From Alexander the Great's conquest of the known world to the generals leading today's campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, "Commanders" casts new light on the leaders who are forging history on the battlefield.

Relates the life of Major Augustus Sharps, 10th Regiment, United States Cavalry (Colored), as he fights in wars with Indians, suffers the hardships of frontier life, and endures lower pay and fewer privileges than his white counterparts.

A history of World War II in the Pacific Ocean contends that the conflict was not in the best interest of either side, discussing key military figures, America's ill-preparedness for the war, and Japan's knowledge that they could not win.

Tonio Andrade is professor of history at Emory University. He is the author of How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century. How a Chinese pirate defeated European colonialists and won Taiwan during the seventeenth century During the seventeenth century, Holland created the world's most dynamic colonial empire, outcompeting the British and capturing Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Yet, in the Sino-Dutch...

On battlefields throughout history, devastating engines of war have helped armies clinch victories and preserve empires. Read about massive engines of war wreaking havoc against the enemy, including battering rams, trebuchets and torpedos.

A Roman historian examines the motivation and strategy behind Marc Anthony's invasion of Parthia and the reasons for its ultimate defeat. In the mid-first century BC, the Roman Empire was rivaled only by the Parthian Empire to the east. The first war between these two ancient superpowers resulted in the total defeat of Rome and the death of Marcus Crassus. When Rome collapsed into Civil War in the 1st century, BC, the Parthians took the opportunity...

"A gripping narrative by an Iran-born Kurdish journalist who joined the ranks of the Kurdish army as a sniper in the fight against ISIS. In 2002, at the age of nineteen, Azad, a young Iranian-Kurdish man, was conscripted into Iran's army and forced to fight against his own people. Refusing to go to war against his fellow Kurds, Azad deserted and smuggled himself to the United Kingdom, where he was granted asylum, became a citizen, and learned English....