Alcibiades is one of the most famous (or infamous) characters of Classical Greece. A young Athenian aristocrat, he came to prominence during the Peloponnesian War (429-404 BC) between Sparta and Athens. Flamboyant, charismatic (and wealthy), this close associate of Socrates persuaded the Athenians to attempt to stand up to the Spartans on land as part of an alliance he was instrumental in bringing together. Although this led to defeat at the Battle of Mantinea in 418 BC, his prestige remained high. He was also a prime mover in Athens' next big strategic gambit, the Sicilian Expedition of 415 BC, for which he was elected as one of the leaders. Shortly after arrival in Sicily, however, he was recalled to face charges of sacrilege allegedly committed during his pre-expedition reveling. Jumping ship on the return journey, he defected to the Spartans.Alcibiades soon ingratiated himself with the Spartans, encouraging them to aid the Sicilians (ultimately resulting in the utter destruction of the Athenian expedition) and to keep year-round pressure on the Athenians. He then seems to have overstepped the bounds of hospitality by sleeping with the Spartan queen and was soon on the run again. He then played a devious and dangerous game of shifting loyalties between Sparta, Athens and Persia. He had a hand in engineering the overthrow of democracy at Athens in favor of an oligarchy, which allowed him to return from exile, though he then opposed the increasingly-extreme excesses of that regime. For a time he looked to have restored Athens' fortunes in the war, but went into exile again after being held responsible for the defeat of one of his subordinates in a naval battle. This time he took refuge with the Persians, but as they were now allied to the Spartans, the cuckolded King Agis of Sparta was able to arrange his assassination by Persian agents.There has been no full length biography of this colorful and important character for twenty years. Professor Rhodes brings the authority of an internationally recognized expert in the field, ensuring that this will be a truly significant addition to the literature on Classical Greece.

First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of Sierra Leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. These "blood diamonds" are smuggled out of West Africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in London, Antwerp, and New York, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry. Eventually, these very diamonds find their way into the rings and necklaces of brides and spouses the world over. Blood Diamonds is the gripping tale of how the diamond smuggling works, how the rebel war has effectively destroyed Sierra Leone and its people, and how the policies of the diamond industry - institutionalized in the 1880s by the De Beers cartel - have allowed it to happen. Award-winning journalist Greg Campbell traces the deadly trail of these diamonds, many of which are brought to the world market by fanatical enemies. These repercussions of diamond smuggling are felt far beyond the borders of the poor and war-ridden country of Sierra Leone, and the consequences of overlooking this African tragedy are both shockingly deadly and unquestionably global. Updated with a new epilogue.

“Intensely vivid story of war and the peculiar breed of warriors who fight in 21st-century Africa . . . and tribute to an extraordinary comrade-at-arms.” —Kirkus Reviews In February 2002, British journalist James Brabazon set out to travel with guerrilla forces into Liberia to show the world what was happening in that war-torn country. To protect him, he hired Nick du Toit, a former South African Defence Force soldier who had fought in conflicts across Africa for over three decades. What follows is an incredible behind-the-scenes account of the Liberian rebels—known as the LURD—as they attempt to seize control of the country from government troops led by President Charles Taylor. In this gripping narrative, James Brabazon paints a brilliant portrait of the chaos that tore West Africa apart: nations run by warlords and kleptocrats, rebels fighting to displace them, ordinary people caught in the crossfire—and everywhere adventurers and mercenaries operating in war’s dark shadows. It is a brutally honest book about what it takes to be a journalist, survivor, and friend in this morally corrosive crucible. “A classic story of intrigue, greed, and violence in one of the most dysfunctional countries in the world. It is a gripping story that I couldn’t read fast enough.” —Sebastian Junger, New York Times–bestselling author

Michael "Mad Dog" Hertzog lived for soldiering—but he wasn't willing to die following the orders of bureaucrats and incompetents. Now he and his private army of warriors-for-hire are doing war Dog's way. Hertzog's right hand man has vanished . . . along with $30 million of Mad Dog's money. The evidence says a trusted British merc has gone rogue, but there may be a different, more virulent form of treachery at work here. There are answers waiting aboard a train racing east from Moscow, carrying Russian gangsters, stolen Siberian diamonds, a shadow team of Iranian agents . . . and a pair of nuclear warheads. Suddenly the stakes have gotten perilously high for Mad Dog, his team, and the world . . . as time ticks rapidly away on a terrifying plot to bathe the Middle East in nuclear fire.

The client is the CIA, as a beautiful, seductive Company agent enlists the help of Mad Dog and his men. The assignment is Uzbekistan, where an America-hating warlord plans to assassinate the country's newly elected, U.S.-supported president. But the mercenaries don't know that they're flying straight into the nightmare of a state-sponsored double-cross. And it'll all hit the fan in an ancient walled city where a famous action director and a headline-grabbing Hollywood couple are filming a big screen epic. But this time the bullets and the blood are going to be real, and the death and destruction won't stop when someone yells, "Cut!"

Blood Diamonds of the Lost Bazaar takes readers into two very different worlds—from the Lost Bazaar Art Gallery in small-town North Louisiana into Sierra Leone and its dark, violent and sad world of Blood Diamonds and boy soldiers. Caitlin, a beautiful and talented artist, ends a stormy relationship with her musician boyfriend Hunter and journeys to Sierra Leone. Von Vermeer, a wealthy, charming diamond merchant pursues her, and though attracted to him at first, Caitlin is horrified to discover that he is actually a corrupt, deranged diamond smuggler whose crazed obsession threatens her safety. Caitlin returns to Louisiana with Tejan, her adopted son, and rebuilds her relationship with Hunter, hoping to experience the joy of a loving family and redemptive love. But Vermeer follows her to Louisiana, bringing with him the violence she thought she had escaped, threatening her newly found happiness.

Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea must travel to the diamond-rich country of Sierra Leone to stop a rebel leader known as the Dragon from following through with her plans.