New Releases by John Man

‘The author brings together a wealth of information which has, until now, only been available in highly specialized academic journals and scholarly books’ – David Nicolle ''An astonishing array of themes and characters’ – John Man The Mamluks were, at one distinct point in history, the greatest body of fighting men in the world and the quintessence of the mounted warrior – reaching near perfection in their skill with the bow, lance and sword. Their story embraces many of the great themes of medieval military endeavour: the Crusaders and the deadly contest between Islam and Christendom, the Mongols and their vision of World Dominion, Tamerlane the Scourge of God and the rise of the Ottoman Empire whose own slave soldiers, the Janissaries, would be the Mamluks'' final nemesis. They entered the Islamic world as unlettered automatons and through a total application to the craft of the warrior they became more than soldiers. After a bloody seizure of power from their masters, the descendants of Saladin, they developed a martial code and an honor system based on barracks brotherhood, a sophisticated military society that harnessed the state''s energies for total war and produced a series of treatises on cavalry tactics, martial training, mounted archery and scientific and analytical approaches to warfare that more than compare to Sun Tzu''s Art of War, the Western Codes of Chivalry and the Bushido in their complexity, beauty of language and comprehensive coverage of the bloody business of war. Their story embraces many of the great themes of medieval military endeavour: the Crusaders and the deadly contest between Islam and Christendom, the Mongols and their vision of world dominion, Tamerlane and the rise of the Ottoman Empire whose own slave soldiers, the Janissaries, would be the Mamluks'' final nemesis.

An Illustrated Guide to One of the Greatest Events of World War II The Allied landing in German-occupied Normandy on June 6, 1944 was the greatest amphibious operation in military history. In the months that followed, German forces, outnumbered and outgunned, fought one of the most tenacious and skillful defensive campaigns of the entire war. This magnificent graphical reconstruction details the momentous events of the Normandy campaign from its conception through to the destruction of the German 7th and 5th Panzer Armies at Falaise and the Allied liberation of Paris. Included in The D-Day Atlas are: Disposition and movements of military units Plans and objectives of the commanders on both sides Nature of the Normandy terrain Role of Allied air interdiction and long-range naval fire support Movement of reserve units and supplies Activities of the French Resistance Follow troop movements and positions throughout the Normandy campaign to discover how the British, American, and Commonwealth troops reached victory.

My Mom Thinks She's In Charge That's So Cute notebook 120 Lined Pages 6 x 9 inches Makes a perfect gift for friends ,boyfriend,girlfriend,funs !This high quality My Mom Thinks She's In Charge That's So Cute notebook can serve as an all purpose notebook, journal, or diary that is handy for everyday use. You can use it as a school notebook, place to keep your daily to do lists, create grocery lists, keep track of appointments, journal, doodle, keep notes, and much more! This is not just a notebook. It serves as a multi purpose journal notebook with an awesome MATTE cover thatis durable and handy for daily use. MAKE IT YOUR FAVOTITE GIFT Lined pages 120 pages on white paper Perfect for use as a notebook, journaling, list-making, or anything else High quality glossy cover for a professional finish Perfect size at 6"x9"

My Mom Thinks She''s In Charge That''s So Cute notebook 120 Lined Pages 6 x 9 inches Makes a perfect gift for friends ,boyfriend,girlfriend,funs !This high quality My Mom Thinks She''s In Charge That''s So Cute notebook can serve as an all purpose notebook, journal, or diary that is handy for everyday use. You can use it as a school notebook, place to keep your daily to do lists, create grocery lists, keep track of appointments, journal, doodle, keep notes, and much more! This is not just a notebook. It serves as a multi purpose journal notebook with an awesome MATTE cover thatis durable and handy for daily use. MAKE IT YOUR FAVOTITE GIFT Lined pages 120 pages on white paper Perfect for use as a notebook, journaling, list-making, or anything else High quality glossy cover for a professional finish Perfect size at 6"x9"

'Man does for the reader that most difficult of tasks: he conjures up an ancient people in an alien landscape in such a way as to make them live.' - Guardian The people of the first nomadic empire left no written records, but from 200 BC they dominated the heart of Asia for 400 years. They changed the world. The Mongols, today’s descendants of Genghis Khan, see them as ancestors. Their rise cemented Chinese unity and inspired the first Great Wall. Their heirs under Attila the Hun helped destroy the Roman Empire. We don’t know what language they spoke, but they became known as Xiongnu, or Hunnu, a term passed down the centuries and across Eurasia, enduring today in shortened form as ‘Hun’. Outside Asia precious little is known of their rich history, but new evidence reframes our understanding of the indelible mark they left on a vast region stretching from Europe and sweeping right across Central Asia deep into China. Based on meticulous research and new archaeological evidence, Barbarians at the Wall traces their epic story, and shows how the nomadic cultures of the steppes gave birth to a ‘barbarian empire’ with the wealth and power to threaten the civilised order of the ancient world.

Since the time of the ancient Greeks we have been fascinated by accounts of the Amazons, an elusive tribe of hard-fighting, horse-riding female warriors. Equal to men in battle, legends claimed they cut off their right breasts to improve their archery skills and routinely killed their male children to purify their ranks.For centuries people believed in their existence and attempted to trace their origins. Artists and poets celebrated their battles and wrote of Amazonia. Spanish explorers, carrying these tales to South America, thought they lived in the forests of the world’s greatest river, and named it after them. In the absence of evidence, we eventually reasoned away their existence, concluding that these powerful, sexually liberated female soldiers must have been the fantastical invention of Greek myth and storytelling. Until now.Following decades of new research and a series of groundbreaking archeological discoveries, we now know these powerful warrior queens did indeed exist. In Searching for the Amazons, John Man travels to the grasslands of Central Asia—from the edge of the ancient Greek world to the borderlands of China—to discover the truth about the truth about these women whose legend has resonated over the centuries.

Since the time of the ancient Greeks we have been fascinated by accounts of the Amazons, an elusive tribe of hard-fighting, horse-riding female warriors. Equal to men in battle, legends claimed they cut off their right breasts to improve their archery skills and routinely killed their male children to purify their ranks. For centuries people believed in their existence and attempted to trace their origins. Artists and poets celebrated their battles and wrote of Amazonia. Spanish explorers, carrying these tales to South America, thought they lived in the forests of the world’s greatest river, and named it after them. In the absence of evidence, we eventually reasoned away their existence, concluding that these powerful, sexually liberated female soldiers must have been the fantastical invention of Greek myth and storytelling. Until now. Following decades of new research and a series of groundbreaking archeological discoveries, we now know these powerful warrior queens did indeed exist. In Amazons, John Man travels to the grasslands of Central Asia, from the edge of the ancient Greek world to the borderlands of China, to discover the truth about the warrior women mythologized as Amazons. In this deeply researched, sweeping historical epic, Man redefines our understanding of the Amazons and their culture, tracking the ancient legend into the modern world and examining its significance today.

Emperor Haile Selassie, Elect of God, King of Kings, is found dead outside of Ethiopia''s capital Addis Ababa. But that was eight months after his death had been officially announced. Mengitsu Haile Mariam, unofficial head of the revolution, needs to silence any witnesses who know about the body. The only obstacle left is one British man who knows the truth, but Mengitsu has reason to believe he died in the desert. Three months earlier... Selassie''s vast wealth needs to be kept out of the hands of the revolutionaries, and Sir Charles Cromer holds most of it in his bank, under specific instructions from Selassie. An Ethiopian agent meets with Cromer, and hints at the possibility of finding new instructions from the Emperor concerning his wealth, and its handing over to the Ethiopian government. That could only mean one thing. Emperor Selassie is still alive. With the realisation that the influx of Selassie''s gold into the world would devastate the world''s gold markets, Cromer draws up a plan of action. He will kidnap the Emperor, and keep the gold in Britain. Cromer hires his old friend Michael Rourke a number of his SAS friends to fly to Ethiopia, and bring Selassie back to Britain. With a payment of £100,000 each, the men see this as an opportunity to turn their lives around. Impersonating bank clerks, they must play along with the façade of meeting Salssie, now placed under house arrest by the revolutionaries. Under the pretence of presenting him with formal papers that will release his gold to the government that has imprisoned him, they will take Selassie and smuggle him out of the country. Their only hope is to quietly take out anyone in their way, and get to a vehicle before reinforcements arrive. Will Rourke be able to save the Emperor from the revolutionaries? Or will the desert sands become their graves? John Man is a bestselling historian and traveller specializing in Central Asia (in particular Mongolia). Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection is a best-seller in 21 languages. His other books include Attila the Hun, Kublai Khan, The Terracotta Army, and The Great Wall. In 2014, Xanad was published in the US as Marco Polo, to accompany the Netflix TV series. Endeavour Press is the UK''s leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

The world was first unified 1,000 years ago. When Leif the Lucky and his Viking explorers linked Europe and America with their settlement at Vinland it marked a profound change in the world. Suddenly, almost every region on earth was in touch with its neighbours, spanning continents and oceans. For a few years, it was in theory possible to send a message all the way round the world. At the time, no one could possibly have known this, or what it would lead to. But in hindsight the early 11th century gives us a brief hint of today's global unity. But what was the world like 1,000 years ago? What would a traveller have seen as they ventured across the continents? John Man circles the globe at the turn of the millennium to explore its major cultures, revealing many surprises. Islam was confident and curious, Europe was just awakening after its dark-age slumber, and Asia was home to the world's most refined civilizations, while some aboriginal peoples were modifying age-old ways in Australia, Africa and the Americas. A Viking Odyssey is a fascinating and sumptuous account of the world in the year 1,000, bringing to life the diversity of human cultures, from hunter-gatherers to sophisticated city-dwellers, and the links between them. This book is a revised edition of Atlas of the Year 1,000, with new contributions from John Man. "A splendidly conceived and executed idea." Dr. John Roberts, The New Penguin History of the World. "Just brilliant. A real contribution to world history." Prof. Robert Moore, University of Newcastle. "A splendid accomplishment." Dean R. Snow, Professor and Head of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University. "A wealth of fascinating information." Ray Inskeep, formerly Professor of Archaeology, University of Cape Town. "A fascinating snapshot of all corners of the world at the dawn of the global age" David Northrup, Dept of History, Boston College, USA. "A fresh look at the world at the dawn of the past millennium". Science News. "The most original of all the spate of books that came out during the millennium." Michael Palin. JOHN MAN is a bestselling historian and traveller specializing in Central Asia (in particular Mongolia). Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection is a best-seller in 21 languages. His other books include Attila the Hun, Kublai Khan, The Terracotta Army, and The Great Wall. In 2014, Xanadu was published in the US as Marco Polo, to accompany the Netflix TV series. His most recent book, Saladin, appeared in April 2015. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

In this authoritative biography, historian John Man brings Saladin and his world to life with vivid detail in "a rollicking good story" (Justin Marozzi).

A man searches for the sunken treasure he once protected as a sailor in WWII in this “thrilling action story” from the acclaimed historian (Tom Kasey, author of Trade Off). Murmansk, Russia, 1942. The HMS Edinburgh is sailing deep in Russian territory, a bulwark against Nazi invaders. Among the eight-hundred-strong crew is Mike Cox, a sixteen-year-old boy from the East End, London who is about to be thrown into the heat of war. A Russian ship approaches the Edinburgh with a very precious cargo—over a thousand tons of gold—as payment from the Soviet Union for the Royal Navy’s protection. Now the English ship is tasked with safeguarding a fortune as well as the Barents Sea. But when a German U-boat fires torpedoes at the Edinburgh’s hull, the crew must fight for their lives . . . and Mike is one of only a few survivors to escape from the wreck as the gold sinks eight hundred feet to the bottom of the sea. After making his way back to London, Mike finds himself more alone than ever. He starts training to become a diver with one objective in mind: to rescue that precious Arctic gold. But he’ll have to act quick—he’s not the only one looking for it . . .

"I have read everything written on Marco Polo, and John Man''s book is, by far, my favorite work on the subject. It''s not only an over-due and important historical study, it''s an entertaining ride every step of the way." — John Fusco, Creator of the Netflix original series Marco Polo The true history behind the Netflix original series Marco Polo, here is the remarkable story of the world''s most famous traveler, retracing his legendary journey from Venice to China, the moment East first met West. In 1271, a young Italian merchant named Marco Polo embarked on a groundbreaking expedition from Venice, through the Middle East and Central Asia to China. His extraordinary reports of his experiences introduced medieval Europe to an exotic new world of emperors and concubines, amazing cities, huge armies, unusual spices and cuisine, and imperial riches. Marco Polo also revealed the wonders of Xanadu, the summer capital of Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. Almost 750 years later, acclaimed author John Man traveled in Marco Polo''s footsteps to Xanadu then on to Beijing and through modern China in search of the history behind the legend. In this enthralling chronicle, Man draws on his own journey, new archaeological findings, and deep archival study to paint a vivid picture of Marco Polo and the great court of Kublai Khan.

Genghis Khan is one of history''s immortals: a leader of genius, driven by an inspiring vision for peaceful world rule. Believing he was divinely protected, Genghis united warring clans to create a nation and then an empire that ran across much of Asia. Under his grandson, Kublai Khan, the vision evolved into a more complex religious ideology, justifying further expansion. Kublai doubled the empire''s size until, in the late 13th century, he and the rest of Genghis’s ‘Golden Family’ controlled one fifth of the inhabited world. Along the way, he conquered all China, gave the nation the borders it has today, and then, finally, discovered the limits to growth. Genghis''s dream of world rule turned out to be a fantasy. And yet, in terms of the sheer scale of the conquests, never has a vision and the character of one man had such an effect on the world. Charting the evolution of this vision, John Man provides a unique account of the Mongol Empire, from young Genghis to old Kublai, from a rejected teenager to the world’s most powerful emperor.

Genghis Khan is one of history''s immortals, alive in memory as a scourge, hero, military genius and demi-god. To Muslims, Russians and westerners, he is a murderer of millions, a brutal oppressor. Yet in his homeland of Mongolia he is the revered father of the nation, and the Chinese honor him as the founder of a dynasty. In his so-called Mausoleum in Inner Mongolia, worshippers seek the blessing of his spirit. In a supreme paradox, the world''s most ruthless conqueror has become a force for peace and reconciliation. As a teenager, Genghis was a fugitive, hiding from enemies on a remote mountainside. Yet he went on to found the world''s greatest land empire and change the course of world history. Brilliant and original as well as ruthless, he ruled an empire twice the size of Rome''s until his death in 1227 placed all at risk. To secure his conquests and then extend them, his heirs kept his death a secret, and secrecy has surrounded him ever since. His undiscovered grave, with its imagined treasures, remains the subject of intrigue and speculation. This is more than just a gripping account of Genghis'' rise and conquests. John Man uses first-hand experiences in China and Mongolia to reveal the khan''s enduring influence. He has traveled the length of the empire. He spotlights the tension between Mongols and Chinese, who both claim Genghis'' spirit. He is the first writer to explore the hidden valley where Genghis is believed to have died, and one of the few westerners to climb the mountain where he was likely buried. This stunning narrative paints a vivid picture of the man himself, the places where he lived and fought, and the passions that surround him still. For in legend, ritual and intense controversy, Genghis lives on.

The Ninjas today are the stuff of myth and legend in comics, film and electronic games. But once they were real, the medieval equivalent of the SAS: spies, saboteurs, assassins. In their secrecy, under-cover skills and determination to survive, they were the opposite of the overt, self destructive samurai. Could they fly? Make themselves invisible? Of course not.It was just that their skills gave them a magical aura. As a result, martial artists and story-tellers have turned them into fantasy creatures, from James Bond to Mutant Turtles. In Ninja John Man goes in search of the truth. In a journey to the heartland of the ninjas, he takes us from their origins over 1,000 years ago, through their heyday in the civil wars that ended with Japan’s unification in 1600. But that was not the end of the ninja ethos. That re-emerged in World War Two as a little-known counterpart to Japanese militarism. Ninja ways live on in the real ‘last of the ninjas’, Hiroo Onoda, who held out in the Philippine jungle for 30 years.

Recent advances in Compressed Sensing theory has lead researcher to apply these techniques to the design of sampling systems which can sample spectrally sparse signals with a wide bandwidth below the Nyquist rate. Xampling is a framework proposed to design such Sub-Nyquist sampling systems. This work presents results and analysis of simulations of impairments in of such systems. The impacts of hardware impairments, choice of reconstruction algorithm, signal energy dynamic range and channel mismatches on system performance are studied. Results show that if a system is designed with a sufficient number of channels then it may be able to maintain performance despite impairment.

The name ''Samurai'' is synonymous with the ultimate warrior. With their elaborate armour, fierce swordsmanship and code of honour, the samurai have become iconic figures whose influence can still be felt today . From Kurosawa''s epic Seven Samurai to the figure of Darth Vader in Star Wars, to Manga comics and video games, the figure of the fighting samurai still inspires us today. In John Man''s new book we discover the truth behind the legend. From his birth in the shadow of the great volcano Sakurajima, to his glorious death by ritual suicide and disembowelment, Saigo Takamori was the ultimate Samurai leader. His fall brought about the end of hundreds of years of Samurai tradition and in many ways marks the birth of modern Japan. Saigo was a man trapped by paradox: a faithful servant to the emperor, and yet a leader of rebel troops; a mighty Samurai warrior, and also a master of Chinese poetry. His life, and ultimately his death, offer a window into the hundreds of years of culture and tradition that defined the samurai.

In 1450, all Europe''s books were handcopied and amounted to only a few thousand. By 1500 they were printed, and numbered in their millions. The invention of one man - Johann Gutenberg - had caused a revolution. Printing by movable type was a discovery waiting to happen. Born in 1400 in Mainz, Germany, Gutenberg struggled against a background of plague and religious upheaval to bring his remarkable invention to light. His story is full of paradox: his ambition was to reunite all Christendom, but his invention shattered it; he aimed to make a fortune, but was cruelly denied the fruits of his life''s work. Yet history remembers him as a visionary; his discovery marks the beginning of the modern world.

Genghis Khan is history''s greatest conqueror. As a teenager he was an outcast fleeing enemies on a mountain in northern Mongolia, an exile, a nobody. Yet it took only twenty years for Genghis to build the largest land empire in history - four times the size of Alexander''s, twice the size of Rome''s. How did he do it? What lessons does his life reveal about the nature of leadership? What is ''greatness'' in leadership? What traits did Genghis possess exactly? Were they unique, or might some apply in other times and other places - even here and today? In Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan, John Man re-examines the life of Genghis Khan to discover the qualities, characteristics and strategies that made him the great leader that he was. The answers are sometimes surprising. Genghis was far from just the tyrant that history records, but rather a leader of exceptional vision and modernity. And many of the secrets of his success are as valuable and applicable in today''s competitive business world as they were in rallying the Mongol hordes.

**A SOURCE FOR MARCO POLO, A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES** Marco Polo''s journey from Venice, through Europe and most of Asia, to the court of Kublai Khan in China is one of the most audacious in history. His account of his experiences, known simply as The Travels, uncovered an entirely new world of emperors and concubines, great buildings - ''stately pleasure domes'' in Coleridge''s dreaming - huge armies and imperial riches. His book shaped the West''s understanding of China for hundreds of years. John Man travelled in Marco''s footsteps to Xanadu, in search of the truth behind Marco''s stories; to separate legend from fact. Drawing on his own journey, archaeology and archival study, John Man paints a vivid picture of the man behind the myth and the true story of the great court of Kublai Khan.

John Man travels the entire length of the Great Wall and across two millennia to find the truth behind the legends. Along the way, he delves into the remarkable and complex history of China--from the country''s tribal past, through the war with the Mongols, right up to the modern day when the Great Wall is once more a commanding emblem of China, the resurgent superpower.

The Terra Cotta Army is one of the greatest archaeological discoveries ever made. Over seven thousand life-size figures of warriors and horses were interred in the mausoleum of the first emperor of China—and each figure was individually carved. Weaving together history and a first-hand account of his experiences in China, John Man tells the fascinating story of how and why these astonishing figures were created in the third century BC, and how they have become a symbol of China''s history, culture, and society.

The Terracotta Army is one of the greatest, and most famous, archaeological discoveries of all time. 8,099 life-size figures of warriors and horses were interred in the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of China - each is individually carved, and they are thought to represent real members of the emperor''s army. This is the remarkable story of their creation, the man who ordered them made, their rediscovery and their continuing legacy as a pre-eminent symbol of Chinese greatness. The First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, was king of the Chinese state of Qin and the first man to unite China into a single empire. He built the first Great Wall and brought a single written script to the whole country. He was an inspired and ruthless ruler, but one also beset by paranoia and a desire for immortality. He is still considered the founding father of the modern state of China. On his death in 210 BC he was buried in a giant mausoleum near modern-day Xi''an. Legends of the treasures contained therein still tantalize the imagination today. In 1974 local farmers digging a well for water broke through into the burial mound and found the first of the Terracotta warriors. Further excavations have revealed the full splendour of the buried army. But the majority of the mausoleum is yet to be opened, including the burial chamber itself - myth tells us that amongst the treasures yet to be uncovered is a vast map of the First Emperor''s kingdom with rivers marked with channels of flowing mercury. The story of the First Emperor and the Terracotta Army is a fascinating one, not least for the discoveries yet to be made.

Atlas.

Presents a guide to forty-seven unique destinations on seven continents, including such natural and man-made sites as Branff National Park, Istanbul, Patagonia, Argentina, Varanasi, India, Kyoto, Japan, the Great Wall of China, and Iceland.

Chronicles the life of Attila the Hun, focusing on his conflicts with the Roman Empire, his influence over the history of Europe, his image in the modern world, his reputation for savagery, and other related topics.

"Provides a fresh insight into the sites of some of history's greatest conflicts. By overlaying modern photographs of the battlefield with dramatic reconstructions of ten of the key battles, it compares in a unique way scenes of struggle and heroism with the often pastoral site today"--Page 4 of cover