e-telescope online magazine

The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare provides a unique account of Western warfare from antiquity to the present day. The book treats the history of all aspects of the subject: the development of warfare on land, sea and air; weapons and technology; strategy and defense; discipline and intelligence; mercenaries and standing armies; cavalry and infantry; chivalry and Blitzkrieg; guerilla assault and nuclear arsenals.

A president faced an economic depression that wouldn't go away, and a deeply disgruntled electorate. Not for the first or last time, the option of entering a war seemed politically appealing. How badly did President Franklin Delano Roosevelt want a war and to what lengths was he willing to go to get one? These questions have vexed historians for many decades. Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy by Percy Greaves Jr. (1906–1984), published for the first time in 2010, blows the top off a 70-year coverup, reporting for the first time on long-suppressed interviews, documents, and corroborated evidence.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel exerted an almost hypnotic influence not only over his own troops but also over the Allied soldiers of the Eighth Army in World War II. Even when the legend surrounding his invincibility was overturned at El Alamein, the aura surrounding Rommel himself remained unsullied. In this classic study of the art of war, Rommel analyzes the tactics that lay behind his success.

In September 1944, the Allies believed that Hitler's army was beaten and expected the bloodshed to end by Christmas. Yet a series of mistakes and setbacks, including the Battle of the Bulge, drastically altered this timetable and led to eight more months of brutal fighting. With Armageddon, the eminent military historian Max Hastings gives us memorable accounts of the great battles and captures their human impact on soldiers and civilians.

On the night of May 10, 1941, a Messerschmitt-110 crash-landed on a remote Scottish hillside. Its pilot was Rudolf Hess, the Deputy-Führer of the German Reich. Hess' remarkable solo flight was immediately dismissed in both Britain and Germany as the act of a deranged mind. He was disowned by Hitler, and Churchill's government insisted that his unexpected arrival on British soil was of no lasting consequence.

'Memoirs are worthless if their authors attempt to present themselves as angels. I resolutely oppose those of my countrymen who shift responsibility for Soviet evils exclusively to the leaders. It is important that each Soviet citizen realize and admit his or her share of the responsibility.' --from On the Battlefields of the Cold War.

No other U.S. Navy Diver, photographer or spy has taken pictures of any Soviet submarine from as close proximity as did W. Craig Reed of the Soviet Victor III that almost ended his life. CRAZY IVAN chronicles this true story and reveals intimate details about near-death underwater espionage missions once classified at the highest levels of Top Secret...

General Heinz Guderian's revolutionary strategic vision and his skill in armored combat brough Germany its initial victories during World War II. Combining Guderian's land offensive with Luftwaffe attacks, the Nazi Blitzkrieg decimated the defenses of Poland, Norway, France—and, very neatly, Russia—at the war's outset.

This gripping and richly illustrated account of wartime Greece explores the impact of the Nazi Occupation upon the lives and values of ordinary people. The first full account of the experience of occupation, it offers a vividly human picture of resistance fighters and black marketeers, teenage German conscripts and Gestapo officers, Jews and starving villagers.

As the European Union introduces a common currency to world financial markets, Mark Mazower's Dark Continent critically examines the notion of "Europe." The Euro notwithstanding, Mazower argues that the "'Europe' of the European Union may be a promise or a delusion, but it is not a reality." Renouncing the notion of an essential "Europe," Mazower instead explores the conflicts which dominated the continent in the 20th century and the social value systems which informed them.

Hitler made two fundamental and crippling mistakes during the Second World War: The first was his whimsical belief that the United Kingdom would eventually become his ally, which delayed his decision to launch a major invasion of Britain, whose army was unprepared for the force of blitzkrieg warfare. The second was the ill-conceived Operation Barbarossa--an invasion of Russia that was supposed to take the German army to the gates of Moscow.

At long last, the familiar and overused photographs of the "Day of Infamy" can be retired. The 430 prints in this new and welcome collection were gathered from various Japanese and U.S. sources, and most have never been seen by the general public. The majority were taken during the height of the air raid itself, many from Japanese cockpits.

A riveting account of the fall of Greece, the Battle of Crete, and the Cretan Resistance, from the beginning of World War II to its end.

Few battles in World War II can surpass Crete for high drama, both on land and sea. Beevor, formerly of the 11th Hussars, writes about that battle with a soldier's eye and a historian's insight. Crete was a campaign unique in many respects, not the least of which was its ferocity. Beevor has a flair for re-creating the historical moment, and during sections of the text even the most detached reader will pause to catch a breath.

Probably the definite work on the Pearl Harbor. Provides an account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. Prange spent nearly 37 years preparing this book by a series of interviews with surviving Japanese officers who took part in the operation.