He was hated, feared, and admired. The country’s second-richest man at the time of his death, John D. MacArthur (1897-1978) also became one of its great benefactors. Every year, some two dozen American writers, artists, intellectuals, and scientists receive as much as a half million dollars in grants knownas the "genius awards" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. But MacArthur was not the benevolent figure you might expect. Stingier than J. Paul Getty, as money-obsessed as Howard Hughes, and as ruthless as Cornelius Vanderbilt, MacArthur was one of the most multi-layered men in business history. Now, in this first full biography of John D. MacArthur as he really was, Nancy Kriplen reveals the man behind the myth -- the often vulgar, sometimes unethical, always ambitious rogue who would become one of America’s wealthiest men.

This book examines in detail the Japanese Infantryman who, despite comparisons with the notorious German Waffen SS, was an enigma to Westerners. Brutal in its treatment of prisoners as well as the inhabitants of the areas that it conquered, the Imperial Japanese Army also had exacting standards for its own men - strict codes of honor compelled Japanese soldiers to fight to the death against the more technologically advanced Allies. Identifying the ways in which the Japanese soldier differed from his Western counterparts, the author explores concepts such as Bushido, Seppuku, Shiki and Hakko Ichi-u in order to understand what motivated Japanese warriors.

From a rare, late-18th-century sourcebook of designs — repeatable linear patterns, mythological figures and scenes, vine and leaf forms, real and legendary beasts, and more. The 526 black-and-white motifs will find a wealth of use among craftworkers, graphic artists, and theatrical and architectural designers.

Not much has happened in the Roman Empire since 1994 that required the first edition to be updated, but Bunson, a prolific reference and history author, has revised it, incorporated new findings and thinking, and changed the dating style to C.E. (Common Era) and B.C.E. (Before Common Era). For the 500 years from Julius Caesar and the Gallic Wars in 59-51 B.C.E. to the fall of the empire in the west in 476 C.E, he discusses personalities, terms, sites, and events. There is very little cross-referencing.

     

This book features the Cold War from the Soviet side. In this widely praised book, Vladislav Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers the first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side. "A Failed Empire" provides a history quite different from those written by the Western victors. In a new preface for this edition, the author adds to our understanding of today's events in Russia, including who the new players are and how their policies will affect the state of the world in the twenty-first century.