Arcadia Public Library

Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe but is escalating in the Pacific, where American soldiers face an opponent who will go to any length to avoid defeat. The Japanese army follows the samurai code of Bushido, stipulating that surrender is a form of dishonor. This book takes readers to the bloody tropical-island battlefields of Peleliu and Iwo Jima and to the embattled Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur has made a triumphant...

Contains over one thousand alphabetically arranged entries that provide information on various aspects of U.S. military history from the colonial wars to the events of September 11, 2001, covering key individuals, technological developments, weapons systems, and the causes, courses, and effects of wars. Includes a glossary of basic military terms, selected bibliography, and index.

"The United States has been fighting wars constantly since invading Afghanistan in 2001. This nonstop warfare is far less exceptional than it might seem: the US has been at war or has invaded other countries almost every year since independence. In The United States of War, David Vine traces this pattern of bloody, near-permanent conflict from Columbus's 1494 arrival in Guantanamo Bay through the 250-year expansion of a global US empire. Drawing on...

Duty. Honor. Country. That's West Point's motto, and every cadet who passes through its stone gates vows to live it. But on the eve of 9/11, as Dani, Hannah and Avery face four grueling years ahead, they realize they'll only survive if they do it together. Everyone knows Dani is going places. With athletic talent and a brilliant mind, she navigates West Point's predominantly male environment with wit and confidence, breaking stereotypes and embracing...

From the Publisher: Four vellum sections build up the layers of armor worn by the samurai, and text by a world-recognized expert on the subject, provide an inimitable look at the mysterious ancient Japanese warrior class. Every image and page offers fascinating insight, from an overview of early Japan and the emperor system to the specifics of weaponry. The story begins as the samurai come into being in the 800s, and defines exactly what they are....

Traces America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the years since 9/11, and how the U.S. efforts in the Afghan War faltered because of a failure to understand the intentions of Pakistan's intelligence agency.

"In October 1963, President Kennedy proposed withdrawing from Vietnam, gaining him a durable reputation as a skeptic on the war. However, drawing on secret White House tapes, Marc Selverstone reveals that JFK never had a firm intention to withdraw. The real value of the proposal lay in obtaining political cover for his open-ended Vietnam policy"--

When Captain Kyle Mercer of the Army's elite Delta Force disappeared from his post in Afghanistan, a video released by his Taliban captors made international headlines. But circumstances were murky: Did Mercer desert before he was captured? Then a second video sent to Mercer's Army commanders leaves no doubt: the trained assassin and keeper of classified Army intelligence has willfully disappeared. When Mercer is spotted two years later in Caracas,...

"A stirring narrative of World War II's final major battle--the Pacific war's largest, bloodiest, most savagely fought campaign--the last of its kind." --