One of the most important public figures in antebellum America, Winfield Scott is known today more for his swagger than his sword. "Old Fuss-and-Feathers" was a brilliant military commander whose tactics and strategy were innovative adaptations from European military theory; yet he was often underappreciated by his contemporaries and until recently overlooked by historians. While John Eisenhower's recent Agent of Destiny provides a solid summary of Scott's remarkable life, Timothy D. Johnson's much deeper critical exploration of this flawed genius should become the standard work. Thoroughly grounded in an essential understanding of nineteenth-century military professionalism, it draws extensively on unpublished sources in order to reveal neglected aspects of Scott's life, present a more complete view of his career, and accurately balance criticism and praise. Johnson dramatically relates the key features of Scott's career: how he led troops to victory in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, fought against the Seminoles and Creeks, and was instrumental in professionalizing the U.S. Army, which he commanded for two decades. He also tells how Scott tried to introduce French methods into army tactical manuals, and how he applied his study of the Napoleonic Wars during the Mexico City Campaign but found European strategy of little use against Indians. Johnson further suggests that Scott's creation of an officer corps that boasted Grant, Lee, McClellan and other veterans of the Mexican War raises important questions about his influence on Civil War generalship. More than a military history, this book tells how Scott's aristocratic pretensions placed him at odds with emerging notions of equality in Jacksonian America and made him an unappealing politician in his bid for the presidency. Johnson not only recounts the facets of Scott's personality that alienated nearly everyone who knew him but also reveals the unsavory methods he used to promote his career and the scandalous ways he attempted to relieve his lifelong financial troubles. Although his legendary vanity has tarnished his place among American military leaders, Scott is shown to have possessed great talent and courage. Johnson's biography offers the most balanced portrait available of Scott by never losing sight of the whole man.

Winfield Scott

The year 1945 was the most significant in the modern history of Vietnam. One thousand years of dynastic politics and monarchist ideology came to an end. Drawing on extensive archival research, interviews, and an examination of published memoirs and documents, David G. Marr has written a richly detailed and descriptive analysis of this crucial moment in Vietnamese history. 18 illustrations.

Vietnam 1945

Rodrigo Díaz, the legendary warrior-knight of eleventh-century Castile known as El Cid, is still honored in Spain as a national hero for liberating the fatherland from the occupying Moors. Yet, as this book reveals, there are many contradictions between eleventh-century reality and the mythology that developed later. By placing El Cid in a fresh, historical context, Fletcher shows us an adventurous soldier of fortune who was of a type, one of a number of "cids," or "bosses," who flourished in eleventh-century Spain. But the El Cid of legend--the national hero -- was unique in stature even in his lifetime. Before his death El Cid was already celebrated in a poem; posthumously he was immortalized in the great epic Poema de Mío Cid. When he died in Valencia in 1099, he was ruler of an independent principality he had carved for himself in Eastern Spain. Rather than the zealous Christian leader many believe him to have been, Rodrigo emerges in Fletcher's study as a mercenary equally at home in the feudal kingdoms of northern Spain and the exotic Moorish lands of the south, selling his martial skills to Christian and Muslim alike. Indeed, his very title derives from the Arabic word sayyid, meaning 'lord' or 'master.' And as there was little if any sense of Spanish nationhood in the eleventh century, he can hardly be credited for uniting a medieval Spanish nation. This ground-breaking inquiry into the life and times of El Cid disentangles fact from myth to create a striking portrait of an extraordinary man, clearly showing how and why legend transformed him into something he was not during his lifetime.--From publisher description.

The Quest for El Cid

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath H. P. Lovecraft - "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is a novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft.It is both the longest of the stories that make up his Dream Cycle and the longest Lovecraft work to feature protagonist Randolph Carter. Along with his 1927 novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, it can be considered one of the significant achievements of that period of Lovecraft's writing. The Dream-Quest combines elements of horror and fantasy into an epic tale that illustrates the scope and wonder of humankind's ability to dream.

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

Schalow (U. of New Orleans) rectifies the neglect to distinguish the elements in the German philosopher's thinking that have provided the foundation for many modern theologians. He shows how philosophy and theology belong together in a movement of displacement that occurs in the turning to a post-metaphysical stance. The movement subordinates thought to language, he says, and thereby restores religious meaning through the most primordial linguistic gestures. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Heidegger and the Quest for the Sacred

“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” is a 1926 novella written by American writer H. P. Lovecraft and published posthumously. The story revolves around the intrepid dreamer Randolph Carter who embarks on an epic journey to find a mystical city that appears in his dreams. However, to reach it he must traverse both inner and outer-space while negotiating with a variety of dangerous entities and avoiding the many denizens of the Dreamlands. A fantastic example of classic Lovecraftian fiction, “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” is not to be missed by fans and collectors of Lovecraft's unmistakable work. Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890–1937) was an American writer of supernatural horror fiction. Though his works remained largely unknown and did not furnish him with a decent living, Lovecraft is today considered to be among the most significant writers of supernatural horror fiction of the twentieth century. Read & Co. is publishing this classic novella now as part of our “Fantasy and Horror Classics” imprint in a new edition with a dedication by George Henry Weiss.

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (Fantasy and Horror Classics)

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Studying the Enemy

Quest

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