Parameters Bookshelf: Select Online Book Reviews

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Cover for Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership
Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership
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Cover for Resourcing the National Security Enterprise: Connecting the Ways and Means of US National Security
Resourcing the National Security Enterprise: Connecting the Ways and Means of US National Security
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Dr. Sarah Lohmann, editor of What Ukraine Taught NATO about Hybrid Warfare (US Army War College Press, 2022), calls Anna Arutunyan's latest book, Hybrid Warriors, a "must-read for senior members of the US defense community" that "encourages strategists to think beyond segmented operations to ensure Russia's broad defeat."
Hybrid Warriors: Proxies, Freelancers and Moscow’s Struggle for Ukraine
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Dr. John A. Nagl provides readers a roadmap to navigate—and a lens with which to interpret—General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts's best-selling book, Conflict, which Nagl considers "'[t]he closest thing to a memoir" of Petraeus and "likely . . . the best first-person account in history of [Petraeus's] efforts and results in Iraq and Afghanistan that made him the most important Army officer of his generation."
Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
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Colonel Joerg Stenzel (German Army), an instructor at the US Army War College, lends his expertise in strategy to this review of "the most famous and successful" filibuster featured in William Walker's 1860 work, The War in Nicaragua.
The War in Nicaragua
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Book Review: Small Armies, Big Cities: Rethinking Urban Warfare John P. Sullivan Author: Louise A. Tumchewics (editor) Reviewed by Dr. John P. Sullivan, instructor, Safe Communities Institute, University of Southern California
Small Armies, Big Cities: Rethinking Urban Warfare
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Book Review: Violence in Defeat: The Wehrmacht on German Soil, 1944–1945 Daniel Gipper Author: Bastiaan Willems Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Gipper, US Air Force, faculty development scholar, Air University
Violence in Defeat: The Wehrmacht on German Soil, 1944–1945
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Book Review: The Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Strategic Alliances and Rivalries Authors: Amira Jadoon with Andrew Mines Reviewed by Thomas F. Lynch III, PhD, Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of National Strategic Studies, National Defense University
The Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Strategic Alliances and Rivalries
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Book Review: Waging a Good War: How the Civil Rights Movement Won Its Battles, 1954–1968 Author: Thomas E. Ricks Reviewed by Keith Nightingale, retired colonel, US Army
Waging a Good War: How the Civil Rights Movement Won Its Battles, 1954–1968
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Book Cover: Forging the Anglo-American Alliance: The British and American Armies, 1917–1941
Forging the Anglo-American Alliance: The British and American Armies, 1917–1941
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Book Review: Boots and Suits: Historical Cases and Contemporary Lessons in Military Diplomacy https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/33
Boots and Suits: Historical Cases and Contemporary Lessons in Military Diplomacy
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Book Review: Military Dogs of World War II Wylie W. Johnson Author: Susan Bulanda Reviewed by Reverend Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, chaplain (retired), US Army War College class of 2010
Military Dogs of World War II
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Book Review: Number One Realist: Bernard Fall and Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare Author: Nathaniel L. Moir Reviewed by John A. Nagl, professor of warfighting studies, US Army War College
Number One Realist: Bernard Fall and Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare
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Book Review: War of Supply John A. Bonin Author: David D. Dworak Reviewed by Dr. John A. Bonin, consultant, US Army War College The reviewer notes, “While there are thousands of books about World War II, there are relatively few on the war in the Mediterranean and fewer on its logistics.” Dworak provides just that, with a chronological account of Operation Torch in North Africa; Operations Husky, Avalanche, and Shingle in Sicily and Italy; and Operation Dragoon in southern France. https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/30
War of Supply
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Book Review: Blood and Ruins: The Last Imperial War, 1931–1945 Jonathan Klug Author: Richard Overy Reviewed by Jonathan Klug, colonel, US Army, and assistant professor, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College Teaser: Many track the start of World War II to Poland in 1939. In Blood Ruins, Richard Overy contends the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria was the start of an Asian war that later merged into the 1939 war in Europe when Japan attacked America in 1939. The book addresses policy and strategy as well as operational, technical, and tactical issues. https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/29
Blood and Ruins: The Last Imperial War, 1931–1945
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Book Review: The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/28 Author: Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr. Reviewed by Zachery Tyson Brown, defense analyst, Office of the Secretary of Defense Andrew F. Krepinevich has questions for policymakers when it comes to emerging technologies and warfare. In The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers, Krepinevich asks: How do states gain advantages in military competition during periods of disruptive change? How are developmental technologies best incorporated into legacy military structures? Or are entirely new structures necessary?
The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers 
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Book Review: Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/27 Author: Paul Scharre Reviewed by Dr. Robert J. Bunker, director of research and analysis, managing partner, C/O Futures, LLC TEASER: Award-winning author Paul Scharre’s latest work, Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, envisions artificial intelligence as ushering in a “new industrial revolution” with big military, economic, and political implications. The reviewer sees this “readable, tightly structured” book as “fascinating and important work from a US national security studies perspective” and “after-hours supplemental reading for US military and policy professionals who want to understand the political-military importance of AI and its strategic (in fact, civilizational) implications for the future.”
Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
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Book Review by Vince Alcazar of The Air War in Vietnam Author: Michael E. Weaver Reviewed by Vince Alcazar, Air Force (retired) planner and fighter pilot, Department of Defense The Air War in Vietnam addresses President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration’s use of airpower (or lack of it) and why American airpower underperformed, as well as airpower innovations that influenced the US warfare model in the Vietnam War. The reviewer bills this work as “…an indispensable volume of airpower scholarship. It is a richly developed analysis of airpower in a decade-long war with challenging hybrid characteristics and shifting US strategies.”
The Air War in Vietnam
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Book Review by Carlos Barrera and Manuel Carranza of: Spies and Shuttles: NASA’s Secret Relationship with the DoD and CIA Author: James E. David Reviewed by Professor Carlos Barrera, Mexican Institute for Strategic Studies in National Security and Defence, and Manuel Carranza, defense and security affairs researcher Starting with the 1957 launches of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 and 2, James E. David’s autobiography “offers a cautionary tale on grandiloquent endeavors and highlights the need to prioritize planning over narrative” in space. David was a curator in the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which gave him access to newly declassified materials. He put this information to good use in Spies and Shuttles as he chronicles NASA’s history and impact.
Spies and Shuttles: NASA’s Secret Relationship with the DoD and CIA
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Book Review by Jeffrey Caton of: Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space Author: Bleddyn E. Bowen Reviewed by Jeffrey Caton, colonel, US Air Force (retired), and president, Kepler Strategies LLC Based on three key arguments, Original Sin covers the development of spacepower during the Cold War, space technology’s progress, and the weapons, planning and doctrine that surround space warfare. The reviewer notes, “What sets Original Sin apart from similar books is the outstanding context it provides and its willingness to challenge trite slogans attached to spacepower.”
Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space
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Book Review by Greg Pickell: Without Flyers, No Tannenberg: Aviation on the Eastern Front of 1914—Evolution of a Critical Role for Modern Warfare Authors: Terrence J. Finnegan, Helmut Jäger, and Carl J. Bobrow Reviewed by Greg Pickell, US Army lieutenant colonel (retired) Providing valuable historical context, Without Flyers, No Tannenberg “offers a wealth of previously unavailable information and provided needed context to the German triumph over the Russian 2nd Army in the opening weeks of the First World War.” The book describes how aviation developed in Germany and Russia and offers detailed maps and graphics. The latter part of the book covers events following the defeat of Russian General Samsonov’s 2nd Army, to include the Battle of the Masurian Lakes and the campaign that followed.
Without Flyers, No Tannenberg: Aviation on the Eastern Front of 1914—Evolution of a Critical Role for Modern Warfare
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Book Review by Phillip Dolitsky: Strategia: A Primer on Theory and Strategy for Students of War
Strategia: A Primer on Theory and Strategy for Students of War
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Book Review by Robert J. Bunker: How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them
Cyber Intelligence: Actors, Policies, and Practices
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Book Review by Robert J. Bunker: How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them
How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them
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Book Review by Wylie W. Johnson: Team America: Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and the World They Forged
Team America: Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and the World They Forged
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The Good Captain: A Personal Memoir of America at War
The Good Captain: A Personal Memoir of America at War
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Book Review: Corruption in the Americas
Corruption in the Americas
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Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin Author: Timothy Snyder
Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin
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Book Review: The Military and the Market
The Military and the Market
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Technology and War – Book Review: The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews
The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War
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Military History – Book Review: Managing Sex in the U.S. Military: Gender, Identity, and Behavior Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews
Military Virtues
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Military History – Book Review: Managing Sex in the U.S. Military: Gender, Identity, and Behavior Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews
The Age of AI and Our Human Future 
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Military History – Book Review: Managing Sex in the U.S. Military: Gender, Identity, and Behavior Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews
Managing Sex in the U.S. Military: Gender, Identity, and Behavior
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Irregular Warfare Book Review: The Strategic Use of Force in Counterinsurgency: Find, Fix, Fight Author: Miles Kitts Reviewed by Dr. José de Arimatéia da Cruz, professor of international relations and comparative politics, Georgia Southern University, and visiting professor, Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College Focusing on the use of force and insurgency, the reviewer assesses the author’s question, “Does either neoclassicism or revisionism adequately address how to evaluate the utility of force in counterinsurgency and the prescriptions which should come from it?” Keywords: counterinsurgency, Parmenidean fallacy, Cold War, strategy, reflective action Read Now: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/10
The Strategic Use of Force in Counterinsurgency: Find, Fix, Fight
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Military History Book Review: John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, 1917–1919: April 7-September 30, Volume 1 Editor: John T. Greenwood Reviewed by Dr. Nathan K. Finney, lieutenant colonel, US Army, Indo-Pacific Command, founder of The Strategy Bridge and the Military Writers Guild Thoroughly researched and cited, this first volume in an anticipated eight-book series covers the first five months of World War I. The book includes maps, photographs, and is indexed for ease of use. Keywords: World War I, American Expeditionary Forces, John J. Pershing, professional military education Read now: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/9
John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, 1917–1919: April 7-September 30, Volume 1
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Military History Book Review: The Panzer Killers: The Untold Story of a Fighting General and His Spearhead Tank Division’s Charge into the Third Reich Author: Daniel P. Bolger Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, US Army War College class of 2010 The Panzer Killers follows the story of World War II Major General Maurice Rose, chronicling his humble beginnings through his rise to being a decorated and accomplished Army commander who led by example. Keywords: World War II, 3rd Armor Division, Battle of the Bulge, George S. Patton, Spearhead Division Read now: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/8
The Panzer Killers: The Untold Story of a Fighting General and His Spearhead Tank Division’s Charge into the Third Reich 
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Military History Book Review: Fighting for Time: Rhodesia’s Military and Zimbabwe’s Independence Author: Charles D. Melson Reviewed by Charles G. Thomas, associate professor of comparative studies, Air University Global College The struggle for Rhodesia, otherwise known as the Bush War, centered on the decolonization of Rhodesia and involved ugly racial dynamics. The reviewer sees this work as “as comprehensive and critical as a single volume may be about Rhodesia’s military during the Bush War.” Keywords: Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Bush War, Selous Scouts, Rhodesian Light Infantry Read Now: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/7
Fighting for Time: Rhodesia’s Military and Zimbabwe’s Independence
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War in the Village US Army War College Press Parameters Bookshelf -- Online Book Reviews
War in the Villages: The U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Platoons in the Vietnam War
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Clear Hold, and Destroy US Army War College Press Parameters Bookshelf -- Online Book Reviews
Clear, Hold, and Destroy: Pacification in Phú Yên and the American War in Vietnam
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Cover - US Army War College Press Parameters Bookshelf -- Online Book Reviews
Determined to Persist: General Earle Wheeler, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Military’s Foiled Pursuit of Victory in Vietnam
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Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews: Useful Captives: The Role of POWs in American Military
Useful Captives: The Role of POWs in American Military Conflicts
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Parameters Bookshelf – Changing Character of War Old & New Battlespaces: Society, Military Power, and War by Jahara Matisek and Buddhika Jayamaha
Old & New Battlespaces: Society, Military Power, and War
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Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews: Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service – Fourth Edition
Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service – Fourth Edition
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