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 Free Download FIRST JIHAD: Khartoum, and the Dawn of Militant Islam By Daniel Allen Butler 2007 | 256 Pages | ISBN: 1932033548 | EPUB | 4 MB Before there was Osama bin Laden, Abu al-Zarqawi or Ayatollah Khomeini, there was the Mahdi-the "Expected One"-who raised the Arabs in pan-tribal revolt against infidels and apostates in the late 19th-century Sudan.Born on the Nile in 1844, Muhammed Ahmed grew into a devout, charismatic young man, whose visage was said to have always featured the placid hint of a smile. He developed a ferocious resentment, however, against the corrupt Ottoman Turks, their Egyptian lackeys, and finally the Europeans who he felt held the Arab people in subjugation. In 1880, he raised the banner of holy war, and thousands of warriors flocked to his side.The Egyptians dispatched a punitive expedition to the Sudan, but the Mahdist forces destroyed it. In 1883, Col. William Hicks gathered a larger army of nearly 10,000 men. Trapped by the tribesmen in a defile at El Obeid, it was massacred to a man. Three months later, another British-led force met disaster at El Teb.Prime Minister William Gladstone ordered a withdrawal from Sudan, and dispatched one of Victoria's most celebrated heroes, General Charles "Chinese" Gordon, to effect the evacuation. Instead, Gordon was besieged by the Mahdi at Khartoum. In an epic contest pitting military innovation and discipline against religious fervor, the Mahdi and Gordon dueled throughout 1884, while the British government hesitated to send relief. On January 26, 1885 a treacherous native (or patriot, depending on one's point of view) let the Mahdist forces into the city of Khartoum. Gordon, realizing that the end was at hand, donned a white uniform, took up his sword, and walked out upon his palace steps. He was hacked to death by jihadists and his head was carried around the city on a pole. A British relief column arrived two days later.The Mahdi died shortly afterward, yet his revolt had succeeded. The British vacated the territory for almost 15 years until in 1899, led by Herbert Kitchner, they returned to forestall encroachments by other European powers. The Mahdist forces were crushed at the Battle of Omdurman, and the great jihad temporarily dissolved into the desert, not to be renewed for another century.In today's world the Mahdi's words have been repeated almost verbatim by the Muslim jihadists who have attacked New York, Washington, Madrid and London, and continue to wage war from the Hindu Kush to the Mediterranean. Along with Saladin, who once defeated a holy war, the Mahdi stands as an Islamic icon who once launched his own successful crusade against the West. This deeply researched work reminds us that the "clash of civilizations" that supposedly came upon us in September 2001 in fact began much earlier. This book is essential reading for all those who seek to understand the roots of our current relationship with Islam. REVIEWS "... For those looking to find the origins of the extreme terrorism now gripping the planet, this book is the ideal starting point. Butler (Age of Cunard) has extensively researched the struggle for empire in the late 19th-century Middle East among Egypt, Great Britain, and Muhammed Ahmed, the Mahdi-or "Expected One"-of what was then the Sudan. T Although Butler states that his initial purpose was not to draw that parallel, the facts are there for all to see. Highly recommended."Library Journal, 03/2007"...key to understanding not only the Mahdi, but his ongoing importance to events happening today."California Bookwatch, 7/2007"...lays important tracks into the study of terrorism, fundamentalism and the early clashbetween Islam and Christianity..."✅Publishers Weekly 1/2007"...not a repeat of folk-lore history as depicted in many books and on the silver screen, but the result of most thorough and painstaking new research of memoirs, letters, government papers and many other primary sources... a very fine book and I recommend it most highly to you all" Military Modeling International, 03/2008  Free Download Davis W. Houck, Amos Kiewe, "FDR's Body Politics: The Rhetoric of Disability" English | 2003 | pages: 154 | ISBN: 158544233X | PDF | 1,3 mb Franklin Roosevelt instinctively understood that a politician unable to control his own body would be perceived as unable to control the body politic. He took care to hide his polio-induced lameness both visually and verbally. Through his speeches-and his physical bearing when delivering them-he tried to project robust health for himself while imputing disability, weakness, and even disease onto his political opponents and their policies.  Free Download Nicholas A. Veronico, John M. Campbell, Donna Campbell - F4U Corsair (Warbird History) Motorbooks International | 1994 | ISBN: 0879388544 | English | 148 pages | PDF | 158.77 MB This book examines each model with stories from aces, test pilots, and others who flew the plane. Good coverage of the radar equipped night fighters, Corsairs in service in South America, in the movies, and racers!
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 Free Download Maurice Allward - F-86 Sabre (Modern Combat Aircraft 4) Ian Allan | 1978 | ISBN: 0711008604 | English | 136 pages | PDF | 120.78 MB  Free Download Bill Gunston - F-4 Phantom Charles Scribner's Sons | 1977 | ISBN: 0684152983 | English | 120 pages | PDF | 111.24 MB Outstanding aviation writer, tells the history of the F-4 Phantom & its design, how it works, how it flies & how it fights. The book will be of interest to the professional, the amateur aircraft enthusiast, the spotter & the modeler. Included are many photographs & illustrations.
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 Free Download Robbie Shaw - F-4 Phantom: Guardian of the Free World Motorbooks International | 1989 | ISBN: 0879383917 | English | 152 pages | PDF | 127.23 MB  Free Download Bill Gunston - F-16 Fighting Falcon Ian Allan Ltd | 1983 | ISBN: 0711012210 | English | 120 pages | PDF | 112.1 MB Modern combat aircraft 16  Free Download Beth Quinlan, "F U Haiku: Pissed-Off Poetry for Every Occasion" English | 2010 | pages: 224 | ISBN: 1440501815 | EPUB | 0,6 mb Enough already. The Mary Sunshine act has got to go. The economy sucks, unemployment has reached an all-time high, and the ozone is beyond repair. But when all feels futile, there's this hilarious compilation of 200-plus rants that give you permission to ditch the rose-colored glasses and have a satisfying laugh at the expense of those who piss you off.  Free Download Ralph W. Klein, "Ezekiel: The Prophet and His Message " English | ISBN: 1506491979 | 2024 | 209 pages | PDF | 5 MB Ezekiel was an ordinary person, called "mortal" by God more often than his own name. Yet because of the radical times, Ezekiel reacted in a radical way through his unusual lifestyle and his sharp theological diagnosis. His important message about judgment and hope came at a critical moment of Israel's history.  Free Download Joe Bamford, Ron Collie - Eyes of the Night: Air Defence of North-Western England 1940-1943 Pen & Sword | 2005 | ISBN: 1844152960 | English | 216 pages | PDF | 124.15 MB In the early years of WW2 two of Britain's most important industrial cities, Liverpool and Manchester were woefully unprotected from enemy bombing raids. Once the capitulation of France had occurred after Dunkirk, the Luftwaffe was able to base its vast bomber fleet at forward airfields that brought these strategic targets within their range. The effect was catastrophic and the two cities and surrounding industrial centers bore the brunt of the Nazi airborne blitz. It was clear that more anti-aircraft guns and fighter aircraft were desperately required to stop the slaughter of the population and vital industries. Thus was conceived 9 Group of the Royal Air Force, charged with the air defense of the entire region. |
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