Robin Cross

Human history - from the empires of the ancient world to the superpowers of the 21st century - has been inextricably shaped by conflict and the weapons that have been used to wage it. The technologies that have produced advanced civilizations have also been harnessed to the grim business of warfare. This short history, stretching from the chariot to the Stuxnet virus which disabled Irans nuclear enrichment programme in 2007, charts some of the most significant weapons, fortifications and tactics that have been developed in the last 2,500 years. It is a scintillating introduction to the worlds most enduring phenomenon.The 50 events include: The Egyptian New Kingdom; Heavy infantry tactics; Grand strategy of Alexander the Great; Naval warfare; Legion versus phalanx; The army on the march; Roman siegecraft; Kingship and command; Cavalry and castles; The age of chivalry; The changing battlefield; Siege trains and siegecraft; The age of Vauban; The age of Frederick the Great; The Seven Years War; Colonial conflict; Napoleon, tactics and grand strategy; Nelson and naval tactics; The rise of the Dreadnought; Steam and steel; Firepower; Mobilization; Trench warfare; Air warfare; The Manhattan Project and Cyberwar.

As Chancellor of Germany between 1933 and 1945, Adolf Hitler exercised unrestricted power over his countrys social, political and economic life. Hitlers belligerent re-armament programme, his imposition of anti-Semitic legislation and his territorially aggressive policies led to genocide and worldwide conflict on an unprecedented scale. Although the subject of numerous biographies and fictional portrayals, there have hitherto been few succinct, factual narratives of Hitlers life. Hitler is a short chronicle of the Fuhrers career, amplified with numerous rare photographs and artefacts from the period. Second World War expert Robin Cross offers a clear outline of Hitlers progress: from his unhappy childhood as the son of a minor Austrian official in Braunau, to his inglorious early occupation as a jobbing Viennese artist; from his formative experiences as a corporal in the First World War, to his emergence as leader of the National Socialist Workers Party in the 1920s; from his extraordinary rise to supreme power in 1933, to his suicide amidst the ruins of Berlin in 1945. Commanding, informative and stylish, and written by a scholar who is steeped in knowledge of the period, Hitler is an essential companion for anyone with a fascination for the twentieth century, the Second World War or the age of dictators.

From earliest times, women gained access to leadership in times of conflict and proved themselves equal to the challenge of commanding during war. Women leaders abounded in the ancient world from Ireland to Israel, sometimes through the accident of birth, but often rising to power through naked opportunism and raw courage in the ranks - and it is no accident that women war leaders, like men, are often famous for their strong sexual drive. Wherever there is war, there has often been a woman at the helm. Later ages frequently wrote these women out of history, but their stories have refused to die. From the legendary leader of the Amazons who fought the greatest of Greek heroes, Achilles, to the Iron Ladies of today, the women of both West and East directing military campaigns and leading their countries in war. Presenting an array of fascinating and sometimes little known women war leaders, popular author Rosalind Miles and the acclaimed military historian Robin Cross do full justice to the achievements of these women, some of whose amazing stories have so far never been told. Warrior women include: Penthesilea the Amazons queen, Deborah, Cleopatra VII, Boudicca, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, Grace OMalley, Deborah Samson, Nadezda Durova, Harriet Tubman, Anna Etheridge, Soldaderas, Flora Sandes, Lily Litvak, Women of the Warsaw Ghetto, Hanna Reitsch, Ruth Werner, Jeanne Holm, Margaret Thatcher, Women in Todays Armies, Martha McSally and more...

Forgotten Victory is the story of Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of the South of France on August 15, 1944. It was, in effect, the second D-Day, launched two months after Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. As such, it has often been overshadowed by its predecessor, but it significance cannot be underestimated. Forgotten Victory provides for the first time a complete overview of the liberation of the South of Francefrom strategic decisions made from the Allied and German high commands to the intelligence war waged by Allied code-breakers; from the German defeat of French resistance forces on the Vergers to the exploits of individual OSS agents on the ground as they strove to keep pace with a fast-moving battlefield. This is the story of the Allies inflicting on the Germany Army a Blitzkrieg-style defeat, expunging the lingering memories of the catastrophe of 1940.

An engaging collection that uncovers injustices in history and overturns misconceptions about the role of women in warWhen you think of war, you think of men, right? Not so fast. In Hell Hath No Fury, Rosalind Miles and Robin Cross prove that although many of their stories have been erased or forgotten, women have played an integral role in wars throughout history.In witty and compelling biographical essays categorized and alphabetized for easy reference, Miles and Cross introduce us to war leaders (Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, Margaret Thatcher); combatants (Molly Pitcher, Lily Litvak, Tammy Duckworth); spies (Belle Boyd, Virginia Hall, Noor Inayat Khan); reporters and propagandists (Martha Gellhorn, Tokyo Rose, Anna Politkov- skaya); and more. These are women who have taken action and who challenge our perceived notions of womanhood. Some will be familiar to readers, but most will not, though their deeds during wartime were every bit as important as their male contemporaries more heralded contributions.

El ser humano lleva milenios yendo a la guerra: territorios, recursos, poblaciones, religiones o en ocasiones su simple violencia intrínseca o su sed de venganza. Desde antaño el hombre trata de someter a sus adversarios mediante el desarrollo tecnologico de sus armas, la elaboracion de mejores tacticas y estrategias o la superioridad economica.Robin Cross, especialista en historia militar nos adentra en las principales ideas de una disciplina esencial para entender la historia del mundo y su geografia actual. Tacticas de infanteria, la estrategia de Alejandro Magno, las mas importantes batallas navales, asedios, batallas memorables, personajes representativos como Federico el grande, Napoleon, el almirante NelsonTodo esta incluido en esta obra que da una idea general del rol de la guerra en el devenir de la humanidad.