Showing titles in Weapons

After the Soviet Union proved to the United States that it possessed an operational intercontinental ballistic missile with the launch of Sputnik in October 1957, the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers engaged in a game of nuclear one-upmanship. Amid this rising tension, eccentric physicist Nicholas Christofilos brought forth an outlandish, albeit ingenious, idea to defend the US from a Soviet attack: detonating nuclear warheads in space to create an artificial radiation belt that would fry incoming ICBMs. Known as Operation Argus, this plan is the most secret and riskiest experiment in history, and classified details of these nuclear tests have been long obscured.

This is a book about how medieval weapons were used, according to medieval people who used them. It discusses the use of eight weapons or weapon combinations from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, selected with an eye toward their iconic status in popular culture, as well as five different combative contexts. The aim of this book is to familiarize the listener with the use of medieval weaponry in a general way. It is not a how-to book on martial arts, but the listener will come away with a fresh appreciation for the sophistication of medieval fencing.

The dropping of two atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their shocking aftermath finally ended World War II in the eastern theatre. But they weren't the only experimental weaponry at the time. In this fascinating account, Chris McNab examines the development of a range of hitherto unknown and at times shockingly effective weapons that were developed and unleashed on an unsuspecting world over the course of the war.

A U.S. Navy submarine officer. A diplomatic post in Kyiv. And five months to prepare for the largest European war since 1945. In the tradition of Herman Wouk's sweeping wartime sagas, Fallout of War is a military thriller set during the opening year of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, following Lieutenant Commander James Fairbanks from his September 2021 arrival as naval attaché at the American embassy in Kyiv through the first twelve months of full-scale war. Fairbanks arrives with his wife Lucy, a State Department analyst, and finds a country bracing for something most of the world refuses ...

This groundbreaking work provides an unprecedented, in-depth examination of the global arms trade as a sophisticated business enterprise, uncovering the logistical, financial, and strategic mechanisms that underpin one of the world’s most resilient industries. Moving beyond traditional narratives that cast arms dealing in purely moral or political terms, The Merchants of Death repositions the arms trade industry as a complex economic ecosystem defined by adaptability, alliances, and logistical prowess. Through meticulously researched case studies and incisive analysis, this work reveals ...

First Offensive: The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal by Henry I. Shaw, Jr. is a historical account written in the late 20th century. The book chronicles the pivotal Marine campaign during World War II, specifically focusing on the critical battle for Guadalcanal in 1942. It delves into military strategies, key figures, and the significance of the airfield constructed by the Japanese, along with the subsequent Allied operations to secure the region.

MiGs Over Nevada (CIA Area 51 Chronicles – Book 4) By TD Barnes Captured Soviet fighters. Top-secret dogfights. The CIA’s covert air war at Area 51. With the retirement of the A-12 reconnaissance plane, Area 51 seemed destined for a quieter existence. But instead, it became the center of a groundbreaking intelligence operation that would transform U.S. aerial warfare forever. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), in partnership with the CIA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy, launched an unprecedented program to exploit captured Soviet MiG aircraft, revealing enemy capabilities and ...

My Tank Is Fight! contains a humorous and exciting examination of 20 real inventions from World War II that never saw the light of day. Each entry includes full technical details, a complete development history, in-depth analysis, and a riveting fictionalized account of the invention's success or failure on the battlefield.

Americans have always loved guns. This special bond was forged during the American Revolution and sanctified by the Second Amendment. It is because of this exceptional relationship that American civilians are more heavily armed than the citizens of any other nation. Or so we're told. In The Gunning of America, historian Pamela Haag overturns this conventional wisdom. American gun culture, she argues, developed not because the gun was exceptional but precisely because it was not.

Here are the extraordinary tales behind the ingenious weapons and technological wizardry that determined the outcome of the war. From radar, huff-duff (high-frequency direction finding), invisible radio beams, electronic-guidance systems, homing devices, and submarine-detection equipment, Breuer deftly exposes the gargantuan efforts employed by both adversaries and the fascinating details of the high-stakes warfare waged behind the well-known scenes of combat.

How the Military-Industrial Complex Shapes Technological Progress By Kevin L. Michel A groundbreaking exploration of how war, security, and innovation have shaped the modern world—and the urgent question of whether we can redirect technological progress toward a more just and sustainable future. For centuries, military research and innovation have fueled some of humanity’s most transformative technologies. From gunpowder and nuclear energy to the internet, GPS, and artificial intelligence, many of today’s most powerful tools were first developed under the banner of national security. ...

If you are a fan of video games or action movies, you would probably marvel about snipers and think they possess an unreal ability. What makes your thoughts toward snipers more amazing is that there have been snipers who have done extraordinary things in service of their nation. If you have done your research on the Vietnam War, you may be familiar with the individual that is about to be looked at.

In November 1944, the U.S. Navy fleet lay at anchor in Ulithi Harbor, deep in the Pacific Ocean, when the oiler USS Mississinewa erupted in a ball of flames. Japan's secret weapon, the Kaiten - a manned suicide submarine - had succeeded in its first mission. The Kaiten was so secret that even Japanese naval commanders didn't know of its existence. And the Americans kept it secret as well. Embarrassed by the shocking surprise attack, the U.S. Navy refused to salvage or inspect the sunken Mighty Miss.

Breaking the German Enigma codes was not only about brilliant mathematicians and professors at Bletchley Park. There is another aspect of the story which it is only now possible to tell. It takes in the exploits of spies, naval officers and ordinary British seamen who risked, and in some cases lost, their lives snatching the vital Enigma codebooks from under the noses of Nazi officials and from sinking German ships and submarines. This book tells the whole Enigma story.

Cognitive Warfare in the Age of Unpeace: Strategies, Defenses, and the New Battlefield of the Mind is a definitive examination of the emergent arena of cognitive warfare—a battlefield where consciousness and cognition are under siege. Rooted in the historical lineage of warfare, this seminal tome charts a course from the stratagems of yesteryear's influence operations to the digital subversions that define our current epoch. The book is structured to provide a layered understanding of the subject. Part I lays the foundation, explaining how the age of unpeace has given rise to a new form ...

RUSSIAN EUROPEAN WAR 2027 A near-future technothriller where the first strike arrives without warning—though everyone saw it coming. June 22, 04:00. The Suwałki Gap—long feared, long studied—finally triggers the war no one wanted but everyone expected. The Baltics come under attack by hybrid forces and freshly declared “people’s republics.” Gotland is blockaded and hit without a declaration of war. New “republics” appear overnight across Europe. Drone swarms cut into harbors; fake “embassies” issue real ultimatums; a civilian Il-76 declares an emergency landing. NATO ...

From Afghanistan's Hindu Kush peaks and sunbaked Helmand Valley to Baghdad, Mosul and Ramadi in Iraq, American snipers have braved heart-pounding situations to hit their human targets dead-on. Few military feats stir the imagination like the image of a pair of riflemen waiting quietly in a building, a bomb crater, or a mountain pass for a Taliban or Al Qaeda fighter to walk into their crosshairs. Sniper presents real-life tales from the military's frontline snipers---their hits and their misses, the anguish of loss, and the anxiety of the first kill.

Paul Struhsaker’s new book, How the Hell Did We Get Here? is a comprehensive guide to this emerging new Cold War and our need to rebuild deterrence. The book unpacks the players and politics that have brought us to the brink of world war and how deterrence, the application of soft and hard power, can restore peace. Deterrence is a complex subject. Historically, the subject of Cold War deterrence and resilience has been dealt with piecemeal, and a comprehensive overview of deterrence has not been available. The purpose of this book is to fill that void.

Many weapons and inventions were credited with winning World War II, most famously in the assertion that the atomic bomb "ended the war, but radar won the war." What is less well known is that both airborne radar and the atomic bomb were invented in British laboratories, but built by Americans. The same holds true for many other American weapons credited with the Allied victory: the P-51 Mustang fighter, the Liberty ship, the proximity fuze, the Sherman tank, and even penicillin all began with British scientists and planners.

Since their introduction, aircraft have become a key aspect of any conflict between nations. Aircraft are used to provide reconnaissance, transportation, airborne radar, electronic jamming, air-to-air combat and of course ground attack. Ground attack is performed by a range of aircraft types encompassing strategic (bombers), tactical bombers (fighter-bombers) and helicopters. Ground attack weapons launched from these aircraft include guided and unguided bombs, rockets, guided missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and cannon fire. Ground targets include enemy AFV’s, artillery ...