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 | Culture and Customs of South Africa
by Funso Afolayan
Greenwood Press, 2004
excerpt from book cover: With the demise of Apartheid in 1994, South Africa can be considered the newest of African nations. It is the economic powerhouse of southern Africa, as well as one of the continent's most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically varied countries. This inclusive overview is an essential, substantial introduction to South Africa today. The volume provides an historical context that unites the varied strands of South African, from Afrikaner to Indian and Zulu.
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 | Saladin: The Sultan and His Times, 1138-1193
by Hannes Möhring
translated by David S. Bachrach
The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008
excerpt from book cover: Known in the West as a "noble heathen," the great Muslim sultan Saladin led Muslim forces in the reconquest of the Crusader kingdoms and captured Jerusalem in 1187. This concise history traces Saladin's role in the contest between Islam and Christianity during the twelfth century. Following the Sultan's life from the rise of the Crusader states through his triumph over the Franks to the Third Crusade, Möhring elucidates the sultan's accomplishments in uniting much of the Middle East, his enlightened relationship with European opponents, and the unique legacy of his rule in the Middle East and beyond. This faithful English-language translation also includes an introduction that places Saladin in his geographic, political, and cultural context.
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 | Religion and the Conduct of War: c. 300-c. 1215
by David S. Bachrach
The Boydell Press, 2003
excerpt from book cover: This volume provides the first comprehensive analysis of the dynamic interpenetration of religion and war in the West during almost a thousand years, from the accession of Constantine the Great in the early fourth century until the eve of the Fourth Lateran Council in the early thirteenth. With its often new interpretations of a vast array of sources, Religion and the Conduct of War has much to say to historians and others on the nature of war and its relationship with faith. |
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 | Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail
by W. Jeffrey Bolster
Harvard University Press, 1997
excerpt from book cover: W. Jeffrey Bolster, master mariner and historian, shatters the myth that black seafaring in the age of sail was limited to the Middle Passage. Rescuing African American seamen from obscurity, this stirring account reveals the critical role sailors played in helping forge new identities for black people in America. An epic tale of the rise and fall of black seafaring, Black Jacks is African Americans' freedom story presented from a fresh perspective.
New York Times Book Review notable book of the year, Co-winner of the Wesley-Logan Prize of the American Historical Association, Selected as the Association of American Publishers Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division Best Book in History
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 | The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisioned, 1600-2000
by Alex Roland, W. Jeffrey Bolster, and Alexander Keyssar
John Wiley & Sons, 2008
excerpt from book cover: The history of shipping in America from 1600 to 2000, as traditionally recounted, is based primarily on the fortunes of the American merchant marine. The Way of the Ship is different. While it elucidates the significant impact of the merchant marine, this book views American maritime commerce from a global perspective and incorporates the crucial contributions of shipping on coastal and inland waters.… The result is an eye-opening, authoritative look at American maritime history and the ways it helped shaped the nation’s history.
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