Full AspenCat Catalog

Why did the conventional wisdom - that soldiers become increasingly cynical and disillusioned as war progresses - not hold true in the Civil War?. It is to this question - why did they fight - that James M. McPherson, America's preeminent Civil War historian, now turns his attention. He shows that, contrary to what many scholars believe, the soldiers of the Civil War remained powerfully convinced of the ideals for which they fought throughout the...

Faulques, a war photographer, witnessed most of the wars of the end of the 20th Century, but he was never able to capture the photo that would explain the chaos of the universe. Now, as continues to try to understand it, he starts painting a grand circular fresco on the inside wall of a tower on the Mediterranean, disturbed by the memories of a woman he can never forget, and an unexpected visit: a man who wants to kill him.

Sheds light on the experience of the individual soldier by examining three battles which demonstrate the formation of the United States military that people know today and the traditions that have shaped the character of America's armed forces.

A narrative history of World War II from the perspective of deserters reveals how desertion was often experienced as a natural part of conflict, sharing the stories of a decorated soldier-turned-gangster and a three-time deserter who eventually lost his legs in combat.

"A multigenerational story about two families living in the shadow of nuclear apocalypse. The year is 1959. Two young soldiers, Drummond and Carter, one working-class, the other privileged, form an intense and unlikely friendship at "Doomtown", a training center that simulates the aftermath of an atomic strike. Years later, the men watch the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold in horror. Carter, now a high-ranking British government official,...

"In this ... memoir, award-winning poet Brian Turner retraces his war experience--pre-deployment to combat zone, homecoming to aftermath. Free of self-indulgence or self-glorification, his account combines recollection with the imagination's efforts to make reality comprehensible. Across time, he seeks parallels in the histories of others who have gone to war, especially his taciturn grandfather (World War II), father (Cold War), and uncle (Vietnam)....

It was June 2009 at an inn on Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Donna, someone I had just met, said "Tell me about your camel." My camel? I live in Alaska. She's from Chicago, the wife of a poet, and it's her first trip here. People ask me lots of strange questions. Do you have electricity? Running water? An indoor toilet? My camel- do I also have a camel? Seeing my confusion, she touched her neck. "The camel. The camel around your neck." I touched my gold camel....

The TV series about the Vietnam War focuses on a single platoon of young U.S. soldiers. Full of thrilling combat action, this show portrays the dramatic human side of the war. In this second season, the fresh-faced recruits are becoming battle-weary fighters whose personal battles are just beginning amidst the daily grind of warfare.

World War I stands as one of history's most senseless spasms of carnage, defying rational explanation. In a riveting, suspenseful narrative with haunting echoes for our own time, Adam Hochschild brings it to life as never before. He focuses on the long-ignored moral drama of the war's critics, alongside its generals and heroes. Thrown in jail for their opposition to the war were Britain's leading investigative journalist, a future winner of the Nobel...