Military Culture

The 16 case studies in this volume examine the culture of armies, navies, and air forces from the Civil War to the Iraq War and how and why culture affected their performance in the ultimate arbitration of war.

World War I was called "the war to end all wars"...it didn't. In this concise recounting of the first world war, we take a look into the reasons for it, the reactions to it, and ultimately, the death of those that gave the greatest sacrifice. So often we hear tell of the great sacrifice made in the subsequent wars,; however, the story of World War I has a depth of insight to provide on the settings for World War II.

In the shadow of the Second World War’s devastation, amid the ruins of cities and the collapse of empires, a different kind of battle was waged—one for the preservation of the world’s cultural soul. Guardians of Culture is the powerful, untold story of the Monuments Men: a courageous group of scholars, museum curators, artists, and architects who risked everything to protect and recover the greatest treasures of human civilisation.

Examining nine landmark battles from ancient to modern times - from Salamis, where outnumbered Greeks devastated the slave army of Xerxes, to Cortes' conquest of Mexico to the Tet offensive - Victor Davis Hanson explains why the armies of the West have been the most lethal and effective of any fighting forces in the world. Looking beyond popular explanations such as geography or superior technology, Hanson argues that it is in fact Western culture and values which have consistently produced superior arms and soldiers.

Paul Kennedy, award-winning author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers and one of today’s most renowned historians, now provides a new and unique look at how World War II was won. Engineers of Victory is a fascinating nuts-and-bolts account of the strategic factors that led to Allied victory. Kennedy reveals how the leaders’ grand strategy was carried out by the ordinary soldiers, scientists, engineers, and businessmen responsible for realizing their commanders’ visions of success.

Military Culture Shift presents the story of US military service members, their families, and the institution itself, through the lens of multiple generations, and the major factors impacting modern-day recruitment, retention, leadership, and wellness.

Doctors at War is a candid account of a trauma surgical team based, for a tour of duty, at a field hospital in Helmand, Afghanistan. Mark de Rond tells of the highs and lows of surgical life in hard-hitting detail, bringing to life a morally ambiguous world in which good people face impossible choices and in which routines designed to normalize experience have the unintended effect of highlighting war’s absurdity. With stories that are at once comical and tragic, de Rond captures the surreal experience of being a doctor at war.

Sub Culture explores the crucial role of the submarine in modern history, its contribution to scientific progress and maritime exploration, and how it has been portrayed in art, literature, fantasy, and film. Ranging from the American Civil War to the destruction of the Russian submarine Kursk in 2000, the book examines the submarine's activities in the First and Second World Wars, the Cold War, and in covert operations and marine exploration to the present day.

With three straight #1 bestsellers and more than 4 million copies of his books in print, the most powerful traditional force in the American media now takes off his gloves in the ongoing struggle for America’s heart and soul. Bill O’Reilly is the very embodiment of the idea of a Culture...

Jeannie L. Johnson takes a sympathetic but critical look at the Marine Corps's long experience with counterinsurgency warfare. Which counterinsurgency lessons have been learned and retained for next time and which have been abandoned to history is a story of battlefield trial and error - but also a story of cultural collisions. The audiobook begins with a fascinating and penetrating look inside the culture of the Marine Corps through research in primary sources, including Marine oral histories, and interviews with Marines.

In a dramatic three-week campaign beginning March 20, 2003, U.S. and British forces, along with several other countries in a coalition, destroyed the Iraqi army, defeating Saddam Hussein's oppressive regime. Over the coming months and years, former regime members, along with some armed anti-American forces from outside Iraq, started a long and bitter armed resistance.

Dive deep into one of history's most infamous eras with "101 Fascinating Facts About Nazi Germany." This captivating book offers over 400 pages of meticulously researched and intriguing insights into the lesser-known aspects of the Nazi regime. Explore the dense, bite-sized facts that reveal the complex and often surprising details of Nazi Germany. From Hitler's unexpected vegetarianism to the little-known story of his personal chauffeur, and the curious bond with his beloved dog, Blondi, this book uncovers the human side of the regime's key figures.

The first ever in-depth analysis of the tactics and equipment used by the heroes and villains of the Star Wars universe has arrived! Spanning all of the films, this comprehensive audiobook goes into detail about the various guerrilla tactics of the Rebel Alliance and the awe-inspiring might of the Grand Army of the Republic and Darth Vader's Empire.

People spend a large part of their waking hours trying to change, wanting to get better. Whether it's weight loss or spending habits or overall fitness, everyone would like to change some aspect of themself. New Year's Eve resolutions are, generally, forgotten by February. Failing to change comes from two misunderstandings. Personal change is incremental. We get better with small steps, not giant leaps.

The Lost Cause and the Great War tells the stories of central Tennessee Progressive-era reformers to illustrate the fascinating broader issue of how Southerners steeped in Lost Cause Civil War mythologies simultaneously developed patriotic American fervor. Focusing on Luke Lea, a prominent politician and American army officer who attempted to capture Kaiser Wilhelm II during World War I, the book reveals the intricate interplay between three competing ideas: attachment to the memory of the Confederacy, intense American nationalism, and advocacy for progressive reforms.

In his third book about deception during war, Paul B. Janeczko focuses his lens on World War II and the operations carried out by the Twenty-Third Headquarters Special Troops, aka the Ghost Army. This remarkable unit included actors, camouflage experts, sound engineers, painters, and set designers who used their skills to secretly and systematically replace fighting units - fooling the Nazi army into believing what their eyes and ears told them, even though the sights and sounds of tanks and war machines and troops were entirely fabricated.

Across Cultures and Empires is above all an immigrant's story. Mahir Ibrahimov's fluency in multiple languages offers the perspective of someone who found a way to successfully cross boundaries amid the fall of empire and the resulting cascade of conflicts, even as he provides the listener with insight into an era where mass migration has become a defining dynamic. In the course of telling his personal story and reflecting upon his experiences, Ibrahimov offers clear observations on the deep connections he has made about freedom and America's role in the world.

One-third of American adults—approximately 86 million people—own firearms. This is not just for protection or hunting. Although many associate gun-centric ideology with individualist and libertarian traditions in American political culture, Race, Rights, and Rifles shows that it rests on an equally old but different foundation.

Nuclear Russia probes the juncture of history of science and technology, political and cultural history, and environmental history. It considers the atom in Russian society as a reflection of Leninist technological utopianism, Cold War imperatives, scientific hubris, public acceptance, and a state desire to conquer nature. Furthermore the audiobook examines the vital – and perhaps unexpected – significance of ethnicity and gender in nuclear history by looking at how Kazakhs and Nenets lost their homelands and their health in Russia in the wake of nuclear testing.

Victor and Diana find themselves in Sirius A, babysitiing a secret delivery to Shinko labs. When a freak accident turns what should have been a humdrum journey into a bloody fight for survival.