military mistakes and truly boneheaded battlefield blunders now looks closely at the historic errors that ultimately determined the course of post-WWII history.

A cornucopia of catastrophic missteps, including: An unprepared Poland is caught napping as the Nazis storm in virtually unopposed Germany misses a golden opportunity to take Britain out of the war at Dunkirk Russia plays Goliath to Finland's David Four valuable months are wasted as Allied forces sit trapped on the beaches of Anzio Germany squanders its costly development of jet powerThe secret 1942 battle Marshal Zhukov lost, along with half a million soldiersBattles lost that should have been won, including Moscow, Stalingrad, and D-Day

Those Who Forget History Are Doomed to Repeat It. And so we have. Time again the mankind has faced down problems, but have failed to take the hard earned knowledge into the next battle of the same nature. This collection of essays will illuminate those problems we've faced over and over and the common threads that have stumped us for centuries. Including: Islamic jihads past and present: The Lesson of the Mahdi and the fact that the Saud family fled after the Wahabist defeat in Sudan will also explain a lot about our rather uncomfortable ally; Terrorists: Anarchists, Wooblies, Luddites, Spain against Napoleon, and the IRA all have lessons on what to do and what to not let them do to our society; Military Insurgencies: the Barbarian hordes, The Mau Mau of Kenya, Italian Freedom fighters in the 19th century, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, and the Confederate forces of the American Civil War; Afghanistan Redux with the British, Russians, and Americans. Inflation and the devaluation of currency throughout history including debasing coins, letting inflation run wild: Roman Emperors creating worthless coins, silly economic policy in the Weimer Republic, and run away inflation Zimbabwe; Financial disasters like the Tulip Bubble and South Pacific Bubble; Ecological collapse like the Mayan agricultural collapse and the devestation cause by the Ice Ages; The Rise of radical political minorities in bad times including the Bolshevik Revolution and the coming of Nazis; and Pandemics and epidemics including the Black Death and other plagues through history. With more than 35 chapters of the Groundhog Days of world history, both infamous and obscure, "Doomed to Repeat" is chock full of trivia, history, and fascinating looks at the world's repeated mistakes.

Perhaps no living author of imaginative fiction has earned the awards, accolades, respect, and literary reputation of Gene Wolfe. His prose has been called subtle and brilliant, inspiring not just lovers of fantasy and science fiction, but readers of every stripe, transcending genre and defying preconceptions.
In this volume, a select group of Wolfe's fellow authors pay tribute to the award-winning creator of The Book of the New Sun, "The Fifth Head of Cerberus," "Soldier of the Mist," The Wizard Knight and many others, with entirely new stories written specifically to honor the writer hailed by "The Washington Post" as "one of America's finest."
"
Shadows of the New Sun "features contributions by Neil Gaiman, David Brin, David Drake, Nancy Kress, and many others, plus two new short stories by Gene Wolfe himself.

An engrossing compendium of high-seas military disasters

From the days of the Spanish Armada to the modern age of aircraft carriers, battles have been bungled just as badly on water as they have been on land. Some blunders were the result of insufficient planning, overinflated egos, espionage, or miscalculations; others were caused by ideas that didn't hold water in the first place. In glorious detail, here are thirty-three of history's worst maritime mishaps, including: The British Royal Navy's misguided attempts to play it safe during the American Revolution The short life and death of the Imperial Japanese Navy The scuttling of the Graf Spee by a far inferior force The sinking of the Nazi megaship Bismarck "Remember the Maine "--the lies that started the Spanish-American War Admiral Nelson losing track of Napoleon but redeeming himself at the Nile The ANZAC disaster at Gallipoli Germany's failed WWII campaign in the North Atlantic Kennedy's quarantine of Cuba

Chock-full of amazing facts and hilarious trivia, How to Lose a War at Sea is the most complete volume of nautical failures ever assembled.

Aimed at dedicated fans of the role playing game World of Warcraft, this dynamic collection of essays explores the undying fascination with a game that is a welcome escape from reality for millions of people around the world. Gaming experts, developers, and bestselling sci-fi authors examine the overwhelming success of the game and the underlying motivations for gamers to spend, on average, as much time as they would at a part-time job battling in the world of Azeroth, and address issues ranging from economics and psychology to addiction and game ethics are addressed, as are the outstanding design of the game and the histories of several main characters.

Throughout the annals of history, the best of intentions--and sometimes the worst--have set in motion events with a vastly different outcome than originally intended. In this entertaining, fact-filled chronicle, William Forstchen and Bill Fawcett explore the watersheds of history that began as the best of ideas and ended as the worst of fiascoes.

A Holy War--The Medieval Crusades for religious liberation become centuries of slaughter and destruction.

Sibling Rivalry--Leif Erikson spares his sister's life and delays the discovery of the New World for five hundred years.

Big Guns--Emperor Constantine XI refuses to buy a new supercannon that would let him dominate his enemies, so its creator sells the cannon to the Turks, who then crush Constantinople.

With casual wit and subtle insight, It Seemed Like a Good Idea...tucks tongue in cheek and rides out the fiascoes of history.

Throughout the annals of history, the best of intentions--and sometimes the worst--have set in motion events with a vastly different outcome than originally intended. In this entertaining, fact-filled chronicle, William Forstchen and Bill Fawcett explore the watersheds of history that began as the best of ideas and ended as the worst of fiascoes.

A HOLY WAR--The Medieval Crusades for religious liberation become centuries of slaughter and destruction.

SIBLING RIVALRY--Leif Erikson spares his sister's life and delays the discovery of the New World for five hundred years.

BIG GUNS--Emperor Constantine XI refuses to buy a new supercannon that would let him dominate his enemies, so its creator sells the cannon to the Turks, who then crush Constantinople.

With casual wit and subtle insight, It Seemed Like a Good Idea...tucks tongue in cheek and rides out the fiascoes of history.Throughout the annals of history, the best of intentions--and sometimes the worst--have set in motion events with a vastly different outcome than originally intended. In this entertaining, fact-filled chronicle, William Forstchen and Bill Fawcett explore the watersheds of history that began as the best of ideas and ended as the worst of fiascoes.

A HOLY WAR--The Medieval Crusades for religious liberation become centuries of slaughter and destruction.

SIBLING RIVALRY--Leif Erikson spares his sister's life and delays the discovery of the New World for five hundred years.

BIG GUNS--Emperor Constantine XI refuses to buy a new supercannon that would let him dominate his enemies, so its creator sells the cannon to the Turks, who then crush Constantinople.

With casual wit and subtle insight, It Seemed Like a Good Idea...tucks tongue in cheek and rides out the fiascoes of history.

A fascinating, fun, and fact-filled compendium of the greatest lies, deceptions, propaganda, and frauds ever perpetrated

Throughout history--from the dawn of man to the War on Terror--governments, corporations, historians, and high-level braggarts of every stripe have freely engaged in the time-honored pastime of lying for fun and profit. You Said What? is an endlessly entertaining and outrageously edifying look at some of the biggest whoppers of all time, chock-full of deceptions, trickery, and incredible untruths both infamous and obscure.

The press conspiracies that protected FDR's legs, as well as JFK's sex addiction and failing health

Lies that caused the Knights Templar fall, the Salem witch trials, and the Black Death

Big lies that changed history: Vietnam's Gulf of Tonkin, the Cuban missile crisis, the "Polish" raid that kicked off WWII . . . and remember the Maine?

The self-made, self-serving myths we still believe today of Davy Crockett, Lawrence of Arabia, and Napoleon

Plus our own personal pick for History's #1 Biggest Liar . . . and much more

The lies will out You Said What? is an indispensable treasure trove of true falsehoods, and an irreverent introduction to the world's greatest lies and the liars who told them.