Waldemar Heckel Books

Extensive collection of the biographies of significant figures in the life and campaigns of Alexander the Great.

Waldemar Heckel's book explores the remarkable journey of Alexander the Great, detailing his rise as a legendary military commander and the challenges he faced. Despite conquering formidable foes and harsh environments, his reign ended abruptly with his death just two years after his army's return home.

This comprehensive biographical reference explores the life and military campaigns of Alexander the Great, detailing his conquests, strategies, and the historical impact of his reign. It offers in-depth analysis of his character, leadership qualities, and the cultural exchanges that resulted from his expeditions. The work serves as an essential resource for understanding one of history's most significant figures, providing insights into his legacy and the ancient world he shaped.

The twentieth century was a tragic era for whales, with numerous species nearly driven to extinction by industrial whaling. This account, drawing from previously secret Soviet archives and interviews with former whalers, reveals the Soviet Union's significant role in this destruction. As countries like the United States, Great Britain, Japan, and Norway expanded their whaling efforts, Soviet leader Josef Stalin decided that the USSR must join the hunt. This led to a massive and often wasteful slaughter of humpback, fin, sei, right, and sperm whales in the Antarctic and North Pacific, conducted in blatant violation of International Whaling Commission regulations. While Soviet recklessness and Cold War dynamics fueled this devastation, the narrative uncovers a more intricate history that highlights both the successes and failures of the Soviet experiment. Notably, the whaling activities inadvertently contributed to modern cetacean studies, as Russian scientists aboard whaling ships made significant discoveries about whale behavior. Ultimately, the Soviet public began to oppose their country's whaling practices, aligning with Western environmentalists like Greenpeace to help end industrial whaling, just in time to prevent the potential extinction of the world's whales.

In the Path of Conquest offers a fresh insight into the conquests of Alexander the Great by attempting to view the events of 336-323 BCE from the vantage point of the defeated.

V době vlády Filipa II. a Alexandra Velikého byla makedonská armáda - složená z falangitů - reformována a vycvičena v neporazitelnou vojenskou sílu s jedinečnou taktikou a výzbrojí. Makedonský válečník během své služby ušel přes 32 000 kilometrů v nejrůznějších podmínkách a terénu a vybojoval některé z nejslavnějších bitev dějin. Tato kniha zkoumá počáteční výcvik, každodenní život, výzbroj, zkušenosti i motivace těchto mužů. Líčí detailní informace o organizaci a taktice makedonské falangy. Vychází při tom z původních písemných pramenů i dochované hmotné kultury.