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  Nazi Germany’s Conquest of...

  Editors Charles River

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  Europe’s attempts to appease Hitler, most notably at Munich in 1938, failed, as Nazi Germany swallowed up Austria and Czechoslovakia by 1939. Italy was on the march as well, invading Albania in April of 1939. The straw that broke the camel's back, however, was Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1 of that year. Two days later, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany, and World War II had begun in earnest. 
  Of course, as most people now know, the invasion of Poland was merely the preface to the Nazi blitzkrieg of most of Western Europe, which would include Denmark, Belgium, and France by the summer of 1940. The resistance put up by these countries is often portrayed as weak, and the narrative is that the British stood alone in 1940 against the Nazi onslaught, defending the British Isles during the Battle of Britain and preventing a potential German invasion. 
  In particular, the campaign in Poland is remembered as one in which an antiquated Polish army was quickly pummeled by the world’s most modern army. Polish lancers charging in a valiant yet idiotic attack against German tanks is the only image from the 1939 Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland remaining in the popular imagination today. Originating as a piece of Nazi propaganda, paradoxically adopted by the Poles as a patriotic myth, the fictional charge obscures the actual events of September 1939. Outnumbered, outgunned, and under-equipped, the Polish army nevertheless inflicted heavy losses on the invading Wehrmacht. In fact, only the unexpected advance of Soviet forces from the east put a quick end to the struggle and saw the Polish republic partitioned again after just 20 years of independence. Nonetheless, the campaign that started World War II was a bloody sign of things to come as the conflict engulfed the globe.

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  The Book of Five Rings - The...

  Musashi Miyamoto, Tim Zengerink

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  What if you could master the art of strategy, overcome any opponent, and live with discipline and focus in every area of your life? 
  The Book of Five Rings: The Samurai’s Handbook for Strategy, Combat, and Mastery brings you the timeless teachings of Miyamoto Musashi, Japan’s greatest swordsman and strategist, now adapted for today’s listeners. 
  Written in the 17th century, The Book of Five Rings distills Musashi’s profound insights on strategy, combat, and personal mastery. These lessons extend beyond the battlefield, offering guidance for success in business, leadership, and life. Grounded in clarity, discipline, and adaptability, this modern audiobook makes Musashi’s wisdom accessible and actionable for contemporary listeners. 
  This isn’t just a guide to samurai tactics—it’s a roadmap for sharpening your mind, mastering your craft, and adopting the warrior’s mindset to conquer challenges and achieve victory. 
  What You’ll Discover in This Modern Audiobook: 
  - Master the Art of Strategy: Learn to anticipate, adapt, and outthink challenges in any situation. 
  - Cultivate Discipline and Focus: Build the mental toughness and clarity needed to master your skills and reach your goals. 
  - Timeless Lessons from the Samurai: Explore principles of preparation, timing, and decisiveness that lead to success. 
  - Clear, Modernized Language: Enjoy Musashi’s teachings in a contemporary style that’s easy to understand and apply. 
  Miyamoto Musashi’s wisdom has inspired warriors, leaders, and strategists for centuries. His insights on discipline, adaptability, and mastery remain as relevant today as ever, providing a powerful guide to overcoming obstacles and achieving excellence. 
  Imagine thinking strategically, leading with focus, and facing life’s challenges with unshakable confidence. 
  Download your copy today and start your journey toward mastery with the timeless teachings of Miyamoto Musashi.

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  First Acts: A Black Playwright...

  Kermit Frazier

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  Playwright and television writer Kermit Frazier grew up in southeast Washington, DC, during the Civil Rights era of the 1950s and 1960s. As a student at an all-Black elementary school, he was selected for a newly formed honors track at a predominantly white secondary school. Traveling a complex path, Kermit tore down segregation barriers, balanced on an academic pedestal, and battled an internal war of denial against his same-sex attractions. . . . Through a series of discrete yet interconnected chapters that each unfold through a different "aspect of perception," this memoir vividly describes a young Black man struggling with stereotypes, identity, and mild dyslexia while straddling two middle-class worlds, Black and white, and striving mightily not to be everyone's "other."

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  Micheline's Three Conditions -...

  Rose Foley, Micheline Sheehy...

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  How was it possible for one woman, later joined by a handful of others, to overcome a large organisation and bring about a gender equality sea change in higher education in her country? This is the story of how the granddaughter of Ireland's most famous suffragette won a gender discrimination case for lack of promotion, the first such win in either Ireland or the UK; then donated her €70,000 award to five other women, also passed over in that promotion round, for their High Court case. It tells of the subsequent Micheline’s Three Conditions Campaign, a four-year epic struggle filled with twists and turns, to get the five women promoted. And then the final success. This is a fascinating and often funny account which will inspire others to take on injustice.

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  Salamis and Actium: The History...

  Editors Charles River

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  When the Spartans’ famous and sacrificial stand at the Battle of Thermopylae ended during the Second Persian War, the Athenian fleet was forced to fall back, and Xerxes’ massive Persian army marched unopposed into Greece before advancing on Athens. The Greek armies were scattered and unable to face the might of Persia, so Athens was forced to do the unthinkable: evacuate the entire population of the city to Salamis, from where the Athenians watched in horror as Xerxes’ troops plundered the defenseless city, set it aflame, and razed the Acropolis. 
  However, the Athenians remained belligerent, in part because according to the oracle at Delphi, “only the wooden wall shall save you.” Indeed, this would prove true when Themistocles managed to lure the Persian fleet into the straits of Salamis. There, on a warm day in September 480 BCE, hundreds of Greek and Persian ships faced each other in a narrow strait between the Attic peninsula of Greece and the island of Salamis. The battle that ensued would prove to be epic on a number of different levels, as it set a precedent for how later naval battles were fought in the ancient Mediterranean, turned the tide in the Greeks’ favor against the Persians in the Persian Wars, and ultimately played a role in Athens’ rise to a preeminent role in the Hellenic world. 
  As one of Rome’s most famous battles, the Battle of Actium has taken on a life of its own in popular memory. One of the longest-held myths about the battle is that Cleopatra, sensing defeat, began to sail away from the fight in the middle of the day, and the love struck Antony followed her with his own ship, abandoning his men in the middle of the fight. While that popular myth would be in keeping with explaining Cleopatra’s irresistible charm and magnetism, contemporary accounts of the battle do not suggest it was the case.

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  Disciples of White Jesus - The...

  Angela Denker

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  White boys and men are dangerous. 
  White boys and men are struggling. 
  Both of these statements are staggeringly true in America today. By far, most large-scale mass shooters are white men. White men also die by suicide more often than any other demographic. In this sensitive, searing, and unsparing look at American boyhood, journalist, mother, and pastor Angela Denker investigates the sometimes-tragic stories of boyhood across the United States. 
  Disciples of White Jesus is a comprehensive look at the rise in radicalization among young white men in America, especially focused on the role of right-wing Christianity in the increase of religious-based hatred and violence. Denker goes deep into the online rabbit holes of right-wing Christian influencers and conservative Christian ideology to understand how the preaching of "traditional gender roles" and "submission of women" has led to anger, outrage, loneliness, depression, and limiting identities for young white Christian men across America. 
  Casting her journalist's eye across the US, Denker retraces the steps of a racist South Carolina mass shooter and a Phoenix skinhead turned Evangelical pastor, interviews middle school teachers and coaches in the Midwest, and introduces us to young men across the country who will both confirm and confound our ideas about American boyhood--stories about boys and men who are forging new identities grounded in kindness, grace, respect, and even joy. A must-read for parents, grandparents, educators, coaches, faith leaders, researchers, and all who care about the state of American families, boys themselves, and the safety of American society at large.

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