Blue-Water Empire

Author: Robert Holland
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 1846145554
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 498

Book Description
Blue-Water Empire is Robert Holland's magnificent narrative of Britain's military and cultural ties with the Mediterranean Sea, in the style of the epic naval histories of N. A. M. Rodger. Britain has been a major presence in the Mediterranean from the Battle of the Nile to the end of empire, as both a military and a colonising force on the islands and coastlines of the sea. Robert Holland traces the fascinating story of that presence, from its legacies in culture, language and law to the Mediterranean's own influence on Britain. Evoking the conflicts and contrasts between British and local societies caught up in dramatic events, as well as their mutual resilience under pressure, Blue Water Empire charts with vigour, flair and clarity the British experience in the Mediterranean in the age of empire. Reviews: 'An important corrective to current historical amnesia ... the definitive account of Anglo-Mediterranean history for years to come' Amanda Foreman, New Statesman 'A rich and readable account of the British in the Middle Sea ... As Holland's learned, lucid and enjoyable work makes clear, many British politicians saw the Mediterranean as the pre-eminent global strategic arena, representing the key to victory in Europe and Asia' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times 'This is an important subject, and it has never before been drawn together into a single coherent narrative ... Blue-Water Empire puts the land, not the sea, at the heart of the story' Literary Review 'Robert Holland's masterly history of the Mediterranean is a pleasure to read. Blue-Water Empire shows how Britain's mastery of the Middle Sea shaped the modern world, whilst reminding us how profoundly the Mediterranean has influenced the British' Simon Ball (author of The Bitter Sea: The Struggle for Mastery in the Mediterranean, 1935-1949) 'Lively and absorbing' Philip Mansel, Spectator About the author: Robert Holland is one of the world's leading historians of the Mediterranean and the author of Britain and the Revolt in Cyprus, 1954-59, and (with Diana Markides) The British and the Hellenes: Struggles for Mastery in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1850-1960. He holds professorial positions at the Centre for Hellenic Studies in King's College London and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in the same University.

Empire of Blue Water

Author: Stephan Talty
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307382753
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Talty’s vigorous history of seventeenth-century pirates of the Caribbean [is] a pleasure to read from bow to stern.”—Entertainment Weekly “In Stephan Talty’s hands, the brilliant Captain Morgan, wicked and cutthroat though he was, proves an irresistible hero. . . . A thrilling and fascinating adventure.”—Caroline Alexander, author of The Endurance and The Bounty The passion and violence of the age of exploration and empire come to vivid life in this story of the legendary pirate who took on the greatest military power on earth with a ragtag bunch of renegades. Awash with bloody battles, political intrigues, natural disaster, and a cast of characters more compelling, bizarre, and memorable than any found in a Hollywood swashbuckler, Empire of Blue Water brilliantly re-creates the life and times of Henry Morgan and the real pirates of the Caribbean.

Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts

Author: Robert D. Kaplan
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 1400034582
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 450

Book Description
In Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts, acclaimed journalist Robert D. Kaplan continues his exploration of the American military's challenging and varied commitments around the world. From protecting sea lanes, to providing disaster relief, to preparing for potential military confrontation with North Korea and Iran, Kaplan describes the astonishing, vital, and often unacknowledged operations regularly performed by American military personnel in the air, at sea, and on the ground. Vivid and illuminating, this book takes us deep into the highly technical and exotic cultures of the armed forces, telling soldiers' stories from the perspective of the troops on the ground.

Empire of Water

Author: David Soll
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 080146806X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Book Description
Supplying water to millions is not simply an engineering and logistical challenge. As David Soll shows in his finely observed history of the nation’s largest municipal water system, the task of providing water to New Yorkers transformed the natural and built environment of the city, its suburbs, and distant rural watersheds. Almost as soon as New York City completed its first municipal water system in 1842, it began to expand the network, eventually reaching far into the Catskill Mountains, more than one hundred miles from the city. Empire of Water explores the history of New York City’s water system from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century, focusing on the geographical, environmental, and political repercussions of the city’s search for more water. Soll vividly recounts the profound environmental implications for both city and countryside. Some of the region’s most prominent landmarks, such as the High Bridge across the Harlem River, Central Park’s Great Lawn, and the Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County, have their origins in the city’s water system. By tracing the evolution of the city’s water conservation efforts and watershed management regime, Soll reveals the tremendous shifts in environmental practices and consciousness that occurred during the twentieth century. Few episodes better capture the long-standing upstate-downstate divide in New York than the story of how mountain water came to flow from spigots in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Soll concludes by focusing on the landmark watershed protection agreement signed in 1997 between the city, watershed residents, environmental organizations, and the state and federal governments. After decades of rancor between the city and Catskill residents, the two sides set aside their differences to forge a new model of environmental stewardship. His account of this unlikely environmental success story offers a behind the scenes perspective on the nation’s most ambitious and wide-ranging watershed protection program.

The Pirate King

Author: Graham A. Thomas
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1632208776
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
A compelling account of history's most famous pirate. The Pirate King is the compelling true story of a Welshman who became one of the most ruthless and brutal buccaneers of the golden age of piracy. The inspiration for dozens of fictionalized pirates in film, television, and literature—as well the namesake of one of the world’s most popular rum brands—Captain Sir Henry Morgan was matchless among pirates and privateers. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he was not hunted down and killed or captured by the authorities. Instead he was considered a hero in England and given a knighthood and eventually was made governor of Jamaica. As Graham Thomas reveals in this fresh biography of this complex and intriguing character, Morgan was an exceptional military leader whose prime motivation was to amass as much wealth as he could by sacking and plundering settlements, towns, and cities up and down the Spanish Main. Featuring graphic accounts of Morgan’s exploits, eventually leading to an unparalleled rise to power and legitimacy, The Pirate King is a riveting read sure to become a key text in pirate literature. Thomas dispels myths and separates fact from fiction as he presents an intriguing new portrait of one of history’s most compelling figures. Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Blue Water Patriots

Author: James M. Volo
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742561205
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Book Description
"The purpose of this book is to document the naval operations that took place during the American Revolution. These can be divided into two parts: those that took place before the French intervention of 1778, and those that took place thereafter"--Introduction

Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates

Author: Eric Jay Dolin
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 163149211X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 427

Book Description
With surprising tales of vicious mutineers, imperial riches, and high-seas intrigue, Black Flags, Blue Waters is “rumbustious enough for the adventure-hungry” (Peter Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle). Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the surprising history of American piracy’s “Golden Age” - spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s - when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. “Deftly blending scholarship and drama” (Richard Zacks), best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them. Through engrossing episodes of roguish glamour and extreme brutality, Dolin depicts the star pirates of this period, among them the towering Blackbeard, the ill-fated Captain Kidd, and sadistic Edward Low, who delighted in torturing his prey. Upending popular misconceptions and cartoonish stereotypes, Black Flags, Blue Waters is a “tour de force history” (Michael Pierce, Midwestern Rewind) of the seafaring outlaws whose raids reflect the precarious nature of American colonial life.

Empire of Blue Water

Author: Stephan Talty
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307236617
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 354

The Sack of Panamá

Author: Peter Earle
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429954892
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
Captain Henry Morgan's capture of the city of Panamá in 1671 is seen as one of the most audacious military operations in history. In The Sack of Panamá , Peter Earle masterfully retells this classic story, combining thorough research with an emphasis on the battles that made Morgan a pirate legend. Morgan's raid was the last in a series of brutal attacks on Spanish possessions in the Caribbean, all sanctioned by the British crown. Earle recounts the five violent years leading up to the raid, then delivers a detailed account of Morgan's march across enemy territory, as his soldiers contended with hunger, tropical diseases, and possible ambushes from locals. He brings a unique dimension to the story by devoting nearly as much space to the Spanish victims as to the Jamican privateers who were the aggressors. The book covers not only the scandalous events in the Colonial West Indies, but also the alarmed reactions of diplomats and statesmen in Madrid and London. While Morgan and his men were laying siege to Panamá , the simmering hostilities between the two nations resulted in vicious political infighting that rivaled the military battles in intensity. With a wealth of colorful characters and international intrigue, The Sack of Panamá is a painstaking history that doubles as a rip-roaring adventure tale.

Crimson Waters

Author: Don Mann
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510760415
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
A New York Times bestsellling author separates history from myth from the Pharaohs to Blackbeard and Captain Kidd to today. Soon after the first maritime trade routes became operational, seafaring bandits appeared to prey upon the cargo, crews, and ships of others. Crimson Waters traces the history of piracy around the globe, stretching back from its roots in 2500 BCE, through the Golden Age of Piracy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and up to the modern-day pirates who still threaten boats along coastlines and on the open seas. This journey through history includes: Evidence of "Sea People" during the reigns of Egyptian Pharaohs The raids and pillaging of seafaring Vikings The tales of Blackbeard, the Barbarossa Brothers, Calico Jack, Captain Kidd, Sir Francis Drake, and Madam Cheng A historical account of the real pirates of the Caribbean Pirates of the modern age and why the occupation has persevered And more! Crimson Waters satisfies all the armchair swashbucklers who long for a sense of adventure and the history buffs looking to spruce up their knowledge of maritime exploits.