Aired between 1988 and 1990 in national syndication, the two-season science fiction drama WAR OF THE WORLDS constituted a big-budget sequel to the 1953 Byron Haskin-George Pal feature of the same name. A word of explanation may be helpful for those unfamiliar with this franchise. In the original Pal-Haskin film, a group of aliens from the planet Mars crash landed on Earth when their own planet became uninhabitable. As the film's title implies, however, these were not peaceful aliens, but bellicose and bloodthirsty ones, hell-bent on destroying human civilization and wiping out homo sapiens. The Martians just about succeeded at obliterating Earth itself (and demonstrated complete immunity to all traditional weaponry), but eventually succumbed to their own vulnerability to earthly bacteria... Less

H.G. Wells' chilling novel of a Martian invasion of Earth becomes even more frightening in this 1952 film adaptation that's widely regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. An Oscar. winner for Best Special Effects, The War of the Worlds delivers eye-popping thrills, laser-hot action and unrelenting, edge-of-your-seat suspense. No one who has seen the film's depiction of the swan-shaped Martian machines-ticking and hissing menacingly as they cut their path of destruction-will ever forget their ominous impact! Today's Science-Fiction extravaganzas all pay tribute to this pioneering classic from Producer George Pal (The War of the Worlds), which won an Oscar® for its spectacular special effects. An impending collision with a runaway star signals the destruction of earth... Less

Latin America, Part 1 Pre-Columbia Era: Native Americans. Mayan Civilization. Incan Civilization. Europe In the New World: Columbus destroys native populations in brutal manner. 19th Century: Political change 1820-1870. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Latin America, Part 2 20th Century: U.S. policy is "dollar diplomacy" and "gunboat diplomacy." Reform and Dictatorship. FDR's "Good Neighbor" policy is more rhetoric than reality. Castro comes to power in Cuba in January 1, 1959. 21st Century: Hostility or skepticism of U.S. policy. Future of Latin America. The military legacy, the role of U.S. policy. East Asia, Part 1 Prelude to the Modern Industrial Age: Why China declines as Europe gains. Late 18th-19th Century. Spheres of influence in China. Japan modernizes. Early 20th Century:... Less

The Return of Lanny Budd is the eleventh and final book in the enormous epic Lanny Budd World's End series written by Pulitzer Prize Winner and legend, Upton Sinclair. Written in 1953 at the pinnacle of the Cold War, this story covers the period between 1946 and 1949. Post World War Two, Lanny comes out of retirement as a Presidential Agent to assist the United States as the Russian menace grows. For all readers who have reviled in Lanny's numerous adventures, travels and conversations with the leading politicians, industrialists, financial powers and military leaders you will surely enjoy this, the final book, in Upton's great historical narrative that began when Lanny was 13 years old and just prior to the beginning of World War One. As the story begins, Lanny is running his Radio... Less

After the success of 1950's Destination Moon and 1951's When Worlds Collide, visionary producer George Pal brought the classic H.G. Wells story of a Martian invasion to the big screen, and it instantly became a science fiction classic and winner of the 1953 Academy Award for Best Special Effects. It's a work of frightening imagination, with its manta-ray spaceships armed with cobra-like probes that shoot a white-hot disintegration ray. As formations of alien ships continue to wreak destruction around the globe, the military is helpless to stop this enemy while scientists race to find an effective weapon. Gene Barry and Ann Robinson play the hero and heroine roles that were de rigueur for movies like this in the '50s, and their encounter with one of the Martians is as creepy today as it... Less

In 1953, the war began: Martian invaders, bent on the conquest of Earth, destroy human civilization and leave death and panic in their wake. If not for our planet’s tiniest bacteria, they would have wiped human existence from the Earth. Captured and quarantined, the aliens’ threats are all but forgotten; their insidious plans lay dormant for decades. But now, freed from captivity, revived and resuscitated, they vow not to repeat their mistakes. And if not for a small band of human resistance fighters, they may yet get the chance to finish what they started… Here, for the first time on DVD, War of the Worlds: The Complete First Seasoncontinues the story of alien attack, human defiance, and interplanetary war in this six-disc box set. Let the battle begin.

One cannot help but think of terrorist attacks while watching Stephen Spielberg's update of the classic sci-fi fantasy THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. While the H.G. Wells story dates back to 1898, and has inspired previous adaptations, this particular version feeds off its 21st century audience's fear of a terrorist- induced apocalypse. Even if the sight of tall buildings crumbling to the ground and crowds running fearfully away from their demise doesn't trigger post-9/11 paranoia, dialogue such as "Is it the terrorists?" will. Disgruntled, divorced father Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is struggling to connect with his estranged kids, who have been dropped off by their mother for the weekend, when a severe and unusual lightning storm leaves his New Jersey neighborhood powerless. Over the course of the... Less

This is the 1/8 Scale War of the Worlds Martian Figure from Pegasus Hobbies. Suitable for Ages 13 Older.Item #Peg9008 FEATURES: Quick to build Two sets of arms for multiple poses Logo display base included INCLUDES: One model kit SPECS: Scale: 1/8 Pieces: 13 Factory sealed kit Check out our other Ebay and save on shipping. Shipping is $8.90 via Priority Mail in the United States. Canada is $11.70 first class airmail and rest of world is $22.13 first class airmail. We are not responsible for any

No event in post World War II diplomacy has been more written about than the Suez crisis of 1956—and for good reason: it signaled the fall of British power and influence in the Middle East. But most accounts, based on limited information, have focused on the invasion of Suez and the collusion between Britain, France, and Israel as the turning point in Washington's break with London and its assumption of power in the region. Now, using the most up-to-date U. S. sources and recently opened British records, Steven Freiberger has written the most definitive account to date of the Suez affair. His book is rich with fresh interpretations based on new evidence. Mr. Freiberger argues that the Suez crisis was only the culmination of years of American irritation with British imperialism in the... Less

Despite super effects, a huge budget, and the cinematic pedigree of alien-happy Steven Spielberg, this take on H.G. Wells's novel is basically a horror film packaged as a sci-fi thrill ride. Instead of a mad slasher, however, Spielberg (along with writers Josh Friedman & David Koepp) utilizes aliens hell-bent on quickly destroying humanity, and the terrifying results that prey upon adult fears, especially in the post-9/11 world. The realistic results could be a new genre, the grim popcorn thriller; often you feel like you're watching Schindler's List more than Spielberg's other thrill-machine movies (Jaws, Jurassic Park). The film centers on Ray Ferrier, a divorced father (Tom Cruise, oh so comfortable) who witnesses one giant craft destroy his New Jersey town and soon is on the road with... Less

DEAN ACHESON is best remembered as President Harry Truman's powerful secretary of state, the American father of NATO, and a major architect of U.S. foreign policy in the decade following the Second World War. But Acheson also played a major role in politics and foreign affairs after his tenure in the Truman administration, as an important Democratic Party activist and theorist during the Eisenhower presidency and as a valued adviser during the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. This engrossing book, the first to chronicle Acheson's postsecretarial career, paints a portrait of a brilliant, irascible, and powerful man acting during a turbulent period in American history. Drawing on the recently opened Acheson papers as well as on interviews with Acheson's family and with leading... Less

This World War II adventure centers on an imprisoned Navy signalman Jeffrey Hunter THE SEARCHERS who escapes from his Nazi captors. Once he is free the sailor uses his shooting skills to take down the Germans one man at a time. Michael Rennie THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and Wendy Hiller A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS costar in this 1953 film.

Following his country's victory over Nazi Germany, Joseph Stalin was widely hailed as a great wartime leader and international statesman. Unchallenged on the domestic front, he headed one of the most powerful nations in the world. Yet, in the period from the end of World War II until his death, Stalin remained a man possessed by his fears. In order to reinforce his despotic rule in the face of old age and uncertain health, he habitually humiliated and terrorized members of his inner circle. He had their telephones bugged and even forced his deputy, Viacheslav Molotov, to betray his own spouse as a token of his allegiance. Often dismissed as paranoid and irrational, Stalin's behavior followed a clear political logic, contend Yoram Gorlizki and Oleg Khlevniuk. Stalin's consistent and... Less

This stunning "coffee table" quality book is packed with stories, photos and "inside view" diagrams that unlock the secrets of the world's most famous fighting machines. Hard cover. 320 pages. Author Michael E. Haskew, editor of World War II History magazine, devotes six pages each to 50 of history's most significant tank designs, from Britain's Little Willy prototype and the Soviet T-34 to the M1A2 of today's U.S. armed forces. Learn about each tank's critical design elements, including firepower, protection, powerplant, and mobility. Detailed cross-section illustrations and close-up photographs give you an up-close view seen only by the elite few who've operated these indomitable fighting vehicles, with text to provide historical context. The oversized "coffee table" format is filled... Less

This is the first English-language military history of what the People's Republic of China called the "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea." Based upon a vast array of recently available Chinese sources, it provides a revealing new look at the far-reaching influence of Mao Zedong's political and military thought on China's conduct of the war. As Shu Guang Zhang reminds us, many observers in 1950 thought it foolhardy for this young and underdeveloped communist nation to engage in yet another war. Coming so soon after its costly civil war with the Nationalists, the Korean crisis presented China with the uninviting prospect of fighting a technologically superior (and nuclear-armed) opponent on foreign terrain. Mao, however, was convinced from more than a decade of fighting... Less

In the post-war period, Reg Butler (1913-81) was one of the best known sculptors in the world. His Venice Biennale showing (1952) was followed in 1953 by his victory in the international competition for a 'Monument to the Unknown Political Prisoner': defeating Alexander Calder, Naum Gabo and Barbara Hepworth, among other established artists. The monument was never built, but the competition established Butler's reputation internationally and as the leading sculptor of his generation. The private passions (and obsessions) which drove Butler to stardom in the 50s seemed increasingly to isolate him in the 60s and 70s, when he spent more time developing his highly personal and meticulous technical and iconographic language. Its final form - in terms of the late bronzes - proved unpalatable to... Less

In the aftermath of World War II, the Continental Air Command was redesignated as the Strategic Air Command (SAC) as part of a plan to organize the Army Air Forces around three new organizations based on strategic, tactical and air defense missions. Nearly everything about the SAC was secretive—its capabilities, strengths, order of battle and unit identities. Its aircraft were rarely photographed and those images that were captured revealed little information. This book comprehensively documents SAC tactical aircraft markings from the organization’s inception in 1946 to the end of the tail-marking era in April 1953, a period when the marking schemes included large tail markings, vivid squadron identification markings and attractive, colorful unit insignia. The SAC’s history is... Less

WAR of the WORLD Play Set Box based on the 1953 film One of the most amazing science fiction toy Play Sets ever produced, including the graphic inserts. In the 50's Archer Plastics, headed by Robert Genin produced this Play Set. The War of The Worlds play set was released with this classic film in 1953, starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. It was the first on-screen loose adaptation of the H. G. Wells classic novel of the same name. This box features some of the most extraordinary box graphics

The original film adaptation of the H.G.Wells story told on radio of the invasion of Earth by martians.

A once-famous juggler who survived after losing his family in the Nazi death camps, Hans Muller (Kirk Douglas) is just one of the thousands of refugees who have come to Israel following World War II. Confused and disoriented by his new surroundings, he instinctively attacks a police officer who asks to see his papers before fleeing into the countryside, landing at a kibbutz where he falls in love with Ya'El (Milly Vitale), a young farmworker who's committed to helping get the new Jewish state on its feet. But when he's tracked down by a detective (Paul Stewart),fearing a return to prison, Hans barricades himself inside a cottage, forcing Ya'El to convince him to come out and face the truth. Newly remastered.

Wooden Ships and Iron Men: The U.S. Navy's Coastal and Motor Minesweepers, 1941-1953 - David Bruhn. Possessing insufficient minesweepers to protect U.S. harbors and bays as the threat of war in Europe spread, in the winter of 1939-40 the Navy began purchasing fishing vessels and modifying them to combat mines. One of them, Condor (AMc-14), first sighted the Japanese Type-A midget submarine that destroyer Ward (DD-139) sank on December 7, 1941 with the first shots fired by American forces during World War II. She would be one of six coastal minesweepers to receive a battle star. From boat- and shipyards across America came the largest production run of any World War II warship, 561 scrappy little 136-foot wooden-hulled vessels characterized by Arnold Lott in Most Dangerous Sea as... Less

Tom Cruise and Gene Barry aren't the only ones to save Earth from a Martian invasion--from 1988 to 1990, an intrepid band of scientists and soldiers battled the Red Planet menace on the small screen in the action-packed syndicated television series War of the Worlds. The show operated on an intriguing premise that paid homage to George Pal's classic 1953 film version--the Martians, presumed dead at the end of the movie, are actually in a state of hibernation, and 30 years later, they have not only revived, but begun to inhabit human bodies in a second attempt to conquer our planet. Now, a team of scientists (led by dependable character actor Jared Martin) and soldiers (under the command of actor-playwright Richard Chaves) must convince humanity to fight against an alien onslaught. It's... Less

This classic chiller, when adapted for radio in 1938 by Orson Welles, was realistic enough to cause widespread panic throughout the United States....

"I am Dr. Acula. I bid you... welcome." Take your own private tour of the Ackermansion! Over 200 never before seen color fotos! What fang-tastic thrills await you in the House of Ackerman? Lon Chaney Sr.'s Makeup kits Original dinosaur models from 1933's King Kong The alien arm from 1953's War of The Worlds The Capitol dome and saucer from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers Rare imagi-movie posters, stills, props, and paintings ghoulore Since the 1930's Forrest J Ackerman had been the leading light of the world of science fiction, as well as editor, agent, author, actor, and peerless collector of books, artwork, and familiar props from fantastic films of yesteryear. He gained lasting fame among the boomer generation as the editor of Warren Publishing... Less

The rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union intensified as Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the White House. However, the burning question for the vast majority of the world's population was not whether they would join the "Free World" or the Soviet bloc, but whether they could achieve meaningful self- determination. Nowhere did the answer to that question loom larger than in Africa. The Eisenhower administration's confrontation with Africa demonstrates the significance of race in the creation and execution of American foreign policy. In this new work, historian George White, Jr. explores the ways in which Eisenhower diplomacy, influenced by America's racialized fantasies, fears, and desires, turned the Cold War into a global sanctuary for the rehabilitation of Whiteness. In... Less

In 1898, H.G. Wells wanted to find out what it would be like if an intelligent race of Martians turned the tables on Victorian England by conquering and colonizing the world’s greatest empire. For readers around the world, The War of the Worlds elicited their darkest, deepest fears.In 1938, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre on the Air adapted the H.G. Wells novel to radio and used that medium’s immediacy, along with a series of realistic “newsflashes” as part of the story, to drive more than a million people mad with terror. Orson Welles said he “wanted people to understand that…they shouldn’t swallow everything that came through the tap, whether it was radio or not.” He succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, while claiming absolute innocence the next day. The “Panic Broadcast,” as... Less