Charles River

*Includes pictures of important people and places. *Explains the origins, history, and social structure of the Pawnee. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "All things in the world are two. In our minds we are two, good and evil. With our eyes we see two things, things that are fair and things that are ugly. We have the right hand that strikes and makes for evil, and we have the left hand full of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us to an evil way, the other foot may lead us to a good. So are all things two, all two." - Letakos-Lesa (Eagle Chief), a member of the Pawnee From the Trail of Tears to Wounded Knee and Little Bighorn, the narrative of American history is incomplete without the inclusion of the Native Americans that lived on the continent before European settlers arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the first contact between natives and settlers, tribes like the Sioux, Cherokee, and Navajo have both fascinated and perplexed outsiders with their history, language, and culture. In Charles River Editors' Native American Tribes series, readers can get caught up to speed on the history and culture of North America's most famous native tribes in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. One of the most famous Native American tribes on the Great Plains is the Pawnee, and they were also once one of the strongest groups in the region. At the turn of the 19th century, there were about 10,000 members spread across much of modern day Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and even into Missouri and Iowa. The Pawnee were able to thrive despite having strong neighbors to their west, most notably the Arapaho and the Lakota Sioux, and though the different Pawnee bands were autonomous, they also recognized the need to cooperate with each other to face various threats. For several centuries, the Pawnee lived in relatively sedentary communities, relying on agriculture in what is today known as America's "breadbasket", and anthropologists have found Pawnee settlements that date all the way back to the 13th century. Inevitably, however, European contact began to drastically affect the Pawnee's lifestyle, especially when horses were introduced to their societies. Like other groups on the Plains, the Pawnee eventually became more reliant on buffalo and thus more nomadic. Like other Native American groups in the region, the westward push by American settlers led to conflicts that nearly wiped out all of the Pawnee by the latter half of the 19th century. Nonetheless, the Pawnee were resilient enough to have their numbers bounce back, even as their lands were taken and they moved onto reservations. Today, the Pawnee live on reservations that are only a fraction of the size of the vast expanses they once controlled. Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Pawnee comprehensively covers the culture and history of the famous group, profiling their origins, their history, and their lasting legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about one of the most influential tribes of the Great Plains like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the crime and trial, including the confessions *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "A superman ... is, on account of certain superior qualities inherent in him, exempted from the ordinary laws which govern men. He is not liable for anything he may do." - Richard Loeb There has been no shortage of shocking crimes and trials that generated frenzied coverage across America, but few can lay claim to "crime of the century" like the murder carried out by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in 1924. While studying as young adults at the prestigious University of Chicago, Leopold and Loeb devised a meticulous plot to kidnap and murder a child while managing to get away with ransom money, thereby perpetrating what they considered a "perfect crime." On May 21, they put their plan in motion and targeted 14 year old Bobby Franks, who had the misfortune of being acquainted with Loeb. Franks was lured into a vehicle and brutally murdered before Leopold and Loeb dumped his body 25 miles away. When attempts at ransom went awry almost immediately, Leopold and Loeb tried to cover their tracks, only to have a special set of eyeglasses link Franks' murder back to Leopold. Barely less than a week after the murder, the "perfect crime" completely unraveled when Leopold and Loeb were brought in for formal questioning and confessed. The crime was horrific enough, but the trial brought even more attention to the case, and it touched on several crucial issues. Both young men cited the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche as a motivation for attempting to commit the crime and prove they were better than the common man. As Leopold told his own attorney, "The killing was an experiment It is just as easy to justify such a death as it is to justify an entomologist killing a beetle on a pin." Moreover, in addition to the killers' families hiring renowned defense lawyer Clarence Darrow, the crimes took place at a time when various forms of media were becoming ever more popular, particularly radio and film. Thus, the trial generated more coverage than just about any before it on the way to being billed as the "Trial of the Century," and Darrow did his best to prevent the boys from suffering the death penalty by citing other factors: "This terrible crime was inherent in his organism, and it came from some ancestor... Is any blame attached because somebody took Nietzsche's philosophy seriously and fashioned his life upon it?... It is hardly fair to hang a 19-year-old boy for the philosophy that was taught him at the university." Ultimately, the boys were given life sentences + 99 years for the kidnapping, which would lend its name to a memoir written by Leopold. For his part, Darrow would use his increased prestige to participate the following year in the famous Scopes Trial. Leopold and Loeb: The History and Legacy of One of 20th Century America's Most Notorious Crimes and Trials chronicles the shocking crime and the trial that followed. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Leopold and Loeb like never before, in no time at all.

En t rminos de geopol tica, quiz s el acontecimiento m s importante de la Edad Media fue el exitoso asedio otomano a Constantinopla en 1453. La ciudad hab a sido una capital imperial ya en el siglo IV, cuando Constantino el Grande cambi el centro de poder del Imperio Romano, estableciendo efectivamente dos mitades casi igualmente poderosas del imperio m s grande de la antig edad. Constantinopla seguir a siendo la capital del Imperio Bizantino incluso despu s de que la mitad occidental del Imperio Romano se derrumbara a finales del siglo V. Naturalmente, el Imperio Otomano tambi n usar a a Constantinopla como capital de su imperio despu s de que su conquista terminara efectivamente con el Imperio Bizantino, y gracias a su ubicaci n estrat gica, ha sido un centro comercial durante a os y sigue siendo uno de ellos hoy en d a bajo el nombre turco de Estambul. El fin del Imperio Bizantino tuvo un profundo efecto no s lo en el Medio Oriente sino tambi n en Europa. Constantinopla hab a jugado un papel crucial en las Cruzadas, y la ca da de los bizantinos signific que los otomanos ahora compart an frontera con Europa. El imperio isl mico fue visto como una amenaza por el continente predominantemente cristiano en el oeste, y tom poco tiempo para que diferentes naciones europeas empezaran a chocar con los poderosos turcos. De hecho, los otomanos chocar an con rusos, austr acos, venecianos, polacos y m s, antes de colapsar como resultado de la Primera Guerra Mundial, cuando formaban parte de los poderes centrales. La conquista otomana de Constantinopla tambi n desempe un papel decisivo en el fomento del Renacimiento en Europa occidental. La influencia del Imperio Bizantino hab a ayudado a asegurar que era el guardi n de varios textos antiguos, sobre todo de los antiguos griegos, y cuando Constantinopla cay , los refugiados bizantinos acudieron en masa al oeste para refugiarse en Europa. Esos refugiados trajeron libros que ayudaron a despertar el inter s por la antig edad, que aliment el renacimiento italiano y esencialmente puso fin a la Edad Media. El surgimiento del Imperio Otomano: La Historia del Establecimiento del Imperio Turco en el Medio Oriente y Europa del Este narra el surgimiento de uno de los imperios m s influyentes de la historia. Junto con fotos de personas importantes, lugares y eventos, usted aprender sobre el ascenso del Imperio Otomano como nunca antes.

*Analyzes the generalship of important generals like Grant, Lee and Beauregard. *Includes pictures of the battles' important generals. *Includes maps of the battles. *Includes accounts of the fighting written by generals and soldiers. *Includes a Bibliography of each battle for further reading. "The remarkable resistance of Beauregard's troops alone saved the city from capture on the 15th, 16th, and 17th." - Confederate cavalry officer Fitzhugh Lee After the last major pitched battle of the Overland Campaign was fought at Cold Harbor in early June, Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac had suffered more casualties during the campaign than Robert E. Lee had in his entire Army of Northern Virginia at the start of May. Understandably, the American public was shocked by the carnage, and to this day Grant has been accused of being a butcher, but attrition had become a vital war aim for the North, and Grant remained undeterred. Refusing to attack Lee in frontal assaults, and aware that Lee dared not venture out to counterattack, Grant nearly captured Richmond in mid-June by stealing a march on Lee's army and crossing the James River. With that, Grant's forces had a golden opportunity to capture Petersburg, a critical railroad hub and supply line for Richmond, before Lee even realized where they were. All that stood in their way was an elaborate set of defensive fortifications manned by just a few thousand men under the command of P. G. T. Beauregard, who had been the Confederate hero of Fort Sumter an First Bull Run but had fallen out of favor well before June 1864. As it would turn out, the fog of war, poor luck, and a skillful impromptu defense by Beauregard and his men, which at times consisted of young boys, old men, and wounded veterans, stopped Benjamin Butler from taking Petersburg on June 9 and then stopped Grant from taking Petersburg from June 15-18. Amazingly, Beauregard managed to defend Petersburg while being heavily outnumbered, at times having less than 15% of the armies opposing him, and despite the fact that he received virtually no reinforcements from Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during that time because Lee refused to believe Beauregard's reports that Grant's army had crossed the James and was no longer in Lee's front. Due to the amazing operations from June 9-18, and the failure to defeat Beauregard, Grant finally opted to start digging in and preparing for a long-term siege of Petersburg, which would last nearly 10 more months before he broke Lee's line and captured Petersburg. When Richmond fell the same day as Petersburg and Lee was forced to surrender less than a week later at Appomattox, it became clear just how badly the Union had squandered a golden opportunity back in June 1864. P. G. T. Beauregard Saves Richmond: The First and Second Battles of Petersburg comprehensively covers the campaign and the events that led up to the crucial battles, the fighting itself, and the aftermath of the campaign. Accounts of the fighting by important participants are also included, along with maps and pictures of important people, places, and events. You will learn about the first battles for Petersburg like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures *Profiles the forgotten sidekicks of icons like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Billy the Kid *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents Space may be the final frontier, but no frontier has ever captured the American imagination like the "Wild West", which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorful portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. In Charles River Editors' Legends of the West series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most famous frontier figures in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. The Wild West has made legends out of many men, and some of them, like Wild Bill Hickok and Jesse James, were celebrities during their lives. Indeed, the history of the West is often taught as though it was a history of larger-than-life figures like Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and several other men and women, some good, some bad, and many in between. Their actions have helped forge America's common heritage. While these figures are still popular today, they didn't live, fight, and die in isolation; they all had networks of friends and part-time associates, people who helped them escape from jail or capture wanted felons. Of course, these people also stood in their shadow. Western lore has given them the dismissive name of "sidekicks", but a closer look reveals that these lesser-known figures lived colorful lives of their own. This book profiles 4 of the most important but forgotten sidekicks of the West, from Sherman McMaster, who participated in Wyatt Earp's Vendetta Ride in the wake of the Gunfight at the O. K. Corral, to Doc Scurlock, who was an outlaw alongside Billy the Kid. Legends of the West: Forgotten Sidekicks of the Wild West traces the history of some of the important figures in the West and the roles they played in some of history's seminal moments. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about some of the West's forgotten sidekicks like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes detailed descriptions of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and Capone's other infamous gangland hits. *Explains the investigations by Ness and others that brought Capone down. *Includes pictures of Capone, Ness, and other important people, places, and events in their lives. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "Unquestionably, it was going to be highly dangerous. Yet I felt it was quite natural to jump at the task. After all, if you don't like action and excitement, you don't go into police work. And, what the hell, I figured, nobody lives forever " - Eliot Ness On February 14, 1929, members of Bugs Moran's North Side gang arrived at a warehouse on North Clark Street in Chicago, only to be approached by several police officers. The officers then marched them outside up against a wall, pulled out submachine guns and shotguns, and gunned them all down on the spot. A famous legend is that one of the shot men, Frank Gusenberg, dying from 14 gunshot wounds, told police that nobody shot him. Though Gusenberg's statement is probably apocryphal, nobody opened their mouths. Nobody was ever convicted for the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre," the most famous gangland hit in American history, but it's an open secret that it was the work of America's most famous gangster, Al Capone. Indeed, "Scarface" has captured the nation's popular imagination since Prohibition, managing to be the most notorious gangster in America while living a very visible and high profile life in Chicago. Born a Brooklyn tough, Capone engaged in a life of crime even as a teenager and had come to Chicago as a young man to smuggle liquor during Prohibition. Allying himself with Johnny Torrio, Capone began to accumulate power almost as quickly as he accumulated a reputation for being merciless, and after an attempted hit severely injured Torrio, the gang's operations were turned over to Capone. Despite his organized crime spree during the '20s, Capone was a popular figure in Chicago, viewed by many as a Robin Hood because he took pains to make charitable donations to the city. At the same time, he bribed government officials and cops, ensuring they looked the other way despite his violent ways of doing business. Throughout the decade, Capone was often out in public, despite several attempts on his life, and the gang war between Al Capone and Bugs Moran was well known and even celebrated to an extent. The man most famously associated with Capone's downfall, of course, is Eliot Ness, thanks in large measure to his own sensationalized version of the events that became the basis for the book Eliot Ness and the Untouchables." That work in turn spawned the memorable television series "The Untouchables", in which Robert Stack plays an intrepid Eliot Ness who has both seemingly omniscient detective skills and the ability to fight tommy-gun wielding gangsters in street battles. That portrayal of Ness was a mythological creation made for TV, but it has also cemented his legacy as the man who brought Al Capone down. "The Untouchables" has mostly obscured what the real man and his real work was like during that critical period, but it has also overshadowed the rest of Ness's life and career, which saw him mostly try and fail to parlay his success against Capone into success elsewhere. By the time Ness died, he was mostly down and out, and he had no clue that the book he was working on with writer Oscar Fraley would make him one of the most famous law enforcement officials in American history. Some have even dubbed him the patron saint of today's ATF. Scarface vs. Eliot Ness and the Untouchables chronicles Al Capone's rise through the mob, the efforts to stop him, and the way both men on opposite sides of the law have been remembered in American folklore. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Capone and Ness like you never have before.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the deception plan from Allied spies *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a Bodyguard of lies." - Winston Churchill During the first half of 1944, the Americans and British commenced a massive buildup of men and resources in the United Kingdom, while Allied Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower and military brass planned the details of an enormous and complex amphibious invasion of Europe. The most obvious place for an invasion was just across the narrow English Channel, and the Germans had built coastal fortifications throughout France to protect against just such an invasion. Cloaking the vastest amphibious landing in history in layers of shrouding misdirection represented an undertaking second only in ambitiousness to the grand seaborne invasion itself, yet with Operation Bodyguard, the Allies attempted precisely that task in regards to 1944's D-Day. Bodyguard would, if successful, confuse the Wehrmacht occupiers of France about the actual place where Operation Overlord would ultimately come ashore. The plan was to trick the Germans into thinking the expected invasion would come in late summer 1944, and would be accompanied by an invasion in Norway, Greece and elsewhere in Europe. The goal was to trick the Germans into defending areas away from the invasion, thus posing less threat to the success of the actual invasion, Operation Overlord. On an operational level it hoped to disguise the strength, timing and objectives of the invasion. The success or failure of these planned misdirections would have deadly serious consequences for the men wading ashore through the Normandy surf in early summer of 1944. The difference in the number and deployment of German forces facing them could determine if they successfully crashed through the west wall of Hitler's "Festung Europa" ("Fortress Europe") or found their decimated, bleeding remnants hurled back in defeat into the sea. Thanks to the misinformation, even as Nazi Germany's Atlantic Wall was strengthened, the deception tricked Hitler into keeping 13 divisions in Norway rather than reinforcing the Normandy peninsula. It had also tricked German High Command into believing that 89 Allied divisions were preparing to land, with enough landing craft to bring 20 divisions ashore. In actuality, the figures were 47 and 6 respectively. It would not have taken a genius commander to realize that an exhausted Britain and a U. S. Army fighting a multi-theatre war in the Pacific, Africa, Western Europe and Italy could not have fielded 87 divisions to attack Europe. Instead the Germans swallowed Allied misinformation hook, line and sinker. Statistics show the extent to which the German High Command were tricked by Allied deception plans. The Fifteenth Army, based at Pas de Calais, grew to a strength of 18 infantry and two panzer divisions. The Seventh Army, based in Normandy, had just 14 infantry and one panzer divisions. To make matters more complicated for the smaller force defending Normandy, the size of their theater of operations stretched for 995 miles of coastline. Rommel and von Rundstedt were both reminded of Frederick II's maxim, "He who defends everything, defends nothing." Without the deception, the Germans would have had free reign to maximize its forces at the point of attack in Normandy and with it, it is unclear whether the Allied invasion would have succeeded. Against such a formidable foe, however, the Allies needed to rely on every trick in the book. Operation Bodyguard: The History of the Allies' Disinformation Campaign Against Nazi Germany Before D-Day looks at the deception and its results. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Operation Bodyguard like never before.

*Includes pictures. *Includes quotes from Hardin's autobiography about his life and notorious events. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. "I never killed anyone who didn't need killing." - John Wesley Hardin Space may be the final frontier, but no frontier has ever captured the American imagination like the "Wild West", which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorful portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. In Charles River Editors' Legends of the West series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most famous frontier figures in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. America has always preferred heroes who weren't clean cut, an informal ode to the rugged individualism and pioneering spirit that defined the nation in previous centuries. After the early 19th century saw the glorification of frontier folk heroes like Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, a new breed of folk icons inhabited the Wild West, and one of the most notorious and controversial of them all is John Wesley Hardin, still regarded today as Texas' most deadly gunfighter and most famous outlaw. Outlaws like Jesse James and Billy the Kid robbed and fought their way into dime novels, but Hardin managed to write his own way in, all while his encounters with the law in the South during Reconstruction made him a hero of sorts among Southerners. Hardin managed a stint in prison, claimed to have killed dozens of men, had an encounter with Wild Bill Hickok, and was even alleged to have killed a man because he was snoring. Despite all that activity, Hardin also managed to write an autobiography of his life, a unique feat among most outlaws of the era, who were too busy merely trying to avoid justice and/or death. Of course, Hardin's claims in the autobiography have also been subjected to much scrutiny by historians, even as his reputation and legacy were hardened by his life and notorious death. While he had several documented and well-known brushes with the law and other famous Westerners, historians still attempt to sort out the facts from the legends. Legends of the West: The Life and Legacy of John Wesley Hardin chronicles the outlaw's life and examines the myths and legends surrounding his story. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Hardin like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures of important people and places. *Explains the origins, history, religion, and social structure of the Hopi *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "Before you take any decision, consider its effect on the next seven generations." - Hopi proverb From the "Trail of Tears" to Wounded Knee and Little Bighorn, the narrative of American history is incomplete without the inclusion of the Native Americans that lived on the continent before European settlers arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the first contact between natives and settlers, tribes like the Sioux, Cherokee, and Navajo have both fascinated and perplexed outsiders with their history, language, and culture. In Charles River Editors' Native American Tribes series, readers can get caught up to speed on the history and culture of North America's most famous native tribes in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. When European settlers and later American settlers came into contact with Native American tribes on the continent, they were frequently unable to differentiate between the subcultures within individual tribes, leading to all kinds of misunderstandings. As a result, one of the most misunderstood tribes is the Hopi, who were just one of the tribes that the Spanish categorized as Pueblo. Thus, while most Americans have heard of the Pueblo and Navajo, many remain unfamiliar with distinctions within the tribes. The Pueblo fascinated those who came across their settlements, especially those located in desert regions and the sides of cliffs that involved the use of adobe mud, stone, carving homes out of cliffs. One such settlement, Oraibi, was created by the Hopi around 1100 A. D. and remains one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in North America. The Spanish were so intrigued by the structure of the communities that they gave the natives the name Pueblo, a term they used to measure certain sizes for their own settlements. Today the names Hopi and Zuni are virtually synonymous with the Ancient Puebloan culture. Occupying a large portion of what is essentially the Navajo Nation Reservation, spanning Navajo and Coconino Counties on the edge of the Painted Desert, the Hopi (Ho-pee, a shortened form of Hopituh-Shi-nu-mu, meaning "peaceful people") are the westernmost of the Pueblo Native American groups. Though the Hopi claim no blood ties to the Navajo, and their cohabitational arrangement remains a source of continual conflict among the tribes, the federal government allotted the reservation to both ethnic groups. And while the Navajo make no ancestral claims to the ancient Puebloan culture, both the Hopi and Zuni (who live primarily in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River in western New Mexico) claim ancestral ties to many of the ancient Puebloan sites and share many of the same ancient traditions. Perhaps most importantly, the location of the Hopi, and all the contact between them and European settlers, have helped create a thorough understanding of their culture. Explorers and anthropologists who came to Oraibi also learned enough about the culture there to come to understand the links between the Hopi and other tribes. While they ultimately suffered a similar fate to other tribes and were settled onto a reservation, there are still over 10,000 Hopi today, and their history continues to fascinate researchers. Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Hopi (Pueblo) comprehensively covers the culture and history of the famous tribe, profiling their origins, their way of life, their famous leaders, and their lasting legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Hopi like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures. *Includes the child stars' quotes about their own lives and careers. *Includes bibliographies for further reading. Shirley Temple remains the most famous child star of all time, but even this designation fails to reflect the magnitude of her popularity during the era in which she worked. While it is true that she was not the first child actor to reach Hollywood fame, she was the first - and to this day, perhaps the only - star who rose to the very pinnacle of the Hollywood elite before she even turned 10 years old. For this reason, it is no exaggeration to view Shirley as the progenitor for all of the child actors that succeeded her. Moreover, her cultural importance constitutes an even more important barometer through which to measure her overall significance. Not only was Shirley a film star, but she had a monumental impact on a generation of children who grew up during the Great Depression, with her plucky optimism emotionally uplifting an American public struggling both financially and emotionally. She was not only a young actress but also a brand name, someone who offered fathers and mothers hope for their children to achieve the same success as the famous child star. Yet, for all of Shirley Temple's fame, it is no doubt surprising to many that her actual films received scant critical acclaim. Her films were never mentioned on critical "best of" lists, nor did they regularly appear on the list of nominees for the Academy Awards. In many ways, Judy Garland's rise to fame seems almost predestined. Not only was she a national sensation at a young age, but her parents and sisters were all vaudeville entertainers. On top of that, Garland's parents owned and operated a movie theater, making it all the easier to draw the conclusion that singing and acting were simply professions which she was born into by virtue of her pedigree. Judy's early childhood quickly demonstrated that she had a gifted voice that developed well beyond its years and seemingly did not require any formal training in order to achieve success; her first performance before a public audience came when she was still a toddler, and she would continue to act up until her death, never pausing for more than a few months at a time. That Garland was able to secure starring roles almost immediately after signing a contract with MGM in 1935 only corroborates the belief that Garland was practically born with the ability to succeed in show business and the motion picture industry. Of course, Garland might be known today based more on her demise than anything else, and there's no denying that one of the most fascinating (and tragic) aspects of her life story is the manner in which her downward spiral occurred with the same rapid progression as her meteoric ascent. Garland died in 1969 at the age of 47, but she had lost control over her life years earlier and was actually fortunate to live as long as she did. Alongside Shirley Temple and Judy Garland, with whom he acted in a series of films, Mickey Rooney was one of America's most beloved child stars during the 1930s. Rooney had already made his mark in A Family Affair (1937), but he was the face of the incredibly successful Andy Hardy series, which produced several box office hits and featured Rooney in 13 movies, several alongside Judy Garland, who shot to fame as a teen in The Wizard of Oz. At the same time, the fact that the peak of his success came when he was so young has helped obscure the fact that he has acted in 10 different decades. Rooney is one of the only actors still alive who worked in the silent film era, yet he recently appeared in 2012's Last Will and Embezzlement. In the process, Rooney has been awarded a Juvenile Academy Award, an Honorary Academy Award, two Golden Globes and an Emmy Award.

Includes pictures of important people and places. Explains the origins of the Gunfight at the O. K. Corral and the controversial details that continue to be debated today. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "The 26th of October, 1881, will always be marked as one of the crimson days in the annals of Tombstone, a day when blood flowed as water, and human life was held as a shuttle cock, a day to be remembered as witnessing the bloodiest and deadliest street fight that has ever occurred in this place, or probably in the Territory." - The Tombstone Nugget Space may be the final frontier, but no frontier has ever captured the American imagination like the "Wild West", which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorful portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. In Charles River Editors' Legends of the West series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most famous frontier figures in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Though they have long been overshadowed by their more famous brother Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp played decisive roles in some of the most famous events in the history of the Old West. Most notably, the two brothers were at Wyatt's side for America's most famous gunfight, the Gunfight at the O. K. Corral. Though the gunfight lasted less than a minute, it is still widely remembered as the climactic event of the period, representing lawlessness and justice, vendettas, and a uniquely Western moral code. Fought in the middle of Tombstone, Arizona, the gunfight pitted the three Earp brothers and Doc Holliday against Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury. By the time the 30 second gunfight was over, the McLaury brothers were dead in the street, Billy Clanton had suffered a painful and fatal gunshot wound to the chest, and Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp were all wounded. To this day, the motives behind the gunfight, and exactly how it all went down, remain heavily debated, but the aftermath of the gunfight is much better known. Both Virgil and Morgan were the targets of assassination attempts in the coming months, precipitating the Earp Vendetta Ride in 1882. The attention spent on the Gunfight and the Earp Vendetta Ride, as well as the fact that Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday are two of the most famous men of the West, have largely obscured the personal details of Virgil and Morgan. Legends of the West: Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp chronicle the lives and deaths of the two infamous brothers, while examining the roles they played in some of the West's most famous events. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Virgil and Morgan Earp like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Although the armies of the ancient Greek, or "Hellenic", city-states (poleis, singular polis) included both cavalry (hippeis) and light infantry (psiloi, peltastes, gymnetes), their mainstay was undoubtedly the heavy infantry known today as hoplites. Armed to the teeth with their distinctive round shield (aspis or hoplon), high-crested helmet (corys) and long spear (dory), the hoplites were some of the most efficient soldiers of their time. They fought in the tight phalanx formation, and beyond the confines of their small poleis, Greek hoplites were also prized as mercenaries throughout the ancient world. Most historians believe that the hoplite became the dominant infantry soldier in nearly all the Greek city-states around the 8th century BCE. Hoplites were responsible for acquiring their own equipment, so not every hoplite might have been equally armed, but considering the style of warfare, they needed as much uniformity as possible. Like most infantry outside of Greece, the hoplites also carried spears, but while the Persian weapons were short and light for example, the Greek spears were thick shafts anywhere between seven and nine feet long. These spears were topped by a 9-inch spearhead, with a "lizard-sticker" buttspike at the bottom which could be used as a secondary spearhead if the main weapon was snapped off, or to plant the spear upright when at rest. Each hoplite also carried a shortsword, designed specifically for thrusting in the close confines of a melee (the Spartan weapon, the xiphos, was so short as to be virtually a dagger, its blade barely over a foot long). For the Greeks, a hoplite was only as strong as the hoplite next to him; without hoplites on the sides, both flanks were exposed, and heavy infantry units are not mobile. Thus, they implemented the phalanx formation, one of history's most important military innovations. The phalanx was a line of infantry as wide across as the battlefield dictated, anything from five to 30 men deep, with each rank of men officered by a veteran. The formation also included an additional, expert file-closer at the back of each file, to keep the formation cohesive. It was only with the advent of the more mobile Roman legion, and the defeat of phalanxes in battles like Cynoscephalae (197 BCE) and Pydna (168 BCE), that the hoplite phalanx was finally outclassed, although not without a long fight: the last of Alexander's successor kingdoms, Ptolemaic Egypt, only fell in 31 BCE. While the Roman army is rightly famed as an institution, the image of the individual legionary is also an iconic one. The uniformed, disciplined soldier of the late Republic and early Empire is one of the first things many people imagine when they think of Rome. They are the ultimate image of the ancient soldier, their arms and armor instantly recognizable. Their abilities, not only as warriors but also as engineers and administrators, have made them role models for other soldiers through the centuries. In the same vein, their commanders are still celebrated and studied, and generals the world over have tried to emulate the likes of Julius Caesar. Moreover, one of the key ingredients to Rome's success was the military's complete willingness to incorporate discovered technologies. If a different weapon, type of armor, or basic equipment or artillery worked better than what they were using, the Romans were not afraid to adopt that piece of military hardware for their own uses. Thus, the Romans were almost always using the finest military equipment in the world, all of which had long since proven effective on the field of battle. Greco-Roman Warfare: The History and Legacy of the Phalanx and Legion Formations that Revolutionized the Ancient World examines how the Greeks and Romans changed the world.

*Includes pictures of Napoleon, Wellington and important people, places and events in their lives. *Includes maps of famous battles, including Austerlitz and Waterloo. *Answers common myths about Napoleon, including whether he was short, whether his men shot off the Sphinx's nose, whether he played chess, and whether he was poisoned. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "Courage cannot be counterfeited. It is the one virtue that escapes hypocrisy." - Napoleon "Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won." - Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo Waterloo is the most famous battle in modern history if not all of history, and appropriately so. Gathering an army of 100,000 men, Napoleon marched into what is now Belgium, intent on driving his force between the advancing British army under the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian forces under Marshal Blucher. It was the kind of daring strategy that only Napoleon could pull off, as he had at places like Jena and Austerlitz. At Waterloo, however, it would end disastrously, as Napoleon's armies were unable to dislodge Wellington and unable to keep the Prussians from linking up with the British. The battle would end with the French suffering nearly 60% casualties, the end of Napoleon's reign, and the restructuring of the European map. Simply put, the next 200 years of European history can be traced back to the result of the battle that day in 1815. When historians are asked to list the most influential people of the last 200 years, a handful of names might vary, but there is no question that the list will include Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), the most successful French leader since Charlemagne and widely acknowledged one of the greatest generals ever. Indeed, Napoleon was likely the most influential man of the 19th century, leaving an indelible mark on everything from the strategy and tactics of warfare to the Napoleonic Code that drafted laws across the continent. To defeat Napoleon, the Europeans had to form large coalitions multiple times, which helped bring about the entangling alliances that sparked World War I after Europe was rebuilt following Waterloo and the Congress of Vienna. By the time of his death, Wellington had been prime minister twice, a shrewd personal advisor to four British monarchs and one of the nation's most prominent politicians for three decades. But despite his nearly four decades of peacetime service in and out of politics, Wellington has remained one of the titans of the 19th century because of one June day in 1815. Then, as now, the Duke of Wellington is best remembered for defeating Napoleon in the most famous battle of modern history at Waterloo. Even then, the fact Wellington is remembered for Waterloo belies his extraordinary military career, which saw him come up through fighting in the Netherlands and India before opposing Napoleon's forces on the Iberian Peninsula for several years. By the time Wellington took command of allied forces during the Hundred Days Campaign and decisively finished the Napoleonic Era at Waterloo, he had participated in about 60 battles and was one of Britain's greatest war heroes. Meeting at Waterloo covers the lives and legacies of both leaders, including their fateful meeting in June 1815, but it also humanizes Napoleon and Wellington off the battlefield as well. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Napoleon and Wellington like you never have before.

*Includes pictures. *Explains Luther and Calvin's theological beliefs and their break with the Catholic Church. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. Born shortly after the invention of the printing press, Luther became one of Europe's best selling authors, along with others like Erasmus, and his theology was mass produced across Europe. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money, known as indulgences, and he confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, one of the most important religious writings of all time. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the Pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor. Luther, of course, did not back down. Although the story about him nailing 95 Theses to a church door is almost surely apocryphal, Luther continued that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology also continued to directly challenge the Pope's authority by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge. John Calvin (1509-1564) was one of the most important religious figures of the last millennium and an instantly recognizable name across the globe. Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation, and the period when he was most active, the 1530s and 1540s, was marked by increased complexity and the diffusion of the Reformation into several branches. Alongside Martin Luther, Calvin was one of the central Reformers, and after fleeing to Basel, Switzerland, he published the Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536. Calvin was a tireless and controversial worker who corresponded with other leading reformers of the day, but he was also a deeply theological man who published his own interpretations and teachings on Scripture. Today, he is chiefly remembered for the religious proponents that bear his name as Calvinists, and their steadfast devotion to the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation. Like anybody whose life was so influential, Calvin and Luther have both been the subject of many myths and legends, all of which have come to obscure the actual historical figures, even while they maximize the importance of their accomplishments. Martin Luther and John Calvin provides an objective and comprehensive overview of both men's lives and legacies.

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading The people who have lived outside the boundaries of normal societies and refused to play by the rules have long fascinated the world, and nowhere is this more evident than the continuing interest in the pirates of centuries past. As the subjects of books, movies, and even theme park rides, people continue to let their imaginations go when it comes to pirates, with buried treasure, parrots, and walking the plank all ingrained in pop culture's perception of them. The word "pirate" conjures up a romantic image of wild sea-faring rogues, living free on the high seas, and the pirates people usually think of lived during the Golden Age of Piracy, when fighting ships were powered by sail and fights between them were decided with cannons and boarding actions. Indeed, it would be an understatement to say that pop culture's perception of piracy and pirates has been primarily influenced by Captain Edward Teach, known to the world as Blackbeard, the most famous pirate of all time. An English pirate who terrorized the high seas near the Carolinas in the early 18th century, Blackbeard was the gold standard, and in the 300 years since his death he has inspired legends that have spanned books like Treasure Island. Of course, like any legendary figure, Blackbeard is remembered today based more on myths than reality. People continue to let their imaginations go when it comes to pirates, picturing them as the types who captured booty, hid buried treasure, and fought with superhuman strength. People have long claimed that pirates' ghosts still haunt the Atlantic Ocean - Blackbeard's contemporaries were so scared of him that they claimed to have seen his headless body swim around his pirate boat three times. In reality, there have been pirates of some sort throughout recorded history. Whether free-living criminals or the state-sponsored pirates known as privateers, the one constant has been the nature of their crimes. Pirates are seaborne bandits who use force of arms to steal from ships and coastal communities, yet their names have acquired a strange glamour. Due to their violent crimes, pirates and privateers were rightly feared by ordinary people in their own age, but distance has allowed the sense of violence to fade and the sense of adventure to rise. Some, like Sir Francis Drake and Captain Henry Morgan, became national heroes. Others, like Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read, became figures of legend, their style of living turned into children's stories and theme park rides, cleansed of its bloodshed and brutality. Pirates and Privateers: The History and Legacy of Commerce Raiding during the Age of Exploration explore the history of piracy, from ancient times to the modern age. We'll look at what life was like for pirates, particularly during the Golden Age of the Caribbean buccaneers. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about pirates and privateers like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the gang's most famous robberies written by Cole Younger *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents Space may be the final frontier, but no frontier has ever captured the American imagination like the "Wild West", which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorful portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. In Charles River Editors' Legends of the West series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most famous frontier figures in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. The Wild West has made legends out of many men after their deaths, but like Wild Bill Hickok, Jesse James was a celebrity during his life. However, while Hickok was (mostly) a lawman, Jesse James was and remains the most famous outlaw of the Wild West, with both his life of crime and his death remaining pop culture fixtures. James and his notorious older brother Frank were Confederate bushwhackers in the lawless region of Missouri during the Civil War. Despite being a teenager, James was severely wounded twice during the war, including being shot in the chest, but that would hardly slow him down after the war ended. Eventually James, his brother and their infamous gang became the most hunted outlaws in the country, but Jesse would famously be done in by the brother of his most trusted gang members. After Jesse moved in with the Ford brothers, Bob Ford began secretly negotiating turning in the famous outlaw to Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden. On April 3, 1882, as the gang prepared for another robber, Jesse was famously shot in the back of the head by Bob Ford as he stood on a chair fixing a painting. While conspiracy theories have continued to linger that somehow James was not killed on that day, the Ford brothers would celebrate their participation in his murder, Bob himself would be murdered a few years later, and Jesse James's legacy had been ensured. Meanwhile, Jesse's most famous associates, the Younger brothers - Cole, Jim, John, and Bob - were also some of the most feared bandits in the country. Rivaled only by Frank and Jesse James, with whom they often rode, they captured the imaginations of a not entirely unsympathetic public. Newspapers gave breathless accounts of their exploits and dime novels made up adventures they never had. In Cole Younger's self-serving and often unreliable autobiography, written shortly after being released from prison, Cole complained, "On the eve of sixty, I come out into the world to find a hundred or more of books, of greater or less pretensions, purporting to be a history of 'The Lives of the Younger Brothers, ' but which are all nothing more nor less than a lot of sensational recitals, with which the Younger brothers never had the least association. One publishing house alone is selling sixty varieties of these books, and I venture to say that in the whole lot there could not be found six pages of truth. The stage, too, has its lurid dramas in which we are painted in devilish blackness." Of course, the very nature of their business makes the Younger brothers hard to trace. Historians disagree on what robberies they participated in. One good estimate is that one or more of the Younger brothers, principally the eldest brother Cole, participated in a total of 12 bank robberies, seven train robberies, and four stagecoach robberies. Most of these robberies were done in league with the James brothers and many led to bloodshed, with at least 11 civilians being killed. Legends of the West: The History of the James-Younger Gang traces the history of the outlaws.

*Includes pictures *Covers the attempts to climb Everest from the 19th century to today *Includes accounts written by George Mallory, Edmund Hillary, and more *Includes a bibliography for further reading "Because it's there." - George Mallory's alleged response to the question of why he wanted to scale Mount Everest "While on top of Everest, I looked across the valley towards the great peak Makalu and mentally worked out a route about how it could be climbed. It showed me that even though I was standing on top of the world, it wasn't the end of everything. I was still looking beyond to other interesting challenges." - Sir Edmund Hillary People have been climbing as long as they've existed, and for those who relish the challenge, nothing can top Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on the planet at over 29,000 feet. As Sir Edmund Hillary put it, "It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." Elaborating on that, he also asserted, "I think I mainly climb mountains because I get a great deal of enjoyment out of it. I never attempt to analyze these things too thoroughly, but I think that all mountaineers do get a great deal of satisfaction out of overcoming some challenge which they think is very difficult for them, or which perhaps may be a little dangerous. I think that the fact that something has a spice of danger about it can often add to its attraction, and to its fascination." Of course, the sheer size of the mountain and its location in Asia all but precluded Westerners from even making such attempts before India became a colonial possession of the British. Once that was accomplished, however, scientists and explorers were able to report back in depth about the Himalayas and the biggest giant of them all. From that point forward, the race was on for those who aspired to climb Mount Everest, and several of these men have gone down in history, not just for their accomplishments but for their controversies. One of the earliest and most famous mountaineers to begin climbing Everest was George Mallory, who made several expeditions in the early 1920s in an attempt to reach the summit. While there is still a lingering debate over whether he actually succeeded in 1924, the goal of being the first documented individual to reach the peak continued until Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent of Everest in 1953. Naturally, even after that, people have continued to take on one of the most extreme challenges the world has to offer. In fact, climbing Mount Everest has become enough of a business that even those with no climbing experience can pay to make an attempt to summit with experienced guides. Given how treacherous the climb is, this has been frequently criticized (including by Hillary himself), and as recently as April 2014, 16 Sherpa guides were killed on the mountain by an avalanche, but interest in Everest remains as high as ever. Reaching the Summit of Mount Everest: The History of the Famous Expeditions Attempting to Climb the World's Tallest Mountain describes the mountain and the early attempts to reach the top before Hillary's successful climb. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Essex like never before, in no time at all.

*Analyzes the themes and progression of Beethoven's most famous works, comparing and contrasting them to each other and other composers' great works. *Includes pictures of important people and places in Beethoven's life. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. *Includes a list of Beethoven's works. "Don't only practise your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine." - Beethoven Among all of history's greatest musicians, few have been as admired or influential as Ludwig van Beethoven, whose name remains synonymous with composing. Works like his Fifth and Ninth symphonies remain instantly recognizable over 200 years after they were composed, and their sweeping and grandiose nature are made all the more amazing by the fact that their author was gradually going deaf and couldn't hear music very well by the time he was composing them. Similarly, the "Moonlight Sonata" and "F r Elise" are renowned across the world and are some of the most famous piano pieces of all time. At the same time, Beethoven's work ushered in a new era in art, helping the transition from the Classical era to the Romantic era. In the 180 years since his death, Beethoven has been enshrined by modern society as one of the most esteemed classical composers in the history of civilization, but he had a profound and immediate influence on the German musical lineage that would pass through Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss all the way to composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. At a time when music was very much viewed as science, Beethoven was a giant in the field, and as such he was viewed as a genius. As Beethoven himself once put it, "Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend." In terms of assessing the essence of Beethoven's era, character or musical output, no unqualified categorization is possible, for he straddled a titanic shifting of social ideologies, performance and compositional practices, intra-continental upheavals and an emergence of the championed self in all forms of civic and artistic expressions. The ideals of the Enlightenment, an intellectual tide that swept throughout the late 18th century and opened the door to a new individualism, did not remain static through his lifetime; Beethoven was shaped by the internal and societal bent for revolutionary thought, and he was eager to play his part as a public figure in reflecting and furthering its development. Indeed, by the late Classical age, which largely deemed music a science, it came to be admitted in even academic circles that "music is the inarticulate outpouring of emotion." Such a changing state of music's relationship to society allowed what some have called Beethoven's Promethean personality to prosper in his creative work. Ludwig van Beethoven: The Life and Music of the Great Composer comprehensively analyzes the themes and revolutionary advancements of Beethoven's music, looking at his most famous works and comparing and contrasting them. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Beethoven and his music like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures of Buffalo Bill and other important people, places, and events in his life. *Describes Buffalo Bill's famous Wild West show and its famous participants. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "The West of the old times, with its strong characters, its stern battles and its tremendous stretches of loneliness, can never be blotted from my mind." - Buffalo Bill Cody Space may be the final frontier, but no frontier has ever captured the American imagination like the "Wild West", which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorful portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind. In Charles River Editors' Legends of the West series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most famous frontier figures in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. The Wild West has made legends out of many men and women through the embellishment of their stories, but it was Buffalo Bill Cody who truly brought the Wild West to life and provided the images that people still associate with the 19th century West today. Though he had a long career that spanned service in the Civil War, trapping, and even a stint with the Pony Express, Buffalo Bill eventually became synonymous with his world-famous Wild West Show. By depicting stereotypical Western scenes like riding the Pony Express, and gunfights between cowboys and Indians, Buffalo Bill became one of the men most responsible for establishing how the public remembered the Wild West, and the show influenced subsequent film and literature. The show also featured several kinds of activities that are still part of rodeos today, including riding bucking broncos, roping livestock, and target shooting. Wild West Shows were popular in America during the late 19th century, but it was Buffalo Bill who would make it popular overseas and truly master the art of showmanship. Employing famous figures of the era, including Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull, Buffalo Bill managed to make national celebrities out of his show's participants, while also deftly promoting himself as the ultimate showman and making himself one of the most famous figures of the Wild West in the process. With plenty of experience shooting bison and riding for the Pony Express, Buffalo Bill would also participate as a cowboy in his own show, and it was even said he played the part of George Custer for Custer's Last Stand. Buffalo Bill's show, and his own legend, eventually turned him into a dime novel hero himself. While Buffalo Bill will always be associated with his Wild West Show, he was one of the few legends of the West to live a full life, and he did many other things in life that have been overshadowed by his success. Legends of the West: The Life and Legacy of Buffalo Bill Cody chronicles the Western icon's life, while also analyzing his legacy and the legends that surrounded his show and what they depicted. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Buffalo Bill like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes maps of battles Hood fought in and pictures of Hood and important people in his life. *Includes Hood's description of his fighting at Antietam, Gettysburg, Atlanta, and more. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "It could scarcely be said that any of the officers in Longstreet's corps] ... save one had by this date displayed qualities that would dispose anyone to expect a career of eminence. The exception was Hood. ... Anyone who had followed the operations of the Army after Gaines's Mill would have said that of all the officers under Longstreet, the most likely to be a great soldier was Hood." - Douglas Southall Freeman, Lee's Lieutenants The history of war is replete with examples of men who distinguished themselves in battle only to disgrace themselves after being promoted to commands above their capabilities. During the American Civil War, that man was John Bell Hood. Hood was one of the most tenacious generals in the Confederacy, for better and worse. This quality, which made him one of the best brigade and division commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia also made him ineffective when he was promoted to higher commands, forever marring his career at Atlanta and Franklin. The intimidating Texan began to make a name for himself as a brigade commander in the Army of Northern Virginia under new commander Robert E. Lee during the Seven Days Battles in 1862, after which he was promoted to division command. For the next several campaigns, he led a division under General James Longstreet's I Corps., fighting at places like Antietam and Fredericksburg. Hood was in the thick of the action on Day 2 at Gettysburg, suffering a bad wound that left his left arm permanently disabled. When Longstreet's command headed west, Hood suffered another wound at Chickamauga, leading to the amputation of his right leg. Hood was a popular figure in the South, where he was widely viewed as both gallant and chivalrous (Mary Chesnut wrote in her famous diary that Hood was "a beau-ideal of the wild Texans"). However, his reputation took an extreme hit in the final years of the war. In 1864, Joseph E. Johnston continued to move in the face of Sherman's armies back toward Atlanta, eventually leading to Hood's promotion to command of the Army of Tennessee. At this point, Hood was so damaged by his wounds that he needed assistance to even get on a horse. Nevertheless, Hood aggressively led a series of offensive attacks, failing to dislodge Sherman and only damaging his own army. Sherman eventually took Atlanta anyway. Hood's leadership only got worse during the final months of 1864, culminating in the Franklin-Nashville campaign in which he ordered a massive frontal attack at the Battle of Franklin that left many of his top officers, like Patrick Cleburne, dead on the field. Civil War historian Wiley Ford noted of the campaign, "Never had there been such an overwhelming victory during the Civil War-indeed, never in American military history." After losing the Battle of Nashville, Hood was relieved of command, and though he did not live long after the war, dying of yellow fever in 1879, he managed to write an account of his service in the Civil War, most of which sought to defend his record while pinning the blame for the Atlanta campaign on General Johnston. Given Hood's position in Longstreet's Corps and his experience in some of the Civil War's most famous battles, his memoirs were an insightful account given by a man uniquely distinguished to provide it. Reckless Bravery: The Life and Career of John Bell Hood looks at the life and record of a man who was both a Confederate hero and a Confederate goat during the Civil War. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about General Hood like you never have before, in no time at all.