In previous accounts, the U.S. Army’s first clashes with the powerful Sioux tribe appear as a set of irrational events with a cast of improbable characters—a Mormon cow, a brash lieutenant, a drunken interpreter, an unfortunate Brulé chief, and an incorrigible army commander. R. Eli Paul shows instead that the events that precipitated General William Harney’s attack on Chief Little Thunder’s Brulé village foreshadowed the entire history of conflict between the United States and the Lakota people. Today Blue Water Creek is merely one of many modest streams coursing through Sioux country. The conflicts along its margins have been overshadowed by later, more spectacular confrontations, including the Great Sioux War and George Custer’s untimely demise along another modest stream. The Blue Water legacy has gone largely underappreciated—until now. Blue Water Creek and the First Sioux War, 1854-1856 provides a thorough and objective narrative, using a wealth of eyewitness accounts to reveal the significance of Blue Water Creek in Lakota and U.S. history.

It was a warm summer afternoon when Bill and his little sister Nell headed out with their fishing poles and snacks for the little pond in the meadow. "Be home in time for supper," Mother called as she waved goodbye. Later that afternoon while sitting beneath a shade tree eating their snacks, they spied off in the distance a rusted old steam engine with a caboose attached behind. On exploring it further, they encounter unexpected events that prevent them from ever making it home in time for supper. Enjoy this mixture of adventure, fantasy, suspense and Christian morals all in one as you follow Bill and Nell through their adventures into the unknown.

Kenneth J. Hagan pulls the curtain back for American civilians as he shares a sweeping account of the country’s naval experience. Including the wooden Continental Navy to contemporary projections of the service’s high-tech mission in the next century, The People’s Navy shares the complete making and growth of America’s sea power. “…provides a clear, interesting, and through-provoking introduction to the history of the American sea power and should be read by all historians of the United States… This book will provide standard interpretation for a long time to come.” – Reviews in American History

Now in an updated edition, this pioneering and authoritative study considers the profound impact of the growing global water crunch on international peace and security as well as possible ways to mitigate the crisis. Although water is essential to sustaining life and livelihoods, geostrategist Brahma Chellaney argues that it remains the world’s most underappreciated and undervalued resource. One sobering fact is that the retail price of bottled water is already higher than the international spot price of crude oil. But unlike oil, water has no substitute, raising the specter of water becoming the next flashpoint for conflict. Water war as a concept may not mesh with the conventional construct of warfare, especially for those who plan with tanks, combat planes, and attack submarines as weapons. Yet armies don’t necessarily have to march to battle to seize or defend water resources. Water wars—in a political, diplomatic, or economic sense—are already being waged between riparian neighbors in many parts of the world, fueling cycles of bitter recrimination, exacerbating water challenges, and fostering mistrust that impedes broader regional cooperation and integration. The danger is that these water wars could escalate to armed conflict or further limit already stretched food and energy production. Writing in a direct, nontechnical, and engaging style, Brahma Chellaney draws on a wide range of research from scientific and policy fields to examine the different global linkages between water and peace. Offering a holistic picture and integrated solutions, his book has become the recognized authority on the most precious natural resource of this century and how we can secure humankind’s water future.

This volume sets out to explore the dialectic relating agriculture, crisis and conflict, and attempts to expand the knowledge on these interactions. Part 1 of the volume (chapters 1-6) discusses thematic issues and methodological approaches to understanding the intersection of agriculture, crisis and conflict. Part 2 (chapters 7-20) provides case studies that take a detailed approach to understanding agricultural contexts facing crisis and conflict, or the role played by agriculture within crisis and conflict. Studies are selected from areas that might be expected to feature in such a volume (the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America) as well as less obvious regions where conflict within agriculture refers not to widespread violence or wars but rather latent or simmering crisis (Central Asia and Europe). Crises stemming from politically-driven violence, natural disasters and climate change are covered, as well as competition over resources.

This refreshing analysis approaches the issue of China's potential power on the international stage within the context of its relationships with other international actors, examining the effect such a large power will have on world-wide decisions.