Fix Bayonets!  

A Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War

Sixth Printing

Stories by John W. Thomason Foreword by Lt. Col. Merrill L. Bartlett, USMC (Ret.)

This is a collection of picturesque and observant stories about the hard-fighting Fifth Marine Regiment in World War I. These stories describe Marines in combat in France – from Belleau Wood to the march to the Rhine .

During his 27 years as a Marine officer, John W. Thomason enjoyed the distinction of being one of America ’s foremost illustrators and one of the most vivid writers of his time. By virtue of his singular combination of talents, Thomason portrayed daily life on the front with acute observation, ironic wit and sympathy.

192 pages / 5½ x 8½ trade paperback / $19.95 / ISBN: 978-1-877853-69-2 / September 2007

by Craig L. Symonds

" The critical tactical movements and important campaigns are simply and clearly portrayed." - The Journal of Southern History

"One page chapters, with maps opposite, are models of condensation, yet with no lack of insight." - Los Angeles Times

128 Pages / 7 x 10 Hardcover / 51 two-color maps and 31 Photos / 28.95 / ISBN 1-877853-25-3

While Washington Burned: The Battle for Fort Erie 1814 , Second Printing

Gettysburg: A Battlefield Atlas

by Joseph W.A. Whitehorne

"…A very useful addition to the growing body of War of 1812 literature."

– CHOICE

On 26 August 1814, horrified Americans watched the summer skies over Washington darken with the smoke of their capital under British attack. The assault rocked an inexperienced U.S. military machine already undergoing painful tests of battle in the North. While Washington burned that night, the costliest fighting between U.S. and British regular troops during the War of 1812 raged along the Niagara Frontier. Earlier in the summer, an American force had crossed the Niagara River and captured Fort Erie.

Joseph W.A Whitehorne is a retired career Army officer and a professional military historian. He has written several other books including The Battle for Baltimore:1814 and numerous articles on the War of 1812 as well as the Civil War. Col. Whitehorne’s work is especially valuable in that he uses archaeological and genealogical research to support written sources. His book has a wide readership because of his combination of local, national and Canadian history. His readers will include American history buffs, re-enactors, military students and tourists of the Niagara region.

580 pages / 618 x 9 hardcover / $32.95 / 90 photos / 16 maps / ISBN 1-877853-56-9 / October 2002 

Second Printing

by Craig L. Symonds, Cartography by William J. Clipson

“ Gettysburg may be the best brief narrative of that well-chronicled battle, and as such it is a welcome addition to the literature.”

- Journal of Southern History

103 pages/ 7 X 10 hardcover / 24
three-color maps / 30 photos / 1992 / $28.95 / ISBN 1-877853-16-x

The Civil War in the Carolinas

A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution 

Eleventh Printing

by Dan Morrill

" . . ., the author also does an excellent job of bringing to light the experiences of individuals who had to deal with the war when it came into their backyard."

-- The (Charleston) Post & Courier

The author offers fascinating sketches of major and minor personalities including the new president and state governors, Generals Lee, Beauregard, D.H. Hill, Pickett, Sherman, and Joseph E. Johnston.  Rebels and abolitionists, pacifists and unionists, slaves, and freed men and women, all influential, are placed in their context with clear eyed and humorous precision.  If he were wielding a needle instead of a pen, his tapestry would offer us a complete picture of a people at war.

580 pages / 618 x 9 hardcover / $32.95 / 90 photos / 16 maps / ISBN 1-877853-56-9 / October 2002 

Second Printing

by Craig L. Symonds

This volume is a rich visual and narrative overview of the principal military engagements of the American War for independence.  Two-color, full-
page maps, aid the visual comprehension of students as well as military history
buffs, making this book an ideal classroom aid, easy-to-handle battlefield tour-guide, or library reference.  

Symonds narrates each battle in clear, concise, and readable text.  Four introductory essays draw the narrative together, each highlighting a new facet of the British-American conflict.  The maps provided by cartographer William J.
Clipson are specifically suited to each description.  This book is the second collaboration between the two scholars.

112 pages / 7 x 10 hardcover / $26.95 / ISBN 0-933852-53-3 / 1987

A Murder At Sea

Christopher and the Quasi War with France

by William P. Mack

Join the crew of the USS Lassiter as they become embroiled in a shipboard murder that begins with the death of a lieutenant and culminates in a revealing interrogation involving both the commanding officer of the
destroyer and FBI investigators.

Author William P. Mack brings his considerable skills as a storyteller, coupled with his masterfully detailed accounts of all things pertaining to life at sea, to bear in this humorous novel about a
newly-commissioned ensign trying to solve the murder as he adjusts to his new world aboard his ship.

200 pages / 6 X 9 hardcover / $21.95 / ISBN: 1-877853-64-X / November 2001

by William P. Mack

In this second book in his series about the early American sailing navy, Vice Admiral William P. Mack picks up the story of the shipbuilding Christopher family where he left them at the end of the Revolution in Lieutenant Christopher.  The Christophers are able to incorporate lessons learned from Joshua Humphrey's Philadelphia shipyard, building bigger, faster merchant ships, ready for conversion to privateers.  Matthew Christopher and his crew then employ the newest of these ships, the Mary, to ward off the French while trading in the Caribbean.  Captains and crews are amassing great fortunes by collecting prize money, and the Christopher Shipbuilding Company is making its way out of debt -- until suddenly, Matthew, his crew, and the Mary are drafted into the US Navy and forced to serve under the incompetent Commodore Ephram.

212 pages / 6X9 hardcover / $24.95 / ISBN 1-877853-65-8 / October 2002

The Independence Light Aircraft Carriers

Rifleman Dodd

2nd Edition, 2nd Printing

by Andrew Faltum

"This is a fine book, a welcome book to the student, researcher, or any tailhooker.  If you are unfamiliar with the light carriers, or are simply interested in the ship type and their exploits, you'd have to do a lot of searching to find this information elsewhere."

--The Hook

The Independence-class carriers, built during World War II, have been ignored in many ways.  Yet this nine-ship class contributed significantly to victory in the Pacific.  As a wartime expedient, they were badly needed complements to the regular Essex fast carriers described in Faltum's previous book.

The Navy converted light cruiser hulls already under construction into fast, light aircraft carriers, which, for their size were well-armed and efficient ships beloved by crews.  The Independence carriers served in the U.S. Navy through the Korean War and some later served in the French and Spanish navies; the Cabot (Dedalo) was decommissioned in 1989.

200 pages / 7 x 10 hardcover / $34.95 / ISBN 1-877853-62- 3 / 2002

by C. S. Forester

Foreword by Brigadier General Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret.).  Separated from his company, The Ninety-Fifth Foot, during a skirmish with the French.  Rifleman Dodd finds himself behind enemy lines. Somehow, he must pass through them to rejoin his comrades.  He manages to organize an ill-disciplined band of Portuguese peasants into a guerilla unit, harassing and disrupting the regular French army in its pursuit of the British.  Dodd defends then burns a bridge over the Tagus River that the French plan to cross.  unknown to him, they have been ordered to destroy it themselves to cover their own retreat when the tide of the campaign turns against them.

Dodd's heroics are not celebrated upon his return--indeed no one would ever truly know of them--but he is rewarded with a good meal and the knowledge that he will again be fighting alongside his fellows of the Ninety-Fifth, "whose boast was that they were always first into action and last out."

160 pages / 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 / hardcover / $21.95 / ISBN 0-933852-76-2 / 1990

Skyraider  The Douglas A-1 "Flying Dump Truck"

The USS Constitution's Finest Fight, 1815, The Journal of Acting Chaplain Assheton Humphreys, US Navy

by Rosario Rausa

For those who fought in Korea or Vietnam, the Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an unforgettable sight.  Sturdy, even stubby, this Navy prop-driven attack plane was built for work.  In war it was always seen in the thick of air action---where you needed it, when you needed it.  Each generation of soldiers and sailors gave it its own name: "Able Dog" in Korea; "Spad" in Vietnam; some called it the "flying dump truck" because there seemed to be no limit to the amount of ordnance it could deliver to the target

In June 1944, famed Douglas designer Ed Heinemann conceived the A-1---virtually overnight---in a hot Washington hotel suite.  Only nine months later, the Skyraider took to the skies.  It was continuously employed by the U.S. Navy and Air Force until its final moments of glory shooting down MiG jets over Vietnam.  Not only did the American armed forces rely on the A-1, but so did the British, French and Swedes.

Navy Captain Rausa, an avid admirer of the Skyraider he flew, retells the adventures of the pilots that made the airplanes history.  For those who love tales of combat flying, Skyraider provides the best of fare.

240 pages / 150 photos, appendixes, line drawings, bibliography and index / 6 x 9 hardcover / $28.95 / ISBN 0-933852-31-2 / 2001

Edited by Tyrone G. Martin

On 17 December 1814, Captain Charles Stewart slipped past the Royal Navy's blockade of Boston and sailed his ship on a sweep through the Atlantic Ocean, capturing merchantmen as he went. His capture of HMS Cyane and HMS Levant off the Madeira Islands was a spectacular success.

Humphreys was fortunate to be a crew member during the Constitution's most successful war cruise towards the end of the War of 1812. His eyewitness account is as fresh today as it was when he wrote it, soon after the great ship tied up in Boston to the cheers of its welcoming citizens. The fledgling Republic and her new navy had endured the trial of the war with the Constitution bringing back honor and a new self-confidence to the embattled nation.

The combination of the unpublished journal held by the Lilly Library at Indiana University and the experience of the editor makes this book unusually interesting. Tyrone G. Martin is a former commanding officer of the USS Constitution as well as the author of a prize-winning book about "Old Ironsides," A Most Fortunate Ship.

112 pages / 5 1\2 x 8 1/4 hardcover / $22.95 / ISBN 1-877853-60-7

Celia Garth, A Story of Charleston in the Revolution

2nd Printing

A Dictionary of King Arthur's Knights 

by Gwen Bristow

Celia Garth, a much loved historical novel of the Revolutionary War was first published in 1959, and has been in demand ever since it went out of print. Celia Garth is a story about a young dressmaker living in Charleston, South Carolina during the American Revolution.   

This tightly wound plot begins with the second British attack on the city in 1780 and its occupation by Lord Cornwallis, leaving a trail of blood and treachery.   Swept up in the ruin were Celia and her friends. Most people thought the Revolution was lost, but then, out of the swamps appeared Francis Marion, a man who nobody could catch. Celia became a spy for Marion; she sewed and smiled while secretly sending him information

Gwen Bristow has written a novel that offers an unusually clear picture of living in Charleston, South Carolina during the Revolution; she offers a spellbinding tale.

325 pages / 6 X 9 hardcover / $24.95/ ISBN1-877853-58-5/ January 2000

by Pamela Ryan

A History Book Club Alternate Selection!

Sir Lancelot, Tristram, Galahad, and Percival were among the King Arthur's foremost vassals.  Drawing from medieval and contemporary sources, Pamela Ryan provides, in all, 281 entries of King Arthur's knights as well as 70 kings and feudal lords who cooperated with him.  This first attempt to offer consistent, succinct information on each legendary character can support research, learning, or just pure reading pleasure in this epic period lost in the mists of English history. 

At present there is no reference work on Arthur's brotherhood of knights and kings at his court.  Each biography is alphabetically arranged for easy entry and has its own suggested reading references.  A bibliographic essay, bibliography, and an index complete this handy reference.

112 pages / 6x9 hardcover / $26.95 / ISBN 1-877853-61-5 / September 2002.

The Black Flower, A Novel of the Civil War

4th Printing

Movie option sold

Pacific Carrier: The Saga of the USS Yorktown CV-10 in WWII

by Howard Bahr

" I recommend it highly."

-- Shelby Foote 

"In this sense, The Black Flower is a deeply moral book, its perspective clear
from the moment a bumbling comrade discharges his rifle . . ."

--The New York Times Book Review

"This novel reads with the lyrical beauty of a poem and haunts with the force
of a dream."

--Southern Living

The Black Flower is a story not only of war, but of men and women seeking redemption, who are stripped of all that anchors them, and who at last turn to honor and courage and love.  At twenty-six, Bushrod Carter is already an old soldier, a veteran of all his regiment's campaigns since Shiloh.  Now, on an Indian summer afternoon in 1864, Bushrod finds himself in line of battle once again, on the plain below the obscure village of Franklin, Tennessee.  The dark flower of his destiny is opening again under its shadow if he is to see tomorrow.  In the madness and violence of a great battle and its aftermath, Bushrod Carter tries to act his part as well as he can.  He must confront his soul and learn from his comrades and from a young girl struggling with her own harsh past.

288 pages / 6 x 9 hardcover / $27.50 / ISBN 1-877853-50-x / April 1997

by Ruben P. Kitchen, Jr.

The Essex-class WWII-built USS Yorktown CV-10 is a storied ship that carried the war to Japan after the first Yorktown was lost at Midway.  Ruben Kitchen's classic tale of the Fighting Lady and how her magnificent crew served their county in WWII, and again from the end of the Korean War through Vietnam, and the Apollo program recovery is brought back in this illustrated second edition.  The subject of several movies and documentaries, the USS Yorktown is now a museum ship, moored in Charleston Harbor.

This book focuses on the actions of the air crews and sailors in a very readable way that makes it hard to put down.

 320 pages / hardcover / $24.95 / 21 photos / ISBN: 1-877853-63-1 / September 2002

Victory at High Tide

12th Printing

by Col. Robert D. Heinl, Jr. USMC

Colonel Robert Debs Heinl, Jr. is one of the finest writers of military literature ever to emerge from the profession of arms in the United States. His trenchant and swift-moving account of the Inchon-Seoul amphibious campaign of September 1950 describes the dismemberment of the Communist invasion of South Korea by the Marines.

Despite natural obstacles, a fierce enemy, indecision in Washington and inter-service bickering, Inchon was taken by the Marines and the capital was liberated within a fortnight. Colonel Heinl, who was a participant and witness to these events, provides lively and opinionated insights into the background of national politics and strategy, as well as the effects of the conduct on the war of the unification of services.

315 pages / 6 x 9 paperback / $22.95 / ISBN 0-933852-03-7

Abner Doubleday was an 1842 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and a veteran of the Mexican War when he was assigned to Fort Moultrie in the summer of 1860. A captain of artillery, he served as second in command of the garrison at the historic fort when the curtain rose on the dramatic events leading to the outbreak of the War Between the States.

Doubleday fired the first gun in the defense of Fort Sumter when the fighting began. He was a keen and well-trained observer whose memoir of the federal garrison’s efforts to carry out its mission is as fresh and useful to the reader today as it was in 1876 … a front seat at the opening action.

Abner Doubleday fought for the Union at Chancellorsville, Antietam, and Gettysburg, to name a few of the battles in which he commanded troops. At the end of the war, he held the rank of Major General US Volunteers.

192 pages / 5 ¼ x 8 ¼ hardcover / May 2005 / $22.99 / ISBN 1-877853-54-2

The Captain from Connecticut

Seventh Printing

The General

Ninth Printing

Intrepid Captain Josiah Peabody and the crew of the USS Delaware face nearly impossible odds as they slip past the much larger and powerful ships of the Royal Navy which have set up a blockade along the coast of the young United States during the War of 1812.

The captain and his crew manage to outrun, outfox, and out-maneuver their clumsier opponents and deal some shrewd blows in the process. At the same time, the captain wins the affections of a lady admired by the captain of a British warship.

C.S. Forester brings his literary talents to describe the closely fought War of 1812 and in doing so creates a classic tale of the sea. This novel is sure to delight Forester’s followers and anyone who loves the literature of the sea.

256 pages / 5 ½ x 8 ½ quality paper cover / August 1999 / $19.95 / ISBN 1-877853-30-5

Marine Corps Commandant’s Suggested Reading

Foreword by Lt. Colonel Merrill L. Bartlett USMC (retired)

After WWI, C.S. Forester produced this biting and satirical novel commenting on the way Britain fought the war. The General is his only characterization of an Army personality and is thought to be a composite of Field Marshals French and Haig. The Unutterable consequences of the First World War and the changes it wrought on the social class who directed it to its cataclysmic end are unflinchingly examined. Not surprisingly, in the next generation, Hitler made this book recommended reading for his general staff. It is still required reading at many war colleges and military academies. Forester’s keen insight and gifted writing produce a literary masterpiece which illuminates the unabated debate over Sir Douglas Haig’s generalship.

263 pages / 5 ½ x 8 ½ quality paper cover / August 2005 / $19.95 / ISBN 1-877853-39-9