Heroism and sacrifice. Brutality and folly. Great leaders, bad leaders, horrible villains, pivotal moments, and events. Take a look at how the world, the United States, and the lives we lead today have been changed by war and the military!
Military history is a fascinating, complex, and often contradictory subject. War and fighting between tribes, clans, groups, and countries has been with us forever. Wars cause political, social, and technological upheavals. From early Greeks and Romans to the great conquering armies of the past, continuing on through the civil wars and world wars that shaped the boundaries of today’s nations, and to the modern weapons, technologies, guerrilla warfare, and terrorism currently reported in the nightly news, The Handy Military History Answer Book looks at the who, the what, the why, and the how of conflicts throughout history. It answers over 1,100 questions, from the most widely asked to the more obscure, such as:
Who cast the first stone (of human history)?
Could Alexander the Great have conquered the early Roman Republic?
Which precious metal did the Vikings prefer above all others?
Do we even have his name—Genghis Khan—right?
Where did Richard the Lion-Heart get his nickname?
Was Napoleon really not French?
What signals did Paul Revere watch for on the evening of April 18, 1775?
What was the worst day of the Civil War, in the Far West?
Where was the world's first submarine deployed?
Where did the name "Uncle Sam" come from?
Why on earth did Hitler code-name his invasion of Russia for a German emperor who drowned?
How close did Hitler come to victory at Moscow in 1941?
When did the Cold War commence?
What role will technology like the Internet play in future warfare?
How significant—to the United States—is the rise in China’s military power?
And hundreds more!
The weapons, leaders, soldiers, battles, tactics, strategies, blunders, technologies, and outcomes are all examined in
The Handy Military History Answer Book. This powerful primer investigates everything from the smallest miscalculations and maneuvers to the biggest invasions and battles, as well as the cutting-edge technologies and firepower that led to victories and helped change the world!
Samuel Willard Crompton has written numerous books on war and its side effects, including Visible Ink Press’s The Handy Civil War Answer Book, 100 Battles That Shaped World History, and 100 Military Leaders Who Shaped World History, the latter two by Bluewood Books. Crompton is also a major contributor to the 24-volume American National Biography, which is expected to stand as the premier American biographical reference for the next 50 years. He is a specialist in the French and Indian Wars and has served as a talking head for the Military Channel on its First Command program. Crompton teaches history at Holyoke Community College. He has never served in the military, but his father was an American GI in France, and his great uncle died in the last stages of World War I.
