Book Reviews: Military History and Tactics

[Johnny_H02]

I've heard of it, Its one of those titles I'd like to get around to reading.
I do remember reading however that the numbers of proven Waffen SS men in the Legion are exaggerated or at least not as concrete as some say. I think I read that on this forum somewhere ages ago but I can barely remember it.

The issue of German WWII vets fighting in the Legion in the French Indo-China war has been discussed and there were some interesting results posted on this forum that much I do remember.

[khalifah]

Great Thread Idea!!!

Citizen Soldiers opens at 0001 hours, June 7, 1944, on the Normandy beaches, and ends at 0245 hours, May 7, 1945. In between come the battles in the hedgerows of Normandy, the breakout at St.-Lô, the Falaise Gap, Patton tearing through France, the liberation of Paris, the attempt to leap the Rhine in Operation Market-Garden, the near-miraculous German recovery, the battles around Metz and in the Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge -- the biggest battle in the history of the U.S. Army -- the capture of the bridge at Remagen, and finally the overrunning of Germany

http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/in...ook_number=113

I first read this book my Junior year in H.S. been hooked ever since.
Ambrose does an excellent job of presenting facts and information of the US Army in Europe, without making it sound like a college text book. Highly recommend this for those interested in the subject.

[khalifah]

Synopsis

America's "small wars," "imperial wars," or, as the Pentagon now terms them, "low-intensity conflicts," have played an essential but little-appreciated role in its growth as a world power. Beginning with Jefferson's expedition against the Barbary Pirates, Max Boot tells the exciting stories of our sometimes minor but often bloody landings in Samoa, the Philippines, China, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Russia, and elsewhere. Along the way he sketches colorful portraits of little-known military heroes such as Stephen Decatur, "Fighting Fred" Funston, and Smedley Butler. From 1800 to the present day, such undeclared wars have made up the vast majority of our military engagements. Yet the military has often resisted preparing itself for small wars, preferring instead to train for big conflicts that seldom come. Boot re-examines the tragedy of Vietnam through a "small war" prism. He concludes with a devastating critique of the Powell Doctrine and a convincing argument that the armed forces must reorient themselves to better handle small-war missions, because such clashes are an inevitable result of America's far-flung imperial responsibilities.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The...5007219/?itm=1
I just finished this book, very enlightening.

furthermore I recommend his other book on what technological advancement has done for warfare since the gunpowder age.

War Made New begins with the Gunpowder Revolution and explains warfare's evolution from ritualistic, drawn-out engagements to much deadlier events, precipitating the rise of the modern nation-state. He next explores the triumph of steel and steam during the Industrial Revolution, showing how it powered the spread of European colonial empires. Moving into the twentieth century and the Second Industrial Revolution, Boot examines three critical clashes of World War II to illustrate how new technology such as the tank, radio, and airplane ushered in terrifying new forms of warfare and the rise of centralized, and even totalitarian, world powers. Finally, Boot focuses on the Gulf War, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iraq War-arguing that even as cutting-edge technologies have made America the greatest military power in world history, advanced communications systems have allowed decentralized, "irregular" forces to become an increasingly significant threat.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/War.../9781592403158

[Salonen]

Brand new Danish book about Team 1's service in Musa Qala back in 2006. Haven't read it, but if some out there have, lets hear about it. In the danish press the book has recieved good reviews.

[CMNot]

To expand on Khalifah's post regarding Max Boot. Both are a very good read, and he does an excellent job of arguing his thesis; that essentially the West gained hegemonic power through it's adaptation and execution of democracy.

It is however, not an academic book. He is not exactly quick in referencing, which makes it a VERY difficult book to use in serious, analytical argument. The main reason being he's a journo, not an academic.

[James]

William R. Meara, Contra Cross: Insurgency and Tyranny in Central America, 1979-1989.

This is a pretty short book, but it is an excellent read. The author writes of his experiences during a decade in Central America, first teaching English in Guatemala, then as a U.S. Army officer doing psyops, and finally as a Foreign Service officer working with the Contras. I didn't have much knowledge beyond the geography of the area before, and the book really helped me sort out what was going on in various places during the 1980s. A number of times Meara stressed the importance of understanding the culture of people you are dealing with rather than simply assuming they have the same needs as you (an American). This is something that a great many military people and policy makers around the world would do well to remember today. He also did a good job in illustrating how something relatively small - our aid to the Contras, in this case, is linked to something bigger - the cold war against the Soviet Union. What happens when the Cold War ends? Should we continue to support groups like the contras when their goals are no longer relevant to us? Another thing to consider, as America has a habit of lavishing support on indigenous groups around the globe... until we don't need them any more.

This book was a great read, and I'd encourage anyone with an interest in the wars of Central America in the 1980s to pick up a copy.

[James]

Derek Leebaert. The Fifty Year Wound: The True Price of America's Cold War Victory.

In this book Leebaert tears the lid off the rosy collective memories America tends to have of the past and lays it all out. The 1950s were not just the good years, when every American family lived in a new house and drove a new car. The 1960s were not simply the years of Vietnam and hippies. The 1970s were not simply the decade of disillusionment and bad economy, and the 1980s weren't simply strength and glory. Things were far more complicated and interlinked (as real life tends to be).

Contrary to popular belief, American leaders like Truman and Eisenhower didn't develop an overarching, coherent plan for dealing with the Soviet Union in the late 1940s and early 1950s. At the time, our strained relationship with them was seen as something far more temporary than it ended up being. Who could imagine a conflict lasting two generations? The U.S. Government became far more involved in American life than it ever had been before, funding research and building weapons around the nation. What we often think of as sound, thought out policy today didn't develop as such. In many cases, our national leaders were just muddling through. As an example, what came to be known as the strategic triad of SLBMs, ICBMs, and SAC bombers on patrol 24/7 wasn't planned; the government just didn't know what the best answer would be to a Soviet first strike, so we developed all three in parallel, at the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars.

A recurring theme in the book is cost. How much money did the Cold War cost America? Leebaert refers to weapons that were developed, never to be fielded or obsolete almost as soon as they became active (the XB-70 Valkyrie bomber and B-47 are good examples from the past; the Comanche helicopter is more recent). And what of our "allies". Leebaert isn't shy in asserting that America's allies around the world took advantage of our wealth and power too. Germany and Japan in particular benefited from American commitments. Since it was inconceivable that America would simply walk away and let either of these nations fall into the Soviet sphere, why should they invest too much in their own defense when that money could instead be used to develop industry and economy? America would defend them anyway. Those were some of the real results of President Kennedy promising the world that America would "...share any cost, and bear any burden...".

This book is a fascinating, scholarly, and very well written history of the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1945 until 1991, as well as our struggle with the aftermath. Victor was never a sure thing.

[CMNot]

In this book Leebaert tears the lid off the rosy collective memories America tends to have of the past and lays it all out. The 1950s were not just the good years, when every American family lived in a new house and drove a new car. The 1960s were not simply the years of Vietnam and hippies.

Funny you should post this; I was reading over a journal article yesterday by someone writing about our (in this case Britain's) collective memories of these decades and how those memories tend to very much differ from what was actually experienced. Very much in line with your synopsis up until the '70s which was a monumental economic **** up over here.

[KB]

Thought I'd list some good books I've read. Look forward to other posts.



Phil Nordyke is a US writer who a few years ago undertook a comprehensive history of the WWII 82nd Airborne titled "All American, All the Way". He has now published regimental histories, so far on the 505th PIR and recently, the 504th. I am reading the 504th history (titled More than Courage) and it is great. Lots of personal accounts together with the bigger picture. Helps remind you just how good these outfits were.



Also found a book on Amazon called "The Run Up to the Punchbowl", written by a former platoon leader in the 1st Marines. Good personal account of fighting in the Korean War during the spring-summer 1951.



Last one is "Retribution" by Max Hastings, an account of the last year of combat in the Pacific in WWII. Hastings is a well known UK journalist and author of several excellent military histories, who among other things embedded with 2 Para during the fighting across the Falklands in 1982. In this book he does an excellent job of capturing the perspective of the various nations at war, weaving personal accounts with the tactical and strategic aspects of the fighting. In particular, he does an excellent job of reacquainting younger generations with the particularly brutal aspects of the regime in power in Tokyo in 1944-45.

[Hutz]

I really was disappointed with this book, as the English publication is half the size of the German one.

I have to agree with you on this. I expected something to the same standard as Forgotten Soldier. The end was pretty interesting though.

[Bia]

I'm currently reading "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow.

Wow... Mr Hamilton was quite the badass he begged General Washington for over a year for a command in the Revolution... finally Washington gave in....Hamilton led the charge of his troops into battle, fought bravely and savagely including hand to hand sword fights in the front line. When Hamilton called the forward charge he was the first to come into direct contact with the enemy.

+rep

[Stars and Stripes]

I really like to read...i spend a good amount of my time reading military type books, and I am always on the lookout for new military books or books that maybe are not to mainstream.

I would greatly appreciate any recomendations.

Please post any books that are your favorites or that you are currently reading. Thank you.

Stars and Stripes


Some Good books I have recently read are:

"Knowing the enemy" (Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror)
- By Mary Habeck

"The Al Qaeda Reader" (understanding the beliefs and motives of the Al Qaeda network) - By Raymond Ibrahim

"The Oxford History of Modern War" - By Charles Townshend

"U.S. Army/U.S. Marines: Counterinsurgency Field Manual"
- By Military Generals and strategists including General David Petraeus

[Coyote850]

Are you into military history or just the more modern stuff? Infantry/air/ or naval warfare?

[Stars and Stripes]

I really like everything, Historical or Current

[StarvinMarvin]

Thanks for those suggestions. I will check them out. The first book sounds interesting, and I think I have looked through the third one, IIRC. I enjoy short books and novels by Stephen E. Ambrose.