Charles River

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading North Korea has long been the butt of jokes, and it has been a longstanding target of international criticism, but the startling satellite image was anything but amusing, for it demonstrated the truly catastrophic conditions North Koreans find themselves in. Statistics show that the average South Korean uses up to 10,162 kilowatt hours of power per year, whereas their neighbors in the north consume only 739. This is only one amongst a slew of stumbling blocks affecting the state, impeding it from proper progress. North Korea would be horrific enough if it was a fictional place, but its nuclear weapons program is all too real. On September 17, 2017, President Donald Trump, whose use of Twitter may be what he's best known for, tweeted another nickname of the type he has infamously coined for his opponents: "I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad " The "Rocket Man" in question, of course, was none other than the notoriously brutal and wildly erratic North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un. In less than 24 hours, the viral tweet had not only racked up tens of thousands of retweets and triple the "likes," it had spawned countless Elton John-themed memes and inspired headlines from just about every news source around the world. Capitalizing on the viral nature of the controversial tweet, Trump repeated the nickname just a few days later in his speech before the UN General Assembly. He warned the congregation of fidgety ambassadors about the grave threats posed by North Korea's "depraved regime." "The United States had great strength and patience, but if forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea... Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime." Needless to say, the rumors regarding Iran's nuclear capabilities and the murky nature of the regime have understandably left many a nation and their leaders on the edge of their seats. The volatile nation's deep-seated loathing of the West, particularly the United States and Israel, have only added to the jitters worldwide. Experts insist that the Iranian propaganda program, which many say outrival even North Korea's, is chiefly responsible for entrenching into its masses this resentment of the West and their liberal ideals. For starters, Iranians are taught that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, untouchable in the government's eyes, deserve their utmost respect and gratitude, as these are the intrepid warriors defending their country from the ceaseless threats of the Western infidels. Unlike North Korea, which proudly walls itself off from the rest of civilization, the Iranian propaganda mills are constantly refurbishing themselves so as to appeal to a younger and more impressionable demographic. Since the Iranian Revolution, Western nations and their intelligence agencies have struggled to fully grasp what goes on in Iran, and it has resulted in a situation that reads like a spy thriller. The last decade has featured the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, the use of sophisticated cyberattacks like Stuxnet, the construction of a hidden enrichment facility underneath a mountain, ongoing arguments over the nature of Iran's nuclear program, efforts to determine whether there was potential procurement and testing of materials that would be used in nuclear weapons, debates over ballistic missiles, and a 2015 agreement between Iran and several world powers that remains a controversial issue to this day. There is even substantial concern that Iran and North Korea are jointly working on their nuclear programs, with Iranian scientists witnessing North Korean nuclear weapons tests and North Korean scientists in Iran overseeing research and development.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the fighting *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading The waters of the Pacific Ocean - stretching deep blue under the tropical sun, or scourged by typhoons - provided World War II's most far-flung battlefield. Two of the world's premier mid 20th century maritime powers, the United States of American and the Empire of Japan, grappled for supremacy across that vast expanse. By the time the Battle of Midway was over in June 1942, the defeat was so devastating for Japan that it was actually kept secret from all but the highest echelons of the Japanese government. Along with the loss of hundreds of aircraft and over 3,000 men killed, the four Japanese aircraft carriers lost, when compared to America's one lost carrier, was critical considering America's huge shipbuilding superiority. The protagonists at Midway were putting into practice a newly emerging naval doctrine, one which ultimately meted out a terrible punishment to the side that miscalculated. Carrier versus carrier combat had come of age. From that point forward, it would be the Americans who operated aggressively across the Pacific. The Guadalcanal Campaign, which ran from August 1942 to February 1943, was a bitter and protracted struggle that also happened to be a strange and transitional confrontation quite unlike any other in the long Pacific War. In conjunction with the American victory at the Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal represented the crucial moment when the balance of power in the Pacific tipped in favor of the Allies, but the idea that Guadalcanal would be such a significant battle would have come as a surprise to military strategists and planners on both sides. By the spring of 1943, American military planners had begun to create a plan to dislodge Japan from east and southeast Asia. To do so, parts of the Philippines were considered main strategic points in the potential Allied attack in the Pacific. The end goal of the Allied plan was an invasion of the Japanese home islands, in which heavy aerial bombardment would precede a ground assault. In order for this to occur, Allied forces would have to occupy areas surrounding Japan, with China adding to Luzon (the largest island in the Philippines) and Formosa (a large island off the coast of China) to create a triangle from which they could launch their bombers. The Allied advance across the Pacific was based on this 1943 plan, with General MacArthur and his forces moving to the north through New Guinea, then Morotai Island, and then to Mindanao, which was the southernmost major island in the Philippines chain. At the same time, Admiral Chester Nimitz sent his fleet through the central Pacific, where they engaged Japanese forces at the Gilbert, Marshall, Marianas and Palau Islands en route to Mindanao. Meanwhile, when Admiral Nimitz was directed to capture an island in the Bonin group, Iwo Jima stood out for its importance in making progress against the mainland, with three airfields that would allow American air forces to attack the Japanese mainland. Near the end of 1944, as Allied forces were pushing across the Pacific and edging ever closer to Japan, plans were drawn up to invade the Ryuku islands, the most prominent of them being Okinawa. Military planners anticipated that an amphibious campaign would last a week, but instead of facing 60,000 Japanese defenders as estimated, there were closer to 120,000 on the island at the beginning of the campaign in April 1945. The Battle of Okinawa was the largest amphibious operation in the Pacific theater, and it would last nearly 3 months and wind up being the fiercest in the Pacific theater during the war, with nearly 60,000 American casualties and over 100,000 Japanese soldiers killed. In addition, the battle resulted in an estimated 40,000-150,000 Japanese civilian casualties.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the fighting *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading In the summer of 1866, Colonel Henry B. Carrington set out from Fort Laramie to establish a series of forts along the Bozeman Trail with the goal of protecting migrants moving along the trail. The Bozeman Trail ran through the Powder River country, which included the traditional hunting grounds of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho peoples. Carrington had about 1,000 people in his column, of which about 700 were soldiers and 300 were civilians, likely soldiers' families and migrants. The colonel established Fort Phil Kearny as his headquarters and based 400 troops and most of the civilians there. During the construction of Fort Kearny, which lasted months, Native Americans killed several dozen soldiers and civilians in some 50 separate attacks. The attacks were largely focused on the "wood trains", comprised of soldiers and civilians harvesting lumber from the surrounding forest for the construction of the fort. Though younger warriors like Crazy Horse conducted the actual attack, Red Cloud and other, older leaders would help plan and direct the harassment and interdiction campaign against the construction of Fort Kearny. On December 21, Native Americans again attacked a wood train, and Carrington dispatched a mixed force of about 50 infantrymen and nearly 30 cavalry troopers and Colonel Carrington again chose Captain Powell to lead the relieving force, but Fetterman asserted his seniority to Powell and was thus given command of the soldiers. Again, Carrington ordered the troops not to pursue the warriors over the nearby ridge and out of sight of the fort. When Fetterman left the fort, he immediately disobeyed orders and took the trail that followed the ridgeline. Meanwhile, the Native American warriors had deployed a group of decoying riders, including Crazy Horse, who lured Fetterman's troops over the ridge and into the waiting ambush. At the time, the Fetterman Massacre, as U. S. newspapers labeled the event, was the greatest defeat (in terms of the number of U. S. soldiers killed) experienced by the Army at the hands of Native American warriors. On the morning of June 25, 1876, George Custer's scouts discovered a Native American village about 15 miles away in the valley of the Little Bighorn River. Choosing to disregard his superiors' orders to wait for a concerted effort, the grandstanding Custer intended to deliver his own decisive victory by dividing his command into three units, an extremely bold tactic when done in the face of a much larger force. Due to their belief in the inferiority of the Plains Indians, and mindful of previous Indian tactics that sought to avoid pitched battle, Custer and his men were most concerned with forcing the action and failed to understand the true nature of the situation they had entered. The Native American gathering, centered around the famous Sioux chief Sitting Bull, numbered roughly 8,000 individuals, and about 2,000 of them were warriors. Custer's forces amounted to a mere 31 officers, 566 troopers, and 50 scouts and civilians, and they had been split into three columns in order to stop a possible retreat. Before the battle, it is believed Custer thought he was facing a group of about 800, which was Sitting Bull's strength in the weeks before the battle. However, the Army's Native American scouts and civilian scouts had not adequately informed the Army of the reinforcements that arrived, and at Little Bighorn, Custer's three-pronged attack was completely overwhelmed. How Custer met his fate, and whether there even was a Last Stand, remain subjects of debate, but what is known is that the Battle of the Little Bighorn was one of the U. S. military's biggest debacles. All told, the 7th Cavalry suffered over 50% casualties, with over 250 men killed and over 50 wounded.

"Con frecuencia he encontrado la felicidad despu s de alg n paso imprudente que deb a haber provocado mi ruina y, aunque censur ndome, agradezco a Dios por su misericordia". - Casanova Contrario a la leyenda libidinosa, como ha sido vista a trav s del lente rosa de Hollywood, el Giacomo Casanova real no pose a la mand bula fuerte y cincelada de Heath Ledger, o los penetrantes ojos azules cual lagunas de Richard Chamberlain. M s bien, los retratos del Casanova real muestran un rostro simple, incluso poco memorable, de mand bula pastosa, nariz prominente, un poco torcida, y ojos saltones y muy juntos. En esencia, aunque ciertamente no era poco atractivo, estaba lejos de ser alguien que llegar a a ser visto como sin nimo de mujeriego. De cualquier manera, Casanova fue part cipe de cientos de encuentros rom nticos y, lo que fuera que el hombre careciera en atractivo f sico, lo compensaba indudablemente con su encanto, m stica y magnetismo animal. Era tambi n bastante pragm tico y realista acerca de todo eso: "El amor verdadero es aquel que surge a veces despu s del placer sensual: si lo hace, es inmortal; el otro tipo inevitablemente caduca, porque se basa en mera fantas a". De hecho, las fabulosas haza as er ticas del cautivadoramente carism tico Casanova fueron tan espectaculares que su apellido ha sido inmortalizado con su propia entrada en el Diccionario de la Real Academia Espa ola (entre muchos otros reputados diccionarios): "Hombre famoso por sus aventuras amorosas". Aunque Casanova ha quedado cimentado en la cultura popular, por sobre todo lo dem s, como un amante licencioso y de mucha labia, el hombre estaba titilantemente envuelto en capas de astuto enga o, c lculo cuidadoso y un inextinguible anhelo de aventura. Jug muchos roles, sin embargo cada uno parec a estar dise ado especialmente para l, ya que no era un simple aventurero con un apetito sexual insaciable; era un agudo art fice de la palabra, un sanador m stico, esp a veterano y genio de la improvisaci n que guardaba infinitos trucos bajo los faralaos de sus mangas. Ir nicamente, parece que el propio Casanova, aunque orgulloso de sus escapadas sonrojantes, tem a ser recordado simplemente como uno de los primeros "Hugh Hefner" de la historia. De igual manera, no quer a que ni un s lo detalle fuera alterado u omitido de su rica y fascinante vida, raz n por la cual decidi escribir una autobiograf a de doce vol menes, secciones de la cual son a n consideradas por muchos hombres como un manual para la seducci n y desfloraci n de mujeres "virtuosas". Por otro lado, los historiadores modernos alaban sus memorias como uno de los m s v vidamente descriptivos y precisos retratos de las normas y costumbres de la Europa del siglo XVIII. Una comisi n del gobierno franc s lleg incluso a reconocerlas como "tesoro nacional". Pero, eran merecidas toda la celebridad y loas que tan a menudo le llov an al hombre? o era acaso l nada m s que un perverso lujurioso carente de moral? De examinarse detenidamente las p ginas de la vida de Casanova, r pidamente se notar an las realidades desagradables y oscuras de sus insinuaciones amorosas, algunas de las cuales lo ubicar an en el fondo de la cadena alimenticia de las prisiones modernas. Uno de sus contempor neos, el Pr ncipe Charles de Ligne, tal vez lo resumi mejor cuando dijo de Casanova: Las nicas cosas sobre las que no sabe nada son aquellas de las que se considera un experto: las reglas del baile, el lenguaje franc s, el buen gusto, c mo se mueve el mundo, savoir vivre. Son s lo sus comedias que no son graciosas, s lo sus trabajos filos ficos que carecen de filosof a, todo lo dem s est lleno de ella; siempre hay algo de sustancia, nuevo, estimulante, profundo. l es una fuente de conocimiento, pero cita a Homero y Horacio ad nauseam. Su agudeza y sus ocurrencias son como sal tica. Es sensible y generoso, pero disg stalo en lo

"Con frecuencia he encontrado la felicidad despu s de alg n paso imprudente que deb a haber provocado mi ruina y, aunque censur ndome, agradezco a Dios por su misericordia". - Casanova Contrario a la leyenda libidinosa, como ha sido vista a trav s del lente rosa de Hollywood, el Giacomo Casanova real no pose a la mand bula fuerte y cincelada de Heath Ledger, o los penetrantes ojos azules cual lagunas de Richard Chamberlain. M s bien, los retratos del Casanova real muestran un rostro simple, incluso poco memorable, de mand bula pastosa, nariz prominente, un poco torcida, y ojos saltones y muy juntos. En esencia, aunque ciertamente no era poco atractivo, estaba lejos de ser alguien que llegar a a ser visto como sin nimo de mujeriego. De cualquier manera, Casanova fue part cipe de cientos de encuentros rom nticos y, lo que fuera que el hombre careciera en atractivo f sico, lo compensaba indudablemente con su encanto, m stica y magnetismo animal. Era tambi n bastante pragm tico y realista acerca de todo eso: "El amor verdadero es aquel que surge a veces despu s del placer sensual: si lo hace, es inmortal; el otro tipo inevitablemente caduca, porque se basa en mera fantas a". De hecho, las fabulosas haza as er ticas del cautivadoramente carism tico Casanova fueron tan espectaculares que su apellido ha sido inmortalizado con su propia entrada en el Diccionario de la Real Academia Espa ola (entre muchos otros reputados diccionarios): "Hombre famoso por sus aventuras amorosas". Aunque Casanova ha quedado cimentado en la cultura popular, por sobre todo lo dem s, como un amante licencioso y de mucha labia, el hombre estaba titilantemente envuelto en capas de astuto enga o, c lculo cuidadoso y un inextinguible anhelo de aventura. Jug muchos roles, sin embargo cada uno parec a estar dise ado especialmente para l, ya que no era un simple aventurero con un apetito sexual insaciable; era un agudo art fice de la palabra, un sanador m stico, esp a veterano y genio de la improvisaci n que guardaba infinitos trucos bajo los faralaos de sus mangas. Ir nicamente, parece que el propio Casanova, aunque orgulloso de sus escapadas sonrojantes, tem a ser recordado simplemente como uno de los primeros "Hugh Hefner" de la historia. De igual manera, no quer a que ni un s lo detalle fuera alterado u omitido de su rica y fascinante vida, raz n por la cual decidi escribir una autobiograf a de doce vol menes, secciones de la cual son a n consideradas por muchos hombres como un manual para la seducci n y desfloraci n de mujeres "virtuosas". Por otro lado, los historiadores modernos alaban sus memorias como uno de los m s v vidamente descriptivos y precisos retratos de las normas y costumbres de la Europa del siglo XVIII. Una comisi n del gobierno franc s lleg incluso a reconocerlas como "tesoro nacional". Pero, eran merecidas toda la celebridad y loas que tan a menudo le llov an al hombre? o era acaso l nada m s que un perverso lujurioso carente de moral? De examinarse detenidamente las p ginas de la vida de Casanova, r pidamente se notar an las realidades desagradables y oscuras de sus insinuaciones amorosas, algunas de las cuales lo ubicar an en el fondo de la cadena alimenticia de las prisiones modernas. Uno de sus contempor neos, el Pr ncipe Charles de Ligne, tal vez lo resumi mejor cuando dijo de Casanova: Las nicas cosas sobre las que no sabe nada son aquellas de las que se considera un experto: las reglas del baile, el lenguaje franc s, el buen gusto, c mo se mueve el mundo, savoir vivre. Son s lo sus comedias que no son graciosas, s lo sus trabajos filos ficos que carecen de filosof a, todo lo dem s est lleno de ella; siempre hay algo de sustancia, nuevo, estimulante, profundo. l es una fuente de conocimiento, pero cita a Homero y Horacio ad nauseam. Su agudeza y sus ocurrencias son como sal tica. Es sensible y generoso, pero disg stalo en lo

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading There are few mythological characters that require less of an introduction than Hercules. His "labours" are known and have been reimagined by cultures far beyond their Greek beginnings, and he continues to influence modern culture in more ways than any other ancient Greek hero. What is curious about Hercules's character is that, despite his fame even in the ancient world, there was no authoritative source for his biography. The Library of Myths, commonly though falsely attributed to Apollodorus, is frequently used to illustrate the key episodes of Hercules's life. Despite being written at some time during the 2nd century CE, the Library encapsulates much of the "conglomerate of popular tales" that has become Hercules's vulgate biography. Ultimately, though these tales are well known, their true beauty lies in the social and religious influence of their telling and the historical memories that remain, to this day, as shadows in their lines. The story of Jason and his crew of Argonauts is one of the best-known and most beloved myths of all time. Blockbuster movies have been made about it, and legendary explorer and historian Tim Severin even constructed a replica of the Argo in 1984 and succeeded in sailing it to Colchis (modern-day Georgia). In the ancient world too, this myth was told and retold time and again. The best source of the myth available to the modern reader (generally considered to be Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautica) comes from the Hellenistic Period (ca. 323-31 BCE), which is very late in terms of most sources available for Greek myth. This means that the story written at that time had already been exposed to centuries of influences and additions. However, mythology is not the study of a story's beginnings alone, and very often, it is the changes and adaptations that provide the story with its most fascinating characteristics. The vague geography of the Argo's story will become apparent, but it's also important, because there are numerous theories as to why the ancient writers may have charted the journey as they did. The Argo's journey was as revelatory to Jason as it was to the late ancient Greek readers/listeners, since it incorporated many of the mythical, political, and cultural themes that pervaded myths throughout the Mediterranean. These themes accumulated with every revision and retelling of the story until it became a central motif in the Greek mindset, with strands linking it to myth, peoples, and places. It is this story of multitudes that contains the most fascinating curios of Jason and the Argonauts. Hercules & Jason and the Argonauts: The Legendary Stories of Ancient Greece's Most Famous Heroes looks at the famous myths. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Hercules and Jason and the Argonauts like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading There are few mythological characters that require less of an introduction than Hercules. His "labours" are known and have been reimagined by cultures far beyond their Greek beginnings, and he continues to influence modern culture in more ways than any other ancient Greek hero. What is curious about Hercules's character is that, despite his fame even in the ancient world, there was no authoritative source for his biography. The Library of Myths, commonly though falsely attributed to Apollodorus, is frequently used to illustrate the key episodes of Hercules's life. Despite being written at some time during the 2nd century CE, the Library encapsulates much of the "conglomerate of popular tales" that has become Hercules's vulgate biography. Ultimately, though these tales are well known, their true beauty lies in the social and religious influence of their telling and the historical memories that remain, to this day, as shadows in their lines. The story of Jason and his crew of Argonauts is one of the best-known and most beloved myths of all time. Blockbuster movies have been made about it, and legendary explorer and historian Tim Severin even constructed a replica of the Argo in 1984 and succeeded in sailing it to Colchis (modern-day Georgia). In the ancient world too, this myth was told and retold time and again. The best source of the myth available to the modern reader (generally considered to be Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautica) comes from the Hellenistic Period (ca. 323-31 BCE), which is very late in terms of most sources available for Greek myth. This means that the story written at that time had already been exposed to centuries of influences and additions. However, mythology is not the study of a story's beginnings alone, and very often, it is the changes and adaptations that provide the story with its most fascinating characteristics. The vague geography of the Argo's story will become apparent, but it's also important, because there are numerous theories as to why the ancient writers may have charted the journey as they did. The Argo's journey was as revelatory to Jason as it was to the late ancient Greek readers/listeners, since it incorporated many of the mythical, political, and cultural themes that pervaded myths throughout the Mediterranean. These themes accumulated with every revision and retelling of the story until it became a central motif in the Greek mindset, with strands linking it to myth, peoples, and places. It is this story of multitudes that contains the most fascinating curios of Jason and the Argonauts. Hercules & Jason and the Argonauts: The Legendary Stories of Ancient Greece's Most Famous Heroes looks at the famous myths. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Hercules and Jason and the Argonauts like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the operations *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading When people think about the Second World War, they seldom think in terms of silence and small acts. This was a war in which the industry of entire nations was rearranged to feed fighting, and it was fought on a scale in which battles could include hundreds of thousands of combatants. Whole cities and populations were destroyed, with millions of casualties occurring at places like Leningrad. But World War II was also a conflict in which modern covert operations first hit their stride. From the jungles of Burma to the streets of Paris, spies, saboteurs, and commandos carried out missions built on secrecy and cunning. Precise, self-contained operations could be as important to the outcome of the war as acts of massive destruction, whether it involved targeted assassinations, sabotaging key logistics, or counterintelligence to break up the enemy's own rings. At the time, most of these operations were hidden from the public since that was the only way they could be successfully carried out, but in the years since, stories about various missions have emerged. They paint a picture of incredible courage and ingenuity, whether in war zones, enemy territory, or far from the front lines. Covert Operations in World War II: The History and Legacy of the War's Most Daring Secret Missions chronicles some of the most daring operations carried out during the war. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about covert operations in World War II like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the operations *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading When people think about the Second World War, they seldom think in terms of silence and small acts. This was a war in which the industry of entire nations was rearranged to feed fighting, and it was fought on a scale in which battles could include hundreds of thousands of combatants. Whole cities and populations were destroyed, with millions of casualties occurring at places like Leningrad. But World War II was also a conflict in which modern covert operations first hit their stride. From the jungles of Burma to the streets of Paris, spies, saboteurs, and commandos carried out missions built on secrecy and cunning. Precise, self-contained operations could be as important to the outcome of the war as acts of massive destruction, whether it involved targeted assassinations, sabotaging key logistics, or counterintelligence to break up the enemy's own rings. At the time, most of these operations were hidden from the public since that was the only way they could be successfully carried out, but in the years since, stories about various missions have emerged. They paint a picture of incredible courage and ingenuity, whether in war zones, enemy territory, or far from the front lines. Covert Operations in World War II: The History and Legacy of the War's Most Daring Secret Missions chronicles some of the most daring operations carried out during the war. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about covert operations in World War II like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts describing the DMZ *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading During the Moscow Conference in December 1945, the victorious Allies agreed that the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the Republic of China would hold equal shares of control over the Korean Peninsula for up to 5 years before allowing Korea its independence. Most locals, barring the Soviet-endorsed Communist Party, opposed the trusteeship immediately. Apprehensive of another civilian insurrection, Soviet and American officials brokered talks to merge the administrations, but its progress was hindered by trouble brewed by the restless locals, as well as the tension that reached a crescendo in the impending Cold War. In the meantime, the enmity between the north and the south continued to sour. Those displeased by their local politics, as well as those who predicted the forthcoming cataclysm, hopped the border before it was too late. By May of 1946, authorities on both ends declared that anyone else who dared cross the 38th parallel without a permit would be guilty of trespassing and duly penalized for their crime. The Korean War was a watershed event for a number of reasons. Not only was it considered the first military action of the Cold War, as well as one of the first to utilize jet planes kitted out with bombs and missiles, the United Nations immersed itself in the precarious politics of warfare for the very first time. A total of 41 countries gifted shiploads of provisions and equipment to South Korea. Another 16 countries provided their own soldiers to serve as backup for the South Koreans. Their mission, put simply, was to extinguish Communism on the peninsula once and for all. After a series of heated, but unproductive negotiations that lasted 2 brutal years and 17 miserable days, North Korea and South Korea found themselves locked in a stalemate. Finally, on July 27, 1953, representatives from both parties gathered at the village of Panmunjom, located on a semi-neutral zone by the border. Here, they devised a document entitled the "Korean Armistice Agreement," and scrawled their names across the bottom of the parchment, calling for a ceasefire, effective immediately. In essence, this agreement was no more than a truce, for there were no victors. The agreement merely ensured "a suspension of open hostilities," a "transfer of POWs," and lastly, the formal establishment of the demilitarization zone, better known as the "DMZ." To this day, no peace treaty has ever been signed. Despite the fact the border between North Korea and South Korea remains tense, and former President Bill Clinton once branded it the "scariest place on Earth," more than 7.5 million tourists have visited the notorious demilitarized zone for one reason or another. There, they gazed upon a treacherous, but evidently intriguing strip of land, guarded by estranged brothers with a chilling array of weapons directed at one another at all times. The Korean Demilitarized Zone: The History and Legacy of the Border between North Korea and South Korea examines one of the most dangerous locations on the planet. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the notorious DMZ like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts describing the DMZ *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading During the Moscow Conference in December 1945, the victorious Allies agreed that the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the Republic of China would hold equal shares of control over the Korean Peninsula for up to 5 years before allowing Korea its independence. Most locals, barring the Soviet-endorsed Communist Party, opposed the trusteeship immediately. Apprehensive of another civilian insurrection, Soviet and American officials brokered talks to merge the administrations, but its progress was hindered by trouble brewed by the restless locals, as well as the tension that reached a crescendo in the impending Cold War. In the meantime, the enmity between the north and the south continued to sour. Those displeased by their local politics, as well as those who predicted the forthcoming cataclysm, hopped the border before it was too late. By May of 1946, authorities on both ends declared that anyone else who dared cross the 38th parallel without a permit would be guilty of trespassing and duly penalized for their crime. The Korean War was a watershed event for a number of reasons. Not only was it considered the first military action of the Cold War, as well as one of the first to utilize jet planes kitted out with bombs and missiles, the United Nations immersed itself in the precarious politics of warfare for the very first time. A total of 41 countries gifted shiploads of provisions and equipment to South Korea. Another 16 countries provided their own soldiers to serve as backup for the South Koreans. Their mission, put simply, was to extinguish Communism on the peninsula once and for all. After a series of heated, but unproductive negotiations that lasted 2 brutal years and 17 miserable days, North Korea and South Korea found themselves locked in a stalemate. Finally, on July 27, 1953, representatives from both parties gathered at the village of Panmunjom, located on a semi-neutral zone by the border. Here, they devised a document entitled the "Korean Armistice Agreement," and scrawled their names across the bottom of the parchment, calling for a ceasefire, effective immediately. In essence, this agreement was no more than a truce, for there were no victors. The agreement merely ensured "a suspension of open hostilities," a "transfer of POWs," and lastly, the formal establishment of the demilitarization zone, better known as the "DMZ." To this day, no peace treaty has ever been signed. Despite the fact the border between North Korea and South Korea remains tense, and former President Bill Clinton once branded it the "scariest place on Earth," more than 7.5 million tourists have visited the notorious demilitarized zone for one reason or another. There, they gazed upon a treacherous, but evidently intriguing strip of land, guarded by estranged brothers with a chilling array of weapons directed at one another at all times. The Korean Demilitarized Zone: The History and Legacy of the Border between North Korea and South Korea examines one of the most dangerous locations on the planet. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the notorious DMZ like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts of Rhodes *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Modern perceptions of Classical Greece are almost invariably based on Athens and Sparta, but there are perhaps few areas as consistently undervalued as the island of Rhodes. Although solidly part of the Greek world for as long as there has been one, Rhodes, located just off the coast of Asia Minor, was also from its earliest times a port opening to the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean, and Rhodes was involved in every significant moment in ancient Greek history. The island often played a key role in world events which far surpassed its small size, and at one point even stood side-by-side with much larger kingdoms as one of the main powers in the Greek world. In the Archaic and Classical periods, Rhodes often stood as a prime exemplar of the highs and lows of its fellow Greek cities, and as the largest island of the Dodecanese, Rhodes' history is largely in line with that of the rest of those islands. Rhodes was first colonized by the Greeks of the Dorian tribe around the 8th century BCE, and it aligned with its fellow Dorian cities on the surrounding islands and the mainland of Asia Minor to form the so-called Doric Hexapolis. After the Ionian revolt near the end of the 6th century BCE, Rhodes, along with other islands, was in the path of the Persian fleet that crossed the Aegean to face off against the Greeks in the Persian Wars. In the aftermath of the Persian Wars, along with the rest of the islands and with Greek Asia Minor, Rhodes was subsumed into the Athenian alliance, which would soon become the Athenian Empire. However, Athens would soon lose its power, and around the end of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta, its hold on its allies would wane. In fact, in 408 BCE, Rhodes, sharing a Dorian heritage with Sparta, would be among the first and most powerful of Athens' allies to revolt, and it played a key role in the end of the Peloponnesian War by providing a basis for the new Spartan fleet to challenge Athenian naval supremacy. In the following century, Rhodes would vacillate between the Athenian and Spartan spheres of influence, all the while remaining too large to be permanently subdued by either city, and thus constantly growing in power. Rhodes would reach the zenith of its power in the Hellenistic period following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE. Even as the rest of the city-states waned compared to the much larger kingdoms of Alexander's successors in Egypt and Asia, Rhodes would come to the forefront as a main power in the Greek world, standing toe-to-toe with these Hellenistic kingdoms. Rhodes was for a time the foremost naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean, and one of the most powerful and richest cities in the world. It was during this time that the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built on the island to celebrate Rhodes' equally monumental triumph over the armies of Demetrius the Besieger. Rhodes also gained a foothold on other islands, and an extensive presence in Asia Minor. It was only due to the rise of Rome that Rhodes, along with the rest of the Greek world, lost power, and it was gradually integrated into the Roman sphere of influence as an ally before finally being annexed into the empire. Ancient Rhodes: The History and Legacy of the Famous Greek Island in Antiquity examines the history of one of the most important Greek powers of the ancient world. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Rhodes like never before.

"Un hecho significativo que se destaca es que aquellas partes de la India que permanecieron por m s tiempo bajo el dominio brit nico son hoy las m s pobres. De hecho podr a trazarse un gr fico para indicar la estrecha relaci n entre la duraci n del gobierno brit nico y el progresivo crecimiento de la pobreza" - Jawaharlal Nehru, El Descubrimiento de la India La Compa a Brit nica de las Indias Orientales fue uno de los factores clave en la formaci n del Imperio Brit nico. Desde sus or genes como compa a comercial luchando por mantenerse a la altura de sus superiores competidores holandeses, portugueses y espa oles, a su ejercicio como la autoridad gobernante del subcontinente indio a su espectacular ca da final, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales sirve como un lente a trav s del cual se puede explorar las fuerzas econ micas y sociales que moldearon la formaci n del Imperio Brit nico global. Como compa a privada que lleg a convertirse en un poder global no estatal por propio derecho, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales sirve tambi n como un relato de advertencia todav a vigente de cara a la actual situaci n pol tica y econ mica del mundo moderno. En su nivel m s b sico, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales jug un papel esencial en el desarrollo del comercio de larga distancia entre Gran Breta a y Asia. El comercio de textiles, cer micas, t , y otros productos trajo un gran flujo de capital a la econom a brit nica. Esto no solo aliment la Revoluci n Industrial, sino que tambi n cre una demanda de art culos de lujo entre las clases medias. El crecimiento econ mico fomentado por la Compa a de las Indias Orientales fue un factor en el ascenso de Gran Breta a desde una potencia regional de rango medio a la m s poderosa naci n del planeta. Los ingresos generados por la Compa a de las Indias Orientales tambi n fueron un incentivo para que otras potencias europeas siguieran su ejemplo, lo que condujo a tres siglos de competencia alrededor del mundo por las colonias. Este proceso fue mucho m s all de Asia y afect a la mayor parte del planeta, incluyendo frica y el Oriente Medio. M s all de su obvia influencia en reas como mercado y comercio, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales sirvi tambi n como un punto de contacto cultural entre los europeos occidentales, los sudasi ticos, y los asi ticos orientales. Tradicionales pr cticas brit nicas como el consumo de t fueron posibles gracias al comercio de la Compa a de las Indias Orientales. Los productos y las pr cticas culturales que viajaban de ida y vuelta a bordo de los buques de la Compa a de las Indias Orientales, de un continente a otro, tambi n reconfiguraron la manera como las sociedades alrededor del globo ve an la sexualidad, el g nero, las clases, y el trabajo. En un mbito m s oscuro, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales aliment la supremac a blanca y los conceptos europeos sobre el orientalismo. La India Brit nica cubr a al final un 54 por ciento de superficie y comprend a el 77 por ciento de la poblaci n. Para el momento en que los brit nicos comenzaron a contemplar la retirada de la India, 565 estados nativos, fueron oficialmente reconocidos, sum ndose a miles de zamindares y jagires, que eran en efecto estados feudales. La importancia de cada Estado Nativo estaba definida por el n mero de ca ones disparados a modo de saludo en ceremonias en las que se rend a homenaje a uno u otro pr ncipe. El n mero variaba entre nueve y veinti n salvas, y en un gran n mero de casos no las hab a en lo absoluto. Los Estados Nativos se repart an razonablemente por igual entre las dinast as musulmanas e hind , pero teniendo en mente el estatus minoritario de los musulmanes en la India, los musulmanes estaban representados de una manera desproporcionada.

"Un hecho significativo que se destaca es que aquellas partes de la India que permanecieron por m s tiempo bajo el dominio brit nico son hoy las m s pobres. De hecho podr a trazarse un gr fico para indicar la estrecha relaci n entre la duraci n del gobierno brit nico y el progresivo crecimiento de la pobreza" - Jawaharlal Nehru, El Descubrimiento de la India La Compa a Brit nica de las Indias Orientales fue uno de los factores clave en la formaci n del Imperio Brit nico. Desde sus or genes como compa a comercial luchando por mantenerse a la altura de sus superiores competidores holandeses, portugueses y espa oles, a su ejercicio como la autoridad gobernante del subcontinente indio a su espectacular ca da final, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales sirve como un lente a trav s del cual se puede explorar las fuerzas econ micas y sociales que moldearon la formaci n del Imperio Brit nico global. Como compa a privada que lleg a convertirse en un poder global no estatal por propio derecho, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales sirve tambi n como un relato de advertencia todav a vigente de cara a la actual situaci n pol tica y econ mica del mundo moderno. En su nivel m s b sico, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales jug un papel esencial en el desarrollo del comercio de larga distancia entre Gran Breta a y Asia. El comercio de textiles, cer micas, t , y otros productos trajo un gran flujo de capital a la econom a brit nica. Esto no solo aliment la Revoluci n Industrial, sino que tambi n cre una demanda de art culos de lujo entre las clases medias. El crecimiento econ mico fomentado por la Compa a de las Indias Orientales fue un factor en el ascenso de Gran Breta a desde una potencia regional de rango medio a la m s poderosa naci n del planeta. Los ingresos generados por la Compa a de las Indias Orientales tambi n fueron un incentivo para que otras potencias europeas siguieran su ejemplo, lo que condujo a tres siglos de competencia alrededor del mundo por las colonias. Este proceso fue mucho m s all de Asia y afect a la mayor parte del planeta, incluyendo frica y el Oriente Medio. M s all de su obvia influencia en reas como mercado y comercio, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales sirvi tambi n como un punto de contacto cultural entre los europeos occidentales, los sudasi ticos, y los asi ticos orientales. Tradicionales pr cticas brit nicas como el consumo de t fueron posibles gracias al comercio de la Compa a de las Indias Orientales. Los productos y las pr cticas culturales que viajaban de ida y vuelta a bordo de los buques de la Compa a de las Indias Orientales, de un continente a otro, tambi n reconfiguraron la manera como las sociedades alrededor del globo ve an la sexualidad, el g nero, las clases, y el trabajo. En un mbito m s oscuro, la Compa a de las Indias Orientales aliment la supremac a blanca y los conceptos europeos sobre el orientalismo. La India Brit nica cubr a al final un 54 por ciento de superficie y comprend a el 77 por ciento de la poblaci n. Para el momento en que los brit nicos comenzaron a contemplar la retirada de la India, 565 estados nativos, fueron oficialmente reconocidos, sum ndose a miles de zamindares y jagires, que eran en efecto estados feudales. La importancia de cada Estado Nativo estaba definida por el n mero de ca ones disparados a modo de saludo en ceremonias en las que se rend a homenaje a uno u otro pr ncipe. El n mero variaba entre nueve y veinti n salvas, y en un gran n mero de casos no las hab a en lo absoluto. Los Estados Nativos se repart an razonablemente por igual entre las dinast as musulmanas e hind , pero teniendo en mente el estatus minoritario de los musulmanes en la India, los musulmanes estaban representados de una manera desproporcionada.

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography The KGB is one of the most famous abbreviations of the 20th century, and it has become synonymous with the shadowy and often violent actions of the Soviet Union's secret police and internal security agencies. In fact, it is often used to refer to the Soviet state security agencies throughout its history, from the inception of the inception of the Cheka (Extraordinary Commission) in 1917 to the official elimination of the KGB in 1992. Whether it's associated with the Russian Civil War's excesses, Stalin's purges, and even Vladimir Putin, the KGB has long been viewed as the West's biggest bogeyman during the second half of the 20th century. The KGB: The History and Legacy of the Soviet Union's Notorious Spy Agency examines the history of one of the most famous agencies in history. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the KGB like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the party and its activities *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading In 2014, the International Space Station unleashed a series of photographs that had netizens around the globe simultaneously slapping their cheeks in disbelief for more reasons than one. For starters, the world was astounded by the crisp definition and stellar resolution of the images captured by the space agency's NightPod lenses, which showed striking satellite shots of the world at nighttime, illuminated by its dazzling city lights. But it was a close-up snap of the China-North Korea border that elicited reactions far greater than the rest, for the image, as terrific as it was, was equally troubling. Backed by a time-lapse video of the area, the images show an enormous patch of pitch-blackness - roughly 47,000 square miles of it, to be precise - flanked by 2 sweeping stretches of gold, the coruscating clusters of light marking the largest cities in the land. On one side lay the shimmering Chinese territories, and the other, the glittering grounds of South Korea. The patch of black in question was so dark it could very well be mistaken for an extension of either the Yellow Sea or the Sea of Japan. North Korea has long been the butt of jokes, and it has been a longstanding target of international criticism, but the startling satellite image was anything but amusing, for it demonstrated the truly catastrophic conditions North Koreans find themselves in. Statistics show that the average South Korean uses up to 10,162 kilowatt hours of power per year, whereas their neighbors in the north consume only 739. This is only one amongst a slew of stumbling blocks affecting the state, impeding it from proper progress. So why is North Korea so starkly different from its neighbors when nothing more but mere borders separate them? A tyrannical lineage secured by nepotism. An entire nation indoctrinated by chilling, mindboggling propaganda, molded by fear and forced ignorance. Mass purges doled out seemingly on whims, without fair trials. Unparalleled paranoia and cold-blooded assassinations left and right, seemingly around every curve and corner. An impoverished sphere of barren wastelands inhabited by malnourished masses, orbiting a world glittering with the gross opulence and superfluous riches of the elite. These sound like the elements of a particularly perilous period of autocracy enforced by some mad monarch of a bygone era, or perhaps a generic blurb for a far-fetched thriller set in a dystopian future. Alas, the description matches the modern state of North Korea almost flawlessly. For close to 7 decades and counting, the notorious Kim family has been subjected to a never-ending stream of shocking scandals and relentless ridicule. That being said, this frightful bloodline has managed to maintain absolute and all-encompassing power over the northern neck of the Korean peninsula. The reigns of these related tyrants are said to be so horrid that 2,000 intrepid souls risk their necks each year to escape from the suffocating grip of the state. And while many attribute the state's troubling antics to the controversial Kim dynasty, it takes an entire team to keep the 25 million oppressed North Koreans in check. This lesser-known, but all the more significant constituent of this intriguing system is the Choson Rodongdang, otherwise known as the "Workers' Party of Korea," the ruling political party of the state. The Workers' Party of Korea: The History and Legacy of the Political Party that Founded and Rules North Korea examines the party's predecessors and the events that led up to its formation, as well as its inner workings and the behind-the-scene operations of the infamous hermit kingdom. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Workers' Party of Korea like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "People caught in their own yards grope for the doorstep. Cars come to a standstill, for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk.... The nightmare is deepest during the storms. But on the occasional bright day and the usual gray day we cannot shake from it. We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions." - Avis D. Carlson It is almost impossible to imagine today, but in the late 19th century and early 20th century, there were places where land was cheaper than food and more plentiful than water. During the homesteading period of the 1860s-1880s, the government typically offered land grants of 160 acres to any farmer who could get it cultivated within a certain amount of time. With that much land to make productive and a limited number of years to get it cleared and planted, men would do whatever it took to get their crops in. Of course, these farmers, trying to quickly carve working farms, were more concerned with speed than with the impact on the ground itself. Surviving each year itself was enough work; the future would have to worry about itself. While farmers were planting crops, the seeds were also being sown for a natural disaster once a severe drought hit the prairie land in the 1930s. Due to a lack of proper dryland farming methods, wind erosion and the drought combined to create horrific dust storms that devastated wide swathes of Great Plains and even reached cities on the East Coast like New York City and Washington, D. C. It's estimated that the dust storms affected about 100 million acres during the decade, uprooting not just soil but tens of thousands of people as their farms and families suffered. With farms failing across vast portions of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico Colorado and Kansas, those who could no longer support themselves became migrants, moving to other states like California, but the country was still in the throes of the Great Depression. As a result, there was a unique class of suffering that was documented not only in pictures but in graphically realistic novels like John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Pictures of abandoned farms that looked like post-apocalyptic ghost towns helped drive the crisis home across the country, to the extent that the Dust Bowl is still well-known 80 years later. As if the destruction of the Dust Bowl wasn't bad enough, conditions were exacerbated by a heat wave in 1936. Ironically, the weather early that year did not exactly suggest that heat would be a problem, as December 1935 was seasonably cold, and February 1936 was downright frigid. In fact, February was the coldest month in the nation's history, with a number of cities recording record low temperatures. As a result, when the weather began to warm up in March and April, people breathed a sigh of relief, but it kept getting warmer, and rain ceased to fall in some areas. By May, there was a crisis building, even as people maintained hope that each rainstorm would end the heat wave. By the end of the summer, the heat wave had killed thousands across the nation, and it was still far from over. Humidity remained low, making the heat somewhat more bearable, but it exacerbated the nationwide drought that kept killing crops. The heat and drought became front page news that even President Roosevelt had to address on a regular basis. The Dust Bowl and the 1936 North American Heat Wave: The History of America's Worst Natural Disasters at the Height of the Great Depression chronicles some of the toughest years in American history. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Dust Bowl and the 1936 heat wave like never before.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "People caught in their own yards grope for the doorstep. Cars come to a standstill, for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk.... The nightmare is deepest during the storms. But on the occasional bright day and the usual gray day we cannot shake from it. We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions." - Avis D. Carlson It is almost impossible to imagine today, but in the late 19th century and early 20th century, there were places where land was cheaper than food and more plentiful than water. During the homesteading period of the 1860s-1880s, the government typically offered land grants of 160 acres to any farmer who could get it cultivated within a certain amount of time. With that much land to make productive and a limited number of years to get it cleared and planted, men would do whatever it took to get their crops in. Of course, these farmers, trying to quickly carve working farms, were more concerned with speed than with the impact on the ground itself. Surviving each year itself was enough work; the future would have to worry about itself. While farmers were planting crops, the seeds were also being sown for a natural disaster once a severe drought hit the prairie land in the 1930s. Due to a lack of proper dryland farming methods, wind erosion and the drought combined to create horrific dust storms that devastated wide swathes of Great Plains and even reached cities on the East Coast like New York City and Washington, D. C. It's estimated that the dust storms affected about 100 million acres during the decade, uprooting not just soil but tens of thousands of people as their farms and families suffered. With farms failing across vast portions of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico Colorado and Kansas, those who could no longer support themselves became migrants, moving to other states like California, but the country was still in the throes of the Great Depression. As a result, there was a unique class of suffering that was documented not only in pictures but in graphically realistic novels like John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Pictures of abandoned farms that looked like post-apocalyptic ghost towns helped drive the crisis home across the country, to the extent that the Dust Bowl is still well-known 80 years later. As if the destruction of the Dust Bowl wasn't bad enough, conditions were exacerbated by a heat wave in 1936. Ironically, the weather early that year did not exactly suggest that heat would be a problem, as December 1935 was seasonably cold, and February 1936 was downright frigid. In fact, February was the coldest month in the nation's history, with a number of cities recording record low temperatures. As a result, when the weather began to warm up in March and April, people breathed a sigh of relief, but it kept getting warmer, and rain ceased to fall in some areas. By May, there was a crisis building, even as people maintained hope that each rainstorm would end the heat wave. By the end of the summer, the heat wave had killed thousands across the nation, and it was still far from over. Humidity remained low, making the heat somewhat more bearable, but it exacerbated the nationwide drought that kept killing crops. The heat and drought became front page news that even President Roosevelt had to address on a regular basis. The Dust Bowl and the 1936 North American Heat Wave: The History of America's Worst Natural Disasters at the Height of the Great Depression chronicles some of the toughest years in American history. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Dust Bowl and the 1936 heat wave like never before.