Military Engineering

This sweeping new history recognizes that the Civil War was not just a military conflict but also a moment of profound transformation in Americans' relationship to the natural world. To be sure, environmental factors such as topography and weather powerfully shaped the outcomes of battles and campaigns, and the war could not have been fought without the horses, cattle, and other animals that were essential to both armies.

On January 25, 1917, HMS Laurentic struck two German mines off the coast of Ireland and sank. The ship was carrying 44 tons of gold bullion to the still-neutral United States via Canada in order to finance the war effort for Britain and its allies. Britain desperately needed that sunken treasure, but any salvage had to be secret, since the British government dared not alert the Germans to the presence of the gold. Lieutenant Commander Guybon Damant was the most qualified officer to head the risky mission.

When Hitler came to power in the 1930s, Germany had led the world in science, mathematics, and technology for nearly four decades. But while the fact that Hitler swiftly pressed Germany's scientific prowess into the service of a brutal, racist, xenophobic ideology is well known, few realize that German scientists had knowingly broken international agreements and basic codes of morality to fashion deadly weapons even before World War I.

John Roebling was one of the 19th century's most brilliant engineers, ingenious inventors, successful manufacturers, and fascinating personalities. Raised in a German backwater amid the war-torn chaos of the Napoleonic Wars, he immigrated to the US in 1831, where he became wealthy and acclaimed, eventually receiving a carte-blanche contract to build one of the 19th century's most stupendous and daring works of engineering: a gigantic suspension bridge to span the East River between New York and Brooklyn.

This riveting account reveals the secret corners of our supposedly flat world: black markets where governments are never seen but still spend outrageous amounts of money. Journalist Matt Potter tells the story of Yuri and his crew, a gang of Russian military men who, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, found themselves without work or prospects. So they bought a decommissioned Soviet plane - at liquidation prices, straight from the Russian government - and started a shipping business.

Asharru’s plan has failed. The Vahl Coalition is on the march. Magnus and his friends have nowhere left to run. Entropy is winning the war. In a final effort to kill the destroyer of worlds, Magnus, Naruni, Helix, and Lunas are forced to join forces with the one person they never thought they would—Nihili. Only together might they have a chance to finally end this cosmic war. But as this motley group of warriors travels Samsara collecting what they need to set a trap for Entropy, Magnus must not only resist Entropy’s attempts to turn him—he must resist his own thirst for vengeance ...

Joe begins seeing strange flashes. Ghosts of images, overlaid atop his own vision. Actions he could have taken but didn’t. Worse, the visions are increasing in scope and frequency. Believing he’s going mad, he confronts the scientist, only to discover the implant’s shocking origin.

The stakes are higher, the enemies deadlier, the adventure non-stop - join the fight to save humanity in the latest instalment of the epic saga. When a super-smart ape reveals to Arthur and Elliot that they missed something important while investigating Hellinix, the four heroes must return to Level-8, the vault at the center of the corporation's rot, to uncover their ultimate goal. Elliot has lost his sword, Arthur has fallen for Elliot's best friend, Millicent is struggling to fit in with the team, and Stanley just wants to know where the mangoes are. Can they keep their minds on the ...

GPS Declassified examines the development of GPS from its secret, cold war military roots to its emergence as a worldwide consumer industry. Drawing on previously unexplored documents, the authors examine how military rivalries influenced the creation of GPS and shaped public perceptions about its origin. Told by a son of a Navy insider and a science and technology journalist, the story chronicles the research and technological advances required for the development of GPS.

When it comes to motley crews, the Blackout has most starships beat. But as a ruthless force swarms over the quadrant, crushing and enslaving all civilizations in its path, it falls to this unlikely band of non-heroes to turn the tide. If they don't kill each other first. Onward, the sixth book in the Blackout series, is old-fashioned space opera at its best, perfect for fans of action-packed drama and fun! Note: The Blackout series is an homage to thrilling pulp sci-fi of yesteryear. If you're interested in hard science fiction look elsewhere. But if you're looking for action-packed ...

FIRESTORM BECKONS YOU INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE COSMOS... Captain Aaron Decosta, a decorated starship commander, embarks on a clandestine mission across the uncharted expanses. But fate has a twist in store when his vessel is swallowed by a cosmic maelstrom, leaving him and his crew stranded on a world shrouded in mystery and danger. Back on Earth's galactic frontier, Colonel Michael Decosta receives the harrowing news of his son's disappearance. Bound by blood and honor, he defies the chain of command, embarking on a perilous journey to the Bone Yard—a place where space anomalies distort ...

The ongoing adventures of the Marathon, a gunship with a crew long on exotic creatures and short on common sense. They (almost) always get the job done. Eventually. War Dead is the fifth book in the Marathon series, an action-packed carnival ride of a space opera that will leave you breathless.

The continuing adventures of the survey starship Yellowjacket after an alien force larger than any in living memory sweeps through the worlds of the Engel Empire. Note: The Stars Dark series is an homage to thrilling pulp sci-fi of yesteryear. If you're interested in hard science fiction look elsewhere. But if you're looking for action-packed adventures on strange worlds with even stranger aliens, this series is for you!

The opening of the pioneering Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railway network's vital role in changing the face of Britain. Fire & Steam celebrates the vision of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide railway to emerge.

Everyone has secrets… …but not like June's. Her secret will cost her father’s life…and maybe her own. June never asked to be created in a laboratory where human cloning is illegal. She never asked to keep her creation a secret for fear the man who made her—her father—would be arrested for his crimes, but most of all, she never asked for the faulty heart that beats inside her chest. After avoiding her paranoid drunken father for her entire adulthood, he shows up on her doorstep to warn her that people are after him for the secrets he keeps about how she was created. Without a ...

Camp Verde was a speck of dust in the rearview mirror, and Holly couldn’t wait to get to the base in Flagstaff. Being outside, seeing what people had become, it was almost too much to deal with. All she wanted to do now was lock herself inside the lab and fix whatever was happening. Max would ensure she was safe, and together they just might save the world.

The sinking of the submarine S-51 was one of the greatest tragedies in American naval history. Due to a miscommunication and subsequent collision between the sub and a passing steamship on a September night, the S-51, including 33 of its crew of 36, sank to the ocean depths. The tragedy of the S-51 captivated the nation, and was a fixture in the pages of American newspapers. The story took on a whole new dimension when the navy decided to take over the salvage of the 1,000-ton behemoth from a civilian company.

An unbelievable series of events led to the establishment of the Northwest Electro-development Laboratory, later the U.S. Bureau of Mines Albany Research Center. Though the fledgling lab had difficulty securing staff due to World War II, world-renown metallurgist William J. Kroll was hired early on as a consultant after fleeing Nazi occupation. Kroll, who had pioneered a method for producing commercial titanium, worked with his core group of associates to develop malleable zirconium, just as a need arose for the little-known metal.

When a training exercise at a classified research facility goes awry, Joe Kovacs loses much more than his eyesight. He loses his career. He can’t lead one of the military’s top spec-ops teams if he can’t see.

Hank Boyd is emotionally spent, unsure of what to do next. Does he call it quits and hang up his shovel, or does he push forward and endure? The decision is unfortunately made easier when he and his team are systematically attacked. Everyone is under fire and fighting for their lives as they try desperately to escape and regroup. The enemy is merciless and unconcerned with who gets in their way. Through information acquired from a past foe, they discover that not only was the fabled Tower of Babel real, but its ruins house an evil so powerful that not even Hank, still imbued with the might ...