In a fictional look at an alternate history of the Cold War, the two superpowers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, clash at the peak of their military strength, as the world hovers on the brink of a nuclear World War III. Reprint.

A history of naval warfare reassesses five centuries of encounters under sail and steam and the technologies that improved communications and simultaneously shrank naval commanders' windows of decision, profiling successful naval commanders and their places in world history.

Product Description: The United States, argues Michael A. Palmer, is engaged in a political crusade to modernize the Islamic world. Americanism is in the vanguard of modernity’s relentless advance, promoting capitalist markets and democratic institutions...read more

It is most appropriate that this study, On Course to Desert Storm, is appearing at a time when the Persian Gulf is of special concern to the United States. Michael Palmer's purpose is to go behind the recent headlines associated with the crisis that began when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in1990. The author explains the military and political factors that affected American policy in the region and led to the establishment of the U.S. Navy's Middle East Force in 1949. He then traces the evolution of this small force over the ensuing decades. Dr. Palmer shows that the Navy periodically sent major reinforcements to the region during the era of tension and war that followed the abdication of the Shah of Iran in 1979. Starting in the late 1970s these reinforcements included American carrier battle forces, which thereafter became a familiar sight in the North Arabian Sea approaches to the Persian Gulf. Dr. Palmer's broad grasp of naval history makes him exceptionally well qualified to write this far-reaching history. His previous writings include an important study of an undeclared naval war that an infant U.S. Navy waged from 1798 to 1801 against France. The author also contributed a distinguished study of the development of U.S. naval strategy in the years following the Second World War. While preparing On Course to Desert Storm, Dr. Palmer visited the Joint Task Force, Middle East. The opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf added immeasurably to the author's understanding of the subject matter covered in this book. Dean C. Allard Director of Naval History United States Navy

An award-winning study of the Franco-American undeclared naval war at the turn of the nineteenth century, this history of the nearly forgotten struggle is filled with the dramatic actions of such frigates as the Constellation and her capture of l'Insurgente, as well as the sundry operations that protected American commerce from the depredations of the French corsairs in the Caribbean. First published in 1987, the book avoids the parochialism of earlier studies by placing the American war within a European context. It takes a critical look at the command and operations of the first secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, and how under his direction the Navy proved itself ship for ship as--if not more--effective against French privateers than the Royal Navy.The book also examines how the Navy served the nation's commercial and diplomatic interests, a pattern of activity that would become known as gunboat diplomacy, and how the Navy's successes assured it a permanency that had eluded the Continental Navy. Awarded prizes from the American Revolution Round Table of New York and other organizations, the respected work answers penetrating questions about what happened and why, and the author's judicious evaluations of participants and their policies make an important contribution to the literature. This new Classics edition is introduced by the author, chair of the maritime history department at East Carolina University and author of three other books, including Origins of Maritime Strategy. (view table of contents)

Product Description: Lee Moves North "A revisionist look at Lee's career . detailed and interesting." --Orlando Sentinel "Michael Palmer says that Robert E. Lee was 145;a man of military genius'--but only when he was reacting to a Union attack. When he analyzes Lee on the offensive, Palmer labels him a woefully inadequate general...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

In a fictional look at an alternate history of the Cold War, the two superpowers collide at the peak of their military strength

Traces the development of American commercial interests in the Persian Gulf and the resulting growth of political involvement