Days of Infamy: Macarthur, Roosevelt, Churchill-The Shocking Truth Revealed : How Their Secret Deals and Strategic Blunders Caused Disasters at Pear Review

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(More customer reviews)There are few events that prompt as much spontaneous discussions regarding the possibility of conspiracy and guilty prior knowledge as those involving the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Indeed, there are a whole catalogue of titles dealing with the possibilities, the associated issues, and with the substance of arguments surrounding all of the varied possibilities, which seem to have endless permutations and countless variations. So too here in British author John Costello's excellent exposition, the fascinating world of this "what did the President know, and when did he know it" whodunit is deftly explored by a virtual master of the genre. Also the author of such notable titles as "The Pacific War" and "And I was There", Costello addresses himself to a welter of issues and conditions that paint an indelible picture of what he conceives to be the actual circumstances surrounding the Japanese attack.
Indeed, the author not only asks a number of interesting rhetorical questions regarding the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor itself, but also delves into the shocking related attack on the American forces in the Philippines later the same day. Why, he asks, given his being warned so far in advance, did General Douglas MacArthur allow the Japanese forces to destroy the greatest single concentration of American air power in the Pacific region some nine hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor? And, in answering the question by way of detailing the complex series of miscommunications and fumbles surrounding MacArthur's mishandling of the circumstances, the author also raises the issue of MacArthur's unlikely escape from the blame game following in the aftermath of the attacks. Seems that those in power in Washington were so intimidated by MacArthur's positive image and reputation among the press that they dare not attack him openly by court marshalling or reprimanding him. In essence, his political connections saved him. Instead, after ordering MacArthur off the island, ostensibly to take command of all the Pacific forces regrouping in Australia, Roosevelt rewarded the general with the Congressional Medal Of Honor.
Also discussed here is the half million dollar payoff that the Philippine Government gave to MacArthur as he departed the islands, as is the desire of the Philippine government to try to maintain their neutrality, an exercise in futility that may have played fatefully into the hands of the Japanese, and which the author suggests may have influenced MacArthur in his decision not to attack or save the pacific-based American planes under his command. Yet the book spends much more energy and time covering the ways in which the diplomatic and military miscalculations on the part of both Roosevelt and Churchill played almost perfectly into the hands of the Japanese. Yet it was, according to Costello, more the loss of the Pacific air power rather than the losses at Pearl Harbor that so severely limited and hampered American efforts to stem the rising tide of Japanese hegemony over the Far East in 1942.
The author writes with considerable skill in arguing that it was the combined blunders, bungling, and malfeasance on the part of Roosevelt, Churchill and MacArthur that left the western world in such mortal danger at the end of 1941. For one thing, Roosevelt had committed the United States to a secret agreement with the British to aid in the defense of the British empire's Far Eastern reaches, a pact that was likely both illegal and unconstitutional. For another, the decision to move the bulk of MacArthur's army forces 5,000 miles west of Hawaii to the Philippines left Hawaii weak and overexposed to a potential Japanese attack. Finally, the combined neglect of countless encrypted messages concerning the details of the attack as well as MacArthur's failure to mount a preemptive air attack despite being directly ordered to do so doomed the American hopes for any quick resolution to the conflict once it had started. In sum, it was the colossal lack of good leadership that led us into the disaster of December 7, 1941, and in spite of the fact that all three men are held in high regard and remembered warmly, they were largely responsible for the American failure to prevent the disaster at Pearl Harbor in a day of infamy. This is an interesting book and a worthwhile read. Enjoy!

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Surprise, Security, and the American Experience Review

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(More customer reviews)The surprise attack of September 11 brought about, in the eyes of many learned observers, a radical shift in American national security policy. Since World War II and up until the collapse of the Soviet Union there was a policy of containment and deterrence. During the 1990s, in the wake of the collapse, there was a feeling that democracy and capitalism would eventually triumph everywhere; the Clinton administration reasoned that the US "only needed to engage and the rest of the world would enlarge the process."
In response the 9/11 attack the Bush administration formulated a new strategy, outlined in the national security speech at West Point on June 1, 2002. This speech called for a new strategy which looked like a departure from American tradition. The key elements of this new strategy were preemption, unilateralism, and hegemony. In the beginning, it was little noticed; however, in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, people began to examine this strategy more closely.
Yale professor John Lewis Gaddis, in this short and well-written little book, argues that this was not a new policy, in fact it had deep roots in American history that go back to the earliest days of the republic. Gaddis demonstrates that after the British attack on Washington DC during the War of 1812, the then secretary of state, John Quincy Adams asserted the same three principles. Preemption was the rationale for Andrew Jackson's invasion of Florida, the "failed state" of its day being a haven for marauding Seminoles, runaway slaves and profiteering pirates. With the diminishing authority of the Spanish in Latin America, the US sought to restrict the influence of other European powers in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine was a unilateralist declaration even though the US did not have the means to enforce it without the backing of the British navy. And in the end, the policy of John Quincy Adams was to be the predominant power in the Western Hemisphere, or at least on the North American continent - a hegemon in all but name.
Preemption, unilateralism, and hegemony was indeed a US strategy up until World War II. The US was seeking merely to assure its security by keeping the European powers out of the hemisphere. Most Americans believed it was a mistake to seek an oversees empire as the brief foray into the Phillipines proved in the early part of the 20th century.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt was forced the build alliances with the Soviet Union and other great powers in order to defeat Germany and Japan. It was thus necessary to forgo preemption and unilateralism in deference to the alliance. During and after World War II, the US took the lead in building multilateralism institutions - a multilateral system that not only ensured American hegemony, but made it desirable at the same time. Forgoing preemption gave the US the moral high ground, which it maintained until the invasion of Iraq.
The Bush administration's invasion of Iraq had all the elements of a grand strategy: preemption, unilateralsim - when multilateralism failed - and American hegemony. There was also an innovation to this strategy: there would be an active promotion of democracy in the Middle East. This idea swayed many liberals to the cause, including members of the media and the academic community.
The problems with this strategy became apparent after the invasion. They are too numerous to go into and obvious to anyone following the news. The mistakes made during the occupation leaves the Bush Doctine with only a few remaining supporters. The failure to enlist the great powers, not to mention many of the smaller powers, destroyed our status as a benign hegemon and jepardizes our moral high ground.
Gaddis does an excellent job of explaining the grand strategy and showing that it has precedents in history, better than Bush or anyone in his administration. However, he does not show that this strategy is justified, morally or legally, and he does not seem to fully appreciate that many of our friends and allies find this strategy frightening and repugnant. They do not call us arrogant for nothing.
Nevertheless, the jury is still out. Immediately after the invasion, it looked as though one regime after another would fall in the region, along the lines of the dominoes of Eastern Europe. At the present writing, with the Iraqi elections approaching, a decent outcome seems remote and a civil war possible. Yet, there are stirrings of hope and change elsewhere in the Middle East, such as in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The upheaval in Iraq is also creating debate that did not exist before in Egypt and the Gulf States. The pendulum may again swing the other way and the grand strategy may be working inspite of itself.

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U.S. History For Dummies Review

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(More customer reviews)You should only buy this book if you're actually hoping for a far-left opinion piece rather than a book on U.S. history. I expect some bias to seep through in a history book - we are all human beings and we all process information through our personal filters despite our best efforts at objectivity. But a historian should make an effort at objectivity. I bought the book in hopes of filling in gaps that I have in my knowledge of U.S. history but I felt so manipulated by the author's deliberate leanings when I read about incidents that were familiar that I felt I couldn't trust him on his coverage of facts that were unfamiliar. Moreover, I was very confused by events he chose to cover versus events he chose not to cover. For example, he devotes almost half a page to Muhammad Ali, but does not mention Jesse Owens at all. Ali was certainly famous and was a fantastic boxer, but I'm not sure how he affected U.S. history one way or the other. Jesse Owens on the other hand affected with his athletic abilities not only U.S. history but world history, proving to the world on Hitler's own turf that Nazi theories on race were absolute lies. He states that during WWII, the U.S. downplayed the horror of the Holocaust (which is certainly true), but never once mentions the U.S. relationship with Israel. In fact, he never mentions Israel at all. He does not mention that the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan or President Carter's response to the invasion. At the end of the book, the author lists "ten inventions that changed life as we know it," and he lists things like the safety pin, the remote control, the brassiere, and post-it notes, but not inventions such as the lightbulb, the telephone, the airplane. A blatant example of the author's political bias is his coverage of Reagan's presidency. According to the author, the only people who voted for President Reagan were racists, money-grubbers and far-right Christians. He never mentions Reagan's anti-Communist stance, nor does he mention that Reagan won by two landslide elections or the unprecedented number of Democrats who voted for him. He never mentions Reagan's meeting with Gorbachev at Reykjavik, the "tear down this wall" speech, the treaties he reached with Gorbachev to reduce arms, or the fact that many credit him with winning the Cold War. Whatever you think of these events, you cannot omit them from coverage on Reagan's presidency and be considered a serious historian. (The author does however describe Gorbachev as "a remarkable man.") I am certain that the author loves history and knows a great deal about it, but his talents would be put to better use in political campaign management.

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Now revised - the easy-to-understand guide to the story of America

Want to better understand U.S. History? This friendly book serves as your tour guide through the important events of America's past and present, introducing you to the people who helped to shape history. From pre-Columbus to the American Revolution, from Watergate to Iraq to Barack Obama, you'll discover fascinating details that you won't find in dry history texts!

They're coming to America - explore early civilizations, meet Native Americans, and see how the development of the English colonies led to slavery and the American Revolution

From Thomas Jefferson to Abraham Lincoln - examine the contributions of great Americans as well as the discovery of gold, the birth of California, the Civil War, and Manifest Destiny

America grows up - be there during the conquering of the West, industrial development, and the invention of the light bulb and the telephone

The impact of the World Wars - understand the sweeping changes these epochal events brought to America and the rest of the world

The Cold War, Camelot, and Clinton - take a closer look at the Korean War and communism, the fabulous '50s, JFK, Vietnam, Nixon and Watergate, Reaganomics, and the Clinton years

From the '90s to now - witness the birth of the microchip, the impact of hanging chads in a presidential election, the largest terrorist attack on American soil, and the growing economic crisis

Open the book and find:

Ten important events that defined American culture

Interesting Americans, from presidents to gangsters to sports heroes

How America fought to win independence from England

Details about all the major wars and their long-term effects

Insight into the roots of slavery

Inventions that changed life for Americans

The impact of the atomic bomb

The Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence

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Clear the Bridge : The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang Review

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(More customer reviews)I could not put this book down. O'Kanes writing puts the reader inside the sub taking part in every detail of the Tang's patrols during WWII. I found myself refering to the maps every time he gave a description of the Tang's approach to enemy shipping and being able to see his detailed discriptions of the area thru the periscope. O'Kane's memories of details of shooting setups and the details of men at their stations in time of war is uncanny. This is truly a book that takes the reader to the dark days of WWII and the frustration of fighting with defective torpedos and equipment and the "jury-rigging" the crews had to do to make things work and in most cases make equipment better than what was issued. O'Kane was not only a great leader of men he is one of the great heros of WWII. It would be an honor to shake his hand.

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Tang carried the war to the enemy with unparalleled ferocity. This is her story as told by her skipper.

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The Savage Wars Of Peace: Small Wars And The Rise Of American Power Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Savage Wars of Peace" is a book that is likely to surprise all but the most ardent military history buffs. Once and for all it does away with the myth that before World War Two, America was completely "isolationist" in its foreign policy. The book focuses on America's many "smaller" military actions, from the Tripolitan War circa 1801-1803 to the hundred years (1840-1941) that American troops were continuously stationed in China to the Phillippine "Insurrection" (1900-1902) to the many 20th Century American interventions in Latin America.
Surprises abound, the biggest being how Author Max Boot demonstrates that for the most part America's interventions happened for idealistic reasons, rather than the usual sterotype that has the U.S. always watching out for big business interests. Also surprising is Boot's account of how effective America was at fighting anti-guerilla wars, at least up until Vietnam, when our misguided tactics may have actually snatched victory from our grasp. Boot covers each intervention seperately, combining politics with actual battle narratives in an excellently readable manner. Colorful figures emerge, like "The Fight Quaker" Marine General Smedley Butler, who for over thirty years was America's foremost (and most successful) guerilla fighter, only to become a staunch pacifist upon retirement.
Though it is a historical narrative, it is obvious that the author is trying to send a message to today's military leaders, especially in the wake of such misguided post-Vietnam policies as the "Powell Doctorine." The message is that America has a duty to continue to fight small wars to make the world a safer place (especially after September 11th), but that it should also not encorage our enemies by cutting and running from such engagements after the first casualties.
Overall, Boot has wrtitten and extremely enjoyable military history book that carries with it a powerful message.

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1942: The Year That Tried Men's Souls Review

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(More customer reviews)I really enjoyed this book, the style it was written, and they way Groom presents the story. One fact that I noticed and liked is that Groom checked his facts and used multiple sources to corroborate the facts he presents to the reader. The book focuses on many different levels of the conflict, from the strategic to the tactical level and also details the events that lead to the climate of 1942. Yes the book is written from an American point of view, but the scope of world events are woven into the story. I like how Groom takes the time to briefly point out some if the issues that have raised questions in 1942 and since. This is where Groom's use of various sources comes in handy; and He gives us his opinion which he is entitled to. The book flows excellently and portrays the events in this hectic year in great detail. As an avid reader of history I did find the book very interesting because of Groom's insight and how he is not afraid to insert a personal opinion. If you enjoyed 1942, I recommend "A Storm in Flanders" very highly.

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Miracle at Midway Review

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(More customer reviews)Just how fortunate the United States was in winning the closely contested navy engagement at Midway in the central Pacific in mid 1942 is evident to any reader ofthis very well documented and quite balanced account of one of the largest and most famous exchanges between the US navy and their Japanese counterparts during the course of World War Two. By using extensive inputs from both Japanese and American participants and observers of the sea battle, the authors thread together a memorable and engaging narrative of the events leading up to and involving both sides during the summer months of that fateful year. It was one for the record books, and one that demonstrated conclusively that the rules of war at sea had changed forever from one dominated by capital ships like battleships and cruisers to one dominated by aircraft carriers and attack airplanes.
In the devastating aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the American Navy was looking for an opportunity to engage the Japanese in a "mano-a-mano" confrontation, hoping to even the odds and shorten the war by using what we felt would be surprise and tactics to overcome the numerical advantage the Japanese enjoyed in numbers of both ships (especially in terms of aircraft carriers) and launchable aircraft. Even though the Japanese had blundered badly at the battle of the Coral Sea, they left the scene believing the fracas had been won, and that they had further damaged the American fleet by sinking three carriers. And though the U.S. Navy did in fact limp away having lost some of its few carriers either through sinking or damage, in actuality they had inflicted more damage than they had incurred. Furthermore, soon one of the badly damaged U. S. Navy carriers (the Yorktown) would be repaired and ready to sail in support of the Midway engagement.
Also, by cracking certain aspects of the Japanese Navy's wireless communication codes, the Americans were able to determine not only what the Japanese were ostensibly planning in terms of a strategy to take Midway, but also what the specific positioning and disposition of the various aspects of the Japanese naval force would be. Obviously, this information added to the element of surprise gave the Americans a huge tactical advantage, and made victory much more possible. Yet it did not guarantee anything. It was the tactical brilliance and contemporaneous innovation of the on-site commanders in the American force that won the day. In a series of engagements that did not change the course of the battle until the last few remaining waves of American aircraft suddenly sank or damaged the majority of the Japanese carriers, the Americans succeeded both through their own daring and a few fatal tactical errors on the part of the Japanese commanders.
The results were devastating for the Japanese, who never again could muster the kind of raw carrier power, or just as importantly, ever replace the huge number of experienced carrier-based aircraft pilots needed to successfully engage and threaten the expanding American task forces that within another 12 to 18 months would virtually transform the character of the war in the Pacific, leading the Japanese into waging an almost suicidal war of attrition which they had no chance to win. This is a well-written, well-documented, and entertaining book that helps the reader to understand just how critical to both the Americans and the Japanese the fateful naval engagement at Midway was, and how the results determined the course of the rest of the war in the Pacific. Enjoy!

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Here is the definitive history of the battle of Midway, an American victory that marked the turning point of the war in the Pacific during World War II. Told with the same stylistic flair and attention to detail as the bestselling At Dawn We Slept, Miracle at Midway brings together eyewitness accounts from the men who commanded and fought on both sides. The sweeping narrative takes readers into the thick of the action and shows exactly how American strategies and decisions led to the triumphant victory that paved the way for the defeat of Japan. "A stirring, even suspenseful narrative . . . The clearest and most complete account so far." (Newsday) "Something special among war histories . . . No other gives both sides of the battle in as detailed and telling a manner."(Chicago Sun-Times) "A gripping and convincing account." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

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Roosevelt's Secret War: FDR and World War II Espionage Review

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(More customer reviews)

Intelligence professionals will be very disappointed by this book, citizens interested in Presidential approaches to intelligence, somewhat less so. The author's brilliant biography of William Casey, OSS Veteran and Director of Central Intelligence under President Ronald Reagan, was a much more satisfying book. What we have here is by and large a mish-mash of the works of others, together with an original composition on FDR's involvement in intelligence that is uneven--partly because the subject did not put much in writing, and partly because the author chose to rely primarily on secondary published sources.
From the perspective of one interested in "Presidential intelligence," that is, how does a President manage various means of keeping informed, the book is a must read but also a shallow read. We learn that FDR was a master of deception and of running many parallel efforts, balancing them against one another. We learn that FDR was remarkably tolerant of amateurism and incompetence, while good at finding the gems these same loose but prolific intelligence endeavors could offer.
Perhaps most importantly, we gain some insights into how Presidents, even when properly informed by intelligence (e.g. of Pearl Harbor in advance, or of the lack of threat from domestic Americans of Japanese descent) must yet "go along" and provide either inaction pending the public's "getting it", or unnecessary action (the internments) to assuage public concern.
There are enough tid-bits to warrant a full reading of the book, but only for those who have not read widely in the literature of intelligence and/or presidential history. The British lied to the President and grossly exaggerated their intelligence capabilities, in one instance presenting a man "just back from behind the lines" when in fact he was simply on staff and lying for effect. We learn that the Department of State was twice offered, and twice declined, the lead on a global structure for collecting and processing intelligence. We learn that FDR himself concluded that Croatia and Serbia would never ever get along and should be separate countries.
On the NATO side, we learn that Eisenhower went with bad weather and the invasion succeeded in part because of a successful deception and in part because of Ike's courage in going forward in the face of bad weather--fast forward to how weather incapacitates our high-technology today. Most interestingly, we learn that FDR finally approved Eisenhower as leader of Overload, in lieu of his favorite, General Marshall, in part because he recognized that the allied joint environment required a general and a politician in one man.
This book is a hybrid, attempting to mesh presidential history with intelligence history, and perhaps this should gain the author some margin of tolerance. Unfortunately, in focusing on the relationships among the various intelligence principals and the president, he seriously passes over the enormous contributions of military as well as civilian and allied intelligence to the larger undertaking, and one is left with the narrow impression that American intelligence consisted largely of a number of self-serving clowns vying for Presidential favor.
The flaws inherent in a Federal Bureau of Investigation dominated by J. Edgar Hoover, and the lack of cooperation between the FBI and other major intelligence activities that continues today, are noted throughout the book.
Bottom line: worth buying and reading to gain insight into the challenges facing a President who can become isolated from reality by a corporate staff, but nowhere near the quality of Christopher Andrew's For the President's Eyes Only, or any of many good histories of espionage in World War II.



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Battlefield Angels: Saving Lives Under Enemy Fire From Valley Forge to Afghanistan (General Military) Review

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(More customer reviews)A fascinating blend of courageous corpsmen & medic profiles from the Revolutionary War to the Middle East. I had no idea how much of civilian healthcare has been pioneered or validated by military medicine: anesthesia, blood banks, plasma transfusions, air medevacs, etc.
But the strength of this book is the riveting stories of corpsmen who volunteer to become WWII POWs in order to treat wounded soldiers; who race TOWARD the enemy when the fighting erupts; or who find ways to conduct an appendectomy in a WWII submarine while on enemy patrol. This book will surprise, inspire, and move you to tears. You'll never watch a war movie or combat news report the same way again.

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"The night air chilled Caspar Wistar as he walked alongside a wagon filled with medical supplies, part of an eleven-thousand-man army creeping toward a small Pennsylvania hamlet. He wondered if General George Washington's medical corps would again run short of wound dressings when battle met the sunrise."Thus opens the magisterial new book from Scott McGaugh, author of Midway Magic. In Battlefield Angels, McGaugh pays homage to the cadre of medics, corpsmen, nurses, doctors, surgeons, and medical technicians who have provided succor and healing to the more than 40 million warriors who have served in America's armed forces since the nation's founding.Scott McGaugh tells the story of Jonathan Letterman, a Union surgeon during the Civil War who is considered the father of American combat medicine. Letterman designed the first battlefield evacuation system after an unprepared medical corps at Bull Run left thousands of soldiers to die in the place where they were wounded. We also learn about Wheeler Lipes, a young navy corpsman and submariner with minimal medical training who on September 11, 1942, conducted the first-ever appendectomy at sea. And, we hear the story of Pfc. Monica Brown, the young army medic who was awarded the Silver Star for rescuing fellow soldiers from a disabled Humvee during an ambush in the Paktika province of Eastern Afghanistan in 2007. Brown is only the second woman in sixty years to receive the prestigious award. Through these stories and many others, McGaugh traces the captivating evolution of battlefield care, from the Revolutionary War to today's battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.In Battlefield Angels, McGaugh captures the in-the-trenches moments during which medics and corpsmen fought to save the lives of their comrades. Along the way, readers will learn the fascinating history of battlefield medicine and how it has benefited both military and civilian medical practice throughout American history. McGaugh also looks ahead to the future, where telemedicine and robotic surgery promise to transform the battlefield once again. In the end, Battlefield Angels both chronicles and pays homage to the men and women in arms who fight every day to save the lives of their fellow soldiers, sailors, and Marines.

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Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy Review

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(More customer reviews)Few eras of American history are more misunderstood than the naval history of early America after the Revolutionary War. Former financial analyst and political aide Ian Toll sheds new light on this era in his richly detailed and comprehensive first book, Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy. The saga of the original six frigates, the Constitution, Constellation, Congress, President, United States, and the Chesapeake, is one of naval necessity, partisan politics, and the ungainly steps of a young country attempting to defend and assert itself in a dangerous world.
A common misconception in American history is that the original six frigates were begun during the Revolution. As Toll describes in excellent detail, it was in fact under the presidencies of George Washington and John Adams that the decision to form a standing navy was made. With America's merchant fleet under predation from North African pirates, French privateers, and British warships, ships to protect and fly the flag were necessary. An already contentious and partisan Congress argued endlessly over the formation of a American navy to deal with the problem, and finally the Naval Act of 1794 approved funding for the construction of six ships: four 44-gun and two 36-gun frigates. Designed by Joshua Humphreys, the ships were to be the strongest and most effective frigates afloat, a tough job in a world where the Royal Navy dominated. The frigates would play key roles in the quasi-war with France, the Barbary wars, and the War of 1812, and Toll chronicles the personalities, the politics, and the world situation that shaped both the ships and the campaigns in which they took part.
What these ships are best known for, and what is most familiar with the laymen are the battles. Toll describes every major ship-to-ship engagement fought by the original six with a vividness rarely seen in naval histories, rich enough to hear the thunder of the guns and smell the cordite from the gunpowder. The major actions described are: Constellation v. L'Insurgente, Constellation v. La Vengeance, United States v. Macedonian, Constitution v. Guerriere, Constitution v. Java, Shannon v. Chesapeake, and President v. Endymion. Also well addressed are the actions against the Barbary states, including a well-written chapter on the loss of the subscription frigate Philadelphia, and the daring exploits of Stephen Decatur to destroy the captured frigate. The major naval figures of the era like Truxton, Bainbridge, Hull, Decatur, Rodgers, and Barron are all examined by Toll with an observer's eye that fleshes out the caricatures as most histories portray them into real life men.
The end of the War of 1812 saw the launch of the first American ships-of-the-line, but it was the frigate navy that paved the way. Toll's book is an important addition that clears the mythology away from the early US Navy and incorporates all the naval, economic, political, and social elements that contributed to its founding and formation. Toll occasionally strays out of his lane, and the postscript loses a bit of focus delving into the post Civil War navy, but as a whole, this is an excellent book that will satisfy naval buffs and students of history alike. Toll's elegant and rich writing and exhaustive research marks him as an author to watch, and I eagerly await his next work. The original six frigates played a large part in the prestige of early America. Their successes, and their failures, demonstrated that the young United States was a blossoming world power worthy of respect and regard. Highly Recommended. A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO

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The American People in World War II: Freedom from Fear, Part Two (Oxford History of the United States) (Pt. 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm old enough to have live through the eventful 16-years (1929-1945)covered by Prof. David Kennedy's 2-volume history of that period of modern American history; for about half of that time, I was intellectually aware of what was happening; and I have read widely about the New Deal and WW-II. However, nothing I had been exposed to prior to reading "Freedom from Fear" gave me the context and an over-all understanding of the issues and obstacles that decision-makers faced during the Great Depression, the lead-up to WW-II, and the conduct of that war as have these wonderful two volumes. Even though I know full well how these matters played out, it was fascinating to learn how they came to be, and to realize that their outcomes were by no means foreordained nor inevitable. It is said about travel: "Getting there is half the fun;" in that sense, Kennedy is a marvelous tourguide to history.
One minor quibble: In true scholarly fashion, Kennedy
identifies sources for his many assertions and quotations in
footnotes; only a few footnotes contain additional explanatory
material that adds to the story. I would have preferred that the
many footnotes that merely give sources had been made into end
notes, available to those who want to check them but not
taking space on the pages of the narrative.


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Even as the New Deal was coping with the Depression, a new menace was developing abroad. Exploiting Germany's own economic burdens, Hitler reached out to the disaffected, turning their aimless discontent into loyal support for his Nazi Party. In Asia, Japan harbored imperial ambitions of its own. The same generation of Americans who battled the Depression eventually had to shoulder arms in another conflict that wreaked worldwide destruction, ushered in the nuclear age, and forever changed their way of life and their country's relationship to the rest of the world.The American People in World War II--the second installment of Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning Freedom from Fear--explains how the nation agonized over its role in the conflict, how it fought the war, why the United States emerged victorious, and why the consequences of victory were sometimes sweet, sometimes ironic. In a compelling narrative, Kennedy analyzes the determinants of American strategy, the painful choices faced by commanders and statesmen, and the agonies inflicted on the millions of ordinary Americans who were compelled to swallow their fears and face battle as best they could. The American People in World War II is a gripping narrative and an invaluable analysis of the trials and victories through which modern America was formed.

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The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (Liberation Trilogy) Review

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(More customer reviews)When it comes to writing military history, Rick Atkinson's narratives, in my view, are as good as it gets. I have an entire bookcase devoted to books about World War II and I would argue that very few, if any of them, meet the standard set now by Atkinson as far as depth of research, a flair for the truly visual and personal, and where an easy and readable prose-style is of concern. So I would not hesitate to nominate Atkinson as the best living author of books about World War II, if not of history in general. This current effort is the second volume of a proposed three-volume set of works about that devastating war. The first book in the series was "An Army at Dawn" -- a winner of the Pulitzer Prize -- which dealt with the North African campaign. Now, in "The Day of Battle," Atkinson takes on the campaign in Sicily and Italy in 1943 and 1944. And does he ever!

I have a large collection of videos dealing with WWII and, of course, one can get "up front and close" to the action when watching them. The images, combined with the narration and the accompanying music in the background, provide the viewer with a true "you are there" experience. I felt almost the same experience while reading this book. Atkinson's ability to linguistically describe a situation so that the reader feels he or she is right there within the phenomenal frame of a battle is awesome. And I don't use the word "awesome" very often. But in this case it is genuinely applicable. I could actually visualize all the action as it was occurring; such is an excellent writer's ability to translate words into mental pictures.

There is one other thing I found absolutely compelling about this book. Over the past few years, I have been studying (revisiting again for the umpteenth time, but more in-depth) the history of ancient Greece and Rome. Sicily and Italy, of course, played a significant role in the history of that era. One of the things that Atkinson does in "The Day of Battle" is correlate the geography of the exploits during the Sicilian and Italian military campaigns to activities that occurred and places that were important during the period when the Greeks and the Romans were active there.

For instance, in the first chapter in a section titled "Calypso's Island," he relates the following information: "Over the millennia, a great deal had happened on the tiny island [Malta] the Allies now code-named FINANCE. St. Paul had been shipwrecked on the north coast of Malta in A.D. 60 while..."; in the second chapter we read: "Few Sicilian towns claimed greater antiquity than Gela, where the center of the American assault was to fall. Founded on a limestone hillock by Greek colonists from Rhodes and Crete in 688 B.C. ..."; and in the tenth chapter we read: "Not far from here, in 217 B.C., Hannibal had found himself hemmed in by the mountains and Roman troops."

And the above are just three of the numerous references that Atkinson gives us as a classical background to what is going on during the 20th-century conflict. I love it, of course, because it makes the narrative so much more meaningful. One can say, "Well, men were there a couple of thousands years ago, basically doing the same thing and in the same places where the action was occurring in 1943-44." This goes a long way toward placing the whole narrative within a sweeping historical context.

And who can resist being impressed when, on page 573, Atkinson relates to us, when describing the entry into Rome of the American commander, General Mark Clark, that "In classical Rome, a triumphant general returning from his latest conquest made for the Capitoline, ... His face painted with vermilion, his head crowned with laurel ..." and so on; unfortunately this paragraph is too long to be quoted here, but it should be noted that Clark was not the first military commander to enter Rome triumphantly, although in this case with less pizzazz than did the ancient Roman generals.

I really think what separates Atkinson from other military historians I have read is the way in which he puts a "human face" on the whole subject. He provides us with the thoughts and feelings of the individual soldiers on both sides in the heat of the battles. He quotes from letters sent home to loved ones from both the men on the front line as well as from the officers in charge. He informs us intimately of the sufferings endured, the human toll incurred, the grand strategies and tactics planned, the successes achieved and, of course, of the fatuity displayed and the foibles exposed. No battle plan is ever perfectly executed and Atkinson does not shrink from critically evaluating those that took place in Sicily and Italy during World War II.

Now, I do not want to give the impression that "The Day of Battle" ignores the "big" events and personalities of the Italian theater during this conflict and is nothing more than a somewhat "soap-opera" presentation or a "made-for-TV tear-jerker." Atkinson writes serious military history. The Allied and Axis commanders, the presidents and prime ministers, the major military conflicts, the politics involved, and so forth -- all the things that one would expect to be covered in any scholarly work in military history -- are discussed and analyzed. What I am saying is that the author goes beyond the usual, to include the "bricks and mortar" of the wartime experience as well as the grand issues and characters involved. It is truly comprehensive in its scope. It is military history at its best.

Furthermore, the book is more than generous with its aids and references. There are twenty maps, including a two-page spread of the entire Mediterranean and European theaters on the endpapers, two 16-page sections of relevant photographs, 140 pages of reference notes, a selected bibliography that runs to thirty pages, and an extensive topical index to top it all off. What more could a World War II history buff ask for? Well, to be honest, one thing right now. And that is the third volume of Atkinson's "Liberation Trilogy" which will cover the final struggle for Western Europe, from the dawn of the Normandy invasion to the final victory in Berlin. I definitely look forward to reading it.

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A Short History of World War II Review

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(More customer reviews)Some books, you read, place on a shelf, and never return to them. This is not one of those books. As my library is overflowing with Civil War and WWII books, there are now TWO that I use for study and reference. "Battle Cry of Freedom' by James McPherson is, in my opinion the best one volumn overview of the Civil War ever written.
"A Short History of WWII" is in that same category as far as a complete, one volumn acount of this period of history. It is in depth, yet very readable. When I finished, my copy was tattered, dog,eared, high-lighted, and contained many of my personal observations in the columns.
I will return to it as I continue my study of WWII. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I would have liked to had more complete maps denoting troop movements. If you're reading my review, you must be considering buying this book. My recommendation is "Buy it, without a doubt. You will not be disappointed."

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Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned Review

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(More customer reviews)Like a great baker, a great writer can turn even what might have been stale into something not just digestible, but delicious. Clever turns of phrase and crisp, engaging writing style (in an easily referenced question and answer format) allow historian Kenneth Davis to chart American history and debunk many of its myths in this exceptional update of his 1990 best-seller.
Drawing on reports of the period and on revisionist histories, Davis concisely shows the humanity in American icons known only by one name: Lincoln's views on race relations, Washington's at times bawdy sense of humor, Franklin Roosevelt's thirst for power and gift for political (and apparently, personal) compromise, Ford and Lindbergh's disquieting bigotry and animosity. (Robert E. Lee's quote on slavery's positive effects show him, despite honors afforded him in the Civil War's losing cause, very much a man of his time.) Davis also provides short biographies of historic's outstanding black voices, from Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois' passion to the Mohammad Ali's athletic urban poetry.
Davis also shows a refreshing desire not to be objective, a rarity in books like this. He attacks the nation's great shames (treatment of Native and African Americans, Japanese-American internment during World War II), targeting history's cynics and opportunists whose names still ring of American royalty: Vanderbilt, JP Morgan, Rockefeller, even the Kennedys. (Davis' coverage of the reasons and results of 1898's Spanish-American War will disturb those always thinking Americans fought defensively and for the right causes.) Davis also explains the interlocking events which started WWI, which (should you choose to read the book cover to cover) pour into every other tragic conflict which followed up to and including September 11.
Davis misses some steps covering the last 30 years. He covers Watergate in depth, including an events timeline, which he does for every war covered in the book. But he glosses over Richard Nixon's historic trip to China and for that matter, much of the Ford-Carter years. He again retells Monica Lewinsky's affair with President Bill Clinton but fails to capture (in fact, hardly mentions) the Whitewater and Travelgate scandals inspiring Ken Starr's investigation and staining Clinton's administration and legacy.
Davis` summary of American tragedies tying into September 11's horror is heartfelt but forced. But he also explains Electoral College and US Constitution, charts the US presidents, and provides an exhaustive list of referred readings to complete an exceptionally exciting retelling of history. "Don't Know Much About History" is a title only true until the book is completed; it is exceptionally helpful as a primer and essential as a supplementary history book.

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FDR Review

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(More customer reviews)FDR, by Jean Edward Smith, proves that no highly significant historical figure or event is beyond a great writer's ability to improve a particular body of literature. Indeed FDR is a towering work of both writing and scholarship. Smith again proves he is one of our foremost biographers and captures, in a very evenhanded way, the very essence of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Indeed, this writing is up there with David Herbert Donald's Lincoln. Both took on truly larger than life topics and did so with energy and vigor.
The footnoting in FDR is highly extensive and the curious reader will look at many of them and make notes to read on additional topics as Smith piques the interest of any with any significant interest in Roosevelt. He, like Lincoln, was the President in a time where it is difficult to imagine, even for his critics, another person assuming the role. Smith explains and documents almost all of FDR's life and gives very plausible reasons for his rather radical views at the time, especially for one with his Hudson River pedigree. He tackles his many physical challenges, his relationship with his peripatetic wife Eleanor (see Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time) , his affair with Lucy Mercer Rutherford, his intimate relationship with Churchill (see Jon Meacham's Franklin and Winston) and his reliance on a cast of eclectic personal and political operatives over the years. All of his public years are well covered, perhaps even more so his early years in New York politics.
There is very little, if nothing to criticize about this book. One could make an argument that Smith tried too hard to keep it a readable 636 pages with and additional 221 pages of notes and an exhaustive bibliography. Maybe two volumes would have improved this work, but that is sheer conjecture. This book must be read by all with more than a passing interest in 20th Century American history. Simply sublime.

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AP U.S. History Crash Course (REA: The Test Prep AP Teachers Recommend) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book, I swear, has most definitely earned me a 5 on the 2009 APUSH test.
I personally was probably one of the hardest studiers in my APUSH class (ours wasn't taught well at all), and thus, I developed my own way of taking notes and such. Turns out, I never looked at those notes again seeing as I'm one of those types of people that outline EVERYTHING.
Quite frankly, I'm bad at shortening stuff, however this is where this book came into play. Two weeks before the APUSH test, I bought this book for 12 bucks, and read it through twice. From there I studied parts I needed to know most. It's lightweight, and summarized EVERYTHING into 3-5 facts for every important era/event you need to know. It tells you what you NEED to study, and what you do not, via little side bubbles of notes.
My recommendation, read your APUSH textbook first as to so you can get a general consensus of American history from the beginning to the 1970s (you won't need to know anything past that), and THEN buy this book. From there, start nitpicking the things you know well, and the things you don't know, and try to memorize the things you do not.
This book will really teach you what to study for your next upcoming APUSH test.
I swear, it's what got me a 5.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945: With a New Afterword (Oxford Paperbacks) Review

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(More customer reviews)In one volume, Robert Dallek has attempted to counter the vast amount of printed material covering Franklin D. Roosevelt's domestic policies during the 1930's and 1940's. The result is a mammoth effort that sheds light on the enormous pressures Roosevelt faced both at home and abroad during the turbulent decades when the world struggled to emerge from the shambles of a Great Depression, and prepare itself for a global conflict. Dallek argues that most historians do not fully understand the nature of Roosevelt's foreign policy. Dallek also claims that researchers tend to focus on FDR's shortcomings without emphasizing the constraints with which he was forced to work. Dallek's main purpose is to highlight the continual dilemmas Roosevelt faced in an effort to always strive for balance and compromise between public opinion and foreign affairs. FDR realized the need to break the country away from isolationism and place it in the global arena, both economically and politically, while at the same time facing the growing threat from the Axis powers. Though Dallek is noted as a gifted narrator, it is Roosevelt's leadership style,criticized as somewhat unorthodox,and the many quandaries in which he prevailed that provides the strength of Dallek's book. Dallek chose a ridged chronological format, which he maintained throughout the book. The chronological methodology in essential to enable the reader to understand the patterns that emerged within Roosevelt's style of leadership. For instance, rather than try to sway public opinion as to why the United States should supply aid to its allies or begin preparing for war, Roosevelt instead would allow the events then taking shape in Europe and Asia to speak for themselves to convince the American public. FDR's early foreign policy (1932-1935) was primarily centered on economic recovery. Roosevelt clearly understood that the Great Depression was a global problem. Roosevelt strove to reduce tariffs, improve trade and stabilize the dollar with foreign currencies. He has been widely criticized for going off the gold standard and blamed for the failure of the London Economic Conference. Dallek states, however, that Roosevelt clearly achieved two very important underlying objectives: First, domestic economic recovery must take priority over foreign affairs This belief was evident in the many Hundred Days policies that FDR implemented. Second, Dallek argues that Roosevelt's main goal was at best to "restore a measure of faith in international cooperation." Roosevelt was always aware of his limitations. Dallek believes that the years 1935-1939 was the most important period in Roosevelt's foreign policy. During this time, Roosevelt faced many obstacles. Dubbed an "Idealist" for his efforts towards disarmament and United States participation in the World Court, FDR was also criticized as being naïve in his reactions to the aggressive actions of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Dallek diligently describes how FDR's hands were tied by the very nature of the Neutrality Acts, pressure from Isolationists, student peace activists, and religious groups, particularly Catholics at home. The events of World War II exposed yet more criticisms upon Roosevelt's handling of foreign affairs. In a new Afterword (1995), Dallek explains some of the legitimate critiques as well as some of the ludicrous claims concerning FDR's handling of the war. Dallek disregards the revisionist view that Roosevelt knew of, or allowed the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor as an excuse to draw the United States into the war. Some revisionists even propose the existence of a British conspiracy to lure the United States into the war. Dallek points out there are even those that claim British pilots flying planes with Japanese markings took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Dallek praises Roosevelt as a visionary, accurately predicting a world view he never lived to see. Dallek disagrees with the "naïveté" Roosevelt exhibited at Yalta, claiming FDR did not sell out Eastern Europe to Stalin. Dallek dismisses this as a myth, claiming Roosevelt clearly understood the price for 20 million Russian killed during World War II would be Eastern Europe. Dallek also defends Roosevelt's decision to back the doomed Chiang Kai-shek regime in China. Dallek believes FDR knew that someday China would be a dominant world power and although he felt that democracy in both China and the Soviet Union were unlikely, he hoped for eventual global cooperation between the superpowers. Dallek harshest criticism of Roosevelt's tenure is the interment of Japanese-Americans. This book offers the reader valuable insight into the complex problems facing Roosevelt's decision-making processes on the eve of World War II. For this reason, Dallek's work holds a valued place in political and historical literature.

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