[quote]What made the West ‘western’? And has Western civilisation found modernity but lost itself? This provocative and stimulating polemic argues that the modern world has destroyed western culture and civilisation without gaining anything in return, leaving contemporary man with a spiritual and cultural gap that no amount of material wealth can fill. This is a brave and challenging attempt to explain how and why this has happened and present a new concept of modern history for our complacent times.

In July 1943 the German Army launched what proved to be its last great offensive on the Eastern Front against the Kursk salient. Kursk: The Greatest Tank Battle Ever Fought 1943 is a comprehensive account of the last time that Germany held the strategic initiative in the war against the Soviet Union, which, once lost, would lead to the inevitable destruction of the Nazi state by the vengeful Red Army. The book begins with a study of the background to the battle and a description of the events on the Eastern Front before the opening of the offensive, including the decisive battle for Stallngrad that had finished only a few months beforehand. The strategic importance of the Kursk salient is considered, as are the factors that caused the Germans to delay their offensive, even when the element of surprise had been lost. The extensive Soviet defensive preparations are covered in depth, as are the strength of both sides and the new equipment, such as the Panther tank that the Germans were using for the first time. Kursk: The Greatest Tank Battle Ever Fought 1943 shows how a bitter struggle developed between the Soviet and German forces, which sucked in huge numbers of tanks and men into a small area, so that it became the greatest armoured battle of the war. The Red Army of 1943 was very different from the force that reeled before the German onslaught in 1941, and its new found professionalism wore down the attackers until all their momentum was lost. The final chapter discusses the full implications of the battle for the Germans and for the Russians. The book's authoritative text is complemented with detailed maps that explain the troop movements that took place during the battle. The book also includes appendices with information on orders of battle, losses and equipment.

An impressive photo-essay, accompanied by a fact-packed text, covering the famous Scottish regiments of the British Army. Each of today's regular regiments of Highland and Lowland infantry, and the tank crews of the legendary cavalry "Greys", are photographed in a wide range of uniforms and equipment - from full combat gear to their dazzling traditional parade dress. The organization, mission, weapons, and recent service of these historic regiments are explained. Europa Militaria 24.

Reenactors wearing carefully created costumes, photographed in authentic settings, provide a snapshot of spear men, archers, crossbow men, gunners, and knights from the period 1300-1500. Detailed photographs are supported by artwork showing scores of original images from period paintings, carvings and manuscript illustrations revealing what it was like to live, work, and fight during the Middle Ages. Europa Militaria Special No. 8.

This is the first book systematically to analyze Kirk Douglas’ and Stanley Kubrick’s depiction of the slave revolt led by Spartacus from different historical, political, and cinematic perspectives.

* Examines the film’s use of ancient sources, the ancient historical contexts, the political significance of the film, the history of its censorship and restoration, and its place in film history.
* Includes the most important passages from ancient authors’ reports of the slave revolt in translation.

This is a fascinating study of religious culture in England from 1050 to 1250. Drawing on the wealth of material about religious belief and practice that survives in the chronicles, Carl Watkins explores accounts of signs, prophecies, astrology, magic, beliefs about death and the miraculous and demonic. He challenges some of the prevailing assumptions about religious belief, questioning in particular the attachment of many historians to terms such as 'clerical' and 'lay', 'popular' and 'elite', 'Christian' and 'pagan' as explanatory categories. The evidence of the chronicles is also set in its broader context through explorations of miracle collections, penitential manuals, exempla and sermons. The book traces shifts in the way the supernatural was conceptualized by learned writers and the ways in which broader patterns of belief evolved during this period. This original account sheds important new light on belief during a period in which the religious landscape was transformed.

The heraldry of war--the vivid, colourful display of uniforms, medals, badges, and banners--has always been a heavy inducement to men to take up arms. But their main function is neither to confer glamour on their wearers, nor are they for mere empty display. There is, in the most sophisticated of men, something of the primitive. Modern man, whether in the thick of battle or in one of those situations of complete isolation that occur so frequently in modern war--deep in the bowels of a warship in action, in a trench under shellfire, or in the cockpit of an aeroplane with enemy aircraft in sight--needs a sense of identity with country and comrades. The cross section of uniforms, medals, and insignia contained in this book can, then, be regarded as something more than a collection of colourful devices and complex designs.

This book brings to life the armies of the period, recreates the battles from the viewpoint of both Wellington and Napoleon, and takes the reader with the author onto the field of Waterloo for a guided tour of the major sights and key features of terrain. Jac Weller was a distinguished authority on the Duke of Wellington and the author of Wellington in India and Wellington in the Peninsula. This book was originally published by Longmans in 1967.

Hero of the Soviet Union Dmitriy Loza has carefully crafted his World War II experiences with American-provided Sherman tanks into a highly readable memoir. Between the fall of 1943 and August 1945, Loza fought in the Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. He commanded a tank battalion during much of this period and had three Shermans shot out from under him. Commanding The Red Army's Sherman Tanks is the first available detailed examination of the Red Army's exploitation of American war material during World War II and provides firsthand testimony on tactical command decisions, group objectives and how they were accomplished. It took the fall of the Soviet Empire before first-hand information like this could become part of military studies materials here in the west. James Gebhard's translation has made Dmitriy Loza's military memoirs easily accessible to both military professionals, World War II buffs, and nonspecialist general readers alike.