The War Trumpet

The epic poems written during the rise of Portugal and Spain on the global stage often dealt with topics quite unimaginable to the likes of Virgil or Homer. These poems reveal the astounding opportunities for upward social mobility and self-promotion afforded by broader access to print and the vast amount of knowledge and material wealth accrued through maritime exploration. Iberian poets of the period were quite cognizant of their ventures into uncharted territory, and that awareness informed their literary journeys. The War Trumpet features nine substantial essays that expand our understanding of Iberian Renaissance epic poetry by posing questions seldom raised in relation to poems such as La Araucana, Os Lusíadas, Carlo famoso, El Bernardo, Arauco Domado, Espejo de paciencia, and Felicissima Victoria, among others. Particularly compelling are questions concerned with early modern understandings of the natural world, the practice of poetic imitation, the discipline of cartography, or the reception of Petrarchism in the newly established viceroyalties of the New World. Fostering a greater appreciation of the intersection between poetry, war, and exploration, The War Trumpet sheds light on the transformative changes that took place during the period of Iberian expansion.

Stemming from the tradition of rallying troops and frightening enemies, mounted bands played a unique and distinctive role in American military history. Their fascinating story within the U.S. Army unfolds in this latest book from noted music historian and former army musician Bruce P. Gleason. Sound the Trumpet, Beat the Drums follows American horse-mounted bands from the nation's military infancy through its emergence as a world power during World War II and the corresponding shift from horse-powered to mechanized cavalry. Gleason traces these bands to their origins, including the horn-blowing Celtic and Roman cavalries of antiquity and the mounted Middle Eastern musicians whom European Crusaders encountered in the Holy Land. He describes the performance, musical selections, composition, and duties of American mounted bands that have served regular, militia, volunteer, and National Guard regiments in military and civil parades and concerts, in ceremonies, and on the battlefield. Over time the composition of the bands has changed—beginning with trumpets and drums and expanding to full-fledged concert bands on horseback. Woven throughout the book are often-surprising strands of American military history from the War of 1812 through the Civil War, action on the western frontier, and the two world wars. Touching on anthropology, musicology, and the history of the United States and its military, Sound the Trumpet, Beat the Drums is an unparalleled account of mounted military bands and their cultural significance.

This collection of original essays offers new ways of understanding the production of epic poetry in Portugal and Spain from 1543 to 1639.

Soldier/scholar Palmer traces the history of the American involvement in Vietnam and shows how events in both the U.S. and Vietnam became inextricably linked as domestic dissent and a lack of realistic, viable military strategy ultimately led to America's first lost war.

Listen carefully. Do you hear it? Ever so low; so low you can hardly perceive the sound. But if you have ears to hear, a small smile will soon invade your frown. As the trumpet sounds, just a little bit louder, the smile grows commensurately, and you wait with anxious joy for that day; the day when the angels of God blow a thousand trumpets announcing the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth The Christ. This book is devoted to telling the story of the role played by trumpets as revealed in sacred Scripture. And as that story unfolds, our endeavor will be to recognize and emphasize those occasions when trumpets are significantly associated with important biblical themes and truths, particularly if these themes and truths tend to lead us to a fuller understanding and appreciation of our God Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

In the spring of 1876, the U.S. Army was ordered to round up Sioux Indians who had left their reservation in Dakota Territory to join other Northern Plains Indians in southern Montana. By mid-June, General George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry Regiment had located a fresh Indian trail, and the Seventh went into fast pursuit. Late on a hot, Sunday afternoon, Custer led five companies of the Regiment to their doom at the hands of the Indians he had so aggressively chased down. They died on high ground overlooking the Little Big Horn River and a large Indian encampment on its far floodplain. Custer supporters, in shock and disbelief, stung by the unacceptable possibility that Custer may have blundered, were convinced that the Civil War boy general was abandoned to his fate by his subordinate commanders who despised him. Allegations soon flew that Captain Frederick W. Benteen tarried on the trail behind, disobeying a written order to come to Custer quickly. The question has remained: did Benteen tarry on the trail? In this book, the author takes an analytical look at the existing evidence and comes to a remarkable conclusion.

In the first major book devoted to the trumpet in more than two decades, John Wallace and Alexander McGrattan trace the surprising evolution and colorful performance history of one of the world's oldest instruments. They chart the introduction of the trumpet and its family into art music, and its rise to prominence as a solo instrument, from the Baroque "golden age," through the advent of valved brass instruments in the nineteenth century, and the trumpet's renaissance in the jazz age. The authors offer abundant insights into the trumpet's repertoire, with detailed analyses of works by Haydn, Handel, and Bach, and fresh material on the importance of jazz and influential jazz trumpeters for the reemergence of the trumpet as a solo instrument in classical music today. Wallace and McGrattan draw on deep research, lifetimes of experience in performing and teaching the trumpet in its various forms, and numerous interviews to illuminate the trumpet's history, music, and players. Copiously illustrated with photographs, facsimiles, and music examples throughout, The Trumpet will enlighten and fascinate all performers and enthusiasts [Publisher description].

Critical Praise for Gene Smith On Until the Last Trumpet Sounds "The best recent compact study of the commander of the American Expeditionary Force of World War I." Booklist "A six-star effort . . . captures Pershing better than anyone has before." The Grand Rapids Press On The Shattered Dream "A storyteller of history, Gene Smith is one of the very best in his field." The Washington Post On When the Cheering Stopped "A brilliantly written and dramatically effective work of history . . . Smith is a prodigious researcher, an artful writer." The New York Times On American Gothic "A ripping good tale . . . the story rivets you. You can t put the book down." The New York Times Book Review