history

In 1954, a pastor named Jim Jones founded a church in Indianapolis called Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church. A preacher with idealistic beliefs, he quickly filled his church with those eager to hear his sermons on social justice. As he became more idealistic his behavior became more erratic and his message, more ominous. His followers leaned on each other for the sense of equality they got from the church but increasingly Jones made it more and more difficult for anyone to leave. Soon Jones moved his congregation to a remote jungle in Guyana, South America. There authorities began to investigate allegations of abuse and false imprisonment. Soon Jonestown became a mass murder scene when Jim Jones deprived his followers of food, sleep, and hope, and ultimately forced them to commit "revolutionary suicide".

The story of political prisoners finally freed in December 2014, after being held captive by the United States since the late 1990s. Anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out hundreds of military attacks on Cuba through the 1980s and 1990s, bombing hotels and shooting up Cuban beaches with machine guns. The Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network--a dozen men and two women--sent to infiltrate those organizations. The Last Soldiers of the Cold War tells the story of those unlikely Cuban spies and their eventual unmasking and prosecution by U.S. authorities. Five of the Cubans received long or life prison terms on charges of espionage and murder.

The Islamic State has become one of the most popular and successful jihadist groups on the planet, surpassing even al-Qaeda. By being more ruthless, more messianic, and more devoted to empire-building than its competitors, ISIS has conquered a vast amount of land and amassed thousands of followers. ISIS combines two of the most powerful, yet contradictory, ideas in Islam--the return of the Islamic Empire and the end of the world--into a mission and a message that shapes its strategy and inspires its army of zealous fighters. Even if the Islamic State is defeated, jihadist terrorism will never be the same. Based almost entirely on primary sources in Arabic--including ancient religious texts and secret al-Qaeda and Islamic State letters that few outsiders have seen--this book explores how religious fervor, strategic calculation, and doomsday prophesy shaped the Islamic State's past and foreshadows its dark future.

The horse's Korean name was Ah-Chim-Hai (Flame of the Morning). She was an old chestnut-colored Mongolian racehorse. Once she amazed the racing crowd with her remarkable speed. But when the 1950's Korean War shut down the racetrack, she was sold to an American Marine and trained to carry heavy loads of ammunition across steep hills under a barrage of bullets and bombs. Her new name was Reckless. And she proved to be fearless under fire, exposed to every type of hazard. Sometimes she shielded human reinforcements and soon the Chinese were targeting the horse. But Reckless never shied away from danger and soon the men came to appreciate her not just as a horse but as a fellow Marine. She lived through the war and ended her days as a retired Marine at Camp Pendleton, giving birth to four foals while she was there.

Thousands of Nazis, from concentration camp guards and officers in the Third Reich, came to the United States after World War II and quietly settled into new lives. Many gained entry on their own, as refugees, but thousands had help from the U.S. government. The CIA, the FBI and others all put Hitler's minions to work as spies, intelligence assets, and engineers, whitewashing their histories. Only years later did government prosecutors begin trying to identify them, relying on a trove of newly discovered documents.

The Navy SEALs history stretches back to World War II when US intelligence officials formed a team of special-operation combat swimmers. Under the leadership of Captain Jack Taylor, a California dentist, the Maritime Unit (MU) started training in 1942, learning underwater and covert operation techniques, as it developed an array of James Bond-like new equipment, including the recently invented underwater breathing apparatus, limpet mines, silent electric motors, and a collapsible eight-foot submarine. Finally deployed in 1944, the unit conducted some of the most daring, behind-enemy-lines operations of the war in Italy, where they linked up with fearsome Italian commandos. In one of its greatest coups, they captured the plans--and the architect--of Germany's famed Gothic Line, resulting in the Eighth Army's partial breakthrough. Filled with unforgettable characters, including the unit's charismatic leader, a Hollywood star, and a gritty New York City gas station owner, The First SEALs cinematically narrates one of the greatest untold stories of World War II and links their storied past to today's gloried US Navy SEALs.

Chronicles the harrowing junior year at Central High of Melba Pattillo Beals, during which she underwent the segregationists' brutal organized campaign of terrorism, which included telephone threats, vigilante stalkers, economic blackmailers, rogue police, and much more.

Provides an overview of the history of the Minnesota Vikings football team, highlighting popular players, influential coaches, and more.

Provides an overview of the history of the Cincinnati Bengals football team, highlighting popular players, influential coaches, and more.

This book presents some of the NHL’s greatest players and their achievements, including Jonathan Toews, Corey Perry, and Henrik Lundqvist.