In the 5th-century B.C., King Leonidas of Sparta has only his 300 bodyguards to stand with him against an invasion by the 60,000 men of the Persian army. Their heroic stand against the invasion gives the other Greek city-states time to organize a large fighting force and ultimately defeat the Persians.

Presents information about the life of the fifth-century B.C.E Greek princess that grew up to be a queen and famous admiral mainly noted for her role as a Persian ally in the Battle of Salamis, in spite of living in a society that placed very little value in women.

At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army. Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered...

Now a Major Motion Picture from Universal Pictures New York Times bestselling author Anthony Swofford weaves his experiences in war with vivid accounts of boot camp, reflections on the mythos of the marines, and remembrances of battles with lovers and family. When the U. S. Marines -- or "jarheads" -- were sent to Saudi Arabia in 1990 for the first Gulf War, Anthony Swofford was there. He lived in sand for six months, he was punished by boredom and...

Follows "Swoff," a third-generation Marine enlistee, from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, sporting a sniper's rifle and a hundred-pound ruck on his back through the Middle East deserts. There is no cover from intolerable heat or from the Iraqi soldiers, who are always potentially just over the next horizon. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they...

"On August 1, 1990, Flight 149 was scheduled for its routine London-to-Kuala Lumpur run. But when the plane, carrying 385 passengers and crew, landed at a Kuwait airport to refuel that day, it was surrounded by Iraqi tanks and about to be bombed by fighter jets. The passengers and crew were kept as hostages and suffered brutal treatment including violent attacks, sexual assaults, and mock executions. When the survivors were eventually released, they...

"A military memoir with inspirational stories and moral lessons for people on the battlefield, in boardrooms, or in their everyday lives, by a veteran air-refueling expert, with a foreword by Rush Limbaugh."--Provided by publisher.

A collection of poetry by the thirteenth century Sufi saint cover topics ranging from emptiness and silence to elegance and majesty