BILL FAWCETT

Cómo perder una batalla recoge en más de treinta y cinco capítulos los peores y más increíbles tropiezos militares, algunos tristemente célebres, otros muy poco conocidos, descubriendo al lector un tesoro oculto de anecdotas, episodios historicos y hechos asombrosos. La Historia esta repleta de jefes militares terriblemente incompetentes que encontraron la manera de asegurar la derrota de su ejercito. Ya fuera porque se trataba de planes poco claros, porque contenian errores de caculo, por la mala suerte, o simplemente porque se trataba de planes sin sentido, algunas estrategias no deberian haberse puesto en practica nunca. Hace un ingenioso y entretenido repaso a estos sangrientos errores, entre los que se incluyen: - CANNAS, 216 A.C.Los incompetentes romanos sufrieron 80.000 bajas a manos de las fuerzas de Anibal. - LA SEGUNDA CRUZADA: todo un ejercito cristiano fue aniquilado cuando se detuvo a beber. - LA BATALLA DE INGLATERRA, o el desastre de la temida Luftwaffe de Hitler. - PEARL HARBOR: mas de uno predijo el inminente ataque pero nadie quiso escucharlo. Un extraordinario compendio de las peores decisiones militares y de los hombres que las tomaron.

Every four years Americans go to the polls to elect a leader, someone serious, distinguished, respectable, with perfect sobriety and moral standing who will serve as a paragon for the rest of us. But presidents and their families are people toowith quirks and character flaws like everyone else . . . and they have plenty of skeletons rattling around in their closets. Oval Office Oddities is a grand compendium of fascinating, sometimes embarrassing presidential facts, gaffes, and oddball behaviorsavailable in plenty of time for Election Day!Mary Todd Lincoln had an endearing little clothing fetish . . . and once purchased 300 pairs of gloves in a single month!No Commander in Chief bothered to visit neglected California until Rutherford B. Hayes did in 1880.Crazy Jack: Many prominent leaders were absolutely convinced that John Adams was stark raving bonkers!Oval Office Oddities is jam-packed with amusing anecdotes and offbeat information presented in a way that makes our nations history accessible, relevant, and entertaining.

Attending your first convention as a professional writer? Dont know what opportunities are out there for you? How do you get invited? How do you approach editors? How do you deal with fans who love your book and those who havent read it yet? Jody Lynn Nye and Bill Fawcett have answers to the questions you dont even know you have. From how to approach a convention committee to how to handle yourself on panels and signings, this book will give you an experts perspective on how to make the most of a convention.

An engrossing compendium of high-seas military disastersFrom the days of the Spanish Armada to the modern age of aircraft carriers, battles have been bungled just as badly on water as they have been on land. Some blunders were the result of insufficient planning, overinflated egos, espionage, or miscalculations; others were caused by ideas that didnt hold water in the first place. In glorious detail, here are thirty-three of historys worst maritime mishaps, including: The British Royal Navys misguided attempts to play it safe during the American Revolution The short life and death of the Imperial Japanese Navy The scuttling of the Graf Spee by a far inferior force The sinking of the Nazi megaship Bismarck"Remember the Maine!"the lies that started the Spanish-American War Admiral Nelson losing track of Napoleon but redeeming himself at the Nile The ANZAC disaster at Gallipoli Germanys failed WWII campaign in the North Atlantic Kennedys quarantine of Cuba Chock-full of amazing facts and hilarious trivia, How to Lose a War at Sea is the most complete volume of nautical failures ever assembled.

A remarkable compendium of the worst military decisions and the men who made themThe annals of history are littered with horribly bad military leaders. These combat incompetents found amazing ways to ensure their armys defeat. Whether it was a lack of proper planning, miscalculation, ego, bad luck, or just plain stupidity, certain wartime stratagems should never have left the drawing board. Written with wit, intelligence, and eminent readability, How to Lose a Battle pays dubious homage to these momentous and bloody blunders, including:Cannae, 216 B.C.: the bumbling Romans lose 80,000 troops to Hannibals forces.The Second Crusade: an entire Christian army is slaughtered when it stops for a drink of water.The Battle of Britain: Hitlers dreaded Luftwaffe blows it big-time.Pearl Harbor: more than one warning of the impending attack is there, but nobody listens.How to Lose a Battle includes more than thirty-five chapters worth of astonishing (and avoidable) disasters, both infamous and obscure -- a treasure trove of trivia, history, and jaw-dropping facts about the most costly military missteps ever taken.

"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." And so we have. Time and again, mankind has faced down problems, but have often failed to take the hard-earned knowledge into the next battle.Doomed to Repeat is a collection of essays, edited by Bill Fawcett, that illuminates the historical patterns behind some of the problems weve faced repeatedly throughout history, including Islamic jihad, terrorism, military insurgencies, inflation and the devaluation of currency, financial disasters, ecological collapses, radical political minorities like the Nazis and Bolsheviks, and pandemics and epidemics like the Black Death.With more than 35 chapters exploring the Groundhog Days of world history, from economic history to military blunders, both infamous and obscure, Doomed to Repeat: The Lessons of History Weve Failed to Learn is chock-full of trivia, history, and fascinating looks at the worlds repeated mistakes.History doesnt just rhymeit echoes with the same challenges, century after century.Military History: From unwinnable wars in Afghanistan to the persistent threat of terrorism, see why the same conflicts reappear on the world stage. Financial Disasters: Uncover the cycle of speculative bubbles, inflation, and market crashes that has plagued economies from Ancient Rome to modern Wall Street. Political History: Investigate the rise of radical political groups and the social pressures that allow extremist ideologies to take root. Pandemics and Epidemics: Follow the spread of devastating plagues like the Black Death and understand the timeless factors that fuel their deadly march across continents.

A remarkable compendium of wild schemes, mad plans, crazy inventions, and truly glorious disastersEvery phenomenally bad idea seemed like a good idea to someone. How else can you explain the Ford Edsel or the sword pistolabsolutely absurd creations that should have never made it off the drawing board? It Looked Good on Paper gathers together the most flawed plans, half-baked ideas, and downright ridiculous machines throughout history that some second-rate Einstein decided to foist on an unsuspecting populace with the best and most optimistic intentions. Some failed spectacularly. Others fizzled after great expense. One even crashed on Mars. But every one of them at one time must have looked good on paper, including: The lead water pipes of Rome The Tacoma Narrows Bridgebuilt to collapse The Hubble telescopethe $2 billion scientific marvel that couldnt see The Spruce GooseHoward Hughess airborne atrocity: big, expensive, slow, unstable, and made of wood With more than thirty-five chapters full of incredibly insipid inventions, both infamous and obscure, It Looked Good on Paper is a mind-boggling, endlessly entertaining collection of fascinating failures.

Epic battles?as seen through the eyes of the men who fought them. From Gettysburg to D-Day, history?s most momentous battles have been recounted to the world on a grand scale. This book, for the first time ever, looks at man?s most epic battles from the point of view of the soldiers on the front lines; providing new insight into the great wars of history. Stories told by the Roman Legionaire, the British Doughboy, and the American Doggie, delve into these battles and battlefronts: Roman Legion Third Crusade under Richard Lionheart Waterloo, French under Napoleon American Civil War: Gettysburg WWI: Americans at Ardennes WWII: Japanese Island Defense WWII: D-Day, Americans at Normandy Marines at Chosin.

Hindsight hurts. * The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act, having the American colonies pay for their own defensewhich instead starts a revolution. * In 1929, President Herbert Hoover decides to let the economy fix itselfand the Great Depression gets greater. * Nixon tapes everything he says in the Oval Office, believing it will all be of great historical value. He turns out to be right when those same tapes cost him his presidency. * Charles the First cuts a deal with the Irish to fight Parliament that instead loses him public supportand later his head. Along with 100 Mistakes that Changed the World, Trust Me, I Know What Im Doing proves once again that when global leaders drop the ball, the whole world shakes. With a hundred more bombshell blundersfrom Picketts Charge to the Lewinski scandalthis compendium takes a fascinating look at some of historys greatest turns for the worse.

An all-new compendium of 101 historic screw-ups from the author of 100 Mistakes that Changed History. DID I DO THAT??? When asked to name a successor, Alexander the Great declared that his empire should go to the strongest. . . but would rival factions have descended into war if hed been a little more specific? What if the Vienna Academy of Art took a chance on a hopeful young student named Adolf Hitler? If Pope Clement VII granted King Henry VIII an annulment, England would likely still be Catholic todayand so would America. Bill Fawcett, author of 100 Mistakes That Changed History, offers a compendium of 101 all-new mammoth mistakesfrom the ill-fated rule of Emperor Darius III to the equally ill-fated search for WMDs in Iraqthat will, unfortunately, never be forgotten by history.

Collected in one volume, here are backfires and blunders that collapsed empires, crashed economies, and altered the course of the world. From the Maginot Line to the Cuban Missile Crisis, history is filled with bad moves and not-so-bright ideas that snowballed into disasters and unintended consequences. This engrossing book looks at one hundred such tipping points. Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. The Caliphs of Baghdad spend themselves into bankruptcy. The Aztecs greet the Conquistadors with open arms. Mexico invites the Americans to Texas-and the Americans never leave. And the rest is history...

The U.S. Navy SEALs have long been considered among the finest, most courageous, and professional soldiers in American military historyan elite fighting force trained as parachutists, frogmen, demolition experts, and guerrilla warriors ready for sea, air, and land combat. Born out of a proud naval tradition dating back to World War II, the first SEAL teams were commissioned in the early 1960s. Vietnam was their proving ground.In this remarkable volume, fifteen former SEALsmost of them original founding team members, or "plankowners"share their vivid first-person remembrances of action in Vietnam. Here are honest, brutal, and relentlessly thrilling stories of covert missions, ferocious firefights, and red-hot chopper insertions and extractions, revealing astonishing little-known truths that will only add strength to the enduring SEAL legend.