You’re no idiot, of course. You know that World War I was “the Great War,” and you’re familiar with its images: muddy trenches, poison gas, and a no–man’s–land of craters and barbed wire. But when it comes to understanding its causes, why it dragged on for four years, and how it set the stage for World War II, you’re lost behind enemy lines. Don’t wave the white flag just yet! The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to World War I gives you a comprehensive overview of the first global war, from the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the Treaty of Versailles. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • Broad coverage of the secret treaties and en-tangling alliances that led to war • Comprehensive analysis of some of history’s bloodiest battles, including the Somme, Tannenburg, Gallipoli, and Belleau Wood • Expert commentary on the development of weapons such as the tank, the dreadnought battleship, poison gas, and the German U-boat • Valuable insights into the war’s influence on this century’s political and cultural development

The Complete Idiots Guide® to World War II, Second Edition, will feature updated and expanded coverage of the fateful D-Day invasion, a critical timeline of major WW II events, and a WW II timeline highlighting the crucial and most important events of the war. It will include details about major battles on land, in the air, and on the sea-starting with Hitler's rise to power and his goal of European conquest; to Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor; to the decisive battles such as D-Day and the Battle of the Midway, which turned they tides of the war toward the Allies.

The Complete Idiots Guide® to World War II, Second Edition, will feature updated and expanded coverage of the fateful D-Day invasion, a critical timeline of major WW II events, and a WW II timeline highlighting the crucial and most important events of the war. It will include details about major battles on land, in the air, and on the sea-starting with Hitler's rise to power and his goal of European conquest, as well as Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor and the decisive battles such as D-Day and the Battle of the Midway, which turned they tides of the war toward the Allies.

The compact history of a giant country. American history is one of those subjects that students frequently labor over and can seem like a random collection of names, dates, and events. Understood as a collective biography and free of the cheerleading found in many text books, the fully updated fifth edition of The Complete Idiot's Guide® to American History explains the changing tides in America's most pivotal periods. ? From a seasoned author and researcher ? The most current and comprehensive series title on American history ? Heightened interest right now in the question of how America got where we are - a question that can only be answered by an understanding of history

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The governed must know their government Understanding how our government functions and the political forces that influence it is vital for all Americans. As a comprehensive overview and history of the subject, this book is designed to help anyone interested in learning about our government and the origins of its complex inner workings, our political system, and key elements that have affected our growth as a nation—all while serving as the best supplementary reading a student can get. • Author is an experienced Advanced Placement teacher • Students looking to take AP exams are a ready audience-along with citizenship applicants and CNN junkies • Large renewable market • Suitable as supplemental reading for coursework

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people who did not finish high school study to take the battery of GED examinations. A GED diploma opens up a new level of career, education, and compensation opportunities for them. This crash course helps them get up to speed quickly on the five major subject areas they will be tested on, and gives them test-taking practice and hints. The easy-to-use Complete Idiot's Guide® format distills the information to its simplest and makes it easy to grasp and remember the essential concepts and facts readers must know to pass the GED tests. Subjects covered include: • Language Arts-Writing: Sentences; parts of speech; grammar; punctuation; writing cohesive paragraphs; and planning, writing, and editing essays • Social Studies: U.S. history, government and civics, economics, world history, and geography • Science: Scientific method, health and environment, biology, chemistry, physics, and earth and space science • Language Arts-Reading: Fiction, poetry, drama, business writing, and nonfiction prose • Mathematics: Number sense, arithmetic, measurement, geometry, statistics and probability, and algebra functions The book also includes a half-length practice test for each of the five subjects, as well as extensive in-chapter practice sets and answer keys. An introductory chapter covers test-taking hints and strategies.

A beautifully composed journey through music history! Music history is a required course for all music students. Unfortunately, the typical music history book is dry and academic, focusing on rote memorization of important composers and works. This leads many to think that the topic is boring, but bestselling author Michael Miller proves that isn't so. This guide makes music history interesting and fun, for both music students and older music lovers. * Covers more than Western "classical" music-also includes non-Western music and uniquely American forms such as jazz * More than just names and dates-puts musical developments in context with key historical events

Learn how oil fuels both politics and history! You’re no idiot, of course. Just thinking about life without oil to heat your home gives you the chills. But when it comes to understanding the politics involved in getting it, you feel like your brain is running empty. The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to the Politics of Oil helps you understand why we go to war over oil. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • Compelling insights into how the discovery of oil in the Arabian Peninsula 50 years ago changed the global political landscape. • The relationship between so-called “Big Oil” and US energy, environmental, and national security policy—as well as prices at the pump. • Easy-to-understand explanations of what can be done to prevent oil spills and blowouts, how such accidents are cleaned up, and who pays for them.