In February 1979, China launched a full scale attack on Vietnam bringing to the surface the deep tension between the two socialist neighbours. The importance of the resultant war is often overlooked. Millions of people throughout the region were affected, and the frictions that remain in the wake of the war threaten the prospects for peace not only in Southeast Asia, but also the whole Asia-Pacific region as well. This is a full scale examination of the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War - the events that led to it, the Cold War aftermath, and the implications for the region and beyond.

When West leaves his bedroom window open, little did he know his scent was luring the most ancient of species. It was a scent that the reptile had searched for its whole life. Through this window came Ral, the tiny leader and oracle of the Dragons of Asgard. This was a dragon clan that had gone unnoticed on Earth for thousands of years, awaiting the one called Zod, who was predicted to rise up and fight for the Dragons of Asgard, freeing them from their enemies grasps forever. Ral reveals to West that his clan of dragons will soon die out, because the Golden One, a massive golden dragon that awoke from its thousand year sleep, has begun to hunt them down, devouring their flesh and quenching its thirst with their blood to gain the tiny dragons unique powers. Ral speaks of a ship that was sent, but never arrived, which was to rescue the tiny dragon clan. When West and Michelle hear about a UFO crash that many eyewitnesses had seen over the city of Needles, California, they quickly put two and two together. West and his two friends decide that the only way to save the tiny dragons is to get their ship back and send them home. Believing the UFO to have been taken to a secret military base nearby, West borrows his fathers classic 68 Corvette and they go on a road trip to Area S4, 13.5 miles southwest of Area 51. This sci-fi/fantasy novel is based on a true UFO crash that took place on May 14, 2008 in Needles, California and can be read in a supplement at the end of this book.

Bad girls, big dragons! An eclectic band of female adventures must come together to save the world from the primal dragons. DRAGON APOCALYPSE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION, gathers all four novels of the critically acclaimed series by James Maxey, author of the bestselling BITTERWOOD series. It also includes the novella GREATSHADOW: ORIGINS, the story that provided the inspiration for the novels.

The War of the Silver Marches rages across the Forgotten Realms in this unforgettable final episode in the Companions Codex The reunited Companions of the Hall are separated once more—thrown to the far corners of a war that’s bigger than any of them realized. They fight for the safety of Mithral Hall, but it’s their own souls, and the soul of Faerûn itself, that truly hangs in the balance. In the dreaded depths of the Underdark, Regis and Wulfgar seek shelter in the fabled Silverymoon, from which they can launch a series of daring new raids. The rest of the Companions reside at the besieged Mithral Hall, where new friends arrive on a mission of mercy—if such an emotion can rest in the heart of a dragon. Meanwhile, the orc warlord Hartusk turns his savage horde on Everlund, one of the great cities of the Silver Marches. Though it stretches his forces thin, it’s a move that could help him achieve his goal of becoming the master of the North. But Hartusk’s treacherous drow allies have a different goal. They want nothing except the death of Drizzt Do’Urden—even if it comes at the cost of human, dwarf, elf, and orc lives. The world is cloaked in darkness and blood runs in rivers across the North; orc hordes rage on and cities fall under brutal siege; old friendships are tested and new alliances are forged. But in the end, it may come down to a single dark elf choosing life over death, forgiveness over vengeance, law over chaos . . . peace over war. Vengeance of the Iron Dwarf is the third book in the Companions Codex and the thirtieth book in the Legend of Drizzt series.

Paths to Peace begins by developing a theory about the domestic obstacles to making peace and the role played by shifts in states' governing coalitions in overcoming these obstacles. In particular, it explains how the longer the war, the harder it is to end, because domestic obstacles to peace become institutionalized over time. Next, it tests this theory with a mixed methods approach—through historical case studies and quantitative statistical analysis. Finally, it applies the theory to an in-depth analysis of the ending of the Korean War. By analyzing the domestic politics of the war's major combatants—the Soviet Union, the United States, China, and North and South Korea—it explains why the final armistice terms accepted in July 1953 were little different from those proposed at the start of negotiations in July 1951, some 294,000 additional battle-deaths later.

Of all the issues in international relations, disputes over territory are the most salient and most likely to lead to armed conflict. In this study, Krista E. Wiegand examines why some states are willing and able to settle territorial disputes while others are not.