Book Description
Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler's doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes readers on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people.
Fighting at 25,000 feet in thin, freezing air that no warriors had ever encountered before, bomber crews battled new kinds of assaults on body and mind. Air combat was deadly but intermittent: periods of inactivity and anxiety were followed by short bursts of fire and fear. Unlike infantrymen, bomber boys slept on clean sheets, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of Glenn Miller's Air Force band, which toured U.S. air bases in England. But they had a much greater chance of dying than ground soldiers. In 1943, an American bomber crewman stood only a one-in-five chance of surviving his tour of duty, twenty-five missions. The Eighth Air Force lost more men in the war than the U.S. Marine Corps.
The bomber crews were an elite group of warriors who were a microcosm of America -- white America, anyway. (African-Americans could not serve in the Eighth Air Force except in a support capacity.) The actor Jimmy Stewart was a bomber boy, and so was the "King of Hollywood," Clark Gable. And the air war was filmed by Oscar-winning director William Wyler and covered by reporters like Andy Rooney and Walter Cronkite, all of whom flew combat missions with the men.
The Anglo-American bombing campaign against Nazi Germany was the longest military campaign of World War II, a war within a war. Until Allied soldiers crossed into Germany in the final months of the war, it was the only battle fought inside the German homeland.
Strategic bombing did not win the war, but the war could not have been won without it. American
airpower destroyed the rail facilities and oil refineries that supplied the German war machine. The bombing campaign was a shared enterprise: the British flew under the cover of night while American bombers attacked by day, a technique that British commanders thought was suicidal.
Masters of the Air is a story, as well, of life in wartime England and in the German prison camps, where tens of thousands of airmen spent part of the war. It ends with a vivid description of the grisly hunger marches captured airmen were forced to make near the end of the war through the country their bombs destroyed.
Drawn from recent interviews, oral histories, and American, British, German, and other archives, Masters of the Air is an authoritative, deeply moving account of the world's first and only bomber war.
Customer Reviews:
A "must read" for all those interested in WW II........2007-10-10
This monumental work covers the bomber war in Europe in a more complete way than any other book I have read including anything the great Martin Caidin has written. Mr. Miller tells the story from the perspectives of the tail gunners, waist gunners, radiomen, bombadiers, navigators, co-pilots and pilots as well as the generals who devised the strategys. All aspects of the war are covered from the original construction of the air bases to airplane maintenance to training to missions to time-off at local village pubs. Unlike other books, this one covers the POWs and their horrendous plight especially as the war is winding down and the Nazis more them from location to location ahead of the advancing Allies. Miller also includes stories about Capt. Tibbets of Hiroshima fame and a fascinating story of Chuck Yeager's escape from occupied Europe through Spain and his subsequent return to combat, something almost never allowed because re-patriated flyers knew too much about the french underground that would jeapordize lives if they were shot down a second time. Also of interest was information about what happened to crewmen who elected to land in "neutral" Switzerland in wounded ships. I recommend this book highly.
Masters of the Air.......2007-09-11
A marvelous story about the WW II air war over Europe. Full of interesting details and descriptions. I have shared it with friends that did their 35 missions, and they concur.
The Story of the "Mighty Eighth".......2007-09-08
This well-written and exhaustively researched book chronicles the rise of the American Eighth Air Force from its early days in England to VE Day in 1945.
At the outset of the war, the British believed that night bombing was the best way to attack German cities and industry. However, once America entered the war, they chose a philosophy different from that of the British. The Americans believed that daylight precision strategic bombing was the only way to defeat the Germans. The British, on the other hand, still favored nighttime area bombing. This difference of opinion between the Americans and British was never really settled, but by combining the "round the clock" attacks of American planes during the day and British planes at night, the Germans faced an unending stream of planes and bombs.
When the Eighth flew their first mission in the fall of 1942, they could barely muster thirty planes, but at the end of the war, they were putting up well over one thousand, with several hundred fighter escorts as well. The German Luftwaffe could not match these incredible numbers of planes, and, despite such tactics as underground production and introducing the world's first jet fighter, there was little they could do to stop the Allied bombing.
Differences also existed between the British and Americans regarding target selection. The British favored carpet bombing Germany's cities with little or no regard for civilian casualties. The Americans favored targeting German industry (synthetic oil production, ball bearings, and transportation hubs). The Americans believed that the systematic destruction of the German economy would bring about surrender quicker than the British belief of "terror attacks" designed to break the will of the German people.
An interesting point made by the author is whether or not strategic bombing was effective against the Germans. A preponderance of the evidence would suggest that the answer to this question is "yes", but there are some compelling counter-points made in the book.
This is a fine work of aviation history. The book is well-researched and is easy to read and understand. Every aspect of the Allied bomber offensive in Europe is covered in great detail. The author also includes many personal testimonials from the men who flew the B-17s and B-24s against the Germans. An interesting chapter is also devoted to the Swiss government and how they treated "captured" Allied fliers. The terrifying incendiary raid on Dresden as well as the horrific destruction of Berlin is also told in vivid detail.
I give this fine book my highest recommendation. If you're looking for information on the Eighth Air Force and the air war over Europe, this is the book to read.
Does anyone at Simon & Schuster proofread?.......2007-09-04
Mr. Miller's book includes not only substantial research into prior publications but very interesting research based on letters and interviews he's found on his own. It's a good book. But if you're a member of the word police you'll be annoyed by the many proofreading errors. Here's a sample: "In the heavily defended Ruhr, with its permanent cloud of industrial smoke, the number was only in ten." (p.54) Should have been "within ten miles." Some errors are so simple a spell checker would have caught them: (p.199) "spining" for spinning. And there are some factual errors as well. Miller attributes contrails to wingtips. They're created by engines. It's much easier to criticize than to write. Still, S&S should have, with the several editors listed in the acknowledgments, caught the errors. I have no idea whether they have been corrected in the paperback.
The Unsung Heroes of The Eighth Air Force.......2007-08-26
This is an overdue tribute to those young men who gave their lives, in great numbers, fighting the air war over Germany in WWII.To those who think WWII was fought without major tatical errors, this book will be a revelation. In tribute to the kids who lost their lives in this bloody effort, everyone should be required to read this story. If you thought that service in the Air Force was a cake walk read this book.
Customer Reviews:
Helps Gain Better Understanding of the Physiology of War on Loved Ones.......2007-09-25
This book was a recommended read by a family member to help understand the impact of war on the brave men and women that serve our country. I really enjoyed reading it and could not help to think of my Grandfather during many of the chronicles. If you want to understand your loved one better after returning from war, read this book. I am thankful I did.
If You Want to Understand: A Review of "On Killing".......2007-08-09
Because most of the individuals who know me are aware that I love to read, they often recommend books that they think I would enjoy reading. Many of the books that I have reviewed in The White Rhino Report came to my attention through personal recommendations. "On Killing - The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society" by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman is no different, except for the fact that at least a half dozen of my friends told me that I needed to read this book. The curious thing about their recommendations was that each individual expressed his feelings about this book in almost identical terms. Each of these warriors, knowing that they were speaking to someone who has not served in the military, used a phrase like: "If you want to understand . . . you need to read `On Killing'!"
They did not say, "If you want to understand me," or "If you want to understand war," or even "If you want to understand the heart of a warrior." They left the statement hanging: "If you want to understand . . ." That truncated expression served as an all-encompassing statement that includes all of the above - and so much more.
Having read, and been captivated by, this singular book, I feel that I have begun to understand in a new way. Grossman, a decorated former Army Ranger, paratrooper and member of the faculty at West Point, has placed on the table for discussion what I would call "The Warrior's Secret." The overarching impression that Grossman left me with is that each warrior who has faced combat secretly struggles for the rest of his life with one of three powerful sets of emotions:
1) If he has been called upon to kill in battle, he wrestles with a haunting guilt over having overcome the basic human instinct not to kill our own kind. That wrestling can often lead to severe PTSD.
2) If he was faced with an opportunity to kill an enemy combatant, but chose not to kill, or found himself incapable of killing, he suffers from the secret shame and humiliation of having failed to carry out that which he was trained to do - that which defines a true warrior.
3) If he served in the military in a role that was not combat arms, or if he never had an opportunity to engage an enemy, he wonders how he would have responded if faced with that life-or-death decision. And he secretly feels like he never truly became a warrior.
For much of history, the warrior code made if difficult, if not impossible, for an individual to speak honestly about these struggles. Our military has come a long way in the past several generations in terms of understanding these psychological and emotional dynamics of warfare, and in terms of giving permission for veterans and active duty military personnel to speak openly and honestly about these formerly taboo topics. Grossman has carved out a second career in publicly and privately offering this explicit permission to those who have served in combat and who wrestle with these persistent struggles.
As soon as I finished reading the book, I placed a call to my friend, Kevin. He was one of those who had told me to read the book. He is a veteran of two deployments to Iraq. I wanted to test out on Kevin the validity of what I describe above as "The Warrior's Secret." Kevin not only confirmed that I was on the right track and was beginning to "Get it," but he also added the following comments:
"Now you need to read Grossman's next book - `On Combat.' It is more comprehensive in scope than `On Killing.' In each unit I have served in, we made sure that there was a copy of each of these books available to us to help us survive. They function as a sort of a psychological survival manual."
(Based on Kevin's recommendation, I immediately ordered "On Combat." I plan to review that book within the next few days. Stay tuned!)
To give you a direct sense of how insightful and revolutionary Grossman's writing is, I will share with you several excerpts. Grossman lays on the table the idea that historically in combat, many warriors have shied away from making a kill when they were given an opportunity to do so.
"The simple fact appears to be that, like S.L.A. Marshall's riflemen of World War II, the vast majority of rifle- and musket-armed soldiers of previous wars were consistent and persistent in their psychological inability to kill their fellow human beings. Their weapons were technologically capable , and they were physically quite able to kill, but at the decisive moment each man became, in his heart, a conscientious objector who could not bring himself to kill the man standing before him" (Page 27)
"There is ample indication of the existence of the resistance to killing and that it appears to have existed at least since the black powder era. This lack of enthusiasm for killing the enemy causes many soldiers to posture, submit, or flee, rather than fight; it represents a powerful psychological force on the battlefield; and it is a force that is discernible throughout the history of man. The application and understanding of this force can lend new insight to military history, the nature of war, and the nature of man." (Page 28)
"That the average man will not kill even at the risk of all he holds dear has been largely ignored by those who attempt to understand the psychological and sociological pressures of the battlefield. Looking another human being in the eye, making an independent decision to kill him, and watching as he dies due to your action combine to form the single most basic, important, primal and potentially traumatic occurrence of war. If we understand this, then we understand the magnitude of the horror of killing in combat. . . Why is this not often discussed? If Johnny can't kill, if the average soldier will not kill unless coerced and conditioned and provided with mechanical and mental leverage, then why has it not been understood before?" (Pages 30-31)
Grossman makes a compelling case that the poor rate at which soldiers in World Wars I and II fired their weapons when called upon to do so led to a revolution in the way in which subsequent generations of soldiers were trained - using operant conditioning techniques introduced by Skinner. As a consequence, firing rates in Korea climbed, and soared even higher in Vietnam. The result was an alarming increase in the incidence of PTSD among returning soldiers and Marines. Grossman argues that we learned to do a better job of turning men into killing machines, but we did not learn how to help them cope with the aftermath of what we had trained them to do.
"In both the Berkun and Shalit studies we see indications that fear of death and injury is not the primary cause of psychiatric casualties on the battlefield. Indeed, Shalit found that even in the face of a society and culture that tells soldiers that selfish fear of death and injury should be their primary concern, it is instead the fear of not being able to meet the terrible obligations of combat that weighs most heavily on the minds of combat soldiers. . . Research in this field has been that of blind men groping at the elephant - one grasps what he thinks is a tree, another finds a wall, and still another discovers a snake. All have a piece of the puzzle, but none is completely correct." (Page 53)
Grossman offers a fascinating look into the theory and practice of inoculating recruits and military cadets against hatred and other psychological factors.
"Combining an understanding of (a) those factors that cause combat trauma with (b) an understanding of the inoculation process permits us to understand that in most of these military schools the inoculation is specifically oriented toward hate.
The drill sergeant who screams into the face of a recruit is manifesting overt interpersonal hostility. Another effective means of inoculating a trainee against the Wind of Hate can be seen in U.S. Army and USMC pugil-stick training during boot camp or at the U.S. Military Academy and the British Airborne Brigade, where boxing matches are a traditional part of the training and initiation process. When in the face of all of this manufactured contempt and overt physical hostility the recruit overcomes the situation to graduate with honor and pride, he realizes at both a conscious and unconscious levels that he can overcome such overt interpersonal hostility. He has become partially inoculated against hate." (Page 82)
In the chapter entitled "The Burden of Killing," Grossman articulates what I see as his primary premise - and thereby offers his primary gift to the warrior community: opening up for discussion - both public and private - the secret burden that each warrior carries within his heart.
"The soldier in combat is trapped within this tragic Catch-22. If he overcomes his resistance to killing and kills an enemy soldier in close combat, he will forever be burdened with blood guilt, and if he elects not to kill, then the blood guilt of his fallen comrades and the shame of his profession, nation, and cause lie upon him. He is damned if he does, and damned it he doesn't." (Page 87)
The feedback I received from my friend, Kevin, reinforced my sense that Grossman's pioneering work has been enormously helpful to those called to serve in fields of fire in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere where our troops are deployed. The book provided me with a glimpse into the mind and heart of those who have been faced with the decision to kill or not to kill - a level of understanding I may not have been able to attain in any other way. Kevin's comment about the book's effectiveness in combat speaks loudly as a recommendation for all warriors to add this book to their arsenal of tools and weapons.
Speaking as one who has not been in combat, but who numbers among my friends many warriors, I recommend this book to anyone who desires to understand and to engage in meaningful conversation those friends and family members who have been called upon to make the awful choice to take a human life. One of the ways that we can show our gratitude to the warriors who bear these burdens that are almost unthinkable is to take a step towards them and make the effort to understand.
"If you want to understand" . . . read this book!
Al
A must read for all.......2007-07-10
A must have for any library. This book is even more important now that all the iraq war vets are returning. even if you are a civilian you should read this book to better understand what they have gone through. No matter what any man says, taking another humans life, even when justified, still changes a person. This book atemps to explain what that change is and why it happens.
A Book for Warriors.......2007-06-27
I believe LtCol Grossman was right on the mark and the book was very well thought out and the content was accurately researched.
This book should be read by all military and police. It gives a great insight into the repercussions of having to take someones life.
It also should be read by all of our elected officials so they can see what our society is turning into and why this is happening.
Amazing book........2007-06-17
This book delves deeply into the psychology of combat and killing and shows the relevency of this information in our everyday lives. The most exhaustive source on this topic that I have found. Very interesting read. Loads of excellent facts and information. Anyone can benefit from reading this book! Excellent overall message. If you have children, this book is a must read! Highly recommended.
Book Description
How "a handful of bastards and outlaws fighting under a piece of striped bunting" humbled the omnipotent British Navy.
Before the ink was dry on the U.S. Constitution, the establishment of a permanent military had become the most divisive issue facing the new government. Would a standing army be the thin end of dictatorship? Would a navy protect American commerce against the Mediterranean pirates, or drain the treasury and provoke hostilities with the great powers? The founders—particularly Jefferson, Madison, and Adams—debated these questions fiercely and switched sides more than once. How much of a navy would suffice? Britain alone had hundreds of powerful warships.
From the decision to build six heavy frigates, through the cliffhanger campaign against Tripoli, to the war that shook the world in 1812, Ian W. Toll tells this grand tale with the political insight of Founding Brothers and a narrative flair worthy of Patrick O'Brian. According to Henry Adams, the 1812 encounter between USS Constitution and HMS Guerriere "raised the United States in one half hour to the rank of a first class power in the world." 16 pages of illustrations; 8 pages of color.
Customer Reviews:
The US Navy's beginnings.......2007-09-24
'Six Frigates' is a great story of the beginning of the US Navy and the struggles that it had to endure. The book starts with the state of the country during the Revolutionary War and what was being used in terms of a naval force. As the country became independant, a fleet was needed to protect the growing commercial activites. Importing and exporting were a big part of the US economy.
We see a young nation's leaders struggle with what the naval would be used for as well as consist of. Finally it was decided that six frigates would be built. This was a bold move, the frigates propsed were of a size that fell between the British frigates and their man of wars.
The book gives a good view of the navy as it grew, was challenged, and how it succeeded. We were able to win victories over the all powerful British navy at a time whne Britain ruled the sea. The book takes the navy up to the War of 1812. I enjoyed the description of the battles that were fought, whether ship to ship or ship to shore.
Absolutely Superb Book.......2007-09-17
This is a fantastic history of the early Navy. The ships, the shipbuilders, the politics, the battles on sea and land are all brought to life. Anyone who loves American and its history will love this book.
Outstanding history lesson.......2007-09-16
Book is an excellent story not only of the start of the US Navy, but the development of early US History and politics that affected both. Some of the arguments for and against the establishment and growth of sea power are much the same as in Washington today. Great sailing lingo in the battles.
Better than most on the subject.......2007-07-25
The founding of the Navy is well covered, and the six original frigates that Congress voted on are as well, but I was hoping for more depth on the other vessels of the period.
History written like a novel.......2007-07-03
The author skillfully uses this biography of six frigates to tell us a little about the history of United States from Adams to Madison. (It's also a good book for people who think Jefferson is over-rated--he is.)
I hope the author writes another book soon.
Average customer rating:
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Jane's Fighting Ships 2006-2007 (Jane's Fighting Ships)
Stephen, Ed. Saunders
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Book Description
This study of major military innovations in the 1920s and 1930s explores differences in innovating exploitation by the seven major military powers. This volume of comparative essays investigates how and why innovation occurred or did not occur, and explains much of the strategic and operative performance of the Axis and Allies in World War II.
Customer Reviews:
Some good information, but lacking in many areas.......2006-08-14
The book does provide detailed footnotes as it is a series of essays where the writer of each "chapter" presents their viewpoint and analysis. However, this book provides no tables or charts to support any of the analysis or discussions presented. It would have been very helpful if there were a table or chart comparing each nation's "innovation" in each category described in this book, examples: armored warfare, strategic bombing, carrier development, etc.
What is most lacking in this book it that it focuses primarily on the US, Britain, and Germany, limited on Japan (amphibious assault and aircraft carrier development but nothing on their armor and combined arms tactics) and nothing significant on France, Italy, and Russia, who are mentioned merely in passing. This is the most glaring weakness of this book. Russia developed the T-34 tank, had a sizeable navy, large industrial base, naval infantry, paratroopers, cavalry, and actually trained with the Germans in the 1930's. The Italians were on the winning side of World War One, developed a large navy, their own tanks, and an ambitious goal to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, but they too are not mentioned.
It is important to learn how each of these major combatant nations developed as each had their own policies that led to successes and failures. An example is in amphibious landings, where the writer presents a view that the US was the most developed in the world during the interwar period. If that is the case, then why didn't the US attempt an amphibious assault prior to 1943 and why were the casualties so high in the first assault experienced at Tarawa? If the US was amphibious warfare strategy and doctrine was the most developed, then why did the British conduct the disastrous raid on Dieppe in 1943 as a rehearsal, wouldn't the US have enough experience in northern Africa, Sicily, and Anzio in 1943? The writer's claim is not supported through citing successful battles or numbers of equipment produced.
Another question is why weren't the British, Germans, Italians, and Russians mentioned or compared to in amphibious warfare? If Italy wanted to control the Med, wouldn't they have developed some type of doctrine or equipment? The Germans thought about invading England, what kind of equipment did they have and how would they have executed the invasion? The Russian Naval Infantry, what was their doctrine? The Japanese amphibious landing is well researched and presented, but again, no tables or charts are presented to summarize the writer's viewpoint.
Russia's development during the interwar period is very critical as the equipment developed during the period was superior or at least equal to the German equipment. The T-34 tank's only weakness in 1941 was the lack of radio equipment along with the doctrine of dispersing the tanks instead of massing them into large formations. If one reads other WW2 history books, one learns that the Germans were only able to defeat the T-34 tank in 1941 with better unit maneuver and with greater numbers. German anti-tank weapons had no effect with the German tanks undergunned and under ranged. The largest caliber on a German tank in 1941 being the short barreled 75mm mounted on the Panzer MK IV and the StugIII (which was an assault gun found in anti-tank battalions).
Another glaring omission in this book is there are no discussions on anti-weapons or counter munitions designed to defeat the innovations being developed in the interwar period, the lone exception being the torpedo and US artillery proximity fuses. There are no discussions on the bazooka, anti-tank rifles, anti-tank guns, shaped charges, depth charges, or anti-aircraft guns. Obviously the Germans had planned for anti-aircraft defense, otherwise they would not have developed the 88mm gun nor would have the deployed it so close to the front line troops. Rommel was able to repulse the British armor counterattacks at Arras, France in 1940 only with the 88mm anti-aircraft gun. This experience influenced him to utilize this weapon in a dual purpose anti-tank role in the desert. The British had attacked him in Arras with heavily armored Matilda tanks, armed with a 2-pound anti-tank gun, but no high explosive rounds against infantry. These cases are extremely relevant and important discussions into the interwar period.
Why did the British choose not to equip their tanks with HE rounds? Why didn't the Germans equip their Panzer MKIV and StugIII tanks with long barrel 75mm guns from the start? Why didn't the Russians equip their early T-34 tanks without universal radios (only the platoon leader had a radio)?
How was the Sherman tank developed and doctrinally planned to be utilized, a vehicle with an underpowered 75mm gun, prone to catching on fire, and a narrow track base not suited for cross country mobility (as described in the book Death Traps, Belton Cooper)? At the end of WW2, the US might have gotten directly into war against the Russians? How would the Sherman tank fared in the vast Russian muddy steppes and marshes and no highways? The Germans learned the hard way fighting against the T-34 an incorporated many of the features (wide track base and sloped armor) into the Tiger and Panther tanks. Was the Sherman tank designed to be an infantry support vehicle with anti-tank battalions designed to defeat enemy armor? What calibers of weapons were they equipped with and how were they to be employed? None of these questions are answered in this book.
Overall the book does provide some information that is interesting, such as the German night bombing tactics, use of the Stuka dive bomber to provide precision bombing, and the lack of reliable and powerful aircraft engines that prevented German strategic bomber development. However, the lack of direct comparisons (such as comparing the T-34 vs the Panzer Mark IV vs the Sherman Tank in armor thickness and armament range, penetrating power), lack of tables (such as showing the range and capacity of the Japanese aircraft carrier vs the US and British), charts (comparing the number of tanks and tank regiments fielded by Russia, Germany, England, France, Italy, US, and Japan in 1939), and complete omissions of the Italians and Russians is glaring and detracts to what could have been a well rounded and educational book.
Given the Editors' strong professional and education backgrounds, expected a lot more information from this book. Recommend borrowing this book from the library rather than purchasing it.
Military Innovation in the Interwar Period.......2005-08-26
This book is a necessary for those who want to understand the relationship between development of technology and military innovation. It is not an easy book to read, but contains tremendous amount of information along with accurate historical records. Must for military tacticians and historians alike.
Essential Addition to the Study of the Inter-war Period.......2005-01-15
The acclaimed scholarly team of Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett have edited an anthology of essays encompassing the technological innovations in weaponry during the 1920's and 1930's. These innovations span the research and developments of all the major belligerents that play a major role in the coming global conflict. Each scholar was instructed to compare and contrast his or her topic country with two other countries making this work not only a significant contribution in and of itself, but also a vital comparative study as well. In addition, the researchers were asked to structure their essays around three concepts: the strategic framework of the period, the organizational factors of the institutions under study, and the doctrinal framework of the services. Many of the contributing factors to victory and defeat in World War II are covered within the pages of this important work. Williamson Murray takes a look at "Armored Warfare: The British, French and German Experiences," and "Strategic Bombing: The British, American and German Experiences." Richard R. Muller examines "Close Air Support: The German British and American Experiences, 1918-1941." Geoffrey Till discusses "Adopting the Aircraft Carrier: The British, American, and Japanese Case Studies." But perhaps the most important chapter is Allan R. Millett's "Assault From the Sea: The Development of Amphibious Warfare Between the Wars-the American, British, and Japanese Experiences." Millett compared the development of amphibious doctrine in Japan, Britain, and the United States. The author concludes the U. S. led the way in amphibious warfare doctrine, initiating combined arms operations between air, sea and land that would prove to be a critical advantage in the pacific campaign. According to Millett, Japan started out impressively as was evident by its ever-expanding Pacific empire in the 1930's. Since every landing force became an isolated island garrison, however, Japan's whole amphibious program literally faded away. Great Britain, on the other hand, never had the economic resources necessary to implement a successful amphibious program. Millett concludes that factors such as budget and innovative foresight are vital contributing factors in technological innovation. The author is also quick to point out that in many cases, new weapons become obsolete as soon as hostilities begin. Generally, books of essays are usually disjointed and inconsistent. The guidelines and structure the editors have chosen have tied all the chapters in this book together nicely. This is arguably the best work on the inter-war period to emerge in years. Highly recommended.
Great historic analysis on military innovations.......2001-09-18
It is a very good review on how things developed between world wars. It provides a good insight of the thinking of the different countries and how they coped with their doctrines and how much they took an advantage of the WWI experiences.
I am rating 4 stars because actually I would like much more information rather than 30 pages on each subject.
Readable and Good.......2001-07-15
This is an anthology of various articles. Generally anthologies are the pits as they tend to lack a central them and the quality will vary. These articles are generally by the authors and as such they are of an even standard.
There are a number of chapters that discuss a range of issues from the use of Tanks to the development of the Aircraft Carrier.
The book is interesting although the area covered is naturally enormous and the amount of space that can be devoted to complex subjects is naturally limited. Despite this most of the essays are interesting and not only for what they say. In the first essay about the development of armored warfare by way of an aside the writer attacks Gueridian as a sycophant and also as a person whose reputation was largely the result of self publicity. Later the English theorists Fuller and Liddell Hart are critiqued as presenting overly schematic histories of the First World War which warped the truth to fit in with their own theories. Interestingly the essay then goes on to suggest that the first world war infantry battles were so complex that even now we struggle to understand them and for that reason it was no surprise that Douglas Haig had the problems that he did.
All in all an interesting book although again very much a starting point for the issue it covers.
Book Description
In this book, bestselling biblical scholar and media darling John Dominic Crossan analyzes Jesus and Paul's revolutionary message in light of the Roman Empire of their own time. Jesus and Paul came from very different backgrounds and their styles were very different, but one of the things they shared was a criticism of the civilization of their day as imperial, unjust, and violent. In their time, the Roman Empire's mantra was "first victory, then peace." The counter–mantra of Jesus and Paul was "first justice, then peace." In God & Empire, Crossan charts the evolution of biblical thinking on the relationship between faith and politics.
Using the tools of expert biblical scholarship, Crossan deftly presents the tensions in the Bible between political power and God's justice. He reveals what the Bible has to say about land and economy, retribution and violence, justice and peace, and ultimate redemption. He examines the meaning of the "kingdom of God" prophesized by Jesus, and the equality recommended by Paul to his churches.
Just as Rome in the first century, American policies and moral values can be reexamined in light of Jesus's prophetic message of peace through social justice, NOT peace through military victory. Crossan contrasts Jesus and Paul's messages of peace through justice to the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision of Revelations and its use by modern right–wing theologians and televangelists to justify U.S. military aggression in the Mideast.
Customer Reviews:
Anew look at our future.......2007-09-22
I was surprised at the content because I was expecting a comparison of Jesus versus Rome and the current situation with our empire, USA. It was not that. However by using scripture and the writings of Paul and John of Patmos, he makes it clear that the choice for us is the non-violent Jesus that Paul desribes and follows and the violence that surrounds the Jesus of John (revelation). In the present climate he feels and I would agree that the violent Jesus is what most people expect and want. Woe to the planet and its people.
Difficult read offers scant evidence to prove his point.......2007-08-26
I really wanted to love this book. The premise on the jacket copy offering the life of Jesus and ministry of Paul as peaceful and non-violent examples that have been distorted by a misreading of the Book of The Revelation of John is really something I buy into.
But instead, after wading through a really difficult to read 4 chapters leading up to the critical analysis of The Revelation, what I found instead could simply be boiled down to "John got it wrong." I found nothing in his writing to support a premise that modern fundamentalists are misreading The Revelation. No, his theory as I read it is simply that The Revelation is in contradiction with earlier Gospel writers, primarily Mark, and that The Revelation itself is a distortion of Jesus life and teaching.
Having had such high hopes from reading just the cover blurb, I have to say I'm disappointed. While I agree wholeheartedly with his opinion of a central message of Jesus teaching being one of peace, I just can't say that he stayed on track well enough to prove it. He offers the standard case for believing Mark and the "authentic" letters of Paul as the most historically valid books of the New Testament, but he offers little explanation that would disavow The Revelation as later but divinely inspired. I also felt he really missed an opportunity to examine The Revelation more in the context of contemporary allegory or metaphor for the Roman empire at that time versus a literal prophecy to be fulfilled some several thousand years later. A closer examination along these lines with more comparisons to earlier Biblical apocalyptic writers might have yielded a more believable path to his conclusions.
Finally, as a couple of other reviewers have noted, he is not an easy read.
Jesus, not President Bush, is Lord.......2007-07-26
Crossan sets out a beautifully researched explanation of why the Gospel writers' appellation of "Lord" to Jesus was a monumental and revolutionary statement. Without his historical and archaeological evidence, the title "Lord" easily becomes cliche today. Crossan puts it in context and explains how that clearly distinguishes the difference between what Jesus asks of us vs. what the nation asks of us.
Citizens of "The Beast" Awake!.......2007-06-12
As I read John Dominic Crossan's "God and Empire", I began to imagine myself as someone akin to John on the island of Patmos. The "Beast" is no longer the Roman Empire but the one of which I am a citizen. The difference is that I enjoy freedom of speach, religion and association. Now I need not wait for some Armageddon to slay the "Beast" and establish the Commonwealth of God on Planet Earth! Buy the book and see it all with clear eyes and mind!
Worth the effort........2007-05-16
Crossan is not always easy to read. His viewpoint that the Bible is a God inspired but humanly producted document will offend many fundamentalist and they will not accept his arguments that sometimes the writers of the New Testament got it wrong. But if you are willing to engage your brain as well as your heart and soul, he gives insight in the truth of Jesus and how His message interacts with civilization and man's laws.
Amazon.com
After chronicling the Spartan stand at Thermopylae in his audacious Gates of Fire, Steven Pressfield once again proves that it's all Greek to him. In Tides of War, he tells the tale of Athenian soldier extraordinaire Alcibiades. Despite the vaunted claims for Periclean democracy, he is undoubtedly first among equals--a great warrior and an impressive physical specimen to boot: "The beauty of his person easily won over those previously disposed, and disarmed even those who abhorred his character and conduct." He is also a formidable orator, whose stump speeches are paradoxically heightened by what some might consider an impediment:
Even his lisp worked in Alcibiades' favor. It was a flaw; it made him human. It took the curse off his otherwise godlike self-presentation and made one, despite all misgivings, like the fellow.
This tale of arms and the man requires two narrators. One, Jason, is an aging noble who serves as a sort of recording angel of the Athenian golden age. The other, Polymides, was long Alcibiades' right-hand man, yet is now imprisoned for his murder.
As they were in his previous novel, Pressfield's battle scenes are extraordinarily vivid and visceral. This time, however, many of these elemental clashes take place on water. "As far as sight could carry, the sea stood curtained with smoke and paved with warcraft. Immediately left, a battleship had rammed one of the vessels in the wall; all three of her banks were backing water furiously, to extract and ram again, while across the breach screamed storms of stones, darts, and brands of such density that the air appeared solid with steel and flame."
In addition to his gift for rendering patriotic gore, the author excels at quieter but no less deadly forms of combat. As Alcibiades' star rises and falls and rises again, we are escorted directly into the snakepit of Athenian realpolitik. Bathing us in the details of a distant era, Pressfield is largely convincing. But it must be said that his diction exhibits a sometimes comical variegation, sliding from Homeric rhetoric to tough-guy speak to the sort of casual Anglicisms we might expect from Evelyn Waugh's far-from-bright young things. No matter. Tides of War conquers by sheer storytelling prowess, reminding us that war was--and is--a highly addictive version of hell. --Darya Silver
Book Description
Brilliant at war, a master of politics, and a charismatic lover, Alcibiades was Athens’ favorite son and the city’s greatest general.
A prodigal follower of Socrates, he embodied both the best and the worst of the Golden Age of Greece. A commander on both land and sea, he led his armies to victory after victory.
But like the heroes in a great Greek tragedy, he was a victim of his own pride, arrogance, excess, and ambition. Accused of crimes against the state, he was banished from his beloved Athens, only to take up arms in the service of his former enemies.
For nearly three decades, Greece burned with war and Alcibiades helped bring victories to both sides — and ended up trusted by neither.
Narrated from death row by Alcibiades’ bodyguard and assassin, a man whose own love and loathing for his former commander mirrors the mixed emotions felt by all Athens,
Tides of War tells an epic saga of an extraordinary century, a war that changed history, and a complex leader who seduced a nation.
Customer Reviews:
One of the most entertaining histroy lessons I've ever had.......2007-10-12
This novel is not for the faint of heart in terms of Grecian terminology and landmarks. You will constantly find yourself checking the glossary in the back and the map at the front of the book sometimes to wonder what on earth is going on. However, I think that adds to a novel when its so authentic you need to do your own research. The story is amazing, many twists and turns dealing with one of the planet's first superstars in Alcibiades. Polemides is a great character too. The battle of Syracuse is depicted perfectly and keeps you on edge. The only thing that kept me from giving this novel 5 stars is that it jumps around a little too much historically and doesnt really center on one event for any extended period of time. Time moves fast in this book, which takes away from the reader a little bit, making it more a history book in places. However, I highly recommend this book for any lover of that particular time period.
Excellent and readable history of Pelopennesian Wars.......2007-06-01
This is an excellent history of the Pelopennesian Wars told in the first person from his jail cell by one who, fought in them, is now on trial for allegedly asassinating a Greek commander (Alcibiades) who defected to the enemy, then returned to the Athenian side. Though I don't usually like histories told in the first person, this one doesn't take liberties with quotes and those it cites have an air of authenticity that makes the book very readable. I'm not yet finished with it but can't go to bed at night without finishing another chapter or two.
Pressfield "Tides of War".......2007-05-07
Pressfield does an excellent job in describing the political climate and the ebb and flow of war in this book. The irony between having a leader who is controlled by the electorate (but ineffective) and a leader who is effective but dangerous is interesting and I enjoyed his Socratic style of prose. A very good book that stays entertaining without having to resort to silliness and has some interesting things to say concerning honor and excellence.
Mastery.......2007-04-21
Steven Pressfiel is without equal! Tides of War is by far the greatest book that he has written and a complete feast for the senses it is. Far superior than Gates of Fire for my money.
Ancient Greece comes alive again.......2007-04-04
Steven Pressfeild's "Tides of War" is set against the Peloponnesian War, and about the most infamous character of the event Alcibiades; pirate, patriot, traitor, general, name any title, he's probably earned it at some point. He was also proud and vain, which eventually lead to his down fall. This book chronicles the plague in Athens, the early Spartan, Athenian conflicts, the doomed invasion of Syracuse, extraordinary navel battles as well as some intense land fights. Court intrigue and espionage are ever present, and it dose make the story a little thick at times if you don't already know the story. The story is actually told in a complicated flashback as Alcibiades's best friend Polyamides (who is in prison for Alcibiades's murder) is telling the story to his grandson Jason, who is in the prison to watch Socrates drink his hemlock. This is description only scratched the surface of what this book is, there is so much more to it. I really liked this book, it is as much an epic retelling of Greek history as "Gates of Fire" was. I highly recommend this very readable account of the war that was the beginning of the end for Greece as a dominant power.
Book Description
A monumental, groundbreaking work of history that shows how technological and strategic revolutions have transformed the battlefield—from the Spanish Armada to the War on Terror— and how mastery of these innovations has shaped the rise and fall of nations and empires
In War Made New, acclaimed author Max Boot explores how innovations in warfare mark crucial turning points in modern history, influencing events well beyond the realm of combat. Combining gripping narrative history with wide-ranging analysis, Boot focuses on four “revolutions” in military affairs and describes key battles from each period to explain how inventions ranging from gunpowder to GPS-guided air-strikes have remade the field of battle— and shaped the rise and fall of empires.
Bringing to life battles from the defeat of the Spanish Armada to Wellington's victory at Assaye, War Made New analyzes the Gunpowder Revolution and explains warfare's evolution from ritualistic, drawn-out engagements to much deadlier events, precipitating the rise of the modern nation state. He next explores the triumph of steel and steam during the Industrial Revolution, including the British triumph at Omdurman and the climax of the Russo-Japanese war at Tsushima, showing how it powered the spread of European colonial empires. Moving into the twentieth century and the Second Industrial Revolution, Boot examines three critical clashes of World War II—the German army's blitzkrieg, Pearl Harbor, and the firebombing of Tokyo—to illustrate how new technology such as the tank, radio, and airplane ushered in terrifying new forms of warfare that aided the rise of highly centralized, and even totalitarian, world powers. Finally, in his section on the Information Revolution, Boot focuses on the Gulf War, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iraq war, arguing that even as cutting-edge technologies such as stealth aircraft have made America the greatest military power in world history, advanced communications systems have allowed decentralized, “irregular” forces to become an increasingly significant threat to Western power. BACKCOVER:
Advance Praise for War Made New
“Max Boot traces the impact of military revolutions on the course of politics and history over the past 500 years. In doing so, he shows that changes in military technology are limited not to warfighting alone, but play a decisive role in shaping our world. Sweeping and erudite, while entirely accessible to the lay reader, this work is key for anyone interested in where military revolutions have taken us—and where they might lead in the future.”
—U.S. Senator John McCain
“While much has been in written in recent years about the so-called `Revolution in Military Affairs,' Max Boot is the first scholar to place it within the broad sweep of history, and in the context of the rise of the West in world affairs since 1500. In so doing, he not only tells a remarkable tale, but he compels us all, even those obsessed solely with contemporary military affairs, to ask the right questions and to distinguish what is truly new and revolutionary from what is merely ephemeral. He has rendered a valuable service, and given us a fascinating read at the same time, so we are doubly in his debt.”
—Paul Kennedy, Professor of History at Yale University and author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
“War Made New is impressive in scope. What is equally impressive is its unique interpretation of the causal relationship between technology, warfare and the contemporary social milieu. This is a superb thinking person's book which scrutinizes conventional historical wisdom through a new lens.”
—Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Trainor, USMC (ret.), co-author of Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
“Max Boot's book takes hundred of years of tactical battle history and reduces it to an incisive narrative of how war has changed. By providing such a coherent view of the past, he has pointed us toward the future. What is doubly impressive is how he draws surprising, fresh lessons from wars we thought we knew so much about but in fact didn't.”
—Robert D. Kaplan, author of Imperial Grunts
Customer Reviews:
Not just history, but analysis and insight.......2007-09-03
Max manages to well capture the balance between seeing the forest at the same time as the trees. Further, by extrapolation, he offers insight as to what the forest will look like in the future. I thought the book was excellent, and should be good reading for any military officer. I am a retired military officer, and have seen all the changes from the middle of the Cold War to Gulf War II. It's a completely different ball game, and Max covers it well. {To the detractors; all books have factual errors. Look to the forest, not the trees, or you miss the point of the book.)
War Made New.......2007-05-26
Absolutely excellent. Completely objective presentation. Fabulous survey of how technological and tactical changes affected western history.
Don't Bother With This Recycled NeoCon Drivel.......2007-05-08
[Update: If you are thinking about buying this book, PLEASE CONTACT ME!!!!
As a courtesy, I copied Boot on a letter to the LA Times that pointed out a series of factual errors and inconsistencies in a May 31, 2007 column he wrote about achieving "Victory" in Iraq by firing purportedly "aged" US Army Generals. (Boot's underlying premise is that there is nothing wrong with the NeoCon policies that put our troops in harm's way without enough personnel, equipment or support -- it's those "old fud" Generals who are to blame!
(I'm not making this up! That actually is Boot's theory.)
Boot responded like the Proverbial Scalded Cat, and in classic NeoCon style, e.g., claiming not to have made any mistakes; claiming that pointing out his glaring factual errors was an "ad hominem attack"; and generally displaying all of the NeoCon hubris that is getting US military personnel killed and wounded every day in Iraq.
It would be hysterically funny were it not for the fact that most people can't see through the tactics that Boot and the other NeoCons use -- including, most prominently, ignoring demonstrable facts that don't "fit" the ideological theories they are pushing.
Really, before you buy this drivel, email me and I'll send you a copy of Boot's emails. They will give you a taste of his "reasoning" and disregard for the truth.]
In my view, Max Boot is an example of the kind of NeoCon thinking that has gotten us into this generation's quamire. Boot is, basically, a liberal arts major with no military experience, and without the insights that such experience might bring.
In "War Made New," Boot "re-cycles" (a politer word than "steals") ideas have been around for years, and which have been expressed more clearly by a number of other military intellectuals and historians. Further, Boot repeatedly gets minor facts wrong, e.g., he claims that the WWII-era Supermarine Spitfire and the Hawker Hurricane were both "all-metal" fighters. (The Spitfire was; the Hurricane wasn't -- which is obvious even from pictures of the latter if you know what you are talking about.) These small discrepancies add up, and you ultimately realize that Boot is merely repeating the thoughts of others.
Boot's final/main contention, that there has been a major shift to "Information Warfare," is not borne out by the "facts on ground" in Iraq, and has never been tested in combat. The US military's new smart bomb/high technology theory of warfare has never been used against an opponent with the ability and resources to counter/exploit the obvious weak points in such systems.
To give but one example, which Boot doesn't have the knowledge or experience to discuss: Our JDAMS smart bombs work using GPS signals for guidance. Question: What happens if our opponent has the capability to jam GPS signals, or knock out the GPS satellites (a technology that China is working on)? Answer: The US is left with a pile of "dumb" bombs, and a force structure that is too small to use them. Result: We lose, despite all of our Gee Whiz weaponry.
Let's face it: NeoCons like Boot work for the military-industrial complex that sells these very expensive Wonder Weapons. He has about as much intellectual credibility as, say, Douglas Feith and Paul Wolfowitz. So save your money, and read authors who know what they are talking about.
Neil
[P.S. In candor, Boot pointed out that I originally had "Feith" as "Fife." I thanked him for pointing this error, but admitted that I had trouble telling the "NeoCon Intellectuals" apart, given that they all used the same "reasoning," e.g., "Cut The Facts To Fit The Theory."
Onward, to Victory! NEOCON INTELLECTUALS TO THE FRONT!]
enjoyable, informatiive read.......2007-05-01
I must say, I found this book interesting. I am not a military expert, but I believe his basic premises are correct. This is a journey through the effects of technological advances in warfare and the corresponding effects on society. No section is so long that it becomes boring. I found the whole thing engrossing and hard to put down. I recommend it!
RMA for the masses.......2007-04-24
A decade ago, the defense policy community was a buzz about an emerging "Revolution in Military Affairs" (RMA) - a discontinuous change in the nature of warfare generated by the information revolution whose potential was so clearly demonstrated by the overwhelming advantage that precision guided munitions and operational awareness conferred to US forces in the Gulf War of 1991.
Today, the increasingly low-tech, irregular nature of the current Global War on Terror and, more recently, the frustrating experience of counterinsurgency in Iraq, have seemingly diminished the importance of the RMA and discredited its most vocal proponents. This is unfair and unfortunate as the notion of periodic, major transformational change in military technology and operational capabilities is certainly sound. Moreover, it is a concept that anyone serious about military history or international affairs ought to be familiar with and consider seriously. There is no better introduction to the topic than "War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History, 1500 to Today" by Max Boot.
There are several reasons to recommend "War Made New." To begin with, author Max Boot is a superb talent and, in many ways, was the ideal person to write the first general overview of the RMA concept and a sampling of the many historical case studies that support the theory. As a long-time lead defense reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Boot possesses a sophisticated understanding of current defense policy and national security strategy. Better yet, he writes with the same engaging and lucid style of other defense journalists that have written best-selling full-length books, such as David Halberstam, Tom Ricks, and Neil Sheehan. Prior to "War Made New," the RMA had been a subject only written about by academics and policy wonks. This book should take the RMA and the classic RMA case studies to a mainstream audience.
The book is broken up into five parts. The first three parts review distinct RMAs from the past half-millennium. In "The Gunpowder Revolution" Boot covers the dramatic increase in the destructive capacity of gunpowder weapons that emerged in the late 15th century, the tactical changes developed by the Dutch and perfected by Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years' War to maximize the rate of fire and overall impact of hand-held and mobile artillery firepower, and the parallel creation and stunning growth of standing professional armies throughout Europe during the period that led to the first stage of western imperialism in the 18th century. The author uses the examples of the British defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588), two major battles of the Thirty Years War (1631-32), and a less familiar episode in British India (1803) to illustrate how and why technological, doctrinal, and organizational change had profound impact not just on the course of a battle, but the outcome of war, the development of societies, and the fate of history.
The second part addresses "The First Industrial Revolution" where Boot covers engagements as diverse in time and place as the battles of Koniggratz in the Franco-Prussian War (1866), Omdurman in modern-day Sudan between the British and the native Mahdi Army (1898), and the shocking Japanese naval victory over the imperial Russian fleet at Tsushima (1905). The period between 1850 and 1914 is generally seen as the "railroad, rifle, and telegraph" RMA and Boot generally adheres to that thesis, although he stresses that the advantages conferred by early industrial technology were by no means the sole property of Western European states, a message that applies to any technological revolution that spawns an RMA.
The final historical part covers "The Second Industrial Revolution" and addresses the dramatic and non-linear changes that occurred during the interwar period in land warfare with the advent of armored warfare, at sea with the ascendancy of aircraft carriers as the new capital ship of fleet engagements, and in the air with advent of strategic bombing. The case studies that Boot writes here on the German invasion of France (1940), the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor (1941), and the US air campaign against Tokyo (1945) have long been the staple of modern RMA theory.
These first three parts account for nearly three-quarters of the book. Each case study is crisply written and makes a compelling point. That said, Boot offers no radical reinterpretations of what an RMA is or in anyway fundamentally challenges the conventional wisdom that developed amongst RMA proponents during the 1990s. Many of the case studies he provides have been written about extensively before and make essentially the same arguments. Boot's main value added is the fluidity of his prose and how he ties five centuries of history into one coherent and convincing argument.
The final two parts of the book covers the present and future. The fourth part addresses "The Information Revolution" and, unlike the first three Revolutions, is entirely focused on one nation - the US victory in the First Gulf War (1991), the US invasion of Afghanistan (2002), and the US invasion of Iraq (2003). Here, Boot focuses on the conventional aspects of each engagement where US firepower and advanced technology played a decisive role in defeating enemy forces. He concedes that much of the advantages of information age weaponry has little relevance to the messy, day-to-day conduct of counter-insurgency, but spends little time pondering if and how the information RMA has any relevance to current low intensity operations around the world.
The final part offers an overview of "Revolutions to Come" and highlights the military potential of cyberwarfare, nanotechnology, robotics, and the military use of space. This section reads like grist for a science fiction book and should prompt analysts to reflect on how future technology may impact the conduct of military operations decades from now.
Despite the broad historical and technological sweep of Boot's case studies, he consistently stresses five points. First, despite the focus on technology in the subtitle and the role new technology plays in every chapter, Boot stresses that technology alone does not and cannot make an RMA. True discontinuous change is driven by the combination of new technology with new tactics and organization, thoughtful leadership, and perhaps most importantly, an efficient and effective centralized bureaucracy able to nurture and promote innovation. Second, Boot cautions that nations ignore RMAs at their peril. Every major city-state or nation-state that failed to embrace and support new military technology, doctrine, and methods have seen their relative position in the international balance of powers significantly diminished. Third, mastery of an RMA may convey distinct battlefield advantages, but ultimate victory or defeat hinges on wise political decisions and diplomacy. Fourth, the military advantages to a nation in excelling in an RMA are enormous, but history has demonstrated that it is very difficult to maintain a lead for long. Competent and resourceful competitors will learn and adapt, and are quite likely to take fuller advantage of more recent developments in technology and operations. Finally, Boot notes that the pace of innovation is speeding up. In the past, an RMA could take several centuries to completely unfold. Today, it is likely to happen in several decades.
In sum, military transformation and the RMA is a concept informed readers of history and current events ought to be well acquainted with. There are certainly many divergent, but credible and thoughtful opinions on the matter. "War Made New" is no doubt sympathetic to the RMA argument and clearly sees former secretary of defense Rumfeld's military transformation push as the correct and necessary path for present-day policymakers to pursue. Whether today's intelligence analysts and operators accept all, part, or none of the RMA concept is not nearly as important as more fully understanding the theory, the many historical examples that purport to support it, and how and why it may impact contemporary or future military operations. There is no better place to start than Max Boot's "War Made New."
Book Description
Josef "Sepp" Allerberger was the second most successful sniper of the German Wehrmacht and one of the few private soldiers to be honoured with the award of the Knight's Cross.
An Austrian conscript, after qualifying as a machine gunner he was drafted to the southern sector of the Russian Front in July 1942. Wounded at Voroshilovsk, he experimented with a Russian sniper-rifle while convalescing and so impressed his superiors with his proficiency that he was returned to the front on his regiment's only sniper specialist.
In this sometimes harrowing memoir, Allerberger provides an excellent introduction to the commitment in fieldcraft, discipline and routine required of the sniper, a man apart. There was no place for chivalry on the Russian Front. Away from the film cameras, no prisoner survived long after surrendering. Russian snipers had used the illegal explosive bullet since 1941, and Hitler eventually authorised its issue in 1944. The result was a battlefield of horror.
Allerberger was a cold-blooded killer, but few will find a place in their hearts for the soldiers of the Red Army against whom he fought.
Customer Reviews:
Horrifyingly brilliant........2007-10-18
I've read many books on WW2, but this account of the Eastern Front and the attrocities commited will provoke the morals of anyone who reads it.
The accounts of sniper duels are exciting and have you holding your breath for an entire page.
Any historian or collector must read this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-10-13
Great personal account. If you are a serious student of WW2 history this in a book to read!
Great history, great prose.......2007-09-26
This is an amazing story that is amazingly well written. We should all thank the stars above that we will never experience what Sepp experienced, and that we will never be in his cross-hairs. I just read this book (I have read many books on WWII, the Wehrmacht and the Eastern Fronrt) and it was such a good read that I bought four copies to send to friends.
Tale of a Wehrmacht sharp-shooter.......2007-09-05
An unexceptional account of a young Gebirgsjager (mountain-soldier) on the Eastern front. Realizing his status as a machine-gunner would very likely result in his early demise, Sepp Allerberger established himself in the role of a self-taught sniper.
Despite the success that sharp-shooters had seen in the first World War, and the German tradition of respect for marksmanship, it is surprising that the Wehrmacht had largely over-looked sniper-training. The Soviet Union did not.
Allerberger had experimented with a captured Soviet scoped Mosin-Nagant rifle, and devised some useful tactics. It was not until later that he was sent to a formal sniper school, as a student with a prolific record of battlefield experience.
Within one will read the usual accounts of battlefield savagery, gore, and mayhem so common to the Eastern front in World War II. There is much hysterical hype in other reviews, implying Allerberger was "a cold-blooded killer!". No, he was merely a proficient soldier perfoming a specialized skill. He did what he had to do to survive, and to aid his comrades. The style of writing is a bit mundane and ponderous, but never the less, an interesting story.
A good read and a sadly entertaining story.......2007-08-30
I don't know the facts on this soldiers story. I didn't do the homework and investigation to tear it apart or build it up. I just read it, and I liked it. It wasn't great. If you want to see some great 1st person accounts of the eastern front read "My Loyalty is My Honor" and I am sure there are others out there that other reviewers have mentioned. It definetely brings to light the attrocities of the eastern front, and the trials the soldiers go through. Even if he wasn't real, and his memories were a bit lost after all the years, I still don't doubt they are quite representative of what it was like to be a German soldiers fighting for survival during the long retreat. If you are interested in the ground war in Europe, especially the eastern front, then I recommend it. If you are looking for a super detailed account of sniper tactics, techniques, and proceedures, then it might disappoint. It has some, but not to the level of other sniper books like "One Shot, One Kill" does.
Amazon.com
When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, few could have anticipated its potential for devastation. Pulitzer prize-winning author John Hersey recorded the stories of Hiroshima residents shortly after the explosion and, in 1946, Hiroshima was published, giving the world first-hand accounts from people who had survived it. The words of Miss Sasaki, Dr. Fujii, Mrs. Nakamara, Father Kleinsorg, Dr. Sasaki, and the Reverend Tanimoto gave a face to the statistics that saturated the media and solicited an overwhelming public response. Whether you believe the bomb made the difference in the war or that it should never have been dropped, "Hiroshima" is a must read for all of us who live in the shadow of armed conflict.
Book Description
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity" (The New York Times).
Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, John Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told. His account of what he discovered about them is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of
Hiroshima.
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo philosopher.......2007-09-05
Hiroshima is a book written by a man by the name of John Hersey. Mr. Hersey was born in Tientsin, China in 1914. My guess is that John Hersey is no longer with us - if he is ... you have my apologies John.
The book covers the lives of six "hibakusha" - A-bomb survivors. It covers their lives from the day the bomb hit them until ...?
What point did Mr. Hersey have in mind in writing such a book, I ask myself? What lesson is to be learned from reading such a book?
When I finished reading another controversial book years ago, Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, I asked myself the same question. I said to myself - if the lessons learned from reading that book could be condensed into one sentence what would it be? I think my conclusion satisfies both these books. I decided on the following: When you hear men talking of War as if it is a positive experience - beware.
Our 20th Century: The Age of Violence.......2007-07-31
I recently decided to reread this book by Pulitzer Prize winner John Hersey, due to the fact that my youngest daughter sent me a letter and a postcard while she was visiting Hiroshima, Japan. Before her departure to Japan, I asked her to write me a letter of her thoughts, and experiences when she visited the city of Hiroshima: one of the many places she was to visit over a three week period. For me, being a historian, I was interested in her observations. And these observations by my daughter Catherine, a 12-year-old child, touched me deeply.
Many reviewers have written excellent reviews of the book. And I would highly recommend other viewers to read this book. It was published in 1946, just one year after the atomic bomb was dropped. Hersey's essay was later published into a book, and in 1985 a final chapter was added to the book. This latest chapter was new for me. I had previously read the book, but this was the first time I read the final chapter. In the book, Hersey recounts the lives of six survivors who managed to survive the hellish bombing of Hiroshima. This is a highly recommended read, especially considering that these six survivors' accounts was published so close to the end of the war.
I have much material, both film and books on Hiroshima, however, since I had read this novel as a young man, I wanted to revisit this book. As a historian, I am interested in objectivity in historical subject matter. As the reviewer JAMES DeWITT has written, this book is not a novel, but a straight-forward account of six survivors, and Hersey writes in a way that does not judge the decision whether or not to drop the bomb. As a historian, I am not about to answer the question of whether dropping the bomb was right or wrong: History is not about what should have happened, but what did happen. Instead, let us hope that if there is anything good that can come out of this terrible chapter in history, the one fact is that these terrible weapons have not been used since WWII. Hopefully statesmen and others have learned that the price for using these weapons are too high. Moreover, what happened at Hiroshima has confirmed the fact that the use of these weapons should be avoided at all costs. Because what we humans do know about Hiroshima, is that the consequences of using these weapons would be catastrophic. And today, these weapons are much more powerful.
Over the next fews days I will be discussing this chapter of history to my young daughter. I will go over her letter she sent me, and view films of this tragic event with her. Hopefully, I can try and explain why the bomb was dropped. And maybe even try and answer her many questions. And let us all hope these weapons are never used again; because contrary to what some people have stated, there is no such thing as a winnable nuclear war.
Seriously Good Book.......2007-07-07
I really liked this book. It is small and a very quick read but completely worth it. I highly recommend this!
Literary Journalism at its Finest.......2007-06-12
Published in 1946, this remarkable article or book was based on interviews with survivors of the first city to be destroyed by a single weapon. John Hersey was a war correspondent during World War II. His "Hiroshima" has been rated as number one in The Top Ten Works of Journalism in the United States in the 20th Century, as determined by The New York University journalism faculty and a panel of critics that included David Brinkley and Morley Safer. "Hiroshima" took over the entire August 30, 1946 issue of "The New Yorker" and the issue sold out within hours. After reading this rather slim book, I can understand why. It relates the stories of six survivors in a very interesting and readable way. Hersey makes us feel the impact of the bomb and its horrors in a very personal way, yet he doesn't go overboard on the gore. There is a follow-up study almost 40 years later, and we visit these same characters again. Surprisingly, none of the six hated the U.S.; they understood that drastic measures were neeeded to end a war that the Japanese obsessively fought; throwing reason out the window. The book can be read in an evening, but you will want to reread it, as well.
Another page turner.......2007-04-02
Read in one evening - dusk till dawn.
Extraordinary page-turner, captivating, heart-wrenching...
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