First Crusade

The First Crusade is one of the best-known and most written-about events in history, but in this new book Dr Peter Frankopan asks vital questions that have never been posed before. This is the only book to address the history of the First Crusade from the perspective of the East, examining the role of the Byzantine Empire and its ruler, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

In the second half of the tenth century, Byzantium embarked on a series of spectacular conquests. By the early eleventh century, the empire was the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. Yet this imperial project came to a crashing collapse fifty years later, when political disunity, fiscal mismanagement, and defeat at the hands of the Seljuks and the Normans brought an end to Byzantine hegemony. By 1081, Byzantium's very existence was threatened.

The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.

From the schism between Rome and Constantinople to the rise of the T'ang Dynasty, from the birth of Muhammad to the crowning of Charlemagne, this erudite book tells the fascinating, often violent story of kings, generals, and the peoples they ruled.

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the USS Walker, have chosen sides in a war not of their making. They have allied with the Lemurians - a mammalian race whose peaceful existence is under attack from the warlike, reptilian Grik. The Lemurians are vastly outnumbered and ignorant of warfare, and even the guns and technology of Walker cannot turn the tide of battle.

Spacers call the warp point Charon's Ferry. No star ship has ever entered it and returned since a vengeful Orion task force pursued a doomed Terran colonization fleet into it in 2206. Almost a century has passed. The fiery hatreds of a quarter-century of warfare between the Terran Federation and the Zheeerlikou'valkhannaieeee, the cat-like species humans called the "Orions", have eased at least a little.

The breathtaking vision and incomparable storytelling of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, a prequel to Frank Herbert's classic Dune, propelled it to the ranks of speculative fiction's classics in its own right. Now, with all the color, scope, and fascination of the...

Throughout the Gulf War of 1991, unprecedented restrictions on the media’s access to the battlefield kept the true story of that brief, brutal conflict from being told. Now, after two years of intensive research, Rick Atkinson has written what will surely come to be recognized as the definitive chronicle of the war.

Old ways have been broken in the blood and smoke of the Battle of Thornhurst by Allystaire Stillbright and followers of the Goddess. Now the Paladin must recover from his ordeal, carve out a hopeful future for the shattered Baronies, and prepare for the next attack upon the Goddess' new and fragile following. But the corrupt deity, Braech, the Sea-Dragon, will not easily let go of the power that has long been his. Braech's minions march on the now-weakened Baronies. The final battle, a crusade against the Mother and all of her followers, is near.

Sons of the primarch Roboute Guilliman, the Primaris Ultramarines are peerless warriors whose sworn duty is to protect mankind from the predations of the xenos and the foul traitors of the Heretic Astartes. In a galaxy riven by eternal war, they and the other armies of the Imperium are all that stand between mankind and damnation. Their ship damaged by warp storms, the Ultramarines of strike force Cassian make for Kalides Prime. Also within this book is a host of awesome short stories to give you a flavour of the many warring armies that exist within the worlds of Warhammer 40,000.

Beginning in 1095 and culminating four bloody years later, the First Crusade represented a new kind of warfare: holy, unrestrained, and apocalyptic. In Armies of Heaven, medieval historian Jay Rubenstein tells the story of this cataclysmic event through the eyes of those who witnessed it, emphasizing the fundamental role that apocalyptic thought played in motivating the Crusaders.

The world is suddenly thrown into chaos as a research project is sabotaged and the dead come alive to feast on the living - it seems like an old story, doesn’t it? The Apocalypse Crusade is not that book. You are not suddenly thrust into a world gone mad. Instead, you get front-row seats to how the sh-t went down. In real time you are witness to the agony and the horror…and the terrible stupidity that made it all possible.

Ely Hale and the Steel Sworn strike out on a dangerous mission. They must save the souls of an unsuspecting world before the evil Geist can harvest them. A desperate call for help from hidden agents on the planet Roanoke brings an opportunity for the Ibarra Crusade: a Charon transport. The Geist reap colonies under their control, the harvest transported between the stars aboard their soul prisons. Lady Ibarra wants that ship, and sends two lances of Armor and the Scipio to seize her prize. If Ely fails, and the Geist will grow ever stronger.

Historian Nigel Cliff delivers a sweeping, radical reinterpretation of Vasco da Gama's pioneering voyages, revealing their significance as a decisive turning point in the struggle between Christianity and Islam. Perfect for fans of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, Galileo's Daughter, and Atlantic, this first-ever complete account of da Gama's voyages includes new information from the recently discovered diaries of his sailors and an extraordinary series of letters between da Gama and the Zamorin, a king of modern-day Kerala, India.

Contains books one and two of The Ibarra Crusade, a continuation of the action-packed military sci-fi Ember War Saga. Earth suffers under a brutal alien occupation, but one young man brings hope from beyond the galaxy's edge. Ely Hale returns to the Earth with a desperate plea from his father: Take his son to Stacy Ibarra, and remove the Qa’resh technology embedded in his skull before it kills him.

Altaïr embarks on a formidable mission - one that takes him throughout the Holy Land and shows him the true meaning of the Assassin's Creed. To demonstrate his commitment, Altaïr must defeat nine deadly enemies, including Templar leader Robert de Sablé. Here, for the first time, Niccolò Polo, father of Marco, shares Altaïr's remarkable story: his ongoing battle with the Templar conspiracy; a family life that is as tragic as it is shocking; the betrayal of an old friend; and a journey that will ultimately change the course of history.

Join the political and cultural fight for America's freedom - and learn how to protect our nation from the leftist agenda - with this essential guide from Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth. In American Crusade, Pete Hegseth explores whether the election of President Donald J. Trump was sign of a national rebirth, or instead the final act of a nation that has surrendered to Leftists who demand socialism, globalism, secularism, and politically correct elitism. Can real America still win? And how?

Commander Jay Luckrun is a bit more than a dorky weirdo these days. He's a dungeon crawler of the multiverse and a relentless killer of thousands of men and monsters. People think he's to blame for the spread of the apocalypse, too! Some of that might be true, but Jay still thinks of himself as a hero of comedy. But when a secretive group of villains gets empowered by the System and attacks the people close to Jay, he might have to lean into his infamy more. He might have to go all out to seek vengeance.

Even supervillains have lines they dare not cross. If only the same could be said of heroes.... For more than two decades, the sight of Doctor Fid's powered armor has struck terror into the hearts of hero and civilian alike. But when a personal tragedy motivates Doctor Fid to investigate a crime, a plot is uncovered so horrific that even he is taken aback. Haunted by painful memories and profound guilt, the veteran supervillain must race against time if he is to have any hope of confronting the approaching threat.

Five days in the grinder. Five days of endless pain and no sleep. Five days of the hardest work imaginable-it’s the work of surviving and not one second of it has been easy. This is the story of how the world ends as we know it. It’s the story of the apocalypse. It’s the story of how we lost. Those of us who can fight against these urges are called the good guys. There’s very few of us left at the beginning of day five and by the end...well, you will have to see for yourself if there are any good guys left when the clock strikes midnight on humanity.