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The Iraq War: A Military History |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Hockey History > Item 242
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The Iraq War: A Military History
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by Williamson Murray and Robert H., Jr. Scales
Sales Rank: 583247
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$25.95
At Amazon
on 8-7-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 368 pages
Published by: Belknap Press October 30, 2003
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0674012801
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0674012806
Book Dimensions:
8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
The practice of "embedding" journalists in combat units provided a good deal of spectacular, timely footage, but tended to restrict insight to the frontline perspective of riflemen and vehicle crews. Murray and Scales provide a lucid and leavened look at the larger-scale forces shaping the war. Murray (A War to Be Won), currently a fellow at the Institute of Defense Analysis, is an eminent military historian, and Scales (Yellow Smoke), a retired major general and former commandant of the Army War College, is a familiar commentator on security issues. In this operational history, they eschew discussion of such abstractions as whether the war was a "revolution in military affairs." Instead, they show how, since the Gulf War of 1991, each of the services (army, air force, navy and marines) improved its extreme proficiency of the craft of war: individually integrating technology, training, and doctrine while at the same time cultivating a "jointness" that eroded, if it did not quite eliminate, traditional rivalries at the operational level. The result, they argue, was a virtuoso performance in 2003 that did not depend on Iraqi ineffectiveness, a model exercise in maneuver warfare at the operational level that stands comparison with any large-scale operation in terms of effectiveness and economy. The authors complement their work with competent surveys of Iraq's history and of how the U.S. armed forces recovered from the Vietnam debacle, and with an great appendix describing the weapons systems that dominated America's television screens. While the short duration of the war's main push-three weeks from start to finish-works against systematic analysis, and there will be much more material to surface and be sifted in the coming years, Murray and Scales set the standard for future works.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Review
In their coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedomembedded reporters provided vertical depth but little horizontal scope. Profound portraits of individual soldiers and units were rarely complemented by competent narratives placing the various military operations in the context of a grand strategic view. That is the job not of war correspondents but of military historians. Williamson Murray, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defense Analysis, and Major General Robert H. Scales Jr., a former commandant of the Army War College, fill the void.
--Robert D. Kaplan (Atlantic Monthly 20031129)
Murray and Scales provide a lucid and leavened look at the larger-scale forces shaping the war. (Publishers Weekly 20031128)
Williamson Murray and Robert Scales, both American military academics, have produced a superlative record of the invasion--part history, part critique and part doctrinal template for the future. Technical and operational aspects are explained clearly without losing the depth required to make this a serious study. (The Economist 20040101)
For those wanting a detailed analysis of the strategic and operational dimensions of the recent war, this is the book.
--Tim Dunne (Times Higher Education Supplement 20031214)
The academic depth of Williamson Murray and the professional experience of Major General Robert Scales ensure that their lively account of the war against Iraq is a superior, authoritative product. Its focus is operational (neither Donald Rumsfeld nor Paul Wolfowitz appears in the index), but the authors acknowledge the importance of political context, especially the 'sustaining power of tyranny' even in the face of a 'shock and awe' air assault.
--Lawrence D. Freedman (Foreign Affairs 20040301)
Murray and Scales offer plenty of detailed combat accounts. But largely, their book seeks to step back and put the war in a greater frame.
--Harry Levins (St. Louis Post-Dispatch 20040321)
Military historians Murray and Scales have written an enormously detailed description and analysis of the U.S.-led campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq in March-April 2003. Their book's value lies in its step-by-step report on the invasion.
--W. Spencer (Choice )
The authors clearly had access to major military decision-makers and after-action reports. But as seasoned military historians, they go far beyond mere reportage, offering concise judgements about both the planning and the conduct of the campaignMr. Murray and Mr. Scales provide an illuminating look at the ground campaign that culminated in the capture of BaghdadThe authors' discussion of the war's ramifications is great and alone is worth the price of the bookMore detailed analyses of the war will follow this book. By all means, read them. But the insights and judgments of Williamson Murray and Robert Scales make The Iraq War a book that will stand the test of time.
--Mackubin Thomas Owens (Washington Times )
Murrayand Scales, both American military academics, have produced a superlative record of the invasion--part history, part critique and part doctrinal template for the future
--Lawrence D. Freedman (The Economist )
Murray and Scales are serious military historians [and] have a knack for integrating tactical vignettes into their operational narrative . . . Details like these give the reader a bit of the taste and smell of the fighting. More important, [the authors] use them adroitly to highlight factors that shaped the thinking of American military commanders at key stages and to point out critical lessons about the conduct of modern war . . . What emerges from their book is a far more comprehensive view of a far more complicated war than the vast majority of readers may have gleaned from the snapshots provided by the news media during the 23 days of major combat operations.
--Kenneth M. Pollack (New York Times Book Review )
Reader Reviews
There are already too many books on the Iraq War, but this compact and mostly objective history is the best of the bunch if you are looking for a quick and factual overview from the purely military perspective. Other books treat individual events in greater depth, or take stronger (often controversial) positions on the issues, or provide deeper analysis of the thicket of surrounding issues. But none does as good a job at covering the basic facts of the military operations. If you are looking for an informed and clear-headed account of the military operations of the Iraq War without the encumbrance of ideology or political agendas start here. What analysis this book does contain is provided in a separate chapter at the end of the book and consists exclusively of clear-headed and balanced insights into the military lessons (many of which are bitter pills) of the war. The only real shortcoming of this book is that it is so understated. Events that loomed large in the hysterical real-time media coverage of the war (the firefight at the overpasses on the approach to Baghdad, the Jessica Lynch "rescue") are all given their proper place in the context of the overall strategic situation. As a result, it is easy to miss important clarifications (e.g. the extent to which the disorientation of the maintenance convoy that was attacked at An Nasiriyah was an almost inevitable consequence of the Coalition plan and the speed with which it was executed), though the implications are clearly spelled out (support units need better close-combat training). Like many history books published by non-specialty presses, this one suffers from a lack of maps and diagrams. The few maps that are provided, though colorful, are not tied to the text and convey very little information. There are also no organizational charts provided, which is particularly frustrating given the difficulty of following who did what in a campaign that involved so many ad hoc formations. But these are minor issues. Overall this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what happened in Iraq in 2003 -- and the military implications for the years ahead.
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The Iraq War: A Military History
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Updated on 8-7-2008.
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