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.

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.

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.

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.

An all-new compendium of 101 historic screw-ups from the author of 100 Mistakes that Changed History. DID I DO THAT When asked to name a successor, Alexander the Great declared that his empire should go -to the strongest-. . . but would rival factions have descended into war if he'd been a little more specific? What if the Vienna Academy of Art took a chance on a hopeful young student named Adolf Hitler? If Pope Clement VII granted King Henry VIII an annulment, England would likely still be Catholic today--and so would America. Bill Fawcett, author of 100 Mistakes That Changed History, offers a compendium of 101 all-new mammoth mistakes--from the ill-fated rule of Emperor Darius III to the equally ill-fated search for WMDs in Iraq--that will, unfortunately, never be forgotten by history.

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."
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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.

Epic battles?as seen through the eyes of the men who fought them.
From Gettysburg to D-Day, history's most momentous battles have been recounted to the world on a grand scale. This book, for the first time ever, looks at man's most epic battles from the point of view of the soldiers on the front lines; providing new insight into the great wars of history. Stories told by the Roman Legionaire, the British Doughboy, and the American Doggie, delve into these battles and battlefronts:
Roman Legion
Third Crusade under Richard Lionheart
Waterloo, French under Napoleon
American Civil War: Gettysburg
WWI: Americans at Ardennes
WWII: Japanese Island Defense
WWII: D-Day, Americans at Normandy
Marines at Chosin.

A guide to the architecture that gives British railways their identity, from stations to signal boxes.Roots of Britain's railways lie in the wooden-railed colliery wagonways of around 1600, but it was almost 1830 before specific railway architecture became needed. This evolved rapidly down to 1850, and for some time afterwards Britain led the world in designing passenger stations. Though stylistic dress followed contemporary fashions, their handling of space and of large crowds of people was something quite new. Glass and iron were used to produce elegant platform roofs, many exploiting the decorative potential of cast iron. However, the most striking contribution was made by the great arched station sheds, often seen as the 19th century's counterpart to medieval cathedrals. Between the 20th century's two world wars, architectural progress on Britain's railways was largely confined to London Transport, but the last few decades have seen a renewal of confidence and investment, matched by some interesting new buildings.

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.

Oops. Reeling from the Black Death, Europe's peasants decide it is cats that are carrying the plague, and start killing them off...leading the rat population, which is really spreading the disease, to explode. A better society is Prohibition's goal - but the result is robbery and homicide, plus the use of cocaine, marijuana, and opium as substitutes for alcohol. Mexico invites Americans to Texas. And the Americans never leave. Nixon has a twenty-point lead in the polls. Apparently that's not a comfortable enough margin for those who decide to ensure his success...by breaking into the Watergate. From the Maginot Line to the Bay of Pigs invasion, history is filled with bad moves and not-so-bright ideas that snowballed into disasters and unintended consequences. This engrossing book looks at one hundred such tipping points. Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. Rome farms out its fighting to barbarians. The Aztecs greet the conquistadors with open arms. And the rest is history...