DIVThe first book devoted exclusively to the subject, this invaluable volume will aid collectors, curators, historians. Enhanced with more than 400 illustrations from rare documents, the book classifies and describes all major types of swords worn by the U.S. armed forces, cadets, and diplomats since the American Revolution to the end of World War II. /div

This publication gives the sword enthusiast an opportunity to observe edged weapons made, for the most part, in the United States that display regional characteristics that often transcend state lines. The makers of these swords, many of whom were silversmiths as well, had learned the skills and peculiarities of their masters during apprenticeship before yielding to the desires of the shop owner as journeymen. Later, many of these often relocated to new localities, practicing their former traits before they could open their own establishment, where they would be free to exercise their own creative ingenuities. Mr. Hartzler has done an excellent job in ferreting out edged weapons, especially swords, and their makers from throughout the country and identifying who they were and where and when they were in business. His identification of the styles and characteristics of the various swords, as well as the region from which they came, will be immensely helpful to students in their future study of these weapons. His unique method of presentation, illustrating what state or region these weapons originated from, as well as their individual characteristics, elucidate the various styles and traits developed throughout the different areas. One can also follow the travels of a sword maker by the pattern of his products.

The most extensive photographic collection of Revolutionary War weapons ever in one volume. More than 1600 photos of over 500 muskets, rifles, pistols, swords, bayonets, knives and other arms used by both sides in America's War for Independence.

This history documents a rare silver-hilted dog head sword of the Revolutionary War in New Jersey. It leads the reader on a search for its original owner and maker. Following a sometimes elusive trail, the author reconstructs the history of the sword that reveals the Revolution often as a civil war between patriots and loyalists. The story of the sword details its eighteenth-century social meanings, its craftsmanship, the symbolism of its designs, and its subsequent celebration in Fourth of July ceremonies, art, song, and popular literature. The sword as material culture exemplifies the complex and trying times of the American Revolution.

This investigation into the Nazi leader’s mindset is “an inherently fascinating study . . . a work of meticulously presented and seminal scholarship”(Midwest Book Review). Adolf Hitler’s virulent anti-Semitism is often attributed to external cultural and environmental factors. But as historian Peter den Hertog notes in this book, most of Hitler’s contemporaries experienced the same culture and environment and didn’t turn into rabid Jew-haters, let alone perpetrators of genocide. In this study, the author investigates what we do know about the roots of the German leader’s anti-Semitism. He also takes the significant step of mapping out what we do not know in detail, opening pathways to further research. Focusing not only on history but on psychology, forensic psychiatry, and related fields, he reveals how Hitler was a man with highly paranoid traits, and clarifies the causes behind this paranoia while explaining its connection to his anti-Semitism. The author also explores, and answers, whether the Führer gave one specific instruction ordering the elimination of Europe’s Jews, and, if so, when this took place. Peter den Hertog is able to provide an all-encompassing explanation for Hitler’s anti-Semitism by combining insights from many different disciplines—and makes clearer how Hitler’s own particular brand of anti-Semitism could lead the way to the Holocaust.