In this course, University of Maryland history professor Jay Winik examines the dramatic events leading up to April 1865 and ponders some of the unthinkable alternatives that, had they materialized, would have surely prevented the formation of the country we know today.

In this Anansi Digital Publication, James Laxer analyzes the descent of the United States into civil conflict. At a time when American society is roiled by deep divisions over immigration, guns, the role of the state, and the economic crisis, Laxer makes the case that serious conflict is likely to be generated from the right of the American political spectrum, from the forces he refers to as "Old America." Laxer poses the provocative question: Is the United States once again "A House Divided" to use Lincoln’s famous phrase on the eve of the American Civil War. Laxer argues that Old America is increasingly desperate in the face of the demographic and societal changes that are transforming the country. Laxer shows how old elites, the French aristocracy on the eve of the Revolution, and the Southern Slaveocracy who started the Civil War, can provoke desperate conflicts to salvage their positions. Could this happen in America today? Laxer wrote A House Divided while in California in the winter of 2013 where he was writing Travels Through the Golden State: A California Diary, also an Anansi Digital Publication.

The Viking warship of King Cnut the Great. Henry VIII's the Mary Rose. Captain John Franklin's doomed HMS Terror. The SS Gairsoppa, destroyed by a Nazi U-boat in the Atlantic during World War II. Since we first set sail on the open sea, ships and their wrecks have been an inevitable part of human history. Archaeologists have made spectacular discoveries excavating these sunken ships, their protective underwater cocoon keeping evidence of past civilizations preserved. World renowned maritime archeologist David Gibbins ties together the stories of some of the most significant shipwrecks in time to form a single overarching narrative of world history. A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks is not just the story of those ships, the people who sailed on them, and the cargo and treasure they carried, but also the story of the spread of people, religion, and ideas around the world; it is a story of colonialism, migration, and the indominable human spirit that continues today. Drawing on decades of experience, Gibbins reveals the riches beneath the waves and shows us how the treasures found there can be a porthole to the past that tell a new story about the world and its underwater secrets.

An eye-opening look at one of Canada's most vital military resources. Spanning over forty years, the book provides the reader with the rare opportunity to have a behind-the-scenes look at this arm of Canada's Military during both wartime and peacetime, and through its challenges, evolution, and many successes.The authors describe in careful detail the specialty police and security training and expertise developed over the years, which came to include women as well as men. They seamlessly place the changing operational roles and mandate of Canada's Air Force Police and Security Services in the political climate of the times, including the introduction of nuclear-capable aircraft and modern technology.

Over the centuries the Middle East has confounded the dreams of conquerors and peacemakers alike. This now-classic book, fully updated to 2009, follows the historic struggles of the region over the last two hundred years, from Napoleon's assault on Egypt, through the slow decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire, to the painful emergence of modern nations, the Palestinian question and Islamic resurgence.

Known as the "Great War," World War One was one of history's greatest tragedies. It eventually dragged most of Europe and the world into its bloody quagmire, inflicting more than four years of suffering, misery, maiming, and death on the belligerent nations. Ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses, A History of the Great War: World War One and the International Crisis of the Early Twentieth Century is a brief yet comprehensive study that distinguishes itself from other textbooks in significant ways. Providing broader coverage than most texts, it discusses the phenomenon of the war in its chronological entirety. Author Eric Dorn Brose analyzes the forces that generated international tension and made wars more prevalent before 1914; the causes and course of the Great War to 1918; and the violent and problematic aftermath of the struggle to 1926. Rather than focusing exclusively on military developments, Brose also examines the war's underlying causes, its political and diplomatic dimensions, and its myriad consequences. Explicitly global in scope, A History of the Great War offers a more extensive look at the worldwide side of the Great War than existing texts do, including coverage of the campaigns spanning Northeast Africa, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Central Asia, India, and the war at sea. In addition, the author incorporates and discusses recent groundbreaking research in the "Notes" section of each chapter, so that students can easily access it. The text is also enhanced by maps, photos, and an engaging vignette at the opening of each chapter that serves as an introduction.

Wheaton College professor Michael Drout addresses the foundation of language and its connectin to specific portions of the brain. The components of language are explained in easy-to-understand terms and the progression of language from Germanic to Modern English is fully illustrated. Finally, Drout examines the future not only of language, but of all the world's languages.

The waters off Newfoundland, in the North Atlantic, held the world’s most abundant supply of codfish, which, when discovered, was in great demand. Unlike the fur trade, the other major early commercial activity in what is now mainland Canada; the production of codfish did not require year-round residence. It did, however, require numerous men, young and old, for the fishing season, which ran from spring to early fall.

This successful English-Newfoundland migratory fishery evolved into an exclusively shore-based, but still migratory, fishery that led to the formation of a formal colony by 1818. Shannon Ryan offers this general history as an introduction to early Newfoundland. The economy and social, military, and political issues are dealt with in a straightforward narrative that will appeal to general readers as well as students of Newfoundland and Labrador history.

Shortlisted for the 2013 Heritage and History Award

This text traces Iraq's history from the Ottoman Empire, to the creation of the state, its transformation from monarchy to republic, the rise of the Ba'th party and Saddam Hussein, and the American-led war of 2003. Tripp's thesis is that the history of Iraq throughout the twentieth century has made it what it is today, but also provides alternative futures.