Books with author Earle Rice Jr.

Acclaimed as the most beautiful woman of her time, Eleanor of Aquitaine (c.1122 1204) uniquely shaped 12th-century Europe. As the wife of two kings and the mother of three others, her beauty, grace, style, and intellect captivated a continent. At a time when men regarded women as little more than personal property to be owned and exploited, Eleanor threw off the shackles of male dominance and scribed an indelible mark on the history of France and England. As France s queen, Eleanor accompanied Louis VII on the Second Crusade to the Holy Land and championed a burgeoning feminist movement. After divorcing Louis, she married Henry II of England. Her marriage to Henry upset the balance of power in Europe and led to 300 years of warfare before its restoration. Perhaps best remembered as a symbol of courtly love, Eleanor of Aquitaine also continues to personify the proud image of emancipated womanhood.

Few people recall the name of Eirik Thorvaldsson, who began life in Jaederen, Norway, around 950. When he was nine years old, his father killed a man or maybe two and was forced to flee with his family to Iceland. Young Eirik grew up in the harsh environs of that wind-swept isle in the North Atlantic. Harsh lands breed harsh men, and Eirik fit the mold. Like his father before him, he battled with neighbors and killed several men in blood feuds. Banished from Iceland for three years, he sailed west to seek refuge in an unexplored land. After three years in exile, Eirik returned to Iceland with tales of his discoveries in that new land to the west. He called it Greenland to entice others to join him there. Around 985, he sailed west again from Iceland with twenty-five ships of colonists. History records him as the founder of the first European settlement in Greenland and the father of Leif Eriksson. People remember him best as Erik the Red.

In 481 CE, the Salian Franks crowned Clovis I their king. At the age of fifteen, the young monarch set about uniting all the Franks barbarian tribes that inhabited much of the region that became modern-day France and Germany. A fierce warrior and an astute administrator, he expanded his originally modest kingdom in northeast Gaul (France) by all possible means, including conquest, marriage, diplomacy, and deception. When he married Clotilda, a devout Roman Catholic, he converted to Catholicism and became instrumental in spreading his new religion across Europe. By the time Clovis died in 511, his domain covered most of Western Europe, from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the source of the Danube River. The French regard him as the founder of their monarchy.

"Orion, America's next-generation spacecraft, is a Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. It is designed to carry 2 to 6 crew members into deep space. Similar to the Apollo capsule in appearance, but larger and much more advanced, it has already successfully completed its first unmanned test flight. In 2018, Orion will lift into space on a massive new rocket, especially designed for it, for the first time. The event, designated Exploration Mission 1, will mark the first of many steps along America's path to the planet Mars--and beyond."--Back cover.

"About the start of the 21st century, ... both China and Russia expanded their submarine production [and] now pose a threat to the U.S. Navy's undersea superiority. Today, the Navy stands ready to meet any new undersea challenges from potential adversaries. A new underwater strike force has joined the fleet: the Virginia-class new attack submarines. They are designed to keep the Navy's edge in undersea warfighting. Each boat--as submariners call them--represents engineering and technology elevated to the threshold of perfection"--Back cover.

War broke out in Korea early on the morning of June 25, 1950. Korea long known as the Land of the Morning Calm surrendered its tranquillity to the Communist forces of North Korea. At 4:00 a.m., amid torrential rains and the thunder of big guns, some 90,000 North Korean troops poured across the 38th parallel separating the North and South. Only about one-third of South Korea s army of 95,000 troops stood forth to meet the surprise attack. The North Koreans easily overwhelmed their southern neighbors. Seoul, the South Korean capital, fell to the invaders in three days. The United States, under the banner of the United Nations, rushed military forces to the defense of South Korea s embattled army. But the North Korean aggressors pressed relentlessly southward. By August 4, the UN defenders clung desperately to a tiny foothold at the southern tip of the peninsula known as the Pusan Perimeter hoping for reinforcements or a miracle.

In the early hours of August 2, 1990, one hundred thousand mechanized troops of Saddam Hussein s Iraqi army roared and rumbled across the border into Kuwait. By noon of August 4, the tiny, oil-rich nation belonged to the Iraqi invaders. When informed of Iraq s unprovoked aggression, U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, This will not stand. In defense of Saudi Arabia and stability in the Middle East, he drew a line in the sand. Operating under the umbrella of the United Nations, President Bush assembled a multinational coalition and prepared for war. Over the next five months, Saddam refused to accept UN diplomatic efforts for Iraq s complete withdrawal from Kuwait. He ignored a UN ultimatum to withdraw by January 15, 1991. On January 17, at approximately 3:00 a.m., Iraqis reaped the lethal consequences of their leader s aggression and defiance. A huge coalition air armada struck Baghdad and ushered in a new era of high-tech warfare.

Attila, king of the Huns, thundered out of the Steppes of Central Asia early in the fifth century CE. He rode at the head of his horrific band of horsemen, spreading fear and wreaking havoc throughout the European countryside. History recalls him as a terror of monumental proportions. Known as the scourge of God by early Christians, he ruled for two short decades and was gone. Attila took on the mighty Roman Empire and contributed mightily to its fall. He led his barbarian hordes to the gates of Constantinople, across present-day Germany and France to Orléans, and deep into today s Italy. He left behind a sinister legacy, borne out by the blood and bones of tens of thousands of his victims.

Leif Eriksson is arguably the best known of all those fierce, seafaring adventurers known as Vikings. His renown eclipses even that of his father, Erik the Red, the founder of Greenland. In 1000 CE, Leif seized fame and an enduring place in history as the first European to land in North America almost 500 years before Columbus discovered the New World. On his historic voyage, Erik s son backtracked on a course followed by another Viking fifteen years earlier. In a frail, all-purpose merchant vessel known as a knörr, Leif sailed northward along Greenland s west coast, crossed the frigid waters of present-day Baffin Bay, and turned southward to what is generally believed to be Newfoundland. There, Leif established the first European colony on the North American continent. Find out about his family s murderous history, and what it took to brave the icy waters and stormy lands of the North Atlantic during the Viking Age.

Late in the summer of 490 BCE, a Persian invasion force landed on Grecian shores at the Bay of Marathon. At the command of King Darius I, the invaders aimed to punish the Athenians for their role against the Persian king s forces in the Ionian Revolt a few years earlier. The outnumbered Athenians called on nearby Sparta for help, but their sister city-state delayed sending troops because of an ongoing religious festival. Faced with a decision whether to fight a defensive holding battle while awaiting help from Sparta, or to attack the invaders right away, the Athenians elected to attack. With the help of some 1,000 warriors from neighboring Plataea, about 10,000 Athenians charged a Persian army of at least twice their numbers on the Field of Marathon. By day s end, the Athenians and their allies had thrust open the doorway to Greece s Golden Age.