Product Description
In a unique combination of journalism and military expertise, Gordon, the chief defense correspondent for The New York Times, and retired three-star general Bernard Trainor provide a definitive, behind-the-scenes account and analysis of the planning and execution of the Persian Gulf War. Photos & maps. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

A War that Went Right...Mostly
Michael R. Gordon, chief defense correspondent for the "New York Times," and Bernard E. Trainor, a retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General who was a reporter for the "Times" during the first Gulf War, have written an informed account of that conflict that is fascinating and often evocative of Operation: DESERT STORM.The central players in their drama are Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf.Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney plays an important supporting role.

Gordon and Trainor present Powell as an extremely reluctant warrior who puts the institutional interests of the military before the foreign policy of the United States.He was, according to them, terrified of a repeat of the Vietnam War, where the American people blamed the uniformed services for a war that went wrong.Schwarzkopf despite his "Stormin' Norman" reputation emerges as more bark than bite.He might have abused his own staff, but he led with a light hand.He knew he had to be diplomatic with the allies and make sure that each had an important role to play, even if it upset U.S. plans or complicated military operations.He also allowed each of the other U.S. armed services to develop their own battle plans.As a result, DESERT STORM was a loosely coordinated fight rather than a strongly multi-lateral joint operation.

The strengths of this study also its weaknesses.Gordon and Trainor are defense correspondents, and while they can and do use their contacts in the Department of Defense to great advantage, they have far few in the political realm, and it shows.Secretary of state James Baker and President George Bush are almost absent from this account.Although the central thesis of this book is that the civilian leadership abdicated responsibility to the generals--hence the title--the reader needs to take this argument with a certain amount of skepticism.Gordon and Trainor make no effort to examine U.S. foreign policy in the Persian Gulf or Middle East before this conflict, or its diplomatic impact.They also tend to exaggerate the influence of the media.Staff officers advance their plans over Schwarzkopf's objections by leading to the press and some generals owe their survival against enemies in the service due to their media coverage.Maybe, or maybe it was that they had good ideas and were competent commanders.

We could've lost this one!
So, you thought that the US really kicked butt during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm?I did -- until I read this book (required reading for a military studies course).What I had throught was a finely tuned, well oiled US political-military machine was a facade.Until reading this book, I never knew -- and thank goodness, neither (apparently) did Saddam Hussein or his cronies know -- how tenuous the early US military presence in Saudi Arabia was.I've heard it said that it's better to be lucky than good in battle; thankfully, the US forces were both lucky AND good in Desert Shield/Desert Storm.Read this book if you're interested in learning the un- (or under-) reported inside history of the Gulf War.

Good Reading For Any Desert Storm Vet
I was in the Persian Gulf (Saudi Arabia)in the U.S. Army, from October '90 to August '91 as part of Desert Shield/Storm.This was the first book I've read on the subject.The ground war was so short (100 hours), and was such an anti-climax after waiting months for something to happen, that I didn't feel any book would be very good reading.This book was very good, though not great.Very revealing.
The first part of the book leading up to the air campaign kind of dragged a bit at times.It was interesting to read about the preparations at the higher levels, and the in-fighting amongst the services.Saddam Hussein's blunders early on are explained very well.I had never heard of any of these arguments before. Had Saddam waited a few months more to invade Kuwait, the U.S. military would have been in the midst of a huge drawdown in personell, and we would have had even more problems coming up with the forces to act against him. (The draw down did happen, starting in late 1991 after all the units had returned.)
The book left me with a very negative view on Colin Powell.He was willing to leave 400,000 troops sitting in the desert (99% of us who would be living in tents) for over a year waiting for economic sanctions to work. Go to Death Valley and live in a tent, General!!!
Once the air campaign starts, the book reads like a Tom Clancy novel.Very riveting.
General Schwarzkopf comes off as an egotistical hothead, and a bit of a 'screw-up'. He fails to seriously heed intelligence on the poor morale and combat effectiveness of the Iraqi troops. There also seemed to be a lot of blundering getting the ground campaign off on the right track.
Schwarzkopf was also overly generous to the Iraqi's after thier defeat.He allowed them to fly helicopters, which they used to slaughter thousands who rose up against Saddam.
General McCaffrey, who commanded the 24th Mech Division, comes off as one of the Army's best generals. To bad he wasn't in charge of the whole operation.
After reading this book I realized that this was not such a great victory as advertised.Mainly due to a very political JCS Chairman (Powell), various other politicians, and an egotistical (Jonathan Winters look alike) General Schwarzkopf, who had his memoirs planned before it was all over.
The military acronyms used might be a problem for someone never in the military, but the authors do a good job of explaining them at the outset.
There is not to much 'high tech' mumbo jumbo either. The book flows decently.

The First Gulf War: A Necessary Corrective...
"The Generals' War", by correspondent Michael Gordon and retired General Bernard Trainor, is a well-researched historical account of the First Gulf War, with a focus on general officer-level decision-making.Published in 1995, the authors took full advantage of access to senior participants and declassified records to publish a necessary corrective to the triumphalism that immediately followed the end of hostilities in 1991.

DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM were the largest military operations conducted by the United States since the end of the Vietnam War.The operations were also a proving ground of modern weaponry and of doctrine for joint and coalition warfare.Shining a 20/20 hindsight spotlight, Gordon and Trainor found that the making of war was far messier than was advertised at the time.Rivalries between CENTCOM and the Washington Beltway hindered integrated planning, while joint conduct of the war suffered from the attempts of each of the services to carve out their own piece of the action.

The hype that accompanied the release of "The Generals' War" was a bit overdone.Few of Gordon's and Trainor's findings should be surprising to dedicated students of warfare, let alone to participants in the war itself.Wars are inherently political in planning.Execution is inherently messy and subject to all kinds of friction.For a national security structure with limited experience in the planning and conduct of war, the Bush Administration by and large did a very acceptable job.The point is well-taken that the Bush Adminstration might have done a better job of warning off Saddam from invading Kuwait prior to August 1990; it remains unknowable what if any actions might have produced different results.The point is also well-taken that the ground war was ended before the destruction of the Republican Guards, based on incomplete reporting from the battlefield.The service jostling for participation was inevitable, given the expectation that post-war budgeting would be based on wartime performance.That JCS Chief General Powell did a good job of deflecting these service pressures is to his credit.

"The Generals' War" is a very useful dissection of a complicated conflict, one that is a direct precusor to our current ways of conducting military operations.It is highly recommended to students of warfare as a detailed and generally balanced account.

Wrong Book
Bought this by mistake, thought it was a diffewrent one.Will read it sometime in the futre or donate it to local library. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (48)

The Narrator Struggles
While the book is well written and informative, the narrator, Hines, has a running battle with proper pronunciation, being constantly challenged by German names, which he repeatedly butchers.Goering becomes Go-ring, Marienberg becomes Marryenberg, and... well you get the picture.He's also guilty of changing text by misreading the author's words and in at least one instance, corrects himself by repeating a phrase to recover from his gaff.The proper remedy would have been to edit the mistake out and redo the sentence.He also puts emphasis on wrong syllables.The author must be very disappointed in what this undoubtedly well paid speaker has done to his work.While I would give the written version five stars, I cannot recommend this edition of the audio book.

Built for War
This book is entirely focused on the professional life General Curtis Lemay and gives his personal life rather minimal treatment. This is as it should be since Lemay dedicated his life to the U.S. Army Air Corp and its successor the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Although Lemay probably is best remembered as the taciturn, hard driving commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), his dedication to his profession long predates that position.
Kozak makes it clear that the secret to Lemay's professional success was his extraordinary self-discipline, his unwavering focus on the job at hand, and his innate brilliance. Unsaid by Kozak, but clearly the case, Lemay was passionate about air power, especially strategic bombing. He was also an outstanding leader who repeatedly was able to turn failing organizations into outstanding performers. His secrets of leadership are not emphasized in this book, but surely have much to do with his infectious drive to do the best job possible in every situation. He seemed to instinctively know that by demanding the best from his subordinates was the best way to build confidence and esprit de corps in any organization.
Lemay did not have a pleasant public persona and apparently was a terrible public speaker. He did not "play well with others." Yet early in his career he became known as a man to go to get things done. His subordinates lived in states of constant anxiety and worry, yet were able to accomplish really great things and most took great pride in having served under Lemay. In the end the impression is that General Lemay was uniquely qualified to do what he spent most of his career doing, commanding and leading long range bombers and their crews in peace and war.

Lemay's Quiet Genius and Stoic Work Ethic Revealed in this Enjoyable Book
I recently bought this excellent book and was delighted with it. As other Amazon reviewers have rightly noted, it reveals wonderful insights into Lemay's personality and work ethic, which in turn helped him to become an outstanding leader, problem solver, and innovator.

All Americans, and indeed much of the free world, are better off today because of his contributions to the war effort in World War II and later in the reformation and building of Strategic Air Command (SAC) -- creating a credible threat to any would-be aggressor. Indeed, those of us who are old enough to remember how our lives were affected by the real possibility of nuclear attack from the 1950s through the 1980s owe a debt of gratitude to Lemay's genius. He kept us safe by making certain that our enemies knew that attacking the United States with nuclear weapons would be both futile and suicidal -- and thus they never did.

This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it -- to "hawks" and "doves" alike. It's a great read. Indeed, I read it twice!

Pretty good starter book
Easy read.A good place to start if just beginning to read about LeMay.Heavily references (and directly quotes multiple times) a more in depth book "Iron Eagle."Does cover his WWII experience very extensively--author probably intended that to be the main focus.Gives his key role in the Berlin Airlift short shrift.Lemay probably best know as Father of SAC and that only rates a single chapter.Some minor errors which will bug a historian or anyone with a decent knowledge of airpower (confusing the DFC with the DSM, misspelling Gen Vandenberg's name, or several spelling errors due to spell check v. human) Not killers but annoying.Again, an easy read and presents a good picture of the man but not the definitive study.

A Great American
Those who remember the Presidential election of 1968 recall a montage of huge personalities almost unprecedented in history.Besides Lyndon Johnson, who in some ways cast a huge shadow over the whole election, there was Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Wallace, Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern.

Perhaps the most interesting, and the most out of place, was Curtis Lemay.And for those who took the time to listen to what he had to say, he was perhaps the most interesting and visionary candidate of all.

The election of 1968, although tangential to his story, and his career, was tremendously unfortunate.It ruined his reputation, and made his incredible career fodder for people with a pacifist agenda.

But Curtis Lemay was every bit as important and visionary as many of our Founding Fathers.He revolutionized the Air Force, and was every bit as important a General as MacArthur.He not only stood fast in times of crisis, but was visionary in structuring a huge branch of our Armed Forces.

Although he could have made huge money in private industry, he oversaw a branch of the military that employed almost two million people.He only earned $25,000 a year.

It was with precision and high standards that he was able to lead the fledging division of the military to make huge gains, and ultimately end World War 2.Although he was considered the ultimate hawk, and was lampooned in the movie "Dr Strangelove", he abhorred war.He firmly believed that once war became a reality, the maximum lives were saved by striking hard and quickly.Although there would be casualties, ultimately, more lives would be saved.

It was George H W Bush who moved with LeMay's theory in the Gulf War, and orchestrated it to perfection.

If a country found itself in war, I can not think of a more capable leader than Curtis LeMay.

Warren Kozak has found a wonderful subject to chronicle.This was one of the best biographies I have read. ... Read more

Product Description
The Generals have a mission--to lead America's finest against her most relentless enemy deep in the jungles of Southeast Asia--but it is a new kind of war, one for which the Generals have prepared their new army. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Good Story, Crappy Ending
I've read this series several times over the last 20 years or so, and just started it again after a 5+ year layoff. Reading it again I've forgotten how good of a storyteller Griffin was before writing with his son in his last few books. While this one sets the stage for each of his other series (i.e., Corps, Vigilantes, Philadelphia police series) with a rich guy who always bucks the system to beat up the bad guy, with this one you have good character developmet and dialogue, and get a history of the Army from WWII through Vietnam - Korea, tank development, army aviation, Green Berets, you name it.

This one continues the Lowell saga with a very quick and abrupt ending - it's as if he got tired of writing and said "I'm done."You would think a little bit of closure wouldn't be out of order for as much as we've come to know / love / hate some of the characters vs. a few pages at the end.

An Old Friend
If you, like me, read these books 30 years ago, I encourage you to re-read them. You'll be amazed at how much of the back story you;ve forgotten and how much you enjoy becoming reacquainted with the characters.

They were great in the 80s and they are great now!

horrible-skip this one but read the rest
The rest of the books in this series are very good.This one ends with loose ends and essentially not much character growth or connection among the characters.Like some of the other reviewers I felt let down and discouraged.I wish I had skipped this one and moved on to the prequels.

The Brotherhood of War: The Generals
As far as I'm concerned, The Brotherhood of War series is simply the best set of books ever written.

If you like, historical fiction based on fact style novels, this series is a must read.

The Generals is book six of nine in The Brotherhood of Wars series.

Not the best book in the series.
This book is the beginning of the disappointment in the Brotherhood of War series... In 'Part 1' which seems to have been written at a different time and mind set than 'Part 2' a senior officer demands to know why Colonel Lowell was not given a command position in the new Air Cavalry they've developed. He is apparently given one but that's ALL we get to hear on the subject except for in... 'Part 2' which feels altogether different from the first part. We hear a couple sentence rumor of Lowell's exploits in 'nam where he's supposedly insulted a superior and challenged him to court martial him. That's it. Lowell's service as a commander (something he's good at. Something we're told repeatedly throughout the story that's he's good at) is concluded in less than a paragraph and will now and forever be left a mystery. I sort of feel that by now in the series that Craig Lowell would have learned not to have affairs with married women seeing the trouble it's gotten him into in the past but this brilliant, intelligent, rich man once again is written into the stupidity of sleeping not only with a married woman but a fellow officer's wife. This foil got old several novels ago and it was disappointing to see it raised again as a plot device. We also finally see the return of Lowell's son who's in and out of the novel in a short time. He's grown up to be not a very nice person. The ending, as others have stated is abrupt, confusing and very disappointing. The mission in 'Part 2' is interesting (if not historically accurate) and well done but sadly kills off a long time character for no apparent reason. This book begins the decline of the series and should have been the last as it was planned to be. Worth reading but not as good as past novels in the series. Long time readers will be disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description
Whether recreating the bloody chaos of Stones River and Chickamauga, the Byzantine politics of Reconstruction Louisiana, or the massacre of Little Bighorn, this outstanding biography restores Sheridan to his place in American military history and makes the momentous age he lived in come alive. Photos. Maps. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Serviceable biography of Phil Sheridan
A serviceable biography of General Phil Sheridan, the short, profane, and very aggressive Union general. This book traces his career, from his youth to his checkered career at West Point to his service in the Army.

In the Civil War, his first command was as an infantry officer. He served well in that capacity, at Murfreesboro, for example. When Grant went east, he requested that Sheridan take command of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. And, here, Sheridan sparkled. When the Army of Northern Virginia dispatched Jubal Early to the Shenandoah to raise havoc, Sheridan was sent to commandUnion forces in the Valley. Here, of course, he gained fame with his famous ride to the battlefield at Cedar Creek. Later, back with the cavalry outside Petersburg, he sealed the fate of the Confederate army with his defeat of Pickett's forces at Five Forks.

After the war was over, Sheridan moved west, to lead the military against the Indian nations. The book covers his activities on this front, including his relationship with George Armstrong Custer.

In the final analysis, this is a nicely rendered biography of Phil Sheridan.

Immediate!
Philip Sheridan's life was a whirlwind. He came to Sam Grant's attention in northern Mississippi, early in the Civil War, long before Grant took Vicksburg, and came back into Grant's life during the Union assault on Missionary Ridge during the Chattanooga campaign. After Sheridan's exemplary performance at Chattanooga, Grant became his mentor understanding that in Sheridan he had a battering ram whose temperament fitted his own as far as waging war was concerned. Along with Sherman, these men favored total, unrelenting war to subjugate the Confederacy.

Transferring east to the Army of the Potomac, Grant places Sheridan in charge of the Federal cavalry at a time when this arm of the Army was coming into its own. Sheridan moulds it into a most efficient weapon of war and with Grant's help is able to delink it from George Meade. Available at last as an integrated mounted unit, the Union cavalry under Sheridan finally functions as effectively as its Confederate counterpart. Better mounted, armed and supplied, Sheridan defeats Jeb Stuart in detail and kills him at Yellow Tavern. Covering Grant's crossing of the James, Sheridan performs so well, Lee completely loses track of Grant during this operation.

When Lee dispatches Jubal Early for his famed raid on Washington, Grant does the same with Sheridan with orders to hunt Early down and destroy him while at the same time, completely destroying the Shenandoah Valley, the bread basket of the Confederacy. Surprised at Cedar Creek, Sheridan rallies his troops and routes Early's army. He then completes the destruction of the valley, decimates the Virginia Central Railroad at Lynchburg and rejoins Grant at City Point. It is Sheridan who stretches Lee's lines to the breaking point by winning at Five Forks and it is Sheridan who decimates Lee again at Saylers Creek on his retreat to Appomattox. Getting ahead of Lee, it is again Sheridan who puts the cork in Lee's bottle, forcing the Confederate surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. This man was beyond pugnacious. He was an unrelenting warrior.

After the War he is responsible for reconstruction in Louisiana and Texas and gun running into Mexico as the United States seeks the ejection of France from Mexico. He is a complete failure at the first and unsurprisingly, remarkably successful at the second. Transferring west he subjugates the Indians, first the Southern Plains, and 10 years later, the Northern Plains, but periodically is moved in and out of New Orleans as reconstruction conditions there warrant. With President Hayes election in 1876, Federal occupation of the South ends and Sheridan's life begins to wind down. He is present at the Chicago Fire and performs well, maintaining peace at the request of local officials. He succeeds Grant and Sherman as head of the Army but heart trouble ultimately claims him.

He was a most remarkable, hard charging, type A personality. A thorough hater of people who crossed him, he was an equally steadfast friend of those who supported and befriended him. At the time of his death, besides homes in Washington DC and Chicago, his estate consisted of little more than $20,000. When you stop and realize his personal friends included people like Marshall Field, George Pullman and George Armour, for a leading figure of the Gilded Age his estate was eloquent testimony to his integrity. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, 100 yards from the entrance to Robert E. Lee's ancestral home. His wife Irene, 20+ years his junior and still a young woman at the time of his death, never remarried.

Talk about a fast paced, rapid read! Combining the life lived with the times within which it was lived, this is one of the better biographies I have had the pleasure to read.

"Little Phil" Isn't Quite So Little Anymore
This book details the life and exploits of a true American hero.It also puts many of the battles fought during the Civil War into a proper military perspective and lets the reader see the war from the military's point of view.As a minor note, it also touches upon the lives, adventures, and sometimes the deaths, of some well known historical figures including Confederate Col. George S. Patton; George Armstrong Custer, J.E.B. Stuart; Buffalo Bill Cody, and future presidents William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes.And, interestingly enough, it goes a long way toward explaining what it took to become a general during the Civil War, why there were so many (over 1,700), why some failed, and why generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Most of what I knew about the Civil War before reading this book came indirectly through reading various biographies of Abraham Lincoln, and those, of course, tended to look at the war from the top down and from a political perspective.About all I knew about General Sheridan was that he was a Union cavalry commander who was rather diminutive in stature and who, following the war, commanded the U.S. troops controlling the Indian Territory.

I didn't know that, as a young lieutenant Sheridan served in Texas and campaigned against the Yakimas in the Oregon Territory; that with the outbreak of the Civil War he managed to wangle a transfer to Missouri where he served as quartermaster and chief commissary officer for the Army of the Southwest; that he eventually got himself transferred to the infantry where he distinguished himself in battle, earning a promotion and transfer to command a cavalry corps; that he proved himself to be such a dynamic, tenacious, and courageous leader that he was once described by a member of General Grant's staff as "the very incarnation of battle"; that General Grant, himself, described Sheridan as "having no superior as a general, either living or dead, and perhaps not an equal"; that Sheridan was instrumental in trapping Robert E. Lee's Army of Virginia, leading to Lee's surrender at Appomattox; that, following the war and during the early days of reconstruction, Sheridan commanded the Fifth Military District which encompassed both Louisiana and Texas; that he was later charged with administering one-million-square-miles of Indian Territory stretching from Canada to the Rio Grande and from Chicago to New Mexico; or that, shortly before his death, Congress revived the rank of four-star general so that he could be elevated to that rank, a rank which Generals Grant and Sherman had held before him.

I had always envisioned Phil Sheridan as leading glorious cavalry charges, mostly in small, behind the scenes, skirmishes.After reading this book, I'm not sure he ever did any such a thing.But he was obviously a brilliant tactician and a courageous leader of men who never left the field of battle and was seldom out-smarted or out-flanked by his enemy.If, as it would seem, he stands in the shadows of Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, it is only because they cast such large shadows, for, at least in my mind, "Little Phil" isn't quite so little anymore.This is a great book.I give it five stars.

Little Phil

One wonders if "Little Phil" Sheridan might be the perfect example of someone afflicted with the "little man complex." Only 5'5" tall, he was combative and aggressive almost to a fault. He was almost booted out of West Point for attacking a fellow cadet with a bayonet and then his fists, and his severe Reconstruction methods in Texas and Louisiana got him transferred - twice. But he was a competent commander and inspired loyalty in his troops. Roy Morris's biography is a good one, especially regarding Sheridan's Civil War career.

After leaving West Point, the 22-year-old Sheridan served in the infantry on the Texas frontier. Working in administrative posts during the early months of the war, it wasn't until May 1962 that he got his first command in the Michigan Cavalry. He distinguished himself at Booneville, MS, and then at Perryville, KY, three months later. He also played prominent roles at Stones River, TN, Chickamauga, and at Yellow Tavern, VA, where his men killed Lee's "eyes of the Confederate Army" Jeb Stuart. His most celebrated engagement in the war came during the so-called Shenandoah Valley Campaign (Aug, '64-March '65), with important victories at Winchester and Waynesboro. He was instrumental in halting Lee's retreat westward at Appomattox Court House.

After the war he commanded forces of the Fifth Military District in Texas and Louisiana, but his harsh Reconstruction enforcement policies led to his being transferred to Missouri. He led a campaign against the Indians in Kansas in 1868-69 (it was during this time that the infamous quote about dead Indians being the only good ones was attributed to Sheridan, though he always denied it and Morris can offer no proof that he actually said it). After this campaign Sheridan spent two years observing the Franco-Prussian War first-hand. Upon his return he was in Chicago during the famous fire that consumed the city in 1871 and directed further campaigns against the Indians. In 1883 he replaced Sherman as commanding general of the army. He died in 1888 soon after completing his Memoirs.

Morris's biography is vigorous and honest and measures the man fully. Sheridan was a forceful commander, but he could also be cruel. His Valley Campaign turned into a scorched-earth expedition, and his actions against the Indians were relentless. Morris captures Sheridan in his glory but also reveals his dark side. The book is fair and just, and Morris writes well. Recommended.

A great story--a passable history
As a story, this book is one of the better written biographies I've read in a while.Morris's style is compelling, and his writing flows in such a way that it is difficult to lose interest in the narrative.As a biography, however, this book is mediocre.The work is well-documented, but the chief problem I see is that the greater part of Morris's quotes and ideas come from secondary sources,making this book, in some respects, a tertiary source.In searching the notes for the source of several quotes made, I was frustrated to find that the only reference given was to another biography of Sheridan.Morris tells the story beautifully, but there seems not to be much which is groundbreaking or revolutionary.

Another flaw in the book, which occupies a disproportionately large amount of space, is the excessive attention it pays to General Rosencrans in the Tennessee era of Sheridan's Civil War career.During this time, Sheridan seems to be left in the background, and the resultant feeling almost left me with the impression that I was reading a biography of Rosencrans rather than of Sheridan.It seems that Morris has an ax to grind, and that ax is to glorify Rosencrans to the fullest extent.He claims that there were three major achievements around the 4th of July 1863: Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Rosencrans's driving of the Rebels out of Tennessee. While it is true that he did indeed command the force opposing the Rebels, the sad truth is that Lincoln and Co. wanted this to happen nearly six months before it did.I have no problem with Morris's high opinion of Rosencrans (though I do not share it myself), but I don't think a biography of Sheridan is the place to extol the virtues of that man.

Overall, this is a good study of a great man.It is thoroughly well-written, and a joy to read.At times, it is even funny, and Morris's dry wit (such as recounting how General AS Johnston "carelessly" bled to death at Shiloh) keeps things entertaining while not straying into the inappropriate.Also a plus is the detail given to the many aspects of Sheridan's campaigns.Morris has a talent for painting the whole picture and not just the scant part Sheridan played in it.Again, this becomes excessive (to me, at least) only when praising Rosencrans. This book is certainly worth the time it takes to read it. ... Read more

Product Description
Many people believe that the Civil War was started by the Southern states because of slavery and the issue of secession. Here the author argues differently: Southerners believed that they would benefit from a different form of government than that of their Northern neighbors. Southerners, whose economy depended on agriculture, felt that the industrialized North passed laws and set taxes unfair to the South. In this history, Walker includes descriptions of daring raids, massive battles, and life-and-death struggles that changed one nation and destroyed another. In between are tales of the North's misdeeds, such as the massacre of more than 600 American Indians, the burning of Confederate hospitals, and Lincoln's imprisonment of more than 40,000 citizens who dared to oppose him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nothing to do with politics; an adult vocabulary with the editing skill of an elementary student
After reading so much about the anti-Confederate opposition in the Southern states during the war, I wanted a book that would present the political arguments and passion-drivers of those who supported the CSA as a political entity and idea, but this was not it.It was pretty much war event after war event.Walker goes with an effective day-by-day one-liners in recanting events, causing both a lack of tedium (good) and detail (bad), but he does not really address what I was lookng for.

This book does bring up a couple of new perspectives but is not worth the time.Though it moves quickly and never stops the action, Walker uses an adult vocabulary with the editing skill of an elementary student; it was like he used the spell-check feature and assumed that it would catch the terrible grammar and tense-agreement mistakes.Did anyone ever review this before publishing?

In any event, this is not worth the time or money.I will continue to search for other options myself. ... Read more

Product Description
Over Lord is the fascinating story of how American tactical air power was developed by General Elwood "Pete" Quesada during World War II, including its decisive role in Operation OVERLORD and the liberation of Europe.

Pete Quesada is one of World War II's unsung yet crucial heroes. With his famous "Ninth Tactical Air Command," Quesada established the best air-ground team in the European theater. he pioneered the use of radar in close air support operations, introducing weapons systems specifically geared to tactical operations. He nurtured new flying methods designed for the kind of precision bombing the battlefields of Europe demanded. And more than anything else, Pete Quesada championed efforts to model air and ground officers into a single fighting unit. His relationships with ground leaders like Generals Omar Bradley and "Lightning Joe" Collins were a model for the kind of interservice harmony that was essential for dislodging the entrenched German Army.

At war's end everybody from General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower to ordinary infantrymen recognized Pete Quesada as the premier expert and dogged patron of close air support. Allied airplanes over the battlefields of Europe had undoubtedly shortened the war and saved many thousands of lives, and Pete Quesada came home to a hero's welcome in 1945. By then he was the personification of tactical air power. Indeed, he was its over lord.

Unfortunately, Quesada's groundbreaking methods were all but forgotten after the war. As the Cold War deepened, Air Force leaders stressed the role of big bombers flying deep into enemy territory and renounced the importance of close air support missions. Quesada himself was shunted into jobs that were both illsuited to his fiery temperament and divorced from his wartime expertise in tactical aviation. Frustrated, he retired from the Air Force in 1951 at forty-seven years of age.

Fortunately, the story of Quesada's innovative tactics did not end there for the American military. In Korea in the 1950s and Vietnam in the 1960s, U.S. servicemen struggled -- and died -- relearning and recreating the kinds of tactics that Quesada had made commonplace in 1944-45. Had the U.S. Air Force nurtured its capacity for close air support, those two conflicts may have unfolded differently. Since then, the Air Force has struggled for a better balance between its bombardment missions and its support functions.

This is the definitive story of an extraordinary man, whose remarkable efforts to aid foot soldiers in World War II contributed significantly to the Allies' success. America's belated rediscovery of Quesada's precepts some forty years later in conflicts like Operation DESERT STORM only underscores the importance of Quesada's story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Excellent look at one of the founders of close air support
Elwood Quesada was one of those nearly forgotten pioneers of tactical air power during World War II.With the Ninth Air Force, Quesada would develop the concept of close air support to levels very similar to how it is practiced even today.Two key innovations were the use of Microwave Early Warning (MEW) radar and the technology for "combat column cover".MEW radar was originally a field radar designed for defensive purposes, to warn of an enemy air attack.AsGerman aircraft rapidly became scarce, the radar came to be used for air traffic control, to keep track of and direct fighter-bombers in the air to fresh targets in real time. The second innovation was to provide radios that could talk directly to the planes (a simple idea, which had never been done before!) in the tanks of the attacking columns.The combination of the two meant that U.S. Army units could call in close air support on top of an enemy position in minutes, a capability that no other army, including the British, had during World War II.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the book does leave some holes in its treatment of the history of U.S. tactical air power.U.S. and British air power during WWII in general was not very good at destroying tanks- the available weapons (bombs and rockets) were simply too inaccurate.But it did have a tremendous effect on the Germans' ability to mount cohesive counterattacks and severely restricted their freedom of movement and destroyed their supplies.

Also, although Quesada pioneered the main techniques for close air support during WWII, Gen. Otto Weyland of XIX TAC would become its greatest practitioner, working closely with Patton and the Third Army, and contributing tremendously to the success of the Third Army.

Thus, two additional excellent books to read are "Air Power at the Battlefront" by Ian Gooderson and "Patton's Air Force" by David Spires. The first book gives a much more accurate look at Allied tactical air power, and the second points out that Patton's tremendous success was due in no small part to the contributions of Weyland's XIX TAC.

Two other fascinating points in this biography of Elwood Quesada are his postwar battles with pretty boy Hoyt Vandenberg, and his marriage to Kate Putnam, heiress to the Pulitzer fortune.

Vandenberg was appointed the head of the Ninth Air Force during WWII despite knowing nothing about tactical air power and later became the Chief of Staff for the new US Air Force. Vandenberg was the classic example of how far you can get in life if you look good, talk good, and play a great game of golf.He was also responsible for starting the USAAF's long slide away from having the proper equipment and weapons to do close air support the right way. Quesada was forced out of the Air Force by Vandenberg.Weyland would be exiled to non-combat jobs until the Korean War forced Vandenberg to bring him back as he now needed somebody who actually knew how to do tactical air support.

Yes, they ended up naming that missile base outside of Santa Barbara after this dumbkin pretty boy, Vandenberg Air Force Base. Something I think about every time they test fire off one of those Minutemen missiles and I see the missile contrails in the sky (they can be quite colorful and beautiful). They should rename the base after somebody more deserving.

Quesada's marriage to the widowed Kate Putnam allowed him to tap into the high society of the rich and famous.Which is why he could quit the Air Force whereas Weyland had to stay in and swallow his pride for several years. Quesada would go on to many different jobs and pursuits, none lasting more than three years or so.

A fascinating story of a fascinating man during the critical birth period of the U.S. Air Force.

A mediocre attempted biography of a fascinating man and even more important era
A mediocre attempted biography of a fascinating man and even more important era

Elwood R. (Pete) Quesada was one of the most important generals of World War II, yet he was largely left behind in history. Quesada literally was responsible for inventing the methods of tactical air support for ground troops during the course of the American invasion of Europe. He was the fairly modest genius who got along with the ground forces generals where other Army Air Force senior officers considered anything other than strategic bombing demeaning.

For many reasons, Quesada is a fascinating man, yet author Hughes never seems to get to the core of the man. He describes he man, tells us what he accomplished, but provides no real sense of what went through the man's mind.

Instead, we get a fairly standard war history of machine guns blasting, bombs dropping, tanks advancing and shells bursting. There are a few bits here and there where Quesada and his team bring innovations to the system and Hughes does a fairly good job of describing them. I did not know, for instance, of the important contribution of the MEW radar. I'd provide the meaning of the acronym, but like many other terms, it is not to be found in the index and I am not about to page through the book to find it again.The poor index is only one of the several defects of this book. We get descriptions of tactical innovations, but only cursory examples of their use in most cases.

Hughes' writing is pedestrian, with no real tension or drama. Mistakes, whether of authorship, editing or proofreading abound. Words are clearly missing here and there. Some of the technical errors are total howlers: confusing millimeters with caliber. The P-51 Mustang did not have 50mm cannon - it had 50 caliber machineguns. There are few maps and those few do nothing more than illustrate where towns and cities are - not any aspect of the tactical air effort. Even then, many important locations are not on the maps provided.

On the whole, Hughes has not delivered. He does provide a somewhat cursory history of the development of tactical air support, but never invests it with the drama and power it deserves. He describes how the "big bomber boys" hijacked the newly independent Air Force after the war, pays lip service to the price paid in the Korean conflict for the failure to support the concept of tactical air and wraps it up quickly.

Hopefully some day, a more capable historian will tackle the same subject with better results.

Jerry

Overated view of tactical air power in WW2
If you are interested in the political twist and turns of US tactical air force before, during and after WW2, you might find this book interesting.

However be warned it is full of exaggerated claims of what tactical forces actually did in WW2. For example on page 237, the writer talks about the battle at Mortain to show the effectiveness of the tactical bombing. He claims that Germans losses were 27 tanks and a bit later another 76 tanks lost. In fact, research shows that only 46 German tanks were lost in this action of which nine German tanks were destroyed by the air force.

Part of the problem is that pilots have a habit of exaggerating their actions. Say a tank takes a hit. It goes boom. To the pilot flying overhead it looks like it was destroyed. So he reports it destroyed. In reality all it took was a knock and one of these underrated, brilliant mechanics that both sides in the conflict had in abundance, will manage to fix it a few hours later.

The Allied air force did have an effect. It forced the German units to take repeatable take cover and by destroyed many of the bridges in the area so delayed the movement of the German units. It made the German fuel shortages worse. It was also quite effective at destroying German trucks which increased, the massive shortages of trucks that their armies suffered. It also caused the Germans to divert resources away from the ground to air defence.

Excellent Read
This was a terrific work covering the exploits of America's true tactical ground support pioneer.

He was also the creator of Dulles Air Port& L'Enfant Plaza
I knew the General. In addition to his achievements in WW II, he devoloped the concept of an airport where incoming and out going passengers moved on separate floors (Dulles)With David Rockefeller they created the magnificentL'Enfant Plaza in Wash.D.C. His stories of growing up in Washington couldbe another book, not to mention his civilian achievements in Washington.The story of his flying Ike behind German lines after the D day invasion ina 2 seat P 51 to prove his point over German positions (much to the chagrinof Gen. Bradley) is one of my favorites. He had a picture in his office ofhe and Tooey Spaatz from their early days in "Jennies" with oilall overtheir faces except where their goggles were. Right out of"Dawn Patrol". This book is long over due. ... Read more

Product Description
By prosecuting war crimes, the Nuremberg trials sought to educate West Germans about their criminal past, provoke their total rejection of Nazism, and convert them to democracy. More than all of the other Nuremberg proceedings, the High Command Case against fourteen of Hitler's generals embraced these goals, since the charges--the murder of POWs, the terrorizing of civilians, the extermination of Jews--also implicated the 20 million ordinary Germans who had served in the military. This trial was the true test of Nuremberg's potential to inspire national reflection on Nazi crime.

Its importance notwithstanding, the High Command Case has been largely neglected by historians. Valerie Hébert's study--the only book in English on the subject--draws extensively on the voluminous trial records to reconstruct these proceedings in full: prosecution and defense strategies; evidence for and against the defendants and the military in general; the intricacies of the judgment; and the complex legal issues raised, such as the defense of superior orders, military necessity, and command responsibility. Crucially, she also examines the West German reaction to the trial and the intense debate over its fairness and legitimacy, ignited by the sentencing of soldiers who were seen by the public as having honorably defended their country.

Hébert argues that the High Command Trial was itself a success, producing eleven guilty verdicts along with an incontrovertible record of the German military's crimes. But, viewing the trial from beyond the courtroom, she also contends that it made no lasting imprint on the German public's consciousness. And because the United States was eager to secure West Germany as an ally in the Cold War, American officials eventually consented to parole and clemency programs for all of the convicted officers, so that by the late 1950s not one remained imprisoned.

Superbly researched and impeccably told, Hitler's Generals on Trial addresses fundamental questions concerning the meaning of justice after atrocity and genocide, the moral imperative of punishment for these crimes, the link between justice and memory, and the relevance of the Nuremberg trials for transitional justice processes today. Inasmuch as these trials coined the vocabulary of modern international criminal law and set an agenda for transitional justice that remains in place today, Hébert's book marks a major contribution to military and legal history.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series. ... Read more

Product Description
The Ewings influenced the course of the Midwest for more than fifty years. Patriarch Thomas Ewing raised four major players in the nation s history including William Tecumseh Cump Sherman, taken in as a nine-year-old. Smith shows that Tom Jr. had a remarkable career of his own. He came to national prominence in the fight over the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution, was instrumental in starting up the Union Pacific Railroad, and became the first chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. Ewing obtained a commission in the Civil War and issued the dramatic General Order No. 11 that expelled residents from sections of western Missouri. Then this confidant of Abraham Lincoln s went on to courageously defend three of the assassination conspirators and lobbied the key vote to block the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Highly recommended for Civil War enthusiasts of all backgrounds
Thomas Ewing Jr. Frontier Lawyer and Civil War General is a scholarly biography of former Whig senator and cabinet member destined to gain a commission in the Union Army, along with his brothers. He raised a regiment that encountered action in Arkansas and Missouri, and after William Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, he issued the General Order No. 11 that forcibly removed residents from sections of western Missouri. A confidant of Abraham Lincoln, Ewing dared to defend three of the assassination conspirators, and even lobbied a key vote to prevent the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Exhaustively researched, Thomas Ewing Jr. Frontier Lawyer and Civil War General presents an in-depth, crystal clear portrait of not only one Civil War general's life, but also the antebellum South in which he lived. Highly recommended for Civil War enthusiasts of all backgrounds.
... Read more

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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam chronicles Washington politics and foreign policy in post-Cold War America. Evoking the internal conflicts, unchecked egos, and power struggles within the White House, the State Department, and the military, Halberstam shows how the decisions of men who served in the Vietnam War, and those who did not, have shaped America's role in global events. He provides fascinating portraits of those in power -- Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Kissinger, James Baker, Dick Cheney, Madeleine Albright, and others -- to reveal a stunning view of modern political America.Amazon.com Review
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of 17 books, David Halberstam has a gift for bringing current events alive and putting them into historical perspective in an engaging way. In many respects, War in a Time of Peace serves as a sequel to his classic The Best and the Brightest in its examination of how the lessons of Vietnam have influenced American foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. Beginning with the Persian Gulf War, Halberstam discusses the political shift in emphasis from foreign to domestic issues that ushered in the first Clinton administration. Despite the fact that Clinton, along with much of the country, preferred to focus on the home front, the U.S. nonetheless found itself drawn into conflicts in Haiti, Somalia, and the Balkans--events that reflected American discomfort with the use of its military forces abroad while at the same time acknowledging that much of the world is dependent upon the U.S. for both guidance and support. The book also highlights the many nonpolitical factors that have influenced these political changes, including a generational shift in national leadership, the modern media's emphasis on entertainment over foreign news, a leap in military technology, and American economic prosperity that has rendered foreign policy largely irrelevant to many citizens.

Halberstam is a master at presenting well-rounded portraits and telling anecdotes of the personalities that have created U.S. policy, casting new light on well-known figures such as Clinton, Colin Powell, and George H.W. Bush, as well as supporting players such as Anthony Lake, Richard Holbrooke, James Baker, Madeleine Albright, General Wesley Clark, Al Gore, and many other influential American leaders of the past decade. Having covered many aspects of American history and foreign policy since the early 1960s, Halberstam is uniquely qualified to report on an era in which the U.S., and the world, has changed so dramatically. --Shawn Carkonen ... Read more

Customer Reviews (83)

Magnificent history of American decision-making on the Balkans (and everything else)
The late great David Halberstam produced another magnificent entry into his personal bibliography with "War in a Time of Peace."After a long hiatus in which he focused on other areas, Halberstam turned his focus to America's foreign policy with regard to a truly forgotten war - the war in "the Balkans" - that Byzantine mix of tribes, clans, "nations," and armies that inhabit the rugged country that is the former Yugoslavia.

Halberstam was a man with a massive, global focus.There is truth to the clever spoof of Halberstam by "Doonesbury" - the man wrote tomes, massive, weighty books of vast import and scope.With "War in a Time of Peace," Halberstam examines America's descent into self-interest.Halberstam was extremely aware of America's leading role in world affairs, and it clearly pained him that, starting with President Reagan, America became a nation that was extremely isolated in its focus.While Halberstam puts a lot of the blame for this development on Reagan and, later, the Republicans of the Gingrich revolution (many of whom didn't even have passports), he exhibits a particular amount of contempt for President Clinton.Despite his extensive political gifts, Clinton shuns foreign policy as an inconvenience and makes misstep after misstep - from gays in the military to Somalia to the Balkans.Perhaps even worse, the media follows the Presidential lead and descends into a focus on profitable trivia rather than world affairs.

Our national self-interest borders on the criminal for Halberstam, and he evokes the carnage of the Balkan war with several heartbreaking stories from the front that indicate that, notwithstanding the modern media's focus on the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman marriage and the OJ Simpson trial while closing its foreign bureaus, this was an extremely violent conflict in a critical part of the world.The dedication of American and foreign diplomats, soldiers, and reporters in discovering and reporting the truth of the unfolding genocide in the face of American indifference was both tragic and inspirational.

In this book, we learn a great deal about several key players who we thought we knew, including not only the first President Bush and Vice President Gore (both of whom are held in high esteem by Halberstam), but also Richard Holbrooke, Madeline Albright, Colin Powell, Wes Clarke, and a host of other key personnel who comprise America's decision-making apparatus.Despite America's focus on the Lewinsky episode and the Gingrich attempt to close down the government, both of which made many Americans wonder just who the heck was minding the store, Halberstam's book reminds us that we Americans are served daily by a number of bright, ambitious, dedicated, and largely-anonymous men and women of purpose and talent.This is a refreshing reminder.

Ultimately, "War in a Time of Peace" is Halberstam's call to arms for a modern America.It is not a call to arms in the traditional "grab a rifle" approach, but rather a call for America to get re-engaged in the world.As he reminds us, America's rough times are often better than our neighbors' good times.In this world, Americans need to be engaged with the world and responsive to its needs.Democracy is often perceived as weak by the tyrants of the world, but in fact it is the world's strongest force for good.We would do well to remember this as we consider the various distractions that we confront on a daily basis.

This book is yet another must-read from Halberstam, who left us with a tremendous body of work but nevertheless left us too soon.

A portrait of the 1990s from the viewpoint of the 1990s?
As I finished this book, I couldn't help think how out of date it feels. Although Halberstam mentions terrorist threats on the very last page of the book; the African embassy bombings, the USS Cole attack, the Khobar towers bombing, and President Clinton and Sandy Berger's chase after Al Queda appear nowhere. Honestly, most of the other large-scale foreign policy incidents of the 1990s (Somalia, Haiti, Iraq) take a back seat to the Bosnian and Kosovar conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. This book's subtitle could aptly be "The Vietman War and its impact on the American foreign policy response to the break-up of Yugoslavia."

Nevertheless, War in a Time of Peace is a very good read. Although it could be editted a little better (there are many repititive bits and some sloppy portions of narrative), Halberstam's familiar prose style keeps things moving. It is clear that many of the key players were interviewed and the book provides great insights on George HW Bush, Bill Clinton, Brent Scowcroft, Sandy Berger, Richard Holbrooke, James Baker, Colin Powell, Wesley Clark, and many other 1990s powerbrokers. Although not as good as The Best and the Brightest or The Fifties (an underrated Halberstam classic), I am glad that I read this book. If you want to learn more about some of the tough decisions of the Clinton presidency, which ostensibly started as the domestic policy presidency, and the way we looked at security threats (and politcal threats) in the 1990s, this is a very good book.Too bad the events of 2001 to 2003 have changed the world completely and we can never go back to the safer (and simpler) 1990s.

Halberstam does it again
David Halberstam delivers another masterpiece in his book on how the Balkan crisis came about. This book is very fair condemning Bush Sr, Clinotn and all of the generals including Colin Powell for their actions in this area.The United States dropped the ball in stabilizing this region leaving it to the European Union to debate about. Our unwillingness to commit troops has led to more than a decade of crisis and halberstam delivers the story in great detail.Highly recommend if you are just starting to learn about the crisis as it is a very fair and well written account.

Wars abound
The end of the Cold War at the beginning of the 1990s seemed to usher in a new era of hope, promise, and peace.This book shows that the last expectation was wholly false.The 1990s saw more American military interventions into other countries than any other decade of American history.Haiti, Iraq, Mogadishu, Kosovo and Croatia are some of the numerous battlefronts on which American troops were sent to serve.This book chronicles this decade, and shows how the US was inexplicably drawn into each of these conflicts one by one.Key throughout most of these episodes was a Clinton administration that was reluctant to go to arms.This book shows how many times it was pressure from the media, Congress, or the opposing party (Republicans) that convinced the Clinton administration that force was necessary.In a way, this book resembles Halberstam's classic on the Vietnam War; the Best and the Brightest.In both cases, a reluctant president was slowly but steadily cornered into committing troops.This book highlights the major characters involved in the military excursion of the 1990s; Colin Powell, Tony Lake, Al Gore, Richard Holbrooke, Madeleine Albright, various UN officials and government officials of other countries.

All in all a great book.This should be required reading for any course on modern American history, or modern world history.I highly recommend it.

cogent, critical analysis of Presidents and their foreign policies
This analysis of policies of George H.W. Bush and William J. (Bill) Clinton offers a cogent, critical, where necessary, analysis of these Presidents and their foreign policies. It also offers an analysis of the shortcomings of both men, in domestic, as well as foreign relations.It shows the strengths and weaknesses of Bush and Clinton.
Bush, the economy, which may have cost him the election. Clinton, foreign policy and a military diminished by cuts, to promote the domestic agenda, which, some might feel made us more vulnerable. It's well read and gives a fairly detailed analysis in a short space of time [refers to abridged audio cassette]. Worth listening to, and makes me wonder if Mr. Halberstam would write an analysis of the current Bush's policies [or perhaps, lack of policies, save to tick off (to put it politely) those who'd seek America's downfall, e.g., radical Islamists, North Korea, Iran, and others, what he'd make of it. Let's hope he does. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
Author JeffM. Shaara rounds out the Civil War Trilogy started by hislate father MichaelShaara, whose book The Killer Angelsdescribed the Battle of Gettysburg. While Gods and Generalscovered action prior to Gettysburg, The Last Full Measurepicks up with Confederate General Robert E. Lee's retreat fromPennsylvania and continues through the end of the war. The youngerShaara focuses on the characters of Lee and Union commander JoshuaLawrence Chamberlain, both of whom play prominent roles in the earlierbooks. He also introduces a new one: Ulysses S. Grant, the Uniongeneral who would finally defeat the South--something no soldierbefore him could manage. The Last Full Measure is oftenexciting and poignant, and fans of The Killer Angels andGods and Generals won't be disappointed. A nicely boxed editionof this classic historical fiction. --John Miller ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

First 2 quite good, third is painful
I will honestly say, Michael Shaara was a much better writer than his son."The Killer Angels" is easily the best out of the trilogy, the only one written by the father.Jeff Shaara, the author of "Gods and Generals" and "The Last Full Measure", some of the attention to action and the just the prose that keeps the reader engaged and wanting more."Gods and Generals" is really quite good, not as good as "Gods and Generals", but definitely has a way to keep you reading."The Last Full Measure", has taken me 6 months to get half way through.It is painful.It seems so slow at points but so rushed at others.Although the end of the war is drawn out, the attention to details that is present in the previous two books just is not there in the end.

Overall, read the first two.Two fantastic novels.

Where's the movie?
A movie based upon "Last Full Measure" was supposed to be filmed, but never came to fruition, however this is an excellent set of books and very well written.

The Civil War Trilogy - Shaara
Although I learned a lesson about trying to have multiple books sent straight to the prison; I was happy that the problem was quickly resolved. I reordered and when the original order was returned, Amazon quickly reimbursed the original order. Happy, Happy, Happy.

Shawna Nash
(423) 315-6905

Brilliant
This trilogy by Michael and Jeff Shaara is one of the most enjoyable series I've read.Jeff Shaara's Gods and Generals and Last Full Measure bookend Michael Shaara's brilliant Pulitzer Prize winning Killer Angels.
The series focuses on the lives and personal experiences of the generals in the Confederate North Virginia army and the Union's Army of the Potomac.Although a novel,the books are filled with tons of information and history regarding the Civil War.The story moves cleanly aand swiftly covering the pre-war years until the surrender at Appomatax.The reader experiences a range of emotions from the thrill and sorrow of victory to the devastion of loss on both sides.Although I've read many history books on the subject, the Shaara series brought me into the middle of the action.I was also inspired to reexamine the history of the Civil War and make another trip to Gettysburgh with more insight.As an added bonus,one may want to pick up the also excellent Jeff Shaara's Gone For Soldiers as an introduction to the characters in the Civil war series. Enjoy

A very personal perspective of the civil war
Read Killer Angels first, then Gods and Generals followed by The Last Full Measure.The Authors put a very personal edge to historical players of our nation's civil war.In many cases, I couldn't wait to pick the book up again because I longed for the relationship with the characters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Masterful disclosure
Running Critical is a masterful piece of investigative journalism. It is rigourously researched and extremely well written. The author, a proven journalist, has no axe to grind. Now, 35 years on, the story as he relates it stands up well, based as it is on hundreds of exhaustive interviews with the key people involved and on the Veliotis tapes. A captivating and balanced history of a key part of the so-called Cold War, as well as a documentary of corporate personalities and tactics at the highest levels, together with straightforward and unembelished accounts of how men (no women other than secretaries and wives!) at the top levels of government and the private sector interacted in the panic-stricken rush to catch up with the USSR in the development of nuclear submarine technology.

Lots of inside information, but 1 missing piece...
First of all, there is an incredible amount of inside information in this book. I cannot imagine how he was able to get the principals to sit down and give their stories. If I am a General Dynamics exec, Rickover, SecNav Hidalgo, or anyone else besides now-exiled Veliotis, I have absolutely zero to gain by doing it. The story is just too embarrassing.

I agree with the other reviews so far, but will add just one deficiency that has not been mentioned so far.

There is information at the beginning about how GD Chairmen Lewis pushes down EB cost estimator Barton's 688 bid with the expectation of making up the delta between the underbid by asking the government to cover its costs later under the guise of change requests. At the time, the loss per boat was pretty minimal, so it was not a hard gamble to swallow.

However, the 688 cost begins to snowball under the original EB General Manager and seems to get even worse under the GD CFO turned EB General Manager MacDonnell before the overruns seem to moderate in the 1980s under Veliotis. For whatever reason, the ship yard practices that caused these overruns are glossed over in the book.

The EB management all-along keeps up the charge that its the government's fault due to some ~30,000 change requests. But the author seems to follow Rickover's reasoning that these changes were too small to motivate a $1billion overrun. However, he doesn't go into what exactly was causing the overruns. Lazy or incompetent yard-staff? Material shortages? Too many people tossed on one boat getting into each others' way and ruining per-worker productivity?

Or was even Barton's disregarded estimate too low? In any case, that information is missing. If anyone here can point me to the answer, I'd be very curious...

Competence?, Transparency?, Integrity?
A great book. Should be read by all military officers. Should be read by all rooticians.

It gives a picture of strong personalities and weak consciences.

It paints a picture of a DOD and a DON that don't know how to monitor their contractors.

It fails to point out many of the most important lessons to be learned, e.g., big problems are not born big, they are born small and are nursed by incompetence, lack of transparency and lack of integrity.

The administrations of several presidents presided over this shameful mess. What is the extent of the problem?

Comprehensive - if unfinished - description of nuclear sub industry
This is a comprehensive account of the contentious genesis of the Los Angeles Class attack sub, a warship normally described as one of the most advanced in the world, but one under suspicion here. Though this story will most likely appeal to those familiar with the terminology and technology of military submarines, it also has much to offer for those studying the military acquisitions process.

The Los Angeles class attack sub was designed to combat two implacable enemies - the Soviet Navy and America's own Hyman Rickover, the so-called father of the nuclear navy. Facing the combined soviet threats of submarine launched anti-ship missiles (previous Russian subs could only fire their missiles after an elaborate process while the surfaced) and faster submarines equipped with more powerful reactors, American planners were now desperate to reclaim an edge on speed. Though America set the speed benchmark with the Skipjack class SSN, progressive gains in the size and weight of latter subs using the same powerplant eroded this edge. The switch to a "newer" reactor (actually one redesigned after use on the USS Long Beach, one of the world's first nuclear-powered surface ships) wasn't enough, and submarine vets had no choice but to make compromises such as shaving hull thickness and consequently reducing maximum safe operating depth. War with Rickover breaks out when the winning design for the new sub is chosen by a firm other than General Dynamics, the established industry leader. Also complicating things is Takis Veliotis, an exec at Electric Boat who is the only man who can maneuver both his greedy colleagues and Rickover himself. Veliotis, unfortunately, has some of his own secrets to hide, resulting in his flight to Greece to avoid charges stemming from millions of dollars in kickbacks. What nearly dooms the program are the extensive compromises made to the construction schedules - resulting in ships being launched half-finished only to be quietly returned to the factory for completion. Millions of dollars in overruns are quietly overlooked, with the hope for a government bailout. When that prospect begins to look unlikely, the corporate heads of GD begin turning on each other, while unskilled and unreliable labor, low morale and impossible construction schedules collide and nearly doom of the US submarine force.

This book tackled an unlikely subject - the LA Class remains the backbone of America's submarine navy, and has never been described as essentially "Unsafe at any depth". However, the book is marred for two reasons - the author focuses on each specific transaction or exchange between characters (like Veliotis and either the head of GD or Rickover) without connecting these events into a cohesive picture of a collapsing defense program. A more glaring flaw is the book being incomplete. "When it was over, there were just the submarines" but the submarines managed to operate at much higher safety standards than the Russian boats they confronted - the author never connecting these boats to the seeming time-bombs produced by GD. What had happened? Who can take credit for the success of the LA Class - or is even that perceived success an illusion? Even the supreme irony of speedy Soviet subs is never addressed adequately, though the information was probably unavailable. Though developments in sub-launched missiles and their submarines themselves did substantiate the need for faster US subs, the threat of high-speed Russian subs was a cold war mirage. The Russians never gave much production priority to their high-powered reactors. Those installed in experimental versions of the November class and regularly in the Alfa class proved more trouble prone than realized. Though more compact than comparable western designs, these reactors were at least as loud, and, using molten metal as a coolant, had to be operated around the clock, even while in port, lest the coolant be allowed to "freeze" into solid metal and ruin the piping. Either of these two omissions (the post-construction history of the LA class and the real threat posed by the Russians) severely undermines the book.

Nevertheless, I found it important reading. I'm hoping the author will revisit the subject again using the information he had no access to at first.Given the plethora of submarine books based on conspiracy theories published after the cold-war, perhaps the time is right for a book about submarines of that era that aren't 3rd party accounts of some unprovable dark plot, but comprehensively inspect the industrial complex that built those subs in the first place.The author is already two-thirds of the way with this book.

Political and corporate history of the 688-class submarines
This book chronicles the political and corporate history of the 688 class nuclear attack submarine.There is much insight into the methods and manner of Admiral Rickover and also a lot of material on the corporate goings-on at Electric Boat during the construction of these boats.At the same time the Trident program was starting so it was a hectic era of sub construction in the USA.

The small amount of operational history is very interesting, such as the ruse which allowed the US Navy to estimate the top speed of mid-1960s Russian nuclear subs.Really the whole book is well written but a complaint at Sub-Log was the limited amount of design, technical and operational information.Much of the book is taken up with following the business and political leaders involved in these huge defense projects.

Very well done, insightful and recommended for anyone considering a career in management at a large defense contractor.An important book in how it documents one slice of American Cold War defense procurement.

Category: corporate and political narrative and intrigue

Heroes: ?? Electric Boat rank and file?

Boats: 688 class

Rating: 4 conference rooms (out of a total of five) ... Read more

Product Description
Adored by many, loathed by some, General George S. Patton, Jr., was one of the most brilliant military strategists in history. War As I Knew It is the personal and candid account of his celebrated, relentless crusade across western Europe during World War II. First published in 1947, this absorbing narrative draws on Patton's vivid memories of battle and his detailed diaries, from the moment the Third Army exploded onto the Brittany Peninsula to the final Allied casualty report. The result is not only a grueling, human account of daily combat and heroic feats - including a riveting look at the Battle of the Bulge - but a valuable chronicle of the strategies and fiery personality of a legendary warrior. Patton's letters from earlier military campaigns in North Africa and Sicily, complemented by a powerful retrospective of his guiding philosophies, further reveal a man of uncompromising will and uncommon character, which made "Georgie" a household name in mid-century America. With a new introduction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

George Patton. By himself
As on my review of Omar Bradley's "War as I knew it", a must have for anyone reserching US Army in WWII.

Patton
So interesting to get inside Patton's mind.A no holds bared man.Was he killed?Who knows.

War as I Knew It
This is an excellent book taken from General Patton's diary,It is a must read for anyone interested in how he had to overcome not only the enemy but worse, his own superiors who had to keep everyone happy at the expense of American lives.Even General Eisenhower admitted that he had no choice other than to keep the brass in Washinton happy as well as the British.Had General Patton been allowed to continue without being stopped at several critical points during the war, not only would that have saved many American lives as well as others including the Germans, but many of us who served under Patton feel that the war would have ended much sooner, that the conflict over Berlin would never have occurred as we would have gotten there first and that his concern that many countries were turned over to the Russians and ended up totally unliberated while we did nothing might have been altered.

War as I knew it.
Fantastic!Wish we had a leader such as him today, one who understood why we fight.

Patton : a military genious of the offensive strategy
Well documented in the second world war, I knew before the readsing of this book that Patton was a general devoted to the armored weapon, advocating the offensive. This was far too short.

George S. Patton wrote the newspaper's fighting from October 29, 1942 to December 5, 1945, just a few days before his accidental death in Germany. This newspaper is an important document for the understanding of history.

What a great general! Soon the reader realizes that the author is a great man, not only because he is a military emergency, but because he is cultivated, sensitive and an outstanding leader of men.

the state of ignorance by the United States of France, especially of Morocco, led Patton to amend two articles of capitulation which had been delivered by Roosevelt (a hard version, a softer version). Patton understood immediately that Morocco unlike Algeria, was a French protectorate and not French a department. It was then necessary to maintain the prestige of the French army to prevent the explosion of the country and consequently the mobilization of tens of thousands of American soldiers that Patton had not.

Patton was a brilliant strategist. Francophile, speaking in French, he became friendly with General Giraud and much appreciated the high distinction of Catroux, representative of the free French (General De Gaulle). Patton had commanded a regiment in France during World War I, he loved France.

Patton participated in the liberation of North Africa (including Tunisia), Sicily and landed in Normandy in August 1944. He quickly shoved the enemy, stalking into the reduced Brittany. Proving once again that he understood the importance of the symbol, as the head of the III rd Army, authorized General Leclerc (Scnd DB), then under his command, to liberate Paris. Advocating the offensive, thoughtful, quick, decisive, he bitterly regretted that the High Command emphasize support to the British General Montgomery (whom he held in low esteem, as the English troops this general commanded). Patton indeed thought to end the war before winter 1944 to 1945. Repeating its lightning success campaigns for his thesis.

The hunting scene of the American III rd Army is exceptional:

While he regrets the loss of 21,441 soldiers killed in front, the enemy lost 144,500, 386,000 injured (cons 99,224) and 1,486,700 prisoners!

The victory over the material is also evident. 308 light tanks lost cons 1529 destroyed, 949 medium tanks against 858 Panther and Tiger, 175 guns cons 3454.

Patton was a great general. The front cover of this book shows him with his pistol butt to ivory legacy of a past that he knew, that the end of western, particularly in the Mexican War where he was involved with the Army.

Two important quotes:

"In war, the only sure defense is offensive, and efficiency of the offense depends on the warlike souls of Those conducting it."

"Do not take counsel of your fears."

This man is a warlord, a noble legacy no doubt of his southerner's education. Obvious symbol of American pride, he is also naturally much appreciated by French citizens for his decisive action in the liberation of France.

Thank you "Blood 'n guts"! ... Read more

Product Description
Wellington's achievements in the Peninsular War cannot be overestimated.At the outset in 1808 Napoleon and his Marshals appeared unstoppable.By the close Wellington and his Army had convincingly defeated the French and taken the war across the Pyrenees into France itself.He and his Generals had waged a hugely successful campaign both by conventional means and guerrilla warfare.This book contains the pithy biographies of some forty senior officers who served Wellington, in the majority of cases, so ably during this six year war.Many had experience of battle prior to the Peninsular and went onto greater heights thereafter.There is a section summarizing the major engagements that this 'band of brothers' took part in. The book is arranged in alphabetical order and each thoroughly researched entry places its subject's life in his historical and political context.The result is a highly entertaining, informative and authoritative book.returncharacterreturncharacter returncharacterreturncharacter REVIEWS returncharacterreturncharacter"...informative, well written, and an essential reference tool for those interested in the period." Past in Review, 10/11/2010 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

must have for Napoleonic study
A companion piece to the author's Nelson's Trafalgar Captains and Their Battles, Wellington's Peninsular War Generals & Their Battles covers the lives of forty-one of the best known divisional commanders, heads of supporting arms and services (i.e. artillery, cavalry and supply), and principal staff officers of Wellington's Army in Spain from 1808 to 1812.
The book is divided into two distinct sections, the first consisting of the biographies conveniently arranged alphabetically, and the second consisting of the battles these men fought in, arranged chronologically, beginning with the Low Countries in 1793 and ending with Waterloo in 1815. At the end of each battle entry is a list of generals in the book who participated in each. There is an Introduction wherein the author discusses the promotion system, the purchase of commissions and the importance of patronage in Georgian England.
As any reputation would pale when next to Wellington's (not to mention his own low opinion of practically everybody), a close look at these men and their careers reveals extensive active service both before and often after the war against Napoleon. Also revelatory are the facts that most of them came from or married into titled families; almost half of them were of Scottish descent; and two were Germans.
All in all, this book is informative, well written and an essential reference tool for those interested in the period.
... Read more

Product Description
States Rights Gist was named in honor of his father's strong political beliefs. The Southern states, Gist's father believed, had the right to secede from the United States and become their own nation. Influenced by his father's passion, States Rights' career as a supporter of the Confederacy began.

Gist attended Harvard Law School and worked as a lawyer in South Carolina. Although he had no military training, he joined the state militia as tensions rose between the North and South. Gist was present as the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter. He prepared new recruits for battle and commanded military forces, proving himself a skilled strategist and leader.

Gist became a general when he was only twenty-four years old, and he was placed in command of James Island and Dependencies, an area key to Charleston's defenses. It was after the Battle of Atlanta that Gist assumed command of a brigade under Major General John Brown. He was killed in the fateful charge at Franklin, Tennessee.

Despite his contributions to the Confederacy, States Rights faded from memory until States Rights Gist, his first biography. Finally, here is a thorough account of the Civil War through the perspective of a young, brave commander, who fought and died for his ideals and emerged as an important Southern hero. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

State Rights Gist
A well researched book that is not politically correct!Facts and details are very good and informative reading.Would reccomend.
Mc

States Rights Gist: A South Carolina General of the Civil War
My only problem with this book is that at 153 pages of text I feel cheated, I would like to have had more, a lot more. Perhaps Professor Cisco will write a more complete biography of General Gist soon.

States Rights, yes that was his birth name, Gist was an officer in the Confederacy during the Civil War he was a General in the South Carolina Militia and moved over to the regular Confederate Army during the Civil War, he was one of the second or third echelon generals of the war, a group not that much is know about other then a pigion dropings covered memorial in some small town where they born or lived. Gist was a Havard trained lawyer by trade and became an officer in the militia before the war. Through politics, his father was governor for awhile, and good organizational skills he rose very quickly to the rank of general.

When the war started he was reduced in rank to Colonel and commanded a Regiment that was somewhat less then distinguished in the field, but through losses to other officers he was promoted to general and at the time of his death at the battle of Franklin in 1864 he held the rank of Major general.

Professor Walter Cisco who worte this book does a good job of describing the battles of the Tennessee theatre of operations and how Grant defeated the Confederates at Chattanooga and how the Rebels lost the advantage through poor generalship and in itself is reason to read this book.

Short, but interesting
States Rights Gist is somewhat of a sidenote in Civil War history.As the previous reviewer stated, he is probably most remembered for his name above all else.However, upon reading this book, he could be remembered for a lot more.Gist actually led a very interesting career during the war and his marriage not too long before his death certainly adds some drama to the mix.Cisco's book does the General justice, but often times I felt like there could have been more.Gist was at the Battle of Secessionville, the largest battle fought in South Carolina during the war, but not much details come from the chapter.The Atlanta Campaign is glossed over.Even the battle of Franklin feels anti-climactic.Considering that Gist was one of the highest ranking men in the South Carolina militia, served in many of the wars major battles of the Western Theater, and was considered to have one of the best brigades in the Army of Tennessee you would expect more length and depth in the book.Cisco writes a decent book, but it reads too much like a college term paper when, it seems from Gist's life, it could have been so much more.Still recommended, though, because of such little scholarship on Gist.

Interesting little book about a general with a strange name
If not for his name (yes that was his real name), I rather doubt that States Rights Gist would be remembered today.He was one of the fatalities at the Battle of Franklin, which had more than its fair share of Confederate general officers killed or wounded.It ended a brief military career which had been moderately distinguished if not outstanding.

Why only 3 stars?Simply put, the subject matter is obscure, even for the most devoted Civil War enthusiast, and I cannot really imagine how the man's rather short life merited a book.I only came across the book because it was a History Book Club selection.It is so specialized that only a select few would ever seek it out.The fact that no other reviews have been written on it bears this out.It isn't a bad book, just maybe an unnecessary one. ... Read more

Product Description
This biographical dictionary profiles each of the 98 men who served as generals of the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. Arranged alphabetically, the entries detail each general's background and education; military schooling; military service, both before and during World War II; service abroad (France, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Cuba, China, and Panama); medals and awards for courage and skill in combat; and retirement and death dates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A necessary book
Sterling Price is one of the better CSA General Officers in the West.Maybe not the best general or the easiest one to deal with, he stands head and shoulders above many of his peers.This is an excellent military biography of General Price during the Civil War and while over uses is a "warts and all" story.The author pulls no punches in saying where Price was wrong and where he was ill served by superiors and peers.Very even handed, it is clear that price had many admirable qualities coupled with some quirks but he did care and he did try his best.

A second plus of this book is the excellent introduction to the war in the West.Price was at almost all the important battles and each is covered.The overview of his 1864 Missouri Campaign and almost unique, most histories do not mention it.Price usually disappears after Corinth but here we follow him to the Trans-Mississippi and defeat.

Castel's appraisal of Price is very fair and worth the price of the book.Couple with the battle histories this is an excellent buy.The maps are sufficient for the book and tend to be at the campaign level.However, I did not find that to be a problem when reading about any of the battles.The writing is crisp, to the point and moves.Overall, this excellent book will increase your knowledge of the war in the West and needs to be in your Civil War library.
... Read more

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Profiles the lives and military careers of Nathan B. Forrest, William J. Hardee, Ambrose P. Hill, John B. Hood, Stonewall Jackson, Joseph E. Johnston, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, George Pickett, and Jeb Stuart. ... Read more

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On a rescue mission to Vandos, Padawan Flynn Kybo and his master T'chooka D'oon come face-to-face with General Grievous, one of the leaders of the Separatist army. After Grievous kills Master D'oon, Kybo goes to the Jedi Council with a plan to take the depraved general out immediately. But when the council rebukes his plans for vengeance, Kybo decides to take matters in his own hands. Seeking out others who feel the same as himself, he sets out to stop the Separatist killing machine before more Jedi lives are lost. Meanwhile, Grievous hijacks a transport ship, and its precious cargo may give him a horrible advantage over the Jedi that they would never expect. For now, his sights are on the planet Gentes - and on taking its Ugnaught population and mining facilities as trophies of war!Amazon.com Review
The comic-book world continues to fill in the blanks of the Star Wars universe between the feature films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.In Dark Horse's four-issue miniseries General Grievous, a small Jedi strike force attempts to assassinate the six-armed multi-lightsaber-wielding droid before he kills any more of their order, not knowing that he has something even more sinister in mind for a group of young Padawan he's captured.Written by Chuck Dixon (Nightwing) with art by Rick Leonardi and Mark Pennington, General Grievous takes place before Sith and the animated Clone Wars series.--David Horiuchi ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Star Wars Story
My grandson loved this book for Christmas.He reads a lot and loves Star Wars.

Not the best, but ...
The art and story is marginal, and Grievous isn't really the focus of the story (in that we learn nothing new about him), but it is a fun story nonetheless.

As with all Star Wars stories from Star Wars, your enjoyment may come from how much you care about the characters focused on.Here they are disposable Jedi, but it still makes for an interesting read with no real conclusion.

The series, which came out before "Episode III," sold like hotcakes, as readers wanted to get as much info on the characters as they could.The General Grievous here is not the injured one we saw in the movie, but that makes no real difference to the story.What does make a difference is the young padawans he captures.That gives the tale its backbone, and makes it worth reading if only for that.

About General Grievous this book is not
This is not a horrible book, but you might be disappointed if you think you'll be getting a story about General Grievous.As with a lot of Star Wars EU, the focus here is on characters you've never heard of and will probably never hear of again, a group of teenaged Padawan who have lost their masters to General Grievous and who strike out on their own, against the wishes of the Jedi council, to hunt down and assassinate the multi-limbed cyborg.As this story takes place before "Revenge of the Sith," you already know their mission will be a failure, so there's not a lot here to create suspense.And since we know that Grievous can wield as many as six lightsabers at a time, you know too how the Padawan are likely to meet their end.

With over a dozen characters in a such a short book, it's a fairly impossible task to make even a handful unique.Having boxed himself in on the plot, writer Chuck Dixon is left with little to do and the story is carried mostly by the very fine illustrations of Rick Leonardi and Mark Pennington.

If you'd like to read more about Grievous, as of this writing the only sources that contain background on the General himself is the novel "Labyrinth of Evil," and the graphic novel "Star Wars Visionaries," which contains one Grievous story.Both of these books come highly recommended.

Had great potential, but didn't deliver
General Grievous could have been much better. Excellent art, frequently showing Grievous as frightening and intimidating, as he should be. The dialogue was what really ruined this. Grievous had several cheesy lines such as
"The Mon Calamari are such a disgusting species. Please tell me they are all slain"
and "Let not one of them leave alive".
Apart from that, the plot was very good, with Grievous capturing several Padawans and planning to turn them into cyborgs like him. This TPB was average, so it gets 3 out of 5. Only serious fans should read this. For anyone else looking for a Star Wars graphic novel starring a villain, I'd reccommend the Darth Maul TPB. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

hard-reading memoir
edited by Robert E. Lee, one of Harry's sons, this is really hard to read due to the flowery language.I mean, you can read a whole page and then realize he didn't say anything of significance!But, it is insightful if you're interested in the Revolutionary War and its effect on the South.I was particularly interested in his handling of Tarleton..."the unrelenting conqueror shut his ears to the voice of supplication, as he had steeled his heart against the claims of mercy." Like elsewhere in the book, you have to read all the lengthy footnotes for explanations of exactly what transpired. Lee wrote as though every thought was going to be quoted, like the famous quote about Washington.I admit though, that I've never read another Rev. War account that matches this! I just wouldn't recommend this to the casual reader.

Stirring, Thrilling, You Are There
Anyone with a sobriquet of "Lighthorse Harry" sets up some expectations with his memoirs, but this book delivers on them.Not onlydoes the book take you into the thick of battle in the Revolutionary War's"Southern Campaign", it also takes you to deliberations about howthe Colonists reacted to British Rule and what kind of government Americashould have and how it should solve practical issues ofthe day.HenryLee was there for all of it as one of the "Lees of Virginia". This book has a zest and pacing that gently draws the reader in for thenext installment.

a "must" for the student of the Revolution in the South
Lee's work is well written and, in some cases, provides the only description of the legion of battles and skirmishes that characterized the Southern Campaign. The reader needs to keep in mind that Lee wrote in the 18th century tradition of exagerating one's own triumphs and glossing over any shortcomings. Lee likewise writes in a seemingly authoritative manner about events where he wasn't present. For example his condemnation of the NC militia at the battle of Guilford CH has influenced most subsequent accounts although Lee wasn't aware that their orders allowed them to leave the field after delivering up two rounds. In contrast he fails to mention the flight of the Virginia militia in the right wing. Given these faults, Lee's work is still the best of it's kind. Any Rev War library should have a copy. ... Read more