The Edge Of The Sword

An account of the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, at the Battle of Imjin River during the Korean War and the survivors’ captivity in a POW camp. In April 1951, at the height of the Korean War, Chinese troops advanced south of the 38th parallel towards a strategic crossing-point of the Imjin River on the invasion route to the South Korean capital of Seoul. The stand of the 1st Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, against the overwhelming numbers of invading troops has since passed into British military history. In The Edge of the Sword General, Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, then Adjutant of the Glosters, has painted a vivid and accurate picture of the battle as seen by the officers and soldiers caught up in the middle of it. The book does not, however, end there. Like the majority of those who survived, the author became a prisoner-of-war, and the book continues with a remarkable account of his experiences in and out of Chinese prison camps. This book is not an attempt at a personal hero-story, and it is certainly not a piece of political propaganda. It is, above all, an amazing story of human fortitude and high adventure.

An adventure worthy of legend, for fans of Game of Thrones and Rangers Apprentice When fifteen-year-old Æthelflæd is suddenly and reluctantly betrothed to an ally of her father, the king, her world will never be the same. For as a noblewoman in the late 800s, she will be expected to be meek and unlearned-and Flæd is anything but meek and unlearned. Her marriage will bring peace to her land, but while her royal blood makes her a valuable asset, she is also a vulnerable target. And when enemies attack, Flæd must draw upon her skills and fight to lead her people to safety and prove her worth as a princess-and as a warrior.

More than four hundred men and women serve aboard the USS Enterprise. While we are very familiar with Kirk and Spock, what do we know of those who live, and sometimes die, under their command? These are the best of the Federation, men and women of exceptional courage and skill. But not all of them can be trusted. Lieutenant Jon Anderson is the newest security officer aboard the Enterprise, joining the crew at a time of mounting tension between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Previous battles have been inconclusive, but Starfleet Command fears that the Klingons are gearing up for a major offensive, and the Enterprise would be on the front line of an all-out interstellar war. Lt Anderson, however, has a secret: he is a Klingon infiltrator, assigned to sabotage Starfleet from within. His first mission: kill Captain James T Kirk.

"Write, draw, and puzzle your way through [an] adventure story that is unique to every reader"--Publisher marketing.

Military effectiveness can only be fully understood by accounting for its political and military tradeoffs. This book explains those tradeoffs.

Ted Tunnell's superbly researched biography of Marshall H. Twitchell is a major addition to Reconstruction literature. New England native, Union soldier, Freedmen's Bureau agent, and Louisiana planter, Twitchell became the radical political boss of Red River Parish in the 1870s. He forged an economic alliance with entrepreneurial Jewish merchants and rose to power during the first upswing of the southern economy after the war. The Panic of 1873, however, undermined his regime and virtually overnight the New Englander quickly went from financial benefactor to scapegoat for northwest Louisiana's failed dreams of prosperity. His life-and-death struggle with the notorious White League has more gut-wrenching suspense than most novels. The first full-length study of Twitchell, Edge of the Sword is edifying, entertaining, and cutting-edge scholarship.

Netanel Lorch, who fought as an officer in Jerusalem during Israel’s War of Independence and later founded the Israel Defense Forces’ Historical Section, offers a detailed military history of the years 1947-49. The book begins with the tensions of the British Mandate period in Palestine, including the international debates over proposed boundaries for the new Jewish state, and examines the chaos that followed the British evacuation, the invasion of five Arab armies supported by guerrilla fighters inside Israel, the defeat of the Arab armies, and the signing of armistice agreements at Rhodes. It surveys the strength, weaknesses, equipment and manpower of Jewish and Arab forces and describes the strategies and tactics used in operations launched by all sides, together with the results of the battles that led to Israel’s pre-1967 borders. “In splendidly crisp, frugal but always fluent narrative, Col. Netanel Lorch relates how Israel won her life with ‘The Edge of the Sword.’ It is an apt title for this masterly deployment of bare facts, devoid of speculative afterthoughts, almost devoid of comment... I rate this book a splendid job of work, absorbing to a student of war, a fit memorial to heroic events passing comprehension.” — The New York Times “... minute in its detail, meticulous in its completeness, matter of fact in its style... but, professional objectivity notwithstanding, he offers a penetrating insight into the passions and purposes that underlay this struggle.” — Herbert Kupferberg, The New York Herald Tribune “Lorch... was fortunate in holding a position in which he was able to obtain and sift much data not normally available to the public. This he has done admirably... It is a timely, comprehensive book... clearly a must for the bookshelf of everyone who takes an interest in military matters or in the Middle East.” — Edgar O’Ballance, The Spectator, London “... a fascinating work. The book teems with technical details and military terms; it gives blow by blow the story of every campaign, and almost every action.” — Marvin Lowenthal, Jewish Social Studies “Genuine history, admirably written...” — Bernard Fergussen, London Daily Telegraph “[Lorch] writes with a clarity quite unusual in military specialists... superbly written and fascinating.” — The Cape Argus, Capetown “The most detailed and most searching study of this momentous little war which has yet been published. It is also remarkably readable... it teaches quietly and with no brashness, a number of salutary lessons, strategic and tactical, logistic and moral, which every soldier ought to ponder... Lorch’s narrative is as candid as it is well marshalled. He is not sparing in his criticism of Israeli mistakes. He does not sneer and he does not exult.” — Journal of the Royal United Services Institution