"Examination of the Battle for Galicia (23 August-11 September 1914), the most historically and strategically consequential of the Great War's three opening campaigns"--

Although southern Poland and western Ukraine are not often thought of in terms of decisive battles in World War I, the impulses that precipitated the battle for Galicia in August 1914—and the unprecedented carnage that resulted—effectively doomed the Austro-Hungarian Empire just six weeks into the war. In Fall of the Double Eagle, John R. Schindler explains how Austria-Hungary, despite military weakness and the foreseeable ill consequences, consciously chose war in that fateful summer of 1914. Through close examination of the Austro-Hungarian military, especially its elite general staff, Schindler shows how even a war that Vienna would likely lose appeared preferable to the “foul peace” the senior generals loathed. After Serbia outgunned the polyglot empire in a humiliating defeat, and the offensive into Russian Poland ended in the massacre of more than four hundred thousand Austro-Hungarians in just three weeks, the empire never recovered. While Austria-Hungary’s ultimate defeat and dissolution were postponed until the autumn of 1918, the late summer of 1914 on the plains and hills of Galicia sealed its fate.

Despite the renewed interest in the First World War, the opening campaigns that decided the course of the global conflict remain under-examined; this is especially true for the Battle for Galicia in August 1914. Not only was Galicia, a historical region located in today's southern Poland and western Ukraine, the site of the bloodiest battle of the conflict, but the impulses that precipitated the engagement and the unprecedented carnage that resulted also effectively doomed the Austria-Hungarian Empire just six weeks into the war. In "The Fall of the Double Eagle," John R. Schindler draws on extensive archival research, memoirs, and diverse secondary sources in a dozen languages to explain how Austria-Hungary, despite military weakness and the inevitable consequences, consciously chose war in 1914. Through close examination of the Austro-Hungarian military, especially its elite General Staff, Schindler shows how even a war Vienna would likely lose appeared a preferable option to the "foul peace" the top generals loathed. The study considers how the polyglot empire was outgunned and unable to subdue Serbia, resulting in a humiliating defeat that generals sought to cover up. Worse was to come, when Austro-Hungarian divisions launched an offensive into Russian Poland in hopes of defeating the numerically superior enemy. By the time the Russians were halted at the gates of Cracow, over 400,000 Austro-Hungarian troops had been lost in just three weeks, a figure equal to the prewar standing army and a loss from which the empire would never recover. While Austria-Hungary's ultimate defeat and dissolution was postponed until the autumn of 1918, its fate was preordained in in the late summer of 1914 on the plains and hills of Galicia.

After several hard-fought weeks, the war-torn world of Enothis hangs in the balance. Only the day and night efforts of the valiant flyers of the Phantine Fighter Corps can keep the enemy host at bay long enough for the Imperial ground forces to regroup for a last battle. Original.

A Wall Street Journal national security reporter takes readers into the lives of frontline U.S. special operations troops fighting to keep the Taliban and Islamic State from overthrowing the U.S.-backed government in the final years of the war in Afghanistan. A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “Powerful, important, and searing." —General David Petraeus, U.S. Army (ret.), former commander, U.S. Central Command, former CIA director In 2015, the White House claimed triumphantly that “the longest war in American history” was over. But for some, it was just the beginning of a new war, fought by Special Operations Forces, with limited resources, little governmental oversight, and contradictory orders. With big picture insight and on-the-ground grit, Jessica Donati shares the stories of the impossible choices these soldiers must make. After the fall of a major city to the Taliban that year, Hutch, a battle-worn Green Beret on his fifth combat tour was ordered on a secret mission to recapture it and inadvertently called in an airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital, killing dozens. Caleb stepped on a bomb during a mission in notorious Sangin. Andy was trapped with his team during a raid with a crashed Black Hawk and no air support. Through successive policy directives under the Obama and Trump administrations, America came to rely almost entirely on US Special Forces, and without a long-term plan, failed to stabilize Afghanistan, undermining US interests both at home and abroad. Eagle Down is a riveting account of the heroism, sacrifice, and tragedy experienced by those that fought America’s longest war.

Mike and Kyle must outrun both a hurricane and thieves who will do anything to get their hands on a fortune in Confederate gold! The year is 1862. The Skink, a Confederate ship, is attacked by Union forces and sinks off the Alabama coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the ship was rumored to be carrying newly minted gold coins, no trace of the wreck and not even a single piece of Confederate gold is ever found. Fast forward to 1973. Mike is prepared for another routine summer in Pensacola with his marine biologist father. But plans suddenly change and Mike finds himself on Shipwreck Island—right near the site where the Skink went down. Mike and his new friend Kyle are intrigued by a salvage ship anchored just offshore. Some say it was brought in by fortune hunters, but when the boys scale a fence at the fort on the island, they realize that the fortune hunters may be looking in the wrong place. There in the sand-covered floor of an abandoned chamber they spot something shiny: an old double-eagle gold coin. Mike and Kyle agree to keep their discovery a secret and start their own investigation into the shipwreck and the missing gold. Award-winning author Sneed B. Collard III blends history and mystery to create a dramatic, page-turning story featuring a strong friendship and plenty of action.