"When the CIA realizes the identities of three American spies in Brazil have been compromised, they turn to Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon to rescue the agents. What seems a routine operation turns out to be a trap designed by Juan Cabrillo's greatest enemy, a man driven by hate to seek the ultimate revenge. At the heart of the plot is a state-of-the-art ship that is identical to the Oregon: same weaponry, same technology, same ability to...

William Weir, author of 50 Battles That Changed the World, takes another look at the history of warfare by focusing on the hardware that served those famous battles. In this text, you'll uncover: Crew-served weapons-from battering rams to Big Bertha; weapons carriers, such as tanks and bombers; and unmanned weapons-punji stakes, Bouncing Betty landmines, trap guns, and more. 50 Weapons That Changed Warfare analyzes the most memorable tools known to...

A photo essay examining the design, construction, and uses of hand weapons and armor from a Stone Age axe to the revolvers and rifles of the Wild West.

The death of a journalist leads Gabriel Allon to Russia, where he finds that, in terms of spycraft, even he has something to learn. He's playing by Moscow rules now. Ivan Kharkov, a former KGB colonel who built a global investment empire on the rubble of the Soviet Union, is an arms dealer and he is about to deliver Russia's most sophisticated weapons to al- Qaeda. Unless Allon can learn the time and place of the delivery, the world will see the deadliest...

"What happens when a Predator drone has as much autonomy as a Google car? Although it sounds like science fiction, the technology to create weapons that could hunt and destroy targets on their own already exists. Paul Scharre, a leading expert in emerging weapons technologies, draws on incisive research and firsthand experience to explore how increasingly autonomous weapons are changing warfare. This far-ranging investigation examines the emergence...

"After the Soviet Union proved to the US that it possessed an operational intercontinental ballistic missile with the launch of Sputnik in the October 1957, the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers engaged in a game of nuclear one-upmanship. In the midst of this rising tension, Nicholas Christofilos, an eccentric Greek-American physicist, brought forth an outlandish, albeit ingenious, idea to defend the US from a Soviet attack: launching...

With the advent of modern household products and office supplies binder clips, clothespins, rubber bands, ballpoint pens, toothpicks, paper clips, plastic utensils, and matches and barbeque lighters troublemakers of all stripes have the components needed to build an impressive, if somewhat miniaturized, arsenal. Detailed, step-by-step instructions for each project are provided, including materials and ammo lists, clear diagrams, and construction tips....

When Chen's parents are incinerated before his eyes by a blast of ball lightning, he devotes his life to cracking the secret of this mysterious natural phenomenon. His search takes him to stormy mountaintops, an experimental military weapons lab, and an old Soviet science station. The more he learns, the more he comes to realize that ball lightning is just the tip of an entirely new frontier. While Chen's quest for answers gives purpose to his lonely...

"Eric Steele is the best of the best--an Alpha--an operative in a unit known simply as 'the Program.' A highly-trained U.S. Special Forces soldier who spent his career fighting radical Islamic militants in Afghanistan, Steele uses a deadly combination of espionage and brute strength to root out his targets and neutralize them. But sometimes the enemy gets a vote, and Steele knows all too well that every mission may be his last. Steele is in Beirut...

With clarity and expertise, Joseph Cirincione presents an even-handed look at the history of nuclear proliferation and an optimistic vision of its future, providing a comprehensive survey of the wide range of critical perspectives. Cirincione begins with the first atomic discoveries of the 1930s and covers the history of their growth all the way to current crisis with Iran. He unravels the science, strategy, and politics that have fueled the development...