In an age of backroom generals who command from far behind troop lines, it is often forgotten that wars have been won or lost by the personality and leadership of a maverick commander. In twelve riveting portrait, best-selling historian, Robert Harvey, explores the mind and the action of such men. From the the Mediterranean sea Harvey investigates what make a military commander different - a charismatic leader of men, rational under fire, unafraid to improvise or lead his men into victory against the odds. Packed with compelling and insightful analysis and story telling, Mavericks is Robert Harvey's best book to date. The Mavericks, what made them great and their key battles include: Clive of India - a master of the decisive strike, and going for the jugular. Plassey. James Wolfe - renowned by his troops for being as demanding on himself as on them. Quebec. George Washington - patience, then boldness. Yorktown. Horatio Nelson - flamboyance, careful planning and improvisation. Trafalgar. Thomas Cochrane - Fearless commando tactics and an eye for the unexpected strike. Aix Roads. The Duke of Wellington - style and soundbites, caution and planning. Salamanca. Guiseppe Garibaldi - charismatic communicator, bold in battle. Messina. Ulysses S. Grant - Cool and rational, with determination to overcome all obstacles. Vicksburg Erwin Rommel - Careful calculation followed by bold strikes. Desert Campaign. George Patton - Aggression coupled with skill in tanks and training.The Battle of the Bulge. Field Marshal Montgomery - A natural rebel with a lightning mind. El Alamein. Douglas MacArthur - brilliant communicator and bold, cared for his men. Inchon. PRAISE FOR WAR OF WARS 'This is the 'definitive' one-volume account of a particularly rich slab of history.' Daily Express. '... so well paced that reading it is a pleasure.' Bernard Cornwell. 'I doubt a better account of the never-ending war will be written in many a year.' Allan Mallinson. 'an exhillirating sequence of dramatic set-pieces in narrative history's best traditions.' Literary Review

Maury Maverick was possibly the first liberal United States Congressman from Texas to achieve national and even international stature. A dedicated Democrat, he was ready to attack Franklin D. Roosevelt whenever he felt that Roosevelt was flagging in his enthusiasm for reform. He was honest to the point of rudeness, and he belonged to the "damn the torpedoes" class that pulled ahead regardless of political consequences. He was at home with the literate—he was a prodigious writer and speaker—but always ready to puncture their pretensions. And he could cuss with sailors, pecan shellers, and any breed of saloon keeper. Put all that together with a short, stocky, bulldog frame, a fierce face and a voice to match, and you have one of the nation's more colorful political figures.

Walter J. Boyne's The Two O'Clock War is a spellbinding chronicle of the international chess game that was played out in October 1973. It is a story of diplomacy and military might that accounts for many of the dilemmas faced in the present-day Middle East. It's usually called the Yom Kippur War. Or sometimes the October War. The players that surround it are familiar: Sadat and Mubarak, Meir and Sharon, Nixon and Kissinger, Brezhnev and Dobyrnin. It was a war that brought Arab and Jew into vicious conflict. A war in which Israel almost unleashed her nuclear arsenal and set two superpowers on a treacherous course of nuclear escalation. And a war that eventually brought peace. But a peace fraught with delicate tensions, disputed borders, and a legacy of further bloodshed. This is a war that Israel never thought was possible. Surprised by the fury and excellent execution of the Arab onslaught, and perhaps more than a little complacent, Israel suddenly found itself on the point of losing a war because of a lack of ammunition, planes and tanks. The United States, after much vacillation, finally elected to help Israel, beginning a tremendous airlift (code name: Operation Nickel Grass) which incurred the wrath of the Arab states, and their sponsor, the Soviet Union. Fortunately, the airlift came just in time for Israeli ground forces to stabilize their positions and eventually turn the tide in the Sinai and Golan Heights. And it was all made possible by an operation that dwarfed the Berlin Airlift and the Soviets' simultaneous efforts in Egypt and Syria. The Two O'Clock War is bound to become the definitive history of a war that quite literally approached Armageddon.

Magnificent Mavericks tells the story of the creative military/civilian team who worked at the Naval Ordnance Test Station and its Pasadena Annex from 1948 to 1958. Projects developed there include Sidewinder, the world's first successful heat-homing guided missile; Polaris, for which NOTS provided conceptual studies as well as major T&E programs; the 6.5-Inch Antitank Aircraft Rocket (Ram), developed and delivered in a month to meet urgent needs in Korea; the 2.75-Inch Folding-Fin Aircraft Rocket (Mighty Mouse) introduced in Korea and used in every conflict since then; and many other products developed at NOTS to meet the needs of the fleet. Also addressed are propellant technology and other significant innovations in applied research. Improvements to the station's unexcelled facilities R&D laboratories and T&E tracks and ranges are described, as is the community of China Lake, which played an important role in employee morale and productivity.

Twentieth-century authors and filmmakers have created a pantheon of mavericks—some macho, others angst-ridden—who often cross a metaphorical boundary among the literal ones of Anglo, Native American, and Hispanic cultures. Douglas Canfield examines the concept of borders, defining them as the space between states and cultures and ideologies, and focuses on these border crossings as a key feature of novels and films about the region. Canfield begins in the Old Southwest of Faulkner's Mississippi, addressing the problem of slavery; travels west to North Texas and the infamous Gainesville Hanging of Unionists during the Civil War; and then follows scalpers into the Southwest Borderlands. He then turns to the area of the Gadsden Purchase, known for its outlaws and Indian wars, before heading south of the border for the Yaqui persecution and the Mexican Revolution. Alongside such well-known works as Go Down Moses, The Wild Bunch, Broken Arrow, Gringo Viejo, and Blood Meridian, Canfield discusses novels and films that tell equally compelling stories of the region. Protagonists face various identity crises as they attempt border crossings into other cultures or mindsets—some complete successful crossings, some go native, and some fail. He analyzes figures such as Geronimo, Doc Holliday, and Billy the Kid alongside less familiar mavericks as they struggle for identity, purpose, and justice.

"You'll meet the legendary Claire Chennault, the combative visionary who created and commanded the famed Flying Tigers; General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, the brilliant but abrasive U.S. theater commander who battled his British counterpart almost as fiercely as he fought the Japanese; General Frank Merrill, whose Merrill's Marauders became the most famous and successful infantry unit in CBI; and the British maverick General Orde Wingate, who created the famous Chindits who operated behind enemy lines. What emerges from these incisive portraits is a penetrating study of the impact of personalities on the execution and outcome of armed conflict."--BOOK JACKET.

In this Old West tale of deceit, revenge, and greed, full of scoundrels, rogues, and desperadoes on a lawless frontier, John Barton learns what it takes to become a man. Chasing his boyhood dream of staking his claim in the Mauvaises Terres, the Badlands of the Dakota Territory, John Barton comes face to face with the undeniable truth that the only winners in life are those willing to take their destiny into their own hands. Signing on to a cattle drive to the Dakota Territory, he is duped into taking part in a dangerous cattle-rustling foray deep into Mexico. Unable to turn back, he fights to survive in a life-or-death struggle during a grueling cattle drive, beset by violent storms, renegade Indians, and men seeking revenge. Finally staking his claim, he confronts the deeper meaning of his lifelong quest and of the mysterious spiritual roots of a land and its people that will forever lie somewhere beyond the horizon.

Rangers and Sovereignty is an autobiography written by Captain Dan W. Roberts. It brings the exciting tale of his service as a Texas Ranger. Roberts describes in detail the battles that the Rangers fought in, the different criminals they dealt with, and some of the events in their own lives. Contents: The Deer Creek Fight Packsaddle Mountain Fight Enlistment and First Scout Fugitive List Lost Valley Fight With Forces Even "The Wind Up" Third Saline Fight Moved Camp to Las Moras The Staked Plains Fight Viewing Out A Road Capt Roberts Married The Mason County War Rio Grande Campaign On the March Fort Davis Scout The Potter Scout—1880 Waiting on the Courts Pegleg Stage Robbing—1880 Stealing Saddles Cattle Stealing Mavericks The Killing of Sam Bass Considering Results Fence Cutters Horrel War The Old Texas Rangers Interesting Letters Adios Rangers Old Spanish Fort Old San Antonio Road A New Texas

The Texas Longhorn made more history than any othr breed of cattle the world has known. Their story is the bedrock on which the history of the cow country of America is founded.