Includes material on the history of the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb; the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; secrecy in physics; Ernest Orlando Lawrence; radiation hazards; Chernobyl; China syndrome; and "the role of the scientist."
This dual biography of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King upends longstanding preconceptions to transform our understanding of the twentieth century's most iconic African American leaders. To most Americans, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. represent contrasting ideals: self-defense vs. nonviolence, black power vs. civil rights, the sword vs. the shield. The struggle for black freedom is wrought with the same contrasts. While nonviolent direct action is remembered as an unassailable part of American democracy, the movement's militancy is either vilified or erased outright. In The Sword and the Shield, Peniel E. Joseph upends these misconceptions and reveals a nuanced portrait of two men who, despite markedly different backgrounds, inspired and pushed each other throughout their adult lives. This is a strikingly revisionist biography, not only of Malcolm and Martin, but also of the movement and era they came to define.
Ezra Toth is your typical sword for hire. A dark past, a few secrets, a talent for killing, with a sharp sword and sharper wit. Perhaps his several dozen cats are a bit unique but other than that... He returns from an ordinary, arduous job to find representatives of the crown waiting for him at his home - not so typical. They bring him to the Crown Prince who has a problem only Ezra can solve. Crown Prince Christophe's brother, and possibly even the King himself, are part of a plot to assassinate him. With no idea who in the palace is truly loyal to who, Ezra must navigate a myriad of potential suspects whilst protecting the heir.
"I'D LIKE YOU TO FIND THE SWORD FOR ME. DO YOU THINK YOU COULD HANDLE THAT?" Arisa isn't certain how to respond when her mother, the Falcon, formerly a dangerous bandit but now lord commander of the army and navy of Deorthas, entrusts her with this extremely special mission. Everything changed for Arisa when she and her friend Weasel stumbled upon the ancient shield rumored to bestow power upon whoever holds it. With the shield, the Falcon was able to gain her new station, bringing Arisa into a world of royalty Arisa isn't even sure she enjoys. Now the Falcon wants Arisa to get close to young Prince Edoran, and join with Edoran and Weasel to search for the legendary sword that matches the shield. As Arisa's search progresses, however, she realizes she may be in danger from a deadly stranger. Worse -- she and her friends may be in even graver danger from someone they know all too well! Critically acclaimed fantasy author Hilari Bell continues the captivating trilogy begun in Shield of Stars with another thrilling, surprising, and wholly satisfying novel.
An authoritative history of the Knights of St. John, from Jerusalem to Malta, told by the bestselling author of The Great Siege. Known by many names through their centuries-long career, The Knights Hospitaller of Saint John dedicated themselves to defending the poor and sick. First formed in Jerusalem during the Crusades of the eleventh century, the Order of Saint John grew in wealth and power rivaled only by the Knights Templar. They survived exile from the Holy Land, settling first in Rhodes and then in Malta, which they famously defended against the Ottoman Empire’s epic invasion of 1565. Even after losing Malta to Napoleon Bonaparte two centuries later, the Order of Saint John continued its mission. Ernle Bradford, whose bestselling book The Great Siege recounts their historic battle for Malta, follows the Knights of Saint John through centuries of war, politics, rivalry, and perseverance in The Shield and the Sword.
A richly detailed, profoundly engrossing story of how religion has influenced American foreign relations, told through the stories of the men and women—from presidents to preachers—who have plotted the country’s course in the world. Ever since John Winthrop argued that the Puritans’ new home would be “a city upon a hill,” Americans’ role in the world has been shaped by their belief that God has something special in mind for them. But this is a story that historians have mostly ignored. Now, in the first authoritative work on the subject, Andrew Preston explores the major strains of religious fervor—liberal and conservative, pacifist and militant, internationalist and isolationist—that framed American thinking on international issues from the earliest colonial wars to the twenty-first century. He arrives at some startling conclusions, among them: Abraham Lincoln’s use of religion in the Civil War became the model for subsequent wars of humanitarian intervention; nineteenth-century Protestant missionaries made up the first NGO to advance a global human rights agenda; religious liberty was the centerpiece of Franklin Roosevelt’s strategy to bring the United States into World War II. From George Washington to George W. Bush, from the Puritans to the present, from the colonial wars to the Cold War, religion has been one of America’s most powerful sources of ideas about the wider world. When, just days after 9/11, George W. Bush described America as “a prayerful nation, a nation that prays to an almighty God for protection and for peace,” or when Barack Obama spoke of balancing the “just war and the imperatives of a just peace” in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, they were echoing four hundred years of religious rhetoric. Preston traces this echo back to its source. Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith is an unprecedented achievement: no one has yet attempted such a bold synthesis of American history. It is also a remarkable work of balance and fair-mindedness about one of the most fraught subjects in America.
Royal Armouries MS I.33 Companion Deciphering the martial techniques in RA MS I.33 can be difficult. Paul Wagner & Stephen Hand of the Stoccata School of Defence, Sydney, have studied the manuscript for five years, working to unlock its intriguing secrets. What emerges is a complex system of civilian sword and buckler combat (including wrestling).All of the I.33 techniques are presented here with clear text are presented with more than 400 photographic illustrations, a complet martial arts system useful for historical martial artists, reenactors, SCA combatants, or any student of medieval military history. Alone or as a companion to Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng's Medieval Art of Swordsmanship, this book is sure to become a swordsmanship and martial arts classic.
Captain Vidarian Rulorat's great-grandfather gave up an imperial commission to commit social catastrophe by marrying a fire priestess. For love, he unwittingly doomed his family to generations of a rare genetic disease that follows families who cross elemental boundaries. Now Vidarian, the last surviving member of the Rulorat family, struggles to uphold his family legacy, and finds himself chained to a task as a result of the bride price his great-grandfather paid: The priestess Endera has called upon Vidarian to fulfill his family's obligation by transporting a young fire priestess named Ariadel to a water temple far to the south, through dangerous pirate-controlled territory. Vidarian finds himself at the intersection not only of the world's most volatile elements, but of the ancient and alien powers that lurk between them...
In 1599, during the period when the Portuguese crown was united to the crowns of Castile and Aragon, a Portuguese master-at-arms called Domingo Luis Godinho wrote a manuscript in Spanish entitled Arte de Esgrima (The Art of Fencing). Although Godinho's life is largely a mystery and his text was never published, today his manuscript of utmost relevance in the study of Renaissance Iberian fencing, since it is the only complete treatise discovered so far describing the "Common" or "Vulgar" style of Iberian fencing, first documented in the 15th century, but by Godinho's day, displaced by the new system of La Verdadera Destreza. The work includes instructions for the single sword, a long-bladed, cut & thrust weapon taught alone and with the use of the shield, buckler, dagger, and cape, as well as paired with a second sword. Godinho's instructions also includes the longest known text on the use of the montante, or two-handed sword, a devastating weapon that was used by soldiers and body-guards, in duels and battlefields, in crowded streets and aboard galleys. Translator Tim Rivera provides a detailed introduction that explains Godinho's relationship to earlier masters of the "Common School" of swordsmanship, and a short primer on the various weapons, guards, parries, footwork and terminology of the tradition.
From the author of Renaissance Swordsmanship comes the most comprehensive and historically accurate view ever of the lost fighting arts of Medieval knights, warriors and men-at-arms. Based on years of extensive training and research in the use of European swords, it contains highly effective fighting techniques for the sword, sword & shield, long-sword, great-sword, pole-arm and more. And with more than 200 illustrations and rare historical documents, it is a scholarly reference as well as a hands-on training guide for martial artists of all levels.