In this far-reaching exploration of the evolution of warfare in human history, Jack S. Levy and William R. Thompson provide insight into the perennial questions of why and how humans fight. Beginning with the origins of warfare among foraging groups, The Arc of War draws on a wealth of empirical data to enhance our understanding of how war began and how it has changed over time. The authors point to the complex interaction of political economy, political and military organization, military technology, and the threat environment—all of which create changing incentives for states and other actors. They conclude that those actors that adapt survive, and those that do not are eliminated. In modern times, warfare between major powers has become exceedingly costly and therefore quite rare, while lesser powers are too weak to fight sustained and decisive wars or to prevent internal rebellions. Conceptually innovative and historically sweeping, The Arc of War represents a significant contribution to the existing literature on warfare.

WHILE DEFENDING THE ACCUSED IN A MILITARY COURTMARTIAL, NEW YORK CITYS RENOWNED DEFENSE ATTORNEY, SOLOMON GOLDMAN, fi nds himself drugged and abducted in broad daylight, only to awaken inside a nuclear submarine on its way to the Middle East. His captor, a beautiful and mysterious Egyptian agent named Eteye Azeb, tells Goldman that his brother is commanding a secret military operation south of Bagdad, at the lost city of Babylon, where an uncovered religious scroll obscurely mentioned in the bible contains an ancient Egyptian code. This code leads to the hidden location of the most sought after treasure of antiquitythe Ark of the Covenant. Goldmans brother has now mysteriously gone missing with the scroll and is wanted for theft and treason. The Middle East is pushed to the brink when Iranian commandos recover abandoned American nuclear torpedoes from the oceans fl oor. The stakes are raised even further when Goldman is caught up in an international conspiracy to recover and use the sacred Ark of the Covenant as a modern day military weapon. For reasons Solomon Goldman doesnt yet understand, all eyes are on him as he tries to pick up the trail of his missing brother and locate the clues to the missing treasure map. In a breathless race over four continents, Goldman must follow the signs, hidden away for millenniums, that lead to the Ark, all while struggling with his own religious doubts and unbeliefs. At every turn fate seems to draw him deeper into Eteyes cryptic world of unexplained past connections. Who really is this woman? Unless he can decipher the biblical secrets and fi nd the ancient Ark before the world's superpowers do, the Ark of War may be lost foreveror worse yet, used as a modern day weapon of mass destruction.

The Ark War Has Begun War on a scale not seen in this sun-cycle has begun. Nox and his demonic army were thwarted at the Proto Ark, but not before forging the tool that will hasten the destruction of the world. The grey men have a Primary Access Key, and are ready to bring their masters home. The Builders are coming. Millions of deathless surround Jordan in the broken Ark of the Mother. The only thing standing between Lima and destruction is the last god anyone wants to trust...Irakesh. Jordan follows Sobek to Australia in search of allies, but what lurks there predates humanity. Blair and Trevor spearhead a desperate gambit to alter time and save the Mother from her death at the First Ark. To do that they need powerful allies. The time has come to wake Jes'Ka, so that she can train Liz in the ways of the Ka-Ken. If Blair and Trevor succeed, then ensuring Set doesn't return to the present falls upon them. But there is a spy in their midst. The Builders are far, far closer than anyone suspects.

Earth is on the verge of becoming a dead planet. The polar ice caps melted long ago, and it's been decades since the last raindrop fell. Ocean levels rise a dozen meters, and forest fires rage on a global scale. Eleven billion people dying of thirst wage water wars against each other as extinction looms. Humanity needs a new planet. As Earth deteriorates, the nation states desperately work together to build a mechanism for recolonization. And so the Magellan II is born, the first starship capable of interstellar travel. The future of the human race is tasked to ten thousand colonists-now homeless but for the vastness of space and the decks of Magellan II. A distant planet offers hope of survival, but it's a strange, watery world inhabited by giant reptiles. Humanity is starting over, but survival isn't guaranteed.

The astonishing story of the soldiers, conservationists, and ordinary Iraqis who united to save the animals of the Baghdad Zoo When the Iraq war began, conservationist Lawrence Anthony could think of only one thing: the fate of the Baghdad Zoo, caught in the crossfire at the heart of the city. Once Anthony entered Iraq he discovered that hostilities and uncontrolled looting had devastated the zoo and its animals. Working with members of the zoo staff and a few compassionate U.S. soldiers, he defended the zoo, bartered for food on war-torn streets, and scoured bombed palaces for desperately needed supplies. Babylon's Ark chronicles Anthony's hair-raising efforts to save a pride of Saddam's lions, close a deplorable black-market zoo, run ostriches through shoot-to-kill checkpoints, and rescue the dictator's personal herd of Thoroughbred Arabian horses. A tale of the selfless courage and humanity of a few men and women living dangerously for all the right reasons, Babylon's Ark is an inspiring and uplifting true-life adventure of individuals on both sides working together for the sake of magnificent wildlife caught in a war zone.