For mid-19th-century Americans, the Mexican War was not only a grand exercise in self-identity, legitimizing the young republic's convictions of mission and destiny to a doubting world; it was also the first American conflict to be widely reported in the press and to be waged against an alien foe in a distant and exotic land. It provided a window onto the outside world and promoted an awareness of a people and a land unlike any Americans had known before. This rich cultural history examines the place of the Mexican War in the popular imagination of the era. Drawing on military and travel accounts, newspaper dispatches, and a host of other sources, Johannsen vividly recreates the mood and feeling of the period--its unbounded optimism and patriotic pride--and adds a new dimension to our understanding of both the Mexican War and America itself.
"Book is a collection of the newspaper articles by James L. Freaner for the New Orleans Delta newspaper, sent from the Mexican American War during 1847-1848. The editors have added historical context and notes"--
To mark the two hundredth anniversary of the War of 1812, author and noted historian Don Burzynski sheds some rare and exciting light on the part played by the nascent United States Marine Corps in that pivotal conflict and on their development in the turbulent years leading up to America’s second war with Great Britain. There’s not much in the official record of that time, but Burzynski uses his passion and background to fill in the blanks and produce a stirring tale of the trials, errors, and successes that led the Marine Corps’s vaunted reputation as the worlds’ premiere amphibious fighting force. It took two centuries to forge the modern Marine Corps, but it was the War of 1812 that set the Corps on the path to renown and established their high standards of dedication, loyalty, and combat prowess. It was the Marines’ accurate and devastating musketry coupled with their skill at manning cannon aboard the American warships of the period that resulted in victory at Lake Erie, Bladensburg, Baltimore, and New Orleans. Despite their demonstrable value in those battles, success in combating the slave trade while serving at sea with the U.S. Navy, and their singular contribution in quashing piracy off the coasts of North Africa, the Marines were forced to fight for their survival on home turf. Burzynski accurately and interestingly covers the internecine wars of the period between Marines, their supporters and such luminaries of the time as President Andrew Jackson and other politicians who often sided with Admirals bound to disband the Corps. This untold story is an exciting, exhilarating tale of the most formative years of the United States Marine Corps. It goes a long and insightful way toward explaining how and why “Send in the Marines!” became a viable and reliable diplomatic ploy throughout the early years of American history. "Finally a historian has written a long necessary public history of the U.S. Marine Corps....I predict that "The First Leathernecks" will become a valued tabletop resource for anyone interested in the War of 1812 for many years to come." Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer, Director and Chief, U.S. Marine Corps History Division "Historically accurate, Don Burzynski’s superbly-crafted and very timely narrative of the early years of the Corps, "The First Leathernecks," reads like a fascinating novel. He grabs and holds your attention with stirring prose, adding a multitude of short, insightful vignettes, well-chosen illustrations by the first Marine Corps artist in residence, Colonel Charles Waterhouse, USMCR (Ret), and detailed maps of the period. This is definitely one for your library." Walt Ford, Leatherneck Magazine "Finally, a dedicated researcher (Don Burzynski) has here compiled a chronological history that details how and why the Marine Corps was formed, in a fast-moving narrative guaranteed to hold your interest. Lavishly illustrated with period artwork, maps, and amazing original art by Col. Charles Waterhouse (ret.), a Marine artist-in-residence , this book gives you an exciting overview of the most important events in early Marine Corps history. If you're a U.S. Marine or a military vet, this is a must-read. If you're a history buff, you'll want this for your bookshelf or coffee-table. If you're “just” an American, you'll be proud. Perhaps most important, you'll gain an understanding of the honor and tradition that make today's Marines so dedicated to their duty." Bob Monement
In this astonishing work of scholarship that reads like an edge-of-your-seat adventure thriller, acclaimed historian Buddy Levy records the last days of the Aztec empire and the two men at the center of an epic clash of cultures perhaps unequaled to this day. It was a moment unique in human history, the face-to-face meeting between two men from civilizations a world apart. In 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived on the shores of Mexico, determined not only to expand the Spanish empire but to convert the natives to Catholicism and carry off a fortune in gold. That he saw nothing paradoxical in carrying out his intentions by virtually annihilating a proud and accomplished native people is one of the most remarkable and tragic aspects of this unforgettable story. In Tenochtitlán Cortés met his Aztec counterpart, Montezuma: king, divinity, commander of the most powerful military machine in the Americas and ruler of a city whose splendor equaled anything in Europe. Yet in less than two years, Cortés defeated the entire Aztec nation in one of the most astounding battles ever waged. The story of a lost kingdom, a relentless conqueror, and a doomed warrior, Conquistador is history at its most riveting.
You Should Never Speak Truth To Power... The Galactic Empire is dying and chaos and anarchy are breaking out everywhere. After a disastrous mission against terrorists on Earth itself, Captain Edward Stalker of the Terran Marine Corps makes the mistake of speaking truth to power, telling one of the most powerful men in the Empire a few home truths. As a result, Captain Stalker and his men are unceremoniously exiled to Avalon, a world right on the Rim of the Empire. It should have been an easy posting... Well, apart from the bandits infesting the countryside, an insurgency that threatens to topple the Empire's loose control over Avalon, and a corrupt civil government more interested in what it can extort from the population than fighting a war. The Marines rapidly find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of political and economic chaos, fighting to preserve Avalon before the competing factions tear the world apart. They're Marines; if anyone can do it, they can. The battle to save the Empire starts here.
The lost memoir from Lou Gehrig—“a compelling rumination by a baseball icon and a tragic hero” (Sports Illustrated) and “a fitting tribute to an inspiring baseball legend” (Publishers Weekly). At the tender age of twenty-four, Lou Gehrig decided to tell the remarkable story of his life and career. He was one of the most famous athletes in the country, in the midst of a record-breaking season with the legendary 1927 World Series–winning Yankees. In an effort to grow Lou’s star, pioneering sports agent Christy Walsh arranged for Lou’s tale of baseball greatness to syndicate in newspapers across the country. Those columns were largely forgotten and lost to history—until now. Lou comes alive in this “must-read” (Tyler Kepner, The New York Times) memoir. It is an inspiring, heartfelt rags-to-riches tale about a poor kid from New York who became one of the most revered baseball players of all time. Fourteen years after his account, Lou would tragically die from ALS, a neuromuscular disorder now known as Lou Gherig’s Disease. His poignant autobiography is followed by an insightful biographical essay by historian Alan D. Gaff. Here is Lou—Hall of Famer, All Star, MVP, an “athlete who epitomized the American dream” (Christian Science Monitor)—back at bat.
For mid-19th-century Americans, the Mexican War was not only a grand exercise in self-identity, legitimizing the young republic's convictions of mission and destiny to a doubting world; it was also the first American conflict to be widely reported in the press and to be waged against an alien foe in a distant and exotic land. It provided a window onto the outside world and promoted an awareness of a people and a land unlike any Americans had known before. This rich cultural history examines the place of the Mexican War in the popular imagination of the era. Drawing on military and travel accounts, newspaper dispatches, and a host of other sources, Johannsen vividly recreates the mood and feeling of the period--its unbounded optimism and patriotic pride--and adds a new dimension to our understanding of both the Mexican War and America itself.
In the wake of the Mexican-American War, competing narratives of religious conquest and re-conquest were employed by Anglo American and ethnic Mexican Californians to make sense of their place in North America. These "invented traditions" had a profound impact on North American religious and ethnic relations, serving to bring elements of Catholic history within the Protestant fold of the United States' national history as well as playing an integral role in the emergence of the early Chicano/a movement. Many Protestant Anglo Americans understood their settlement in the far Southwest as following in the footsteps of the colonial project begun by Catholic Spanish missionaries. In contrast, Californios--Mexican-Americans and Chicana/os--stressed deep connections to a pre-Columbian past over to their own Spanish heritage. Thus, as Anglo Americans fashioned themselves as the spiritual heirs to the Spanish frontier, many ethnic Mexicans came to see themselves as the spiritual heirs to a southwestern Aztec homeland.
