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  Explorers of the Nile - The...

  Tim Jeal

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  A “highly enjoyable” account of six men, and one woman, who journeyed into uncharted and treacherous African terrain to find the source of the White Nile (The Washington Post).Nothing obsessed explorers of the mid-nineteenth century more than the quest to discover the source of the White Nile. It was the planet’s most elusive secret, the prize coveted above all others. Between 1856 and 1876, six larger-than-life men and one extraordinary woman accepted the challenge.Showing extreme courage and resilience, Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, James Augustus Grant, Samuel Baker, Florence von Sass, David Livingstone, and Henry Morton Stanley risked their lives and reputations in the fierce competition. National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Tim Jeal deploys fascinating new research to provide a vivid tableau of the unmapped “Dark Continent,” its jungle deprivations, and the courage—as well as malicious tactics—of the explorers.On multiple forays launched into east and central Africa, the travelers passed through almost impenetrable terrain and suffered the ravages of flesh-eating ulcers, paralysis, malaria, deep spear wounds, and even death. They discovered Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria and became the first white people to encounter the kingdoms of Buganda and Bunyoro. Jeal weaves the story with authentic new detail—and examines the tragic unintended legacy of the Nile search that still casts a long shadow over the people of Uganda and Sudan.“A fabulous story…old-fashioned epic adventure.”—The Sunday Times"Superb narrative…a must-read for anyone hoping to understand the internal dynamics of modern state-building in central Africa.”—Booklist

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  Poilu - The World War I...

  Louis Barthas

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  “An exceptionally vivid memoir of a French soldier’s experience of the First World War.”—Max Hastings, New York Times bestselling author   Along with millions of other Frenchmen, Louis Barthas, a thirty-five-year-old barrelmaker from a small wine-growing town, was conscripted to fight the Germans in the opening days of World War I. Corporal Barthas spent the next four years in near-ceaseless combat, wherever the French army fought its fiercest battles: Artois, Flanders, Champagne, Verdun, the Somme, the Argonne.   First published in France in 1978, this excellent new translation brings Barthas’ wartime writings to English-language readers for the first time. His notebooks and letters represent the quintessential memoir of a “poilu,” or “hairy one,” as the untidy, unshaven French infantryman of the fighting trenches was familiarly known. Upon Barthas’ return home in 1919, he painstakingly transcribed his day-to-day writings into nineteen notebooks, preserving not only his own story but also the larger story of the unnumbered soldiers who never returned. Recounting bloody battles and endless exhaustion, the deaths of comrades, the infuriating incompetence and tyranny of his own officers, Barthas also describes spontaneous acts of camaraderie between French poilus and their German foes in trenches just a few paces apart. An eloquent witness and keen observer, Barthas takes his readers directly into the heart of the Great War.   “This is clearly one of the most readable and indispensable accounts of the death of the glory of war.”—The Daily Beast (“Hot Reads”)

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  Napoleon's Defeat of the Habsburgs

  John H. Gill

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  This history of the 1809 Franco-Austrian War presents an in-depth chronicle Napoleon’s last great victory.   On April 10th, 1809, while Napoleon was occupied in Western Europe with the Peninsular War, the Austrian Empire launched a surprise attack that sparked the War of the Fifth Coalition. Though France would ultimately win the conflict, it would be Napoleon’s last victorious war. Even then, the margin of French superiority was decreasing. Archduke Charles, the best of the Habsburg commanders, led a reformed Austrian Army that was arguably the best ever fielded by the Danubian Monarchy.   Though caught off guard, the French Emperor reversed a dire strategic situation with stunning blows that he called his 'most brilliant and most skillful maneuvers'. Following a breathless pursuit down the Danube valley, Napoleon occupied the palaces of the Habsburgs for the second time in four years. He would win many battles in his future campaigns, but never again would one of Europe's great powers lie broken at his feet.   In Thunder on the Danube, historian John H. Gill tackles the political background of the war, including the motivations behind the Austrian offensive. Gill also demonstrates that 1809 was both a high point of the First Empire as well as a watershed, for Napoleon's armies were declining in quality and he was beginning to display the corrosive flaws that contributed to his downfall five years later. His opponents, on the other hand, were improving.

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  Beggar at the Banquet

  Donald Sheley

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  From a hovel in a North Korean town and the status of beggar that is total destitution, through dungeon, fire, and sword, to a place of high respect and honor, Dr. Hong's story will make you laugh, cry, and sigh.-Pastor Donald SheleySo begins the story of Dr. Woo Jun Hong. When he was living in a humble home in the village of Um-Jang Ni in North Korea, Woo Jun Hong had no idea what sweet and bitter roads lay ahead. He would experience imprisonment and persecution at the hands of the North Korean Communists; a daring escape to freedom in South Korea; trials and successes in starting a new life; the desire to help all the hungry, war-orphaned children; and the need to share his belief in Christ with all who would listen. With unwavering belief, Woo Jun Hong kept sight of his goals and opened what has become the largest Christian school in the world.The true story of this remarkable man and his work will be an inspiration to all who read it. The personal words of faith will provide encouragement for those who face life's challenges.

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  Rational Fog - Science and...

  M. Susan Lindee

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  Science and violence converge in modern warfare. While the finest minds of the twentieth century have improved human life, they have also produced human injury. They engineered radar, developed electronic computers, and helped mass produce penicillin all in the context of military mobilization. Scientists also developed chemical weapons, atomic bombs, and psychological warfare strategies. 
   
   
   
  Rational Fog explores the quandary of scientific and technological productivity in an era of perpetual war. Science is, at its foundation, an international endeavor oriented toward advancing human welfare. At the same time, it has been nationalistic and militaristic in times of crisis and conflict. As our weapons have become more powerful, scientists have struggled to reconcile these tensions, engaging in heated debates over the problems inherent in exploiting science for military purposes. M. Susan Lindee examines this interplay between science and state violence and takes stock of researchers' efforts to respond. 
   
   
   
  From the first uses of the gun to the mass production of DDT and the twenty-first-century battlefield of the mind, the science of war has achieved remarkable things at great human cost. Rational Fog reminds us that, for scientists and for us all, moral costs sometimes mount alongside technological and scientific advances.

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  Through the Wilderness of Dreams

  Robert Bosnak

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  Is it possible that the world of dreams is just as real as our waking life? Are our dreams more than just "suds from the brain"? And how can we be sure we aren't dreaming even now? A therapist who has worked with thousands upon thousands of dreams shares his provocative insights and stories about possibilities you may never have considered.

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