mediterranean region

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.

"When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a crisis. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa's Barbary coast routinely captured American sailors and held them as slaves, demanding ransom and tribute payments far beyond what the new country could afford. ... President Jefferson decided to move beyond diplomacy. He sent the U.S. Navy's new warships and a detachment of Marines to blockade Tripoli, launching the Barbary Wars and beginning America's journey toward future superpower status .... Few today remember these men and other heroes who inspired the Marine Corps hymn: 'From the Halls of Montezumato the Shores of Tripoli, we fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea'"--Amazon.com.

Describes the historical and contemporary lives of Mediterranean women, their religious, family, and public lives, and issues and controversies they face, and discusses the work of individual Mediterranean women who have made a difference in their societies or the world.

The story of the real men and combat missions that formed the basis for Joseph Heller's bestselling novel Catch-22.

Includes information on the Algerine War (1815), Algiers Treaty (1795), Continental Congress, U.S. Congress, Stephen Decatur, Democratic-Republicans, William Eaton, Federalists, France, Benjamin Franklin, free trade, Great Britain, U.S. House of Representatives, Ali Hassan (dey of Algiers), Islam, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, Yusuf Karamanli (bashaw of Tripoli), Koran, Tobias Lear, James Madison, mercantilism, Morocco Treaty, Navigation Acts, U.S. Navy, Netherlands, Richard O'Brien, Treaty of Paris, pirates, piracy, Portugal, Edward Preble, Sallee Rovers, U.S. Senate, slaves, slavery, Spain, Sweden, Tripoli, Tripoli Treaty, Tunis, war on terrorism, War of 1812, George Washington, etc.

" ... a representation of the Islamic experience of the Crusades during the Middle Ages, [overturning] previous claims and present[ing] new arguments, such as the idea that the Frankish invasions of the Near East were something of a side-show to the broader internal conflict between Sunnis and Shi'ites in the region ... "--Provided by publisher.

Presents an environmental history of the Mediterranean region--from Southern Europe to northern Africa to southwestern Asia--and examines the impact of human settlement on its geography over time, from prehistory to modern times. Includes case studies.

An exploration of the culinary history of the Mediterranean that discusses the influence of geography and climate on the cuisine, methods of preparation, ingredients, and other related topics, and includes more than five hundred recipes.