Military History Nonfiction

Spanning nearly a century of conflict, occupation, and revolution, The History of the Vietnam War: From Colonial Rule to Cold War Firestorm is a sweeping, human-centered account of one of the most complex wars in modern history. This powerful narrative takes readers beyond the battlefield and deep into the cultural, political, and personal dimensions of the Vietnam War. From the days of French colonization to the final evacuation from Saigon, this book offers a vivid retelling that is as emotionally gripping as it is historically grounded. Inside this book, you will discover: The roots of ...

The Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world.

NOW A BLOCKBUSTER MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY CLINT EASTWOOD—NOMINATED FOR SIX ACADEMY AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. His fellow American warriors, whom he protected with deadly...

History’s Biggest Oops: The Blunders That Changed the World A witty, eye-opening journey through the most surprising mistakes that made history. What do global superpowers, billion-dollar companies, genius inventors, and well-meaning leaders all have in common? At some point, they all got it spectacularly wrong. This laugh-out-loud and deeply curious collection explores the unexpected missteps, miscalculations, and “what were they thinking?” moments that ended up shaping the world in strange and powerful ways. Blending sharp insight with irreverent humor, this book offers a guided ...

Storm Clouds over the Pacific begins the story long before Pearl Harbor, showing how the war can only be understood if ancient hatreds and long-standing geopolitics are taken into account. Harmsen demonstrates how Japan and China's ancient enmity led to increased tensions in the 1930s, which, in turn, exploded into conflict in 1937.

The world remembers Leonidas for how he died. This is the story of how—and why—he lived. At the dawn of Western history, one man’s final stand against an empire forged a legend that would echo for millennia. Leonidas: The Last King of Sparta is the definitive retelling of the life and legacy of the warrior who defied Persia at the narrow pass of Thermopylae — not as a comic-book hero or marble statue, but as a flesh-and-blood king shaped by duty, law, and fate. In this sweeping historical narrative, A. K. Thompson reconstructs the world that made Leonidas: a Sparta without walls, ...

THE STRANGEST COLD WAR HEIST YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF—AND IT REALLY HAPPENED. June 1962. An abandoned Soviet drifting ice station groans in the polar night. Two American operatives, half-frozen and hauling armfuls of secret gear, stare into a blizzard and pray they can hear engines. Their ride home isn’t a helicopter or submarine—it’s a lumbering World War II B‑17 that intends to snatch them off the ice with a balloon, a cable, and a V‑shaped hook. Miss once and they die. Hit it, and they’re yanked into the sky like human kites. Skyhooked: The Untold Shocking True Story of ...

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen, the untold USA Today bestselling story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units. Surprise . . . your target. Kill . . . your enemy. Vanish . . . without a trace. When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special...

This global history as the Chinese would write it gives brilliant and unconventional insights for understanding China's role in the world, especially the drive to "Make China Great Again." We in the West routinely ask: "What does China want?" The answer is quite simple: the superpower status it...

May 10, 1940. The Netherlands was swarming with Third Reich troops. In seven days it's entirely occupied by Nazi Germany. Joining a small resistance cell in the Dutch city of Haarlem were three teenage girls: Hannie Schaft, and sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen, who would soon band together to form a singular female underground squad.

The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents...

What if you were flying into war with barely three weeks of training? What if your first dogfight ended with your guns still on safety? What if a single wrong turn landed you in a prison camp halfway across Europe, unsure if you'd ever see home again? This is the extraordinary true story of Ken Cam, a young RAF Spitfire pilot hurled into the chaos of World War II far from ready—but never backing down.

World War II was the most destructive war in history. Millions upon millions of people died, including innocent civilians. Both sides—the Allies and Axis Powers—pursued secret plans, tactics, and weapons to destroy each other resulting in horrors on a scale never before seen. Secrets of World War II reveals little-known stories of the people, weapons, and battles that have affected the maps on our walls and the allegiances in our hearts.

At the height of the Vietnam conflict, a complex system of secret underground tunnels sprawled from Cu Chi Province to the edge of Saigon. In these burrows, the Viet Cong cached their weapons, tended their wounded, and prepared to strike. They had only one enemy: U.S. soldiers small and wiry...

Through clouds and over mountains and farmland... Two flies accompany listeners on an adrenaline-pumping flight over war-torn Europe as the U.S. Army Air Corps' Tuskegee airmen take on a heroic, history-making mission during World War II.

“This beautifully braided story...reveals the best and worst of humanity. A magnificent work of narrative nonfiction, true to the past and essential for the present.”—Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Lost in Shangri-La and 13 Hours An epic true story of the triumph of...

World War I altered the landscape of the modern world in every conceivable arena. Millions died; empires collapsed; new ideologies and political movements arose; poison gas, warplanes, tanks, submarines, and other technologies appeared. "Total war" emerged as a grim, mature reality. In The Great War, Peter Hart provides a masterful combat history of this global conflict.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The exhilarating true story of the U.S. Navy’s improbable victory at the Battle of Samar—“a dire survival-at-sea saga” (Denver Post) from the acclaimed author of Neptune’s Inferno “A critically acclaimed, blow-by-blow look at a small American force...

From the bestselling author of Lawrence in Arabia—the gripping story of four CIA agents during the early days of the Cold War—and how the United States, at the very pinnacle of its power, managed to permanently damage its moral standing in the world. “Enthralling … captivating reading...

World War 2 for Kids: Amazing Facts, Heroic Stories & Real History Brought to LifeDiscover the incredible true stories, daring missions, and unbelievable facts that shaped the modern world! Packed with over 40 real photographs, World War 2 for Kids is a fun, fact-filled adventure through one of history’s most important chapters — perfect for children, students, and even adults who love learning something new. 👉 Inside you'll explore: The causes of World War 2 and how one event set the world on fire. The major battles and turning points — from D-Day to the Pacific. The rise and fall...