The Pointblank Directive is the result of extensive new research that creates a richly textured portrait of perhaps the last untold story of D-Day. Where was the Luftwaffe on D-Day? Following decades of debate, 2010 saw a formerly classified history restored and in it was a new set of answers. This title analyzes three uniquely talented men and why the German Air Force was unable to mount an effective combat against the invasion forces. Following a year of unremarkable bombing against German aircraft industries, General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, placed his lifelong friend General Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz in command of the strategic bombing forces in Europe, and his protégé, General James “Jimmy” Doolittle, command of the Eighth Air Force in England. For these fellow aviation strategists, he had one set of orders – sweep the skies clean of the Luftwaffe by June 1944. Spaatz and Doolittle couldn't do that but they could clear the skies sufficiently to gain air superiority over the D-Day beaches. The plan was called Pointblank.

An elite battalion under Louis XVI, the 9th Light Infantry regiment were with Napoleon from almost the beginning, turning the field at Marengo and breaking the Austrians. They then spent over a decade fighting their way across the continent, following Napoleon to the bitter end. Bringing their Eagle out of hiding when Napoleon returned from exile in 1815 they almost saved the day again, at Waterloo, spearheading a charge to rejoin Napoleon. But unlike at Marengo, they failed. Napoleon dubbed them 'Incomparable', and their story is extraordinary even by the standards of the dramatic and turbulent years in which they lived.

The largest collection of never-before published letters from and to Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain provides a foundation for a new look at the life of one of the War's most enduring legends. His life is a remarkable story of perseverance, tragedy and triumph. From an insecure young man with a considerable stutter who grew up in a small town in eastern Maine, Joshua Chamberlain rose to become a major general, recipient of the Medal of Honor, Governor of Maine and President of Bowdoin College. His writings are among the most oft-quoted of all Civil War memoirs, and he has become a legendary, even mythical historical figure. In 1995, the National Civil War Museum acquired a collection of approximately three hundred letters written by or sent to Chamberlain from his college years in 1852 to his death in 1914. Author Thomas Desjardin puts Chamberlain's words in contemporary and historical context and uses this extraordinary collection of letters to reveal – for the first time – the full and remarkable life of Joshua Chamberlain.

Fifteen renowned authors from widely varied backgrounds examine the Vietnam War, providing a fresh insight into this controversial conflict, even for those who have 'read it all before'. “This is a superb and compelling reexamination of the major historical, political, and ethical issues that continue to smoulder many decades after the conclusion of the Vietnam War, I highly recommend Rolling Thunder in a Gentle Land. It is among the best books of its kind that I've encountered over the last dozen years.” - Tom O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried First-hand accounts, maps and contemporary photographs, analysis from the soldiers involved and new perspectives from combatants on both sides provide an incisive investigation into a fascinating and terrible war.

For armchair admirals, history buffs, and naval enthusiasts everywhere, A Naval Miscellany is an indispensible and entertaining collection of fascinating and little-known facts, anecdotes, lists, curiosities and stories from our naval past. Forgotten heroes, amazing blunders, surprising trivia, and strange-but-true stories are all included. Who were the naval heroes of the ancient world, and the world's worst admirals? How much did a midshipman get paid in the eighteenth century? What are the origins of sea shanties? Where are the biggest naval bases in the world today? And how does a ship float? It's all here in this little book that will amaze and enlighten even the most avid student of naval history!

From Andrew Wiest, the bestselling author of The Boys of '67: Charlie Company's War in Vietnam and one of the leading scholars in the study of the Vietnam War, comes a frank exploration of the human experience during the conflict. Vietnam allows the reader a grunt's-eye-view of the conflict – from the steaming rice paddies and swamps of the Mekong Delta, to the triple-canopy rainforest of the Central Highlands and the forlorn Marine bases that dotted the DMZ. It is the definitive oral history of the Vietnam War told in the uncompromising, no-holds barred language of the soldiers themselves.

A detailed history of SACO-“the rice paddy navy”-the U.S. Navy's accomplished, top-secret, covert operation in China during World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy knew it would need vital information from the Pacific. After a meeting and a handshake agreement with Chiang Kai-shek, the Sino-American Cooperative Organization was born. This top-secret network worked hand in hand with the Nationalist Chinese to fight the Japanese occupation of China while it intercepted Japanese code, laid mines, and trained Chinese peasants in guerrilla warfare. Its work supplied critical information to the U.S. and contributed to the felling of more than 70,000 Japanese – while losing only five of their own men. SACO – “the rice paddy navy” – was one of the best-kept secrets of the war. Linda Kush uncovers the military accomplishments and political wrangling that colored one of the most successful and little known efforts of World War II.