Beset by enemies on every side and torn by internal divisions, the crusader kingdoms were a hotbed of intrigue, where your greatest ally might be your natural enemy. Because lives and kingdoms often rested on the edge of a sword blade, it was a time when a bold heart and a steady hand would see you far--so long as you watched your back. Here, for the first time, are all seventeen of Harold Lamb's uncollected crusader stories in one volume. Read now of the fall of kingdoms and the fate of doomed men, of desperate battles and brave comrades, of shrewd maids and scheming nobles. Join Nial O'Gordon, a young crusader riding deep into Asia to forget his past. Venture forth with Sir Robert of Antioch to cross blades with the Mongol hordes. Join King Richard the Lionhearted for his last battle. Stand firm beside Sir John and his Arab friend Khalil against a band of traitors. And sail out with Michael Bearn on a mission of vengeance, as he risks his life to bring down a sultan and his kingdom.

Master of driving pace, exotic setting, and complex plotting, Harold Lamb was one of Robert E. Howard's favorite writers. Here at last is every pulse-pounding, action-packed story of Lamb's greatest hero, the wolf of the steppes, Khlit the Cossack. Journey now with the unsung grandfather of sword and sorcery in search of ancient tombs, gleaming treasure, and thrilling landscapes. Match wits with deadly swordsmen, scheming priests, and evil cults. Rescue lovely damsels, ride with bold comrades, and hazard everything on your brains and skill and a little luck.

"Wolf of the Steppes" is the first of a four-volume set that collects, for the first time, the complete Cossack stories of Harold Lamb and presents them in order: every adventure of Khlit the Cossack and those of his friends, allies, and fellow Cossacks, many of which have never before appeared between book covers. Compiled and edited by the Harold Lamb scholar Howard Andrew Jones, each volume features never-before reprinted essays Lamb wrote about his stories, informative introductions by popular authors, and a wealth of rare, exciting, swashbuckling fiction.

In this first volume, Khlit infiltrates a hidden fortress of assassins, tracks down the tomb of Genghis Khan, flees the vengeance of a dead emperor, leads the Mongol horde against impossible odds, accompanies the stunning Mogul queen safely through the land of her enemies, and much more. This is the stuff of grand adventure, from the pen of an American Dumas.

Hours of great reading await, with adventure tales culled from the pulp magazines of the early 20th century by some of the most renowned pulp authors, including Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan the Barbarian), Harold Lamb, William Hope Hodgson, Dorothy Quick, E. Hoffmann Price, and many more

THE BLACK ADDER, by Dorothy Quick
EVERY MAN A KING, by E. Hoffmann Price
SON OF THE WHITE WOLF, by Robert E. Howard
PEARL HUNGER, by Albert Richard Wetjen
A MEAL FOR THE DEVIL, by K. Christopher Barr
JACK GREY, SECOND MATE, by William Hope Hodgson
SAID AFZEL'S ELEPHANT, by Harold Lamb
ADVENTURE'S HEART, by Albert Dorrington
ANOTHER PAWN OF FATE, by F. St. Mars
MYSTERY ON DEAD MAN REEF, by George Armin Shaftel
HAG GOLD, by James Francis Dwyer
MAORI JUSTICE, by Bob Du Soe
JAVELIN OF DEATH, by Captain A.E. Dingle
THE SCREAMING SKULL, by J. Allan Dunn
SIX SHELLS LEFT, by Allan R. Bosworth
GODS OF BASTOL, by H.P. Holt
THE MINDOON MANEATER, by C.M. Cross
THE SPIRIT OF FRANCE, by S. B. H. Hurst
THE BOX OF THE IVORY DRAGON, by James L. Aton
CHECKERED FLAG, by Cliff Farrell
THE FIGHTING FOOL, by Perley Poore Sheehan
GHOST LANTERNS, by Alan B. LeMay
STORIES OF THE LEGION: CHOC, by H. De Vere Stacpoole
THE WHISPERING CORPSE, by Richard B. Sale
THE MONKEY GOD, by Jacland Marmur

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

Their conquest was measured not in miles but in degrees of longitude. They smashed the gates of empires, overthrew kingdoms, diverted rivers, and depopulated entire countries. They were the Mongols of Genghis Khan, swift and merciless but also resourceful, bold, and cunning. Their tale has seldom been told in the West, and never by an author with the acumen of Harold Lamb. Ride with young Temujin as he outwits schemers and assassins and rises to conquer Asia as Genghis Khan. Venture to the land beneath the northern lights on a mission of vengeance with Maak the Buriat. Stand with Aruk the gatekeeper and Hugo the Frank as they hold the pass against the Sungar hordes. Lamb's action-packed Mongolian stories, available here in one complete volume, restore the Mongols to their place in history, portraying them not as mindless barbarians but as men of honor and bravery who laid down their lives for their leader and their lands.

Sule e i iman THE MAGNIFICENT Sultan 01 the East HAROLD LAMB Garden City, N. Y. DOUBLEDAY COMPANY, INC. 1951 s -, 1,7 JJ M - bg rr SOLEJiWANS ADVANCES 1521-1566 TO THE WEST OF EGYPT IN AFRICA MORTH OF THE DANUBE IN EUROPE EXCEPT FOR WALLACHU-. EASTOFERZERUM IWASfA. liSS. bi -, . i-vY ltlVlu hiGhm y i i VV i i i W - lf . - M-- -.., -, j.. ij SULEIMAN AT THIRTY YEARS OF AGE Sketched by Diirer from contemporary description To MAJOR GENERAL EARL S. HOAG U. S. Air Force a friend of the Turks and my friend Contents I THE SUMMONS 1 The Messengers 1 Voices of the City 9 Seclusion of the Family 18 Sheepskins in the Treasury 27 The Rose Garden between Two Worlds 33 The White City 40 II LANDS OF WAR 45 The Bastard of the Magnifica Comunita 45 School of the Tribute ChUdren 48 Rhodes . 56 The Surrender 63 The Cost of the Capture of Rhodes 67 Mainstays of the Organization 75 Appearance of the Laughing One 79 The First Show at the Hippodrome 82 Janizaris Overturn Their Kettles 88 The Warning of Mohacs 92 Opening of die Corridor 99 Appeal of the Queen Mother of France 105 Europe s Kaleidoscope Changes 109 vii CONTENTS Laws and Human Needs Challenge of the First Embassies 119 Road to Vienna The Kartnertor Retreat Evidence of the Hippodrome 136 End of the Three Gentle Souls 140 The Utopia of 1531 144 March of the Phantom Army 150 Truce on the Danube I 56 III THE SEA 161 The Impelling Forces 161 Khair ad-Din Barbarossa 164 Charles Sails to Africa 170 Barbarossa Sells Himself 176 The Instructions of Monsieur de la Foret 181 Foray into Italy 183 The Lost Army and the Holy League 187 The Duel offPrevesa 193 The Wind of Charles 198 IV THE QUEST IN ASIA 207 The Secret in the Poem 207 What Ogier Busbecq Saw 209The Enemy in-Asia 211 Journey into the Past 213 The Case of Iskander Chelebi 217 The Power and the Glory 220 On the Steppes of Asia 222 Barbarossas Last Jest 227 Dragut 232 viii CONTENTS A Peace Is Won 238 The First Conspiracy of the Harem 241 The Three Mutes of the Bowstring 247 The Refuge on the Hill 253 The Danger of Peace and Wealth 257 The Approach of Ivan the Terrible 262 The Lost Admiral 265 The Ride to the Last Judgment 271 V MALTA, AND THE LAST MARCH OUT 277 The Impossible Task 277 Death of Bayazid 281 Refuge on the Black Mountain 288 The Dead Men of St. Elmo 292 Change of the Leaders 301 The Anniversary at Sziget 305 VI EBB OF THE TURKISH TIDE 311 The Lawgiver 311 The Accusers 315 When the Women Ruled 318 The Impelling Forces 325 The Destructive Forces 326 The Legend of the Warrior 329 The Legend of the Pirates, and Lepanto 332 The Barbary Coast 337 Suleiman and Ivan the Terrible 340 The Turks Hold to the Black Sea 342 The Russians Stand Firm without Their Heads 345 ACKNOWLEDGMENT 350 INDEX 357 ix Suleiman THE MAGNIFICENT

Conan. Elric. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Jirel of Joiry. All could call Return of the Sword home - and be proud of it. Join warriors male and female, young and old, in struggles of supremacy, survival, and sacrifice. Witness the spectacle of their deeds; ride with them into battle; stand beside them in the breach; marvel at their heroics. Rejoice beside them, tremble before them, weep with them, die with them . . . triumph with them. This is a storyteller's collection of heroic deeds. Within its covers you will find tales by award-winning short story authors S.C. Bryce, Bruce Durham, and Angeline Hawkes; classic works by fan-favorite novelists E.E. Knight and Harold Lamb; and stories from new novelists Michael Ehart and James Enge and numerous other up-and-coming authors. Do your reading time a favor - pick up a copy of Return of the Sword today!