Helen Plum Library

The Story of World History From the dawn of civilization to the height of human accomplishment and declines of empires on four continents, this compact world history book takes a fascinating journey through the most significant events in history and shows you the cultural achievements of people, countries, and civilizations long forgotten. Discover the history of the world anew and get a basic understanding of the times and the developments of...

Today, we think of the First Amendment as offering nearly unlimited free speech, but when you step back 100 years, you see surprising restrictions on speech. Here, go back to World War I and explore the Supreme Court's most important early decisions on freedom of speech.

Okinawa, Japan. The People, History, World War II, Culture and Tradition. Travel and Tourism. Before Okinawa, there was Ryukyu, an independent kingdom ruled by its kings, its people seafarers prospering through trade with China and other neighboring countries. In 1609, Ryukyu was invaded by Satsuma Han forces and incorporated into mainland Japan's Tokugawa Era "bakuhan" feudal regime. Okinawa prefecture was created in 1879 when Japan's new Meiji government...

Examine the role of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, and uncover why it entered the war on the side of Germany and Austro-Hungary. Consider the scope of the conflict in the Middle East, the Arab Revolt (arguably the most significant Middle Eastern campaign of the war), and the emergence of Arab nationalism.

The complete untold story of the cracking of the infamous Nazi code Most histories of the cracking of the elusive Enigma code focus on the work done by the codebreakers at Bletchley Park, Britain's famous World War II counterintelligence station. In this fascinating account, however, we are told, for the first time, the hair-raising stories of the heroic British and American sailors, spies, and secret agents who put their lives on the line to provide...

Alois Dwenger, writing from the front in May of 1942, complained that people forgot "the actions of simple soldiers?.I believe that true heroism lies in bearing this dreadful everyday life." In exploring the reality of the Landser, the average German soldier in World War II, through letters, diaries, memoirs, and oral histories, Stephen G. Fritz provides the definitive account of the everyday war of the German front soldier. The personal documents...

Michael D. Gordin is professor of the history of science at Princeton University. He is the author or editor of several books, including Red Cloud at Dawn: Truman, Stalin, and the End of the Atomic Monopoly. Most Americans believe that the Second World War ended because the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan forced it to surrender. Five Days in August boldly presents a different interpretation: that the military did not clearly understand the atomic...